The first day of full legislative plenaries started today! YAY!! I can hardly believe we are already half way through! This has been a fun time down here.
Today, as legislation began, we started the day with votes on the consent calendars. Each passed easily, though many did have pieces of legislation pulled from the consent calendar to the floor of General Conference. This went by easily, and was followed by elections to the Judicial Council and the University Senate. Then, complication began. Voting at General Conference is done electronically for most votes, including these elections. To vote for elections, there was a very specific process that must be followed. If you are to vote for two people, then you actually cast two ballots. You may not choose the same person both times, and you must vote both times. If either of these criteria are not met, then the ballot is declared invalid.
In order to teach people the voting system, they asked the delegates to vote for their favorite Apostle. Peter and John consistently ranked at the top, Yay Peter! However, there were many invalid ballots each time. Over and over, the instructions were explained and the test votes were taken. Eventually, people got so frustrated, that a woman rose to speak. She said, "I am a second grade teacher, and suppose we ask every person to vote 1 and then 2, and we can be sure that everybody can follow that instruction on their voting pads." There was widespread affirmation of this idea. The chair chose not to follow this advice and eventually chose to have everybody vote for Peter on one ballot and another Apostle for the other. We ended up with a 98.7% vote for Peter. Peter was successfully voted to the Judicial Council!! Of course, the vote was swayed by the chair... At this moment they decided to continue with the elections.
For those of us observing, this was not the most interesting thing to observe. At one point, early in the test process, the woman sitting next to me apparently was not paying attention. She leaned over toward me and said, "but how are we supposed to know who these people are?!" As I stared at her, a few of us said, "they are the Apostles!!" My did she look embarassed!!
As the elections for the Judicial Council and University Senate began, the drama was not yet over. For Judicial Council, 11 laity were up for election. Two people had to be elected, and both were elected easily. From the remaining 9, 6 people had to be elected. When 6 votes were taken in a row, all ended up at above 50%. The bishop acting as chair did not understand what how this could happen. As we looked at the numbers, several mathematicians stood to explain how this could happen mathematically. Trying to explain math to a bunch of clergy and professional laity seems to be akin to explaining computers to somebody in their upper 80s. Sometimes it works, some fall in love with it, but many others are overwhelmed. The bishop ruled that we would move on to the next election while they discussed the matter and made a ruling. Eventually, the statement by the mathematicians/math teachers was upheld.
The major debate that happened today was in regard to the bishops. There was a proposal that died in legislative committee but was brought to the floor. This petition was to limit the term limits of bishops. It would eliminate lifetime election to the episcopacy. Because this is a constitutional ammendment, it required a 2/3 vote to pass. Over the morning and early afternoon, many amendments were made to the petition to try to make the petition more palatable. Each would allow re-election of bishops, but they would have to be re-elected after serving a given amount of time. Each amendment was rejected. In the end, the entire petition was voted to about 50/50 yes/no. Yes was slightly more than 50%, so it did not pass because it was not a 2/3 vote.
Those in favor of the petition to implement term limits for bishops did so for several reasons. 1) They reason that it will increase bishop effectiveness if they have to be re-elected to continue. This causes and increase in accountability. 2) We are very focused on effectiveness right now and it is appropriate to do this for bishops at a time when we are considering removing guaranteed appointments for elders. Those against the petition responded to each of these points. If our bishops have to worry about re-election this will 1) stifle their prophetic voice and 2) require them to focus on re-election rather than the work of their episcopal area. It will also limit the work that they can do over time, because some work takes more than 8 years to get done. As I said, the latter voice prevailed and bishops do not have term limits and do not need to be re-elected.
Not only has this been an interesting and significant day for legislation, but it has also been a great day for connections. At lunch I was privileged to sit and chat with a pastor about the good and bad experiences I have had in my candidacy process, and I am grateful that I have had more good than bad. He and I chatted about sermons and the importance of keeping all sermon manuscripts. I was enjoyable just to sit and chat about something other than General Conference, but something that is still significantly important to both of us. I love meeting new people and networking across the connection!
This evening, they had a Higher Education reception, which includes free food lots of music from various educational institutions. Some of my favorites were Africa University's choir and a Mariachi band of high schoolers from El Paso. I enjoyed the dinner, but I have to say mingling was very difficult for me because I am an introvert, so I eventually escaped. As I escaped, I went to get a pop with the person who invited me to the USO gathering the other day. She saw my blog about USO, as she was reading various General Conference blogs, and recognized the story! More connections! She and I sat and talked about seminary, young people, ageism, and the UMO. She talked about how horrible it was to watch what I was going through and be unable to stop it, and she thanked me for being brave enough to tell the story. I gave her permission to share my story from my blog as she will, and she says that she will absolutely share it. Hopefully people will learn from it and it will make a difference! Its kind of cool that my blog is getting around.
After I finished speaking with her, I decided to head back down stairs to the Young Delegate lounge, to escape the crowds for a little while. As I walked past the Higher Education reception, I noticed the high school band from El Paso, and decided to stop and watch the dancing. As I stood, one of the boys came and took me by the hand and took me in to dance! I learned two things...1) it is really fun to dance with a random Mexican guy in the middle of the hall way and 2) I am really bad at following when I don't know the dance. I think all the connections with people today made my day! So now that worship is over (it was great, definitely watch it online for the music), I'm off to be an introvert and rest a bit. Good night all and God bless! More coming tomorrow!
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Monday, April 30, 2012
Day 5 Believe
Day 5 Believe
Today was a fascinating but very very long day. Again, I started the day by going o the speakers for seminarians. Then, immediately at 8 AM, we broke into the legislative groups. I continued to observe Higher Education and Ministry. Today, they zipped through legislation as fast as possible, had a short lunch and dinner time, and still did not manage to get everything done before the 9:30 cut off time according to the rules of the General Conference. There really is not much to say about what happened today, except that there was a lot of it.
There were a few petitions that are very significant in my mind. 1) the legislative committee voted to not support the petition that would get rid of commissioning and move ordination to right after seminary. The reasons were a) the question about whether ordination makes an ontological change or not, b) it does not fix the issue of giving sacramental authority to non-elders, because local pastors still have sacramental authority, and c) young people and Board of Ordained Ministries were surveyed by several delegates, and there was no consensus in either demographic about the good or bad nature of this petition. The main reasons given for it are that a) we have not developed a theology for commissioning, and b) it would put us in line with other denominations, helping our ecumenical relations.
A second petition that is near and dear to me and my life is the addition of questions for the examination of an ordination candidate. The main addition is that the candidate for ordination must answer additional questions detailing their effectiveness in ministry. Originally, the petition called for an elimination of the theological examination of ordination candidate, because they are already examined theologically before commissioning. For example, next July, I will be given the paperwork to start answering theological questions in order for me to be commissioned upon graduation. Next February, I will have to be examined orally regarding those theological questions I answered. I will be examined by a few members of the Board of Ordained Ministry. If I pass, I will be commissioned in June 2013. As it currently stands, in 3 years I will then be brought back before the board to answer questions and about theology and practice of ministry. The original form of this petition would remove the theology questions, because I would have answered them three years previously. It would also add the questions about effectiveness in ministry. The petition as it currently stands added back in the theological questions, because people’s understanding of theology can change quite a lot in 3 years, especially in 3 years that are as formative as these.
The day ended with a post-legislative meeting by some of the young delegates of the conference. All young delegates were invited to come to discuss a proposed amendment to a certain petition. The petition is non-Disciplinary, which means it is not one that affects the Book of Discipline. Therefore, it is more of a strong recommendation than a requirement. This petition was sent by the Global Young People’s Convocation and Legislative Assembly in Berlin. I was there in Berlin and did vote for this petition. It calls for all boards, agencies, and committees to schedule their meetings at times that take into account the school and work schedules of young people, because young people are put on committees then unable to go because of the scheduling. I, for instance, am missing two weeks of classes to be at General Conference. I was lucky that this was a possibility. I have seen things that meet in the middle of the day on a weekday, which will exclude most young people, and most non-retired working middle and older adults. The petition as amended in our proposal will make the language stronger. I enjoy seeing a group of young people collaborating and also checking each other’s ideas. Sometimes we can be idealists, and by checking with each other, some of the ideas that would not be well accepted can be stopped. This was a beneficial process, and I look forward to seeing what happens.
Well, I am very tired, but tomorrow is Sunday! We get most of the day off, until evening. Monday morning, it is back to work again! Good night all!!
Today was a fascinating but very very long day. Again, I started the day by going o the speakers for seminarians. Then, immediately at 8 AM, we broke into the legislative groups. I continued to observe Higher Education and Ministry. Today, they zipped through legislation as fast as possible, had a short lunch and dinner time, and still did not manage to get everything done before the 9:30 cut off time according to the rules of the General Conference. There really is not much to say about what happened today, except that there was a lot of it.
There were a few petitions that are very significant in my mind. 1) the legislative committee voted to not support the petition that would get rid of commissioning and move ordination to right after seminary. The reasons were a) the question about whether ordination makes an ontological change or not, b) it does not fix the issue of giving sacramental authority to non-elders, because local pastors still have sacramental authority, and c) young people and Board of Ordained Ministries were surveyed by several delegates, and there was no consensus in either demographic about the good or bad nature of this petition. The main reasons given for it are that a) we have not developed a theology for commissioning, and b) it would put us in line with other denominations, helping our ecumenical relations.
A second petition that is near and dear to me and my life is the addition of questions for the examination of an ordination candidate. The main addition is that the candidate for ordination must answer additional questions detailing their effectiveness in ministry. Originally, the petition called for an elimination of the theological examination of ordination candidate, because they are already examined theologically before commissioning. For example, next July, I will be given the paperwork to start answering theological questions in order for me to be commissioned upon graduation. Next February, I will have to be examined orally regarding those theological questions I answered. I will be examined by a few members of the Board of Ordained Ministry. If I pass, I will be commissioned in June 2013. As it currently stands, in 3 years I will then be brought back before the board to answer questions and about theology and practice of ministry. The original form of this petition would remove the theology questions, because I would have answered them three years previously. It would also add the questions about effectiveness in ministry. The petition as it currently stands added back in the theological questions, because people’s understanding of theology can change quite a lot in 3 years, especially in 3 years that are as formative as these.
The day ended with a post-legislative meeting by some of the young delegates of the conference. All young delegates were invited to come to discuss a proposed amendment to a certain petition. The petition is non-Disciplinary, which means it is not one that affects the Book of Discipline. Therefore, it is more of a strong recommendation than a requirement. This petition was sent by the Global Young People’s Convocation and Legislative Assembly in Berlin. I was there in Berlin and did vote for this petition. It calls for all boards, agencies, and committees to schedule their meetings at times that take into account the school and work schedules of young people, because young people are put on committees then unable to go because of the scheduling. I, for instance, am missing two weeks of classes to be at General Conference. I was lucky that this was a possibility. I have seen things that meet in the middle of the day on a weekday, which will exclude most young people, and most non-retired working middle and older adults. The petition as amended in our proposal will make the language stronger. I enjoy seeing a group of young people collaborating and also checking each other’s ideas. Sometimes we can be idealists, and by checking with each other, some of the ideas that would not be well accepted can be stopped. This was a beneficial process, and I look forward to seeing what happens.
Well, I am very tired, but tomorrow is Sunday! We get most of the day off, until evening. Monday morning, it is back to work again! Good night all!!
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Listen
Every morning during this week of General Conference, we begin the day at the legislative committees. The day is to start with morning prayer, and a basic format is included in our conference programs. The leaders have flexibility in how they choose to use this liturgy, but for the most part, the committee I follow has been staying close to this liturgy. Today, it occurred to me as we listened to the reading of Scripture how well steeped in Scripture this General Conference is. For a person who attends every worship service in a day, they will hear the same passage in the morning during the prayer service, at lunch time during the Communion service, and in the evening during the large worship service. The effect is that each day is ideally effectively centered around one Scripture that is reinforced time and again.
This morning in the legislative committee, the subcommittees did not meet. Instead, each subcommittee reported on its actions during the previous day, debate took place, and petitions were accepted or rejected. Any that are rejected will not go to the full plenary session, unless somebody gets 20 signatures.
Among the hot button topics this morning were 1) a petition to allow homosexual marriages in UM churches and chapels and 2) a petition to remove Claremont from our list of approved seminaries. Both elicited quite a lot of debate.
Obviously homosexuality was quite the topic. Many of the commonly heard arguments were made, and some were made that were new to me. On the side that supports the petition, most were from the US. We heard from people who believe there will be no young people left in the church if this is not passed. Others appealed to their inability to care for homosexual couples in the same way as the heterosexual couples. On the side against the amendment, the most vocal voices were from Africa, though many also spoke from this country. The ones from Africa explained that if homosexuality was to be allowed, they have been told not to bother coming back to Africa. They also explained that in Africa polygamy is very much a part of the culture. It is accepted and considered good, often. However, the church does not accept it, even though it can cause pastoral care issues. Most people who spoke appealed to the Biblical passages also. Another person spoke about procreation.
During the homosexuality debate, both sides were prone to verbosity. A person would speak and make a point. The next person would stand and basically repeat what the first person said. The third person would stand and say "I would like to reiterate..." and would repeat what was just said. It almost seemed as if each side believed that having the last word, even if it was repeating what had been said at least 5 times, would result in a victory. It was rather exhausting.
In the petition to remove Claremont, a person rose to propose an amendment adding Iliff, Boston, and Gammon to that list. This is because all four added together produce 33 elders per year on average. That is less than 10 per school. He argued that this was a poor use of our funds. His motion was voted down. He then proposed an amendment where every seminary must use 33% of the money given to them by the UMC must be used for indigenous seminary training in Central Conferences. This was voted down because the President of one of the seminaries stood and said that they already give from their budget and this would be limiting.
A great joy of the day took place during the lunch time communion service. The communion service takes place outside on the riverfront. Apparently, as we were receiving communion, somebody had come up on her bike. She must have been invited to stay, because she celebrated Communion with us before biking away. I love that even in the midst of a conference where we assume the people around us are Christian, somebody was witnessing. She felt comfortable enough to join us, and that is wonderful.
In the afternoon, the legislative committee broke into subcommittees. Quite a lot of discussion happened in the one I observed regarding security of appointments. With amendments, the subcommittee did overwhelmingly move to adopt the petition to get rid of guaranteed appointments.
This evening was exciting for me, because I got to sit in the bar of the conference! As a fourth reserve, I was wondering if I would make it onto the floor. Tonight, I was able to go in! Granted, this was a plenary session with no voting. Instead it was a worship service centered around repentance for acts committed against indigenous peoples of this country. I must admit, I wondered the relevancy during most of the service for our delegates from outside the United States. Eventually, the idea was tied into acts of repentance for acts committed against all indigenous peoples around the world, but the majority of the service was regarding Native Americans. In the end, I was just thrilled to be on the floor. It was fun to be down there and see some things up close that I could no see from the observer section.
Well, I am getting very tired. Tomorrow is a full day of only legislative committees. It is also the last day of legislative groups. Any petition not acted on tomorrow will be dead.
Good night all!
This morning in the legislative committee, the subcommittees did not meet. Instead, each subcommittee reported on its actions during the previous day, debate took place, and petitions were accepted or rejected. Any that are rejected will not go to the full plenary session, unless somebody gets 20 signatures.
Among the hot button topics this morning were 1) a petition to allow homosexual marriages in UM churches and chapels and 2) a petition to remove Claremont from our list of approved seminaries. Both elicited quite a lot of debate.
Obviously homosexuality was quite the topic. Many of the commonly heard arguments were made, and some were made that were new to me. On the side that supports the petition, most were from the US. We heard from people who believe there will be no young people left in the church if this is not passed. Others appealed to their inability to care for homosexual couples in the same way as the heterosexual couples. On the side against the amendment, the most vocal voices were from Africa, though many also spoke from this country. The ones from Africa explained that if homosexuality was to be allowed, they have been told not to bother coming back to Africa. They also explained that in Africa polygamy is very much a part of the culture. It is accepted and considered good, often. However, the church does not accept it, even though it can cause pastoral care issues. Most people who spoke appealed to the Biblical passages also. Another person spoke about procreation.
During the homosexuality debate, both sides were prone to verbosity. A person would speak and make a point. The next person would stand and basically repeat what the first person said. The third person would stand and say "I would like to reiterate..." and would repeat what was just said. It almost seemed as if each side believed that having the last word, even if it was repeating what had been said at least 5 times, would result in a victory. It was rather exhausting.
In the petition to remove Claremont, a person rose to propose an amendment adding Iliff, Boston, and Gammon to that list. This is because all four added together produce 33 elders per year on average. That is less than 10 per school. He argued that this was a poor use of our funds. His motion was voted down. He then proposed an amendment where every seminary must use 33% of the money given to them by the UMC must be used for indigenous seminary training in Central Conferences. This was voted down because the President of one of the seminaries stood and said that they already give from their budget and this would be limiting.
A great joy of the day took place during the lunch time communion service. The communion service takes place outside on the riverfront. Apparently, as we were receiving communion, somebody had come up on her bike. She must have been invited to stay, because she celebrated Communion with us before biking away. I love that even in the midst of a conference where we assume the people around us are Christian, somebody was witnessing. She felt comfortable enough to join us, and that is wonderful.
In the afternoon, the legislative committee broke into subcommittees. Quite a lot of discussion happened in the one I observed regarding security of appointments. With amendments, the subcommittee did overwhelmingly move to adopt the petition to get rid of guaranteed appointments.
This evening was exciting for me, because I got to sit in the bar of the conference! As a fourth reserve, I was wondering if I would make it onto the floor. Tonight, I was able to go in! Granted, this was a plenary session with no voting. Instead it was a worship service centered around repentance for acts committed against indigenous peoples of this country. I must admit, I wondered the relevancy during most of the service for our delegates from outside the United States. Eventually, the idea was tied into acts of repentance for acts committed against all indigenous peoples around the world, but the majority of the service was regarding Native Americans. In the end, I was just thrilled to be on the floor. It was fun to be down there and see some things up close that I could no see from the observer section.
Well, I am getting very tired. Tomorrow is a full day of only legislative committees. It is also the last day of legislative groups. Any petition not acted on tomorrow will be dead.
Good night all!
Friday, April 27, 2012
Day 3 Heal
During the legislative groups today, we began with a short time of morning prayer. Then they had the delegates go around and introduce themselve and tell a joy. It was great to hear from people from all around the world in a variety of languages. People had many varieties of joys, but one in particular caught my attention. A man from Sierra Leon explained that his joy was particularly because some people in Indiana supported the ministry he does through Operation Classroom, chipping in to provide a vehicle. Isn't it great to see where mission from our conference makes a great difference to somebody!!
After introductions and a break, we broke into subcommittees. I chose to follow the subcommittee that is focusing on the Commission on Ministry report. Among some of the items in this report are 1) eliminating commissioning, moving ordination forward to immediately after seminary, and following ordination with a probabtionary period, 2) requiring a ministry orientation for all future pastors of all kinds at certification, and 3) a clear definition of our various types of pastors: elders, deacons, and local pastors.
The subcommittee began by breaking into even smaller groups. These were to discuss the legislation under the subcommittee and make recommendations for the subcommittee. The subcommittee will in turn make recomendations to the full legislative committee. The legislative committee will make recommendations next week to the entire general conference. They have 5 choices. 1) they can create a consent calendar, 2) they can recommend a yes (perhaps with amendments), 3) they can recommend a no, and 4) they can refer legislation to an agency or board. 5) There is also a way they can reject one in favor of another.
This afternoon, the sub-subcommittees reported to the subcommittee. One of the discussions particularly of interest to me is the one regarding commissioning and ordination. When one person asked the committee who prepared the report what would happen to an ordained person who decides not to continue to full membership, he explained that ordination is an act of the church and can be taken away. This is very interesting, because the Ordinal says that ordination is an act of the Holy Spirit and the church, and it cannot be taken away. Passing legislation allowing the removal of ordination would change our theology of ordination. This can be done at General Conference, but it is not a change that I am in favor of. I believe ordination is an act of God as well as the church, just as is stated in the Ordinal. I look forward to hearing the full discussion later!
At dinner time tonight, I went to dinner with many of the other seminarians here at General Conference. They only made reservations for 60, and we ran out of space! One of the people I ended up sitting with was a seminarian from Candler. He is a year older than me but a year behind me in school. Sometime during the meal, we got into a rather involved conversation regarding homosexuality, church splits, following ordination vows, and when to leave or not to leave. We actually landed on different sides of the issue. (and no I will not tell you where I am on the issue, make your own assumptions. Some of you reading this already know, but I do not want people to stop reading because they disagree with me) Even though we disagreed, we were able to have a respectful conversation that I believe is exactly what we mean by Christian Conferencing. We each heard the other out, acknowledged where the other was coming from, and recognized the difficulty or pain caused by each position. At one point we discussed how nasty people in the church can get in these disagreements when we forget that the person with whom we are speaking is a person. This moved to what we have heard about previous General Conferences and how often “holy conferencing” is not so holy. We talked all the way back to the convention center, when I realized that I left my phone at the restaurant and had to go back and get it. When I got back, I discovered it had been given to the professor who organized the dinner. So, I hiked back to the convention center (at least I walked off my pizza!). Eventually, I got my phone back, but by the time I got back into the plenary session, it was already 15 minutes in.
I ended up sitting right behind the professor who had had my phone and a young woman (another seminarian) who I have sat with multiple times. While the session was electing people to judicial council, I was mostly in conversation with the professor. She was inviting me to lunch tomorrow to hear a speaker she invited for her class about one of the pieces of legislation. As we were talking, and I was looking through my phone for messages, I noticed that something strange was going on. Where we had been listening to nominations for elections, there was suddenly somebody speaking very emotionally from one of the microphones on the floor. It took me a while to figure out what was going on, because I missed most of it because of distractions. Basically, what I finally figured out, was that in yesterday’s Holy Conferencing about homosexuality (which I skipped because I could not participate nor observe well), he had felt bullied because of his sexuality. He asked people to stand with him (in solidarity maybe? This was the moment when I started listening so I missed the reason.) Many people stood, and he continued to speak as the presiding bishop interrupted him and told him that this was out of order. The bishop explained that he had granted him a point of order and this was not a point of order. He also explained that there would be another time when it would be appropriate to discuss this issue. After a few seconds of the man continuing to talk and the bishop telling him to stop, the man asked for the bishop to at least say a prayer. The bishop agreed and prayed. The man sat down and the business continued followed by a worship service. After the service, many people went outside the conference and lined to doors and the paths to the stairs to stand for this man.
I would be interested to hear what was said and what actually happened. I almost wish that I had gone, in the off chance that I could have actually heard some of the discussion. People on both sides are often guilty of bullying, name calling, and hateful speech. It is sad that this is the case in the church. But it is true that it happens. I don't know what happened to him, what was said to him. Think what you will, I will not tell you what to think.
By the way, I'm famous! Read my last blog post at http://umonfire.blogspot.com. Well I guess I'm not exactly famous, but I was asked to share some of my blog with them.
After introductions and a break, we broke into subcommittees. I chose to follow the subcommittee that is focusing on the Commission on Ministry report. Among some of the items in this report are 1) eliminating commissioning, moving ordination forward to immediately after seminary, and following ordination with a probabtionary period, 2) requiring a ministry orientation for all future pastors of all kinds at certification, and 3) a clear definition of our various types of pastors: elders, deacons, and local pastors.
The subcommittee began by breaking into even smaller groups. These were to discuss the legislation under the subcommittee and make recommendations for the subcommittee. The subcommittee will in turn make recomendations to the full legislative committee. The legislative committee will make recommendations next week to the entire general conference. They have 5 choices. 1) they can create a consent calendar, 2) they can recommend a yes (perhaps with amendments), 3) they can recommend a no, and 4) they can refer legislation to an agency or board. 5) There is also a way they can reject one in favor of another.
This afternoon, the sub-subcommittees reported to the subcommittee. One of the discussions particularly of interest to me is the one regarding commissioning and ordination. When one person asked the committee who prepared the report what would happen to an ordained person who decides not to continue to full membership, he explained that ordination is an act of the church and can be taken away. This is very interesting, because the Ordinal says that ordination is an act of the Holy Spirit and the church, and it cannot be taken away. Passing legislation allowing the removal of ordination would change our theology of ordination. This can be done at General Conference, but it is not a change that I am in favor of. I believe ordination is an act of God as well as the church, just as is stated in the Ordinal. I look forward to hearing the full discussion later!
At dinner time tonight, I went to dinner with many of the other seminarians here at General Conference. They only made reservations for 60, and we ran out of space! One of the people I ended up sitting with was a seminarian from Candler. He is a year older than me but a year behind me in school. Sometime during the meal, we got into a rather involved conversation regarding homosexuality, church splits, following ordination vows, and when to leave or not to leave. We actually landed on different sides of the issue. (and no I will not tell you where I am on the issue, make your own assumptions. Some of you reading this already know, but I do not want people to stop reading because they disagree with me) Even though we disagreed, we were able to have a respectful conversation that I believe is exactly what we mean by Christian Conferencing. We each heard the other out, acknowledged where the other was coming from, and recognized the difficulty or pain caused by each position. At one point we discussed how nasty people in the church can get in these disagreements when we forget that the person with whom we are speaking is a person. This moved to what we have heard about previous General Conferences and how often “holy conferencing” is not so holy. We talked all the way back to the convention center, when I realized that I left my phone at the restaurant and had to go back and get it. When I got back, I discovered it had been given to the professor who organized the dinner. So, I hiked back to the convention center (at least I walked off my pizza!). Eventually, I got my phone back, but by the time I got back into the plenary session, it was already 15 minutes in.
I ended up sitting right behind the professor who had had my phone and a young woman (another seminarian) who I have sat with multiple times. While the session was electing people to judicial council, I was mostly in conversation with the professor. She was inviting me to lunch tomorrow to hear a speaker she invited for her class about one of the pieces of legislation. As we were talking, and I was looking through my phone for messages, I noticed that something strange was going on. Where we had been listening to nominations for elections, there was suddenly somebody speaking very emotionally from one of the microphones on the floor. It took me a while to figure out what was going on, because I missed most of it because of distractions. Basically, what I finally figured out, was that in yesterday’s Holy Conferencing about homosexuality (which I skipped because I could not participate nor observe well), he had felt bullied because of his sexuality. He asked people to stand with him (in solidarity maybe? This was the moment when I started listening so I missed the reason.) Many people stood, and he continued to speak as the presiding bishop interrupted him and told him that this was out of order. The bishop explained that he had granted him a point of order and this was not a point of order. He also explained that there would be another time when it would be appropriate to discuss this issue. After a few seconds of the man continuing to talk and the bishop telling him to stop, the man asked for the bishop to at least say a prayer. The bishop agreed and prayed. The man sat down and the business continued followed by a worship service. After the service, many people went outside the conference and lined to doors and the paths to the stairs to stand for this man.
I would be interested to hear what was said and what actually happened. I almost wish that I had gone, in the off chance that I could have actually heard some of the discussion. People on both sides are often guilty of bullying, name calling, and hateful speech. It is sad that this is the case in the church. But it is true that it happens. I don't know what happened to him, what was said to him. Think what you will, I will not tell you what to think.
By the way, I'm famous! Read my last blog post at http://umonfire.blogspot.com. Well I guess I'm not exactly famous, but I was asked to share some of my blog with them.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Day 2 Invite!
Each day has a theme, and I will try to put that theme as the title of the day’s blog.
I began the day hearing speakers for seminary students, but the whole conference began the day with a short worship. The short worship was nice, but as it ended we sang "Christ the Lord is Risen Today." It occured to me that, even though I am not a huge fan of the timing of General Conference, it is great to meet during the season of Easter. I was then amused to hear the bishop who was speaking speak about the term Eastertide. I suppose we were supposed to have the reaction that I did when we sang "Christ the Lord is Risen today." Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!
In the late afternoon I was bad and skipped the session, not wanting to hear more amendments to the rules. Honestly, it is not the most interesting part of conference. Instead I went to Cokesbury and went robe shopping for myself and my friends at seminary. Cheap robes are a blessing for those of us trying to build our pastoral collection. I did hear later that after two sessions of amendments, questions, and debates, the rules passed as they were originally proposed yesterday. Go figure.
During the lunch hour, about 20-30 of us gathered outside by the river to celebrate Communion together. Bishop Schnase officiated for us. It was a beautiful short service written by a woman who realized there was no communion service based on the theme of being at the lakeshore. It is also nice to take a break from a day of legislation and pointless amendments to remember why we are here. I will definitely be returning to the communion service tomorrow afternoon. I am a little surprised though that so few people showed up from the thousands of people in Tampa.
After lunch we gathered into legislative groups so that the elections may take place for the leadership within the group. I observed the session on Ministry and Higher Education. After several reminders by the bishop that we need to be inclusive, the votes took place. I tell you, these elections are almost as tedious as a session of the elections for general conference delegates! On the plus side, as we waited for each vote to be counted we sang old mostly well-known hymns and songs. It was a nice reminder that in the midst of the elections we are to remain in prayer.
After the legislative group session, the next thing on the agenda was Christian Conferencing. Since we had a few minutes to kill, I wandered down to the lounge set up for Young Delegates. Nobody else is allowed inside except by consensus of all those within the room. It is intended to be a safe space. So, I wandered in, had some conversation, and determined that it would probably not be worth much to go to the conversations, because I am not a delegate and it will likely be taking place in small groups. It is difficult to observe small groups from the back of the room. Then somebody came in and asked if we would allow them to bring others in and watch Glee (from last night). So I stuck around and watched Glee with a large group of young women (the young men laughed at us).
As dinner approached, I was invited to bring my dinner and eat with a particular organization. Because it doesn’t really matter what this organization was, I will refer to it as UMO. Realize that this organization could be yours. It could be UMW, UMM, UMYF, a group of Sunday School teachers, a particular United Methodist Church, a caucus group, or more. You may be able to figure out which group it is based on some of the things I say, but it doesn’t really matter. As you read my story insert whatever church group you belong to, especially if it has very few young people and wants them.
So, I was invited to dinner. I thought, “well, why not,” and I went to join them. The person speaking to them was the president of UMO. After she spoke, another woman spoke. This woman started to speak about how important it is that the young people stay involved in UMO. The sharks were circling. Then, looking straight at me (there were probably 8 people eating lunch down here and I was the only young stranger) she starts talking to me about how important it is to stay involved in UMO. Then the sharks started to bump up against me a bit. She asks me if I am involved in UMO. I say that I am not, and I explain that when I was at home, most UMO events met during the day on a weekday. In recent years, they have started to reach out to young people, but I am now in a different state at Seminary. In an effort to salvage myself a little, I explain that my sister and godson’s mom are both getting involved in UMO. Then, the sharks swam in and started to attack. “You know all pastors become members of UMO when they are ordained.” “You can have a group at seminary.” “It doesn’t take a formal group with a President to have a UMO group, you just need to do fellowship.” “You know, I have read so many books through our reading program that I never would have read before. It is so easy to use. Here is where it is in your church and how it works.” And on and on. They do a lot of great things, but very little is something I need or want at this point in my life. Finally, as I sit there wondering why on earth I would want to add a reading list of church books when I am already in school, I decide to voice this. I interrupt and explain that the books aren’t really interesting, since I am in school. Really, it is the mission aspects of UMO that are appealing. They then asked if I had ever attended their mission retreat, explained that often churches will help those who cannot pay for it to get the money, and that it has a ton of wonderful aspects. Finally, the conversation shifted away from me and we were told that UMO will meet to eat every lunch and dinner and have an evening prayer at the end of each day. I have not yet decided if I will go back. 1) It is rather scary to be attacked by sharks wanting my flesh…I mean wanting my participation in a group. It might be effective in driving me away. BUT 2) I have a strong urge to go back a few times so that I gain their trust enough to tell them how bad that introduction was. They had the best of intentions. They genuinely wanted me to get involved, get the connections and to benefit from what they have to offer. This inundating me with information and not listening to what I am interested in, however was not the way to do it. The scary part is that I have done this also. Honestly, if this is how we approach young people for organizations within the church, I worry about how we approach those outside the church. EEK!!
We should take this as a lesson! Listen before inundating with activities! This does not mean ignoring or not inviting them to something. It does mean slowing down, giving a couple ideas and asking if anything sounds interesting without pressure. I want to hear their stories! I want to know why this is important to them! I just don’t want to hear it all at once, and I want to hear why this should be important to me. A 24-year-old student who reads plenty of books and has plenty of friends for fellowship. Why should I join the UMO? For that matter, why should a 24-year-old grad student with plenty of friends who is already a member of a social club join a church? What do we have to offer? Why does this make a difference? Until we answer these questions AND act on them, not on what we think is interesting about the social opportunities, we cannot expect to see change.
Now let me be clear. I love the people in this organization and others. It is a great and important organization that does a lot of great work for our church. It was just a little frightening to experience exactly the same thing that is happening to every young person who walks in the doors of an older congregation.
This evening consisted of a plenary session with the Call to Action Report and a Finance report. Honestly, finances are boring. The Call to Action report is rather frightening regarding the future of the United States UMC, but I have read and heard all those facts and figures so many times, even given by one of the presenters, that none of it was truly new. We ended the day with an hour long worship that was rather amazing, and actually better than the opening worship of the General Conference.
In a paraphrase of tonight’s bishop who preached…Beautiful people, INVITE! Make disciples!
Good night!
I began the day hearing speakers for seminary students, but the whole conference began the day with a short worship. The short worship was nice, but as it ended we sang "Christ the Lord is Risen Today." It occured to me that, even though I am not a huge fan of the timing of General Conference, it is great to meet during the season of Easter. I was then amused to hear the bishop who was speaking speak about the term Eastertide. I suppose we were supposed to have the reaction that I did when we sang "Christ the Lord is Risen today." Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!
In the late afternoon I was bad and skipped the session, not wanting to hear more amendments to the rules. Honestly, it is not the most interesting part of conference. Instead I went to Cokesbury and went robe shopping for myself and my friends at seminary. Cheap robes are a blessing for those of us trying to build our pastoral collection. I did hear later that after two sessions of amendments, questions, and debates, the rules passed as they were originally proposed yesterday. Go figure.
During the lunch hour, about 20-30 of us gathered outside by the river to celebrate Communion together. Bishop Schnase officiated for us. It was a beautiful short service written by a woman who realized there was no communion service based on the theme of being at the lakeshore. It is also nice to take a break from a day of legislation and pointless amendments to remember why we are here. I will definitely be returning to the communion service tomorrow afternoon. I am a little surprised though that so few people showed up from the thousands of people in Tampa.
After lunch we gathered into legislative groups so that the elections may take place for the leadership within the group. I observed the session on Ministry and Higher Education. After several reminders by the bishop that we need to be inclusive, the votes took place. I tell you, these elections are almost as tedious as a session of the elections for general conference delegates! On the plus side, as we waited for each vote to be counted we sang old mostly well-known hymns and songs. It was a nice reminder that in the midst of the elections we are to remain in prayer.
After the legislative group session, the next thing on the agenda was Christian Conferencing. Since we had a few minutes to kill, I wandered down to the lounge set up for Young Delegates. Nobody else is allowed inside except by consensus of all those within the room. It is intended to be a safe space. So, I wandered in, had some conversation, and determined that it would probably not be worth much to go to the conversations, because I am not a delegate and it will likely be taking place in small groups. It is difficult to observe small groups from the back of the room. Then somebody came in and asked if we would allow them to bring others in and watch Glee (from last night). So I stuck around and watched Glee with a large group of young women (the young men laughed at us).
As dinner approached, I was invited to bring my dinner and eat with a particular organization. Because it doesn’t really matter what this organization was, I will refer to it as UMO. Realize that this organization could be yours. It could be UMW, UMM, UMYF, a group of Sunday School teachers, a particular United Methodist Church, a caucus group, or more. You may be able to figure out which group it is based on some of the things I say, but it doesn’t really matter. As you read my story insert whatever church group you belong to, especially if it has very few young people and wants them.
So, I was invited to dinner. I thought, “well, why not,” and I went to join them. The person speaking to them was the president of UMO. After she spoke, another woman spoke. This woman started to speak about how important it is that the young people stay involved in UMO. The sharks were circling. Then, looking straight at me (there were probably 8 people eating lunch down here and I was the only young stranger) she starts talking to me about how important it is to stay involved in UMO. Then the sharks started to bump up against me a bit. She asks me if I am involved in UMO. I say that I am not, and I explain that when I was at home, most UMO events met during the day on a weekday. In recent years, they have started to reach out to young people, but I am now in a different state at Seminary. In an effort to salvage myself a little, I explain that my sister and godson’s mom are both getting involved in UMO. Then, the sharks swam in and started to attack. “You know all pastors become members of UMO when they are ordained.” “You can have a group at seminary.” “It doesn’t take a formal group with a President to have a UMO group, you just need to do fellowship.” “You know, I have read so many books through our reading program that I never would have read before. It is so easy to use. Here is where it is in your church and how it works.” And on and on. They do a lot of great things, but very little is something I need or want at this point in my life. Finally, as I sit there wondering why on earth I would want to add a reading list of church books when I am already in school, I decide to voice this. I interrupt and explain that the books aren’t really interesting, since I am in school. Really, it is the mission aspects of UMO that are appealing. They then asked if I had ever attended their mission retreat, explained that often churches will help those who cannot pay for it to get the money, and that it has a ton of wonderful aspects. Finally, the conversation shifted away from me and we were told that UMO will meet to eat every lunch and dinner and have an evening prayer at the end of each day. I have not yet decided if I will go back. 1) It is rather scary to be attacked by sharks wanting my flesh…I mean wanting my participation in a group. It might be effective in driving me away. BUT 2) I have a strong urge to go back a few times so that I gain their trust enough to tell them how bad that introduction was. They had the best of intentions. They genuinely wanted me to get involved, get the connections and to benefit from what they have to offer. This inundating me with information and not listening to what I am interested in, however was not the way to do it. The scary part is that I have done this also. Honestly, if this is how we approach young people for organizations within the church, I worry about how we approach those outside the church. EEK!!
We should take this as a lesson! Listen before inundating with activities! This does not mean ignoring or not inviting them to something. It does mean slowing down, giving a couple ideas and asking if anything sounds interesting without pressure. I want to hear their stories! I want to know why this is important to them! I just don’t want to hear it all at once, and I want to hear why this should be important to me. A 24-year-old student who reads plenty of books and has plenty of friends for fellowship. Why should I join the UMO? For that matter, why should a 24-year-old grad student with plenty of friends who is already a member of a social club join a church? What do we have to offer? Why does this make a difference? Until we answer these questions AND act on them, not on what we think is interesting about the social opportunities, we cannot expect to see change.
Now let me be clear. I love the people in this organization and others. It is a great and important organization that does a lot of great work for our church. It was just a little frightening to experience exactly the same thing that is happening to every young person who walks in the doors of an older congregation.
This evening consisted of a plenary session with the Call to Action Report and a Finance report. Honestly, finances are boring. The Call to Action report is rather frightening regarding the future of the United States UMC, but I have read and heard all those facts and figures so many times, even given by one of the presenters, that none of it was truly new. We ended the day with an hour long worship that was rather amazing, and actually better than the opening worship of the General Conference.
In a paraphrase of tonight’s bishop who preached…Beautiful people, INVITE! Make disciples!
Good night!
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
General Conference Begins!!!
For the next several days, I will be posting daily discussing my experiences at General Conference as a reserve delegate. I am also a young person and a seminary student, so this will be quite an interesting ten days! For the next ten days, we will be discussing (or listening to the discussion) of the various proposals to the business of the church. The General Conference meets quarterly and is the only body that may speak for the United Methodist Church. The work of these days will revise the Book of Discipline and Book of Resolutions. Over the next several days, we will be discussing several hot button issues, which I will discuss here as they come up.
This has been quite an exciting day! It started with the briefing for young delegates. It was a lot of fun to both meet new people and to see all the people who I recognize either from Berlin, various committees, internships, and more. In small group discussions we were asked to think about two things. We were first asked to discuss where we have seen the UMC at its best. We discussed connectionalism, mission, world wide nature of the church, nurturing of calling and more. We were also asked to discuss where we would love to see the UMC in ten years if this General Conference went the best that it possibly could. People talked about inclusiveness, young people, and more. I explained that I would love the UMC to be a denomination that I do not have to worry about. That means, in part, that I can look over a meeting and see people under 50 and the majority under 60. That means, also, understanding our doctrine and standing for what we believe, rather than acting as if we believe nothing in particular. We have beliefs, but there is not always understanding of them.
Next, I went to hear about the opportunities for seminary students. I met students from Drew, Duke, Candler, and more. Many of them are here solely for a class. Most of them were shocked to hear that my school, the Methodist Theological School in Ohio, does not have a class, just individual study, and few of us came to Tampa. We learned that for the next two weeks, we will meet at 7 AM to hear from a large variety of speakers. We will hear from the exiting and entering President of the Council of Bishops. We will hear from all ends of the spectrum, from Good News to Reconciling Ministries. We will hear from many others, who I cannot remember. I think I will do my best to get up often and go to these talks. We were also invited to two dinners for seminary students over the course of conference. It is great to be making connections to other seminary students. This evening, we are at a legislative session. I was sitting near our delegation, but some of the Drew students walked by and invited me to join them. It is nice to make these connections.
After lunch and before dinner, we engaged in truly passionate worship. The opening service was a service of communion. I sat in midst of people who I did not know. As we sang Lord I Lift Your Name on High, I taught a lady the hand motions and we worshipped together. We heard a wonderful sermon about James and John leaving their nets to follow Jesus. One of my favorite parts of any global church experience is just that, we are a global church. We all prayed or sang, sometimes in one language and sometimes in our own languages. We heard readings and liturgy in a variety of languages, including sign language. Well, I guess we didn't hear the sign language! Liturgical dancing was a must in that worship service. Wonderful music, from new to old imbued the service. I did notice, though, during this service, I had no idea that we had so many bishops!
The last part of our day is the legislative session. In this session, the main goal is to adopt the rules for General Conference. The rules are being proposed in relatively small sections. At the moment we are on section 4, and only one section of the rules has been approved. All the rest had motions to amend, and based on the existing rules, any amendment on the rules must go to the committee. They must respond in less than 24 hours with a recommendation or report. Because so many sections have sparked motions, we are spending quite a lot of time in clarification, point of orders, and speeches. I must say, it is rather tedious to sit and listen to debates about a topic that is vitally important but very very boring. The only topic more boring is pensions!!
Signing off today, tune in tomorrow to hear about the first full day of legislation!
This has been quite an exciting day! It started with the briefing for young delegates. It was a lot of fun to both meet new people and to see all the people who I recognize either from Berlin, various committees, internships, and more. In small group discussions we were asked to think about two things. We were first asked to discuss where we have seen the UMC at its best. We discussed connectionalism, mission, world wide nature of the church, nurturing of calling and more. We were also asked to discuss where we would love to see the UMC in ten years if this General Conference went the best that it possibly could. People talked about inclusiveness, young people, and more. I explained that I would love the UMC to be a denomination that I do not have to worry about. That means, in part, that I can look over a meeting and see people under 50 and the majority under 60. That means, also, understanding our doctrine and standing for what we believe, rather than acting as if we believe nothing in particular. We have beliefs, but there is not always understanding of them.
Next, I went to hear about the opportunities for seminary students. I met students from Drew, Duke, Candler, and more. Many of them are here solely for a class. Most of them were shocked to hear that my school, the Methodist Theological School in Ohio, does not have a class, just individual study, and few of us came to Tampa. We learned that for the next two weeks, we will meet at 7 AM to hear from a large variety of speakers. We will hear from the exiting and entering President of the Council of Bishops. We will hear from all ends of the spectrum, from Good News to Reconciling Ministries. We will hear from many others, who I cannot remember. I think I will do my best to get up often and go to these talks. We were also invited to two dinners for seminary students over the course of conference. It is great to be making connections to other seminary students. This evening, we are at a legislative session. I was sitting near our delegation, but some of the Drew students walked by and invited me to join them. It is nice to make these connections.
After lunch and before dinner, we engaged in truly passionate worship. The opening service was a service of communion. I sat in midst of people who I did not know. As we sang Lord I Lift Your Name on High, I taught a lady the hand motions and we worshipped together. We heard a wonderful sermon about James and John leaving their nets to follow Jesus. One of my favorite parts of any global church experience is just that, we are a global church. We all prayed or sang, sometimes in one language and sometimes in our own languages. We heard readings and liturgy in a variety of languages, including sign language. Well, I guess we didn't hear the sign language! Liturgical dancing was a must in that worship service. Wonderful music, from new to old imbued the service. I did notice, though, during this service, I had no idea that we had so many bishops!
The last part of our day is the legislative session. In this session, the main goal is to adopt the rules for General Conference. The rules are being proposed in relatively small sections. At the moment we are on section 4, and only one section of the rules has been approved. All the rest had motions to amend, and based on the existing rules, any amendment on the rules must go to the committee. They must respond in less than 24 hours with a recommendation or report. Because so many sections have sparked motions, we are spending quite a lot of time in clarification, point of orders, and speeches. I must say, it is rather tedious to sit and listen to debates about a topic that is vitally important but very very boring. The only topic more boring is pensions!!
Signing off today, tune in tomorrow to hear about the first full day of legislation!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
January 1: Drums, Dancing, and a Long night
Yesterday was a rich representation of Indian culture. Music played a large part of the day. Our first introduction was to an Indian drumline. Technically it was folk dancing and drumming, but when a bunch of men do fancy footwork in unison, shaking their hips, and beating at drums, it is clearly a drumline. They wore white tanks, white wrap pants, maroon strip of cloth around their waist, and an orange strip around their heads. They danced while beating flat drums that they strapped to one arm and cradled. One beat what looked like a bass drum, and another shook maracas. Then the cows and peacock arrived. Grown men in 2 elaborate cow costumes and one peacock shook their rear ends and flapped their wings. The entire thing was a lot of fun, especially when we joined in the dance. This folk dance has come to be used most often for funerals, but that is not their sole use.
Next we saw classical music and temple dance. Men and women played on a very large string instrument, a violin, and a couple drums. At one point, a woman sang. We also watched as a woman and two girl students did the temple dance. The girls were 8 and 10 or 11. They were dressed in very ornate and brightly colored outfits with jewelry even hanging below their noses. The teacher explained that the dances are used for worship, soothing, excitement, cooling, and even putting a child to bed. Every part of the dancer is part of the dance. The hands, arms, body position, facial expression, and even direction of the eyes are choreographed. These intricate, flowing, and beautiful dances could tell a story and left us in awe.
Yesterday evening at 9:45, we arrived at church. I still have absolutely no idea why we arrived then, because the New Year’s Eve service did not begin until 11:30. The service was entirely in Tamil, but it followed the basic familiar pattern. There were responsive readings, prayer, songs, sermon, baptism, and communion. Many of the songs were familiar tunes. Perhaps half of the hymns we recognized the tune and the other half were written locally. In another nod to the familiar, we were old later that the sermon was written to ask people to give money, though the theology was very prosperity gospel.
There were a few slight differences that I am SURE no American would mind. The length, for instance was jus a little long with the 3 HOUR SERVICE and 1 ½ HOUR SERMON. About the time there were 5 children screaming under the age of 3, I thought the sermon could do well to wrap up. Not to mention the two offerings and the split with men on the left side of the aisle and women on the right.
When it came time for communion, I was excited to be receiving it in India. To receive the elements, the men all go, followed by the women. They kneel at the rail and receive a wafer and a small cup of sickly sweet berry juice. We on the women’s side watched the men to see if we would be allowed to go forward (because of the possibility of unsafe water). The men in our group stood to go forward with the men of the church then ended up sitting back down because of a miscommunication. At that point I became very disappointed that we would be excluded because of bacteria. At the church women finished receiving the elements, our men stood back up and went forward. I was with a great sense of relief and joy that I went forward with the other women of the group to receive the elements. A comment made later by a member of the group was about a sermon they once heard. We can be afraid of the bacteria, perhaps, but these elements are blessed and at some point we must have faith. You know, here we must have faith in the physical safety of the elements, but isn’t communion a great act of faith anyway?
After the service, at about 2:30, our group was led outside where we were formally welcomed into the church. People took pictures of their children standing with us westerners. Music was played on a drum and a double-reed instrument that looked like a 3 foot oboe with holes instead of keys. We were led back inside the church and made to sit in the new rows facing the congregation. We were welcomed by name in the traditional Indian manner with very heavy necklaces made of flowers. At the end, we were each given small limes that we then handed to the pastor as we wished him a Happy New Year. It is a tradition at the New Year to greet a person in authority, like a pastor, with a lime. That pastor must have had close to 200 limes by 3:00 AM. What on earth do you do with all those limes? We should adopt this practice in the US except substitute chocolate ☺ (NOTE: We were told the next day that we were treated as a part of the church with the lime thing. If we were simply honored guests, we might have been given the limes. Instead we were given them to give to the pastor along with the congregation.)
We get back to TTS at 4 AM and had to be a breakfast by 9 to get on the bus to head into the mountains. Hopefully a few things will happen in the mountains at the fancy hotel…some rest, different food, and a hot shower.
Next we saw classical music and temple dance. Men and women played on a very large string instrument, a violin, and a couple drums. At one point, a woman sang. We also watched as a woman and two girl students did the temple dance. The girls were 8 and 10 or 11. They were dressed in very ornate and brightly colored outfits with jewelry even hanging below their noses. The teacher explained that the dances are used for worship, soothing, excitement, cooling, and even putting a child to bed. Every part of the dancer is part of the dance. The hands, arms, body position, facial expression, and even direction of the eyes are choreographed. These intricate, flowing, and beautiful dances could tell a story and left us in awe.
Yesterday evening at 9:45, we arrived at church. I still have absolutely no idea why we arrived then, because the New Year’s Eve service did not begin until 11:30. The service was entirely in Tamil, but it followed the basic familiar pattern. There were responsive readings, prayer, songs, sermon, baptism, and communion. Many of the songs were familiar tunes. Perhaps half of the hymns we recognized the tune and the other half were written locally. In another nod to the familiar, we were old later that the sermon was written to ask people to give money, though the theology was very prosperity gospel.
There were a few slight differences that I am SURE no American would mind. The length, for instance was jus a little long with the 3 HOUR SERVICE and 1 ½ HOUR SERMON. About the time there were 5 children screaming under the age of 3, I thought the sermon could do well to wrap up. Not to mention the two offerings and the split with men on the left side of the aisle and women on the right.
When it came time for communion, I was excited to be receiving it in India. To receive the elements, the men all go, followed by the women. They kneel at the rail and receive a wafer and a small cup of sickly sweet berry juice. We on the women’s side watched the men to see if we would be allowed to go forward (because of the possibility of unsafe water). The men in our group stood to go forward with the men of the church then ended up sitting back down because of a miscommunication. At that point I became very disappointed that we would be excluded because of bacteria. At the church women finished receiving the elements, our men stood back up and went forward. I was with a great sense of relief and joy that I went forward with the other women of the group to receive the elements. A comment made later by a member of the group was about a sermon they once heard. We can be afraid of the bacteria, perhaps, but these elements are blessed and at some point we must have faith. You know, here we must have faith in the physical safety of the elements, but isn’t communion a great act of faith anyway?
After the service, at about 2:30, our group was led outside where we were formally welcomed into the church. People took pictures of their children standing with us westerners. Music was played on a drum and a double-reed instrument that looked like a 3 foot oboe with holes instead of keys. We were led back inside the church and made to sit in the new rows facing the congregation. We were welcomed by name in the traditional Indian manner with very heavy necklaces made of flowers. At the end, we were each given small limes that we then handed to the pastor as we wished him a Happy New Year. It is a tradition at the New Year to greet a person in authority, like a pastor, with a lime. That pastor must have had close to 200 limes by 3:00 AM. What on earth do you do with all those limes? We should adopt this practice in the US except substitute chocolate ☺ (NOTE: We were told the next day that we were treated as a part of the church with the lime thing. If we were simply honored guests, we might have been given the limes. Instead we were given them to give to the pastor along with the congregation.)
We get back to TTS at 4 AM and had to be a breakfast by 9 to get on the bus to head into the mountains. Hopefully a few things will happen in the mountains at the fancy hotel…some rest, different food, and a hot shower.
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