Last night I attended another RMN (Reconciling Ministries Network" Field Guide to General Conference on ZOOM. This one was on the United Methodist Revised Social Principles.
John Hill, Interim General Secretary for GBCS (Global Board of Church and Society) led the discussion, which was very informative and helpful.
There were several things that caught my attention and stuck with me.
- The re-ordering of information and conciseness of it all. I like the way the revised social principles ordered topics, arranging them logically and in helpful categories. Being able to see the side-by-side changes was helpful in understanding these changes.
- Another thing that stood out to me was the wording of "Community of All Creation". What a beautiful way to word that section.
- The entire "preamble" is pretty awesome (pages 6-7). This section below is what John shared at the closing of the ZOOM meeting:
"Therefore,
whenever significant differences of opinion occur among Christians, some of which continue
to divide the church deeply today, faithful Christians need to face their disagreements and
even their despair, and not cover differences with false claims of consensus or unanimity. On
the contrary, the church needs to embrace conflicts with courage and perseverance as we
seek together to discern God’s will. With that understanding and commitment, we pledge
ourselves to acknowledge and to embrace with courage, trust, and hope those controversies
that arise among us, accepting them as evidence that God is not yet finished in sculpting us
to be God’s people."
"God is not yet finished in sculpting us to be God's people." Wow. That has sanctifying grace written all over it. It rings true. It resonates. Can we live into it? Can we lean into it? Can we allow the God of creation to continue working in and through all of us?
The very end of the preamble says this: (it wasn't shared in our ZOOM meeting, but I find it powerful as well)
"Recognizing that God is our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer, we seek to center
our lives and witness on God. We are confident that nothing can separate us from the grace
of God, and that the social witness of the church is a testimony to that grace. With God’s help,
we pledge to share ministry and honor everyone’s dignity, even when we disagree, to seek
the mind of Christ, and to follow God’s will in all things."
This is to be our focus as followers of Christ, "to seek the mind of Christ, and to follow God's will in all things."
I have hope for us moving forward, that we can lean into the Holy Spirit's movement and be God's people, sharing ministry and mission in ways that offer grace to all people.
Another aspect of last night's ZOOM that was encouraging is that when these Revised Social Principles are adopted (yes, that's my optimism), there will be a study guide and other resources added to them, similar to the availability of those resources for the current edition.
John mentioned that the hope is that people will find this revision more "readable, teachable, and preachable". That is exciting! I enjoy reading, teaching, and preaching!
These Revised Social Principles are meant to empower and equip ministry and mission across all contexts.
In the "Community of All Creation" section, a John Wesley quote begins the section:
"The great lesson that our blessed Lord inculcates here…is that God is in all things, and that
we are to see the Creator in the glass of every creature; that we should use and look upon
nothing as separate from God…who pervades and actuates the whole created frame, and
is, in a true sense, the soul of the universe."
"God is in all things."
"We are to see the Creator in the glass of every creature."
If these are true statements, then who are we to continue NOT seeing God in all of creation, human and otherwise?!?! How can we become better stewards of what God has given us to love, to take care of, to watch over-- in all of creation-- human and otherwise?!?!
I haven't read all of the Revised Social Principles yet, but will work my way through them. I am definitely encouraged by last night's introduction to them, as it was my first time to hear about them.
Peace on the adventurous journey,
Rev. Deb
to order this t-shirt, click on this link
LINKS:
GBCS website-- all sorts of information and resources-- check it out!
Revised Social Principles Reflect Worldwide Church-- article written by Kathy Gilbert, 12/12/19
The Revised Social Principles, Creation Justice, and General Conference-- article written by Mark Davies and Sharon Delgado, 2/8/24
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