Justice Corner: Conflagration of Community
There were many communities to be found at the Special General Conference of the United Methodist Church held this past February in St. Louis, some of them consolidated while others were in conflict. We entered The Dome as United Methodists and left feeling a deep division. I was in the thick of this broken community as an observer.
After the final plenary vote approving the Traditional Plan was announced, protests erupted around the room. Opponents began to chant and sing portions of “Blessed Assurance.” In response, proponents sang “On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand.” These two hymns which espouse key tenets of our faith were being flung like fiery darts at one another and piercing the heart of our community, setting it all ablaze. This was not a gentle warming akin to what John Wesley described; this was an inferno fed by years of tension and lack of understanding between parties. The inferno continued, eating up all of the oxygen in the room. I found it hard to breathe as I attempted to choke out the words to “Spirit of the Living God”, the hymn played by the worship band in an attempt to restore order and a sense of community. Still, chaos reigned and tears flowed like a river threatening to drown all who were gathered.
There are often fires that break out in nature; in fact, it is a necessary process and part of the life cycle of the forest. However, there are occasions where the fire grows too great and the damage is so severe that there is the possibility of great harm being visited upon humankind and animal alike. The first thing that the forest service does after a severe fire is to ensure that the foundations, the roots of the trees and their ability to grow, are secure. If not, there is risk of flooding.
Is our foundation secure? Are we going to be washed away as a denomination, like so many houses, overcome by the mudslide of our division? Or will we be able to once again take root, grow, and flourish like a mighty mustard tree?
While our future as a united community is still uncertain, I do know that we have a solid foundation. Christ does not belong to one faction, nor does the assurance that Christ is for us belong to another. The Holy Spirit unites us, even when we aren’t able to sing the words. We are being tried by fire; a fire of our own making. I have hope, however, that beauty may be found in the ashes and we will rise like a phoenix into something new.
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| Lenora Whitecotton is a seminarian at Wesley. |
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Lenora,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your thoughtful article. You are an amazing person full of Christ's love. In my Church History readings this week, I happen to be reading John Wesley's, A Plain Account of Christian Perfection. I was struck by Wesley's words on page 94 in response to Question 28: "What do you think of those in London, who seemed to be lately, 'renewed in love?'" His response: "Some are wanting in goodness. They are not kind, Mild, sweet, amiable, soft, and loving at all times, in their spirit, in their words, in their look and air, in the whole tenor of their behavior; and that to all, high and low, rich and poor, without respect of persons; particularly to them that are out of the way, to opposers, and to those of their own household. They do not long, study, endeavor by every means, to make all about them happy. They can see them uneasy, and not be concerned; perhaps they make them so; and then wipe their mouths, and say, 'Why, they deserve it; it is their own fault.'" (Wesley, Plain Account, 94)
As I think about their response, and the nearly 39 years of leadership I've experienced and provided, the true voice of leadership would have either joined those pained as helpful in their healing or joined the worship team as you did as a voice of unity. Anyone who sang in opposition to pain responded in human contest - not in faith - and certainly not in love. They cared more about "winning" than loving. You showed your leadership in ways I both recognize and admire.
Thank you for your leadership, for your love, for responding as Jesus called you.
Allison