Summer 2011 • Katalyst | 1 WWW.RMNETWORK.ORG KATALYST NEWSLETTER OF RECONCILING MINISTRIES NETWORK VOL. 28 NO. 3 SUMMER, 2011 Loving Our Neighbor: Practice, Practice, Practice! by Rev. David Meredith In 1984, I attended my rst General Conference in Baltimore as a seminary student. I carried a o nce-upon- a-time hopefulness born ofromanticized sentiment about the church of Jesus Christ and our Wesleyan part of it. That year, our movement, led by Afrmation, carried a similarhopefulness. The child-like exuberance continues today . Some bring hope for acceptance. Some bring energy for changes. Some bring commitment to ght for justice regardless the cost. Some bring wide smiles and big eyes to make a difference. Perhaps you will go to Tampa, Florida for General Conference in 2012 eager that this is the time for your once-upon-a-time hopefulness. Unfortunately, there has been no “And they ALL lived happily ever after!” At each of the General Conferences I’ve attended, St. Louis, Louisville, Denver, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Ft. Worth, I have had moments when the warmed- heart of my Wesleyan evangelical experience confronted the renewed exclusions of United Methodist institutional policies and practices. I haven’t been alone. Many of you shared them while crying on bleachers, screaming in balconies, chanting on sidewalks, and singing in jail cells. When the inner faith of God’s assurin g grace meets the outerreality of denominational barriers, it is difcult to surmount. That’ s when the General Conference is like going to the dentist. It feels like a root canal. Why do I put myself through it? I’ve been convinced by the sign I see from my dentist’s chair, “Only brush the teeth you want to keep.” I want to keep this United Methodist Church and I want to help it become fully-inclusive of ALL people in ALL ways especially forthose who haven’t come, have been turned away, or who have left the UMC, for those in our congregations at home, for the young growing up in our communities, and for those of many languages, cultures, colors, and faiths throughout our changing world. ALL still means ALL. I go to the dentist and General Conference for otherreasons as well. It’s like teeth cleaning, a prophylactic treatment, which keeps the church (and me) accountable, cleaned up, and ready for another four years. In each quadrennial cycle we have had positive results from ourpreventive check-ups: 1) the formation of the Reconciling Congregation Program (now RMN); 2) successful legislative initiatives; 3) a decreasing size of the majority in opposition; 4) vibrant witness events; 5) same-gender weddings; and 6) powerful non-violent actions. General Conference preparations are also akin to daily ossing. I hate doing it but my gums are healthier at my next visit. The relational organizing of the past six years is ourway of ossing. Listen to stori es. T ell stories. Keep it up! Twice a day! We, and the UMC, are healthier because of it. The nal outcome has often been disappointing, hurtful, and painful each time additional layers of prohibition and Love Your Neighbor by Audrey Krumbach Growing up in small town Georgia, our standard reply to a dare was I-might-could-if…. This single word expresses bravado, fear , and a p ride-saving requ est for help . When my timid best friend asked if I would audition for the drama club, I replied, I-might-could-if you will try out with me. When she said yes, we screamed in terror but both ended up with parts. When people ask if I expect the 2012 General Conference to vote for full inclusion, I think, “they-might-could-if you tell them your story!” Love Your Neighbor is the fth and nal year of the Called to Witness campaign where we have been building relationships, perfecting our public narrative skills and organizing in strong teams. This year, the Love YourNeighbor campaign will mobilize United Methodists from across our connection to engage in holy conferencing with continued on pg 6continued on pg 3
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have known about any of this, if Ihadn’t met Julie (Photo left). Julie
was going to the conference, and I
decided two days before to come
with her. I feel like I’m home. I
am excited. I want to know more.
I want to know where I could t in
to possibly even help. Every time I
learn something, I share it. I’m involved with the teenagers. They want to know how they can be
accepted. So I share my story with them. I want to put it out there, that the Methodist Church is
a loving, inclusive place. And for members of Reconciling Congregations like my own, I want
them to know that they can do more than just be a member.
Vanessa Meeks - Atlanta, GA
At Sing a New Song, I had the great privilege of being host to Bishop Yvette
Flunder. Coming from outside the United Methodist denomination, she really
emphasized how important it was that we keep in mind that this was not just an internal
struggle but that it would take all of us working together across denominations,
across traditions, across states and communities to work together as one in unity in
order to accomplish the goals of all inclusive love. Our traditions are important, but
it’s also important for us to make that transition together. As we reect on Sing a
New Song, I can't emphasize it enough, that we keep the message of Jesus in mind,which is, to love our neighbor as our self. If I was to boil it down to one question
that encompassed all that we explored to act upon here, it would be “How do we best
love our neighbor as our self?”
Derrick Spiva - San Francisco, CA
Rev. Amy DeLong - Osceola, WISing a New Song feels a little different from other gatherings. In
that, so often it feels like as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender people
we are asking permission to be let into the church. At this conference
we are saying, "We are tired of asking for permission and we are nowgoing to claim our space within the church. We belong here rightfully
and the Church is impoverished without us." And that kind of boldness
is what the movement needs.
What I would say to clergy around the country is to be bold, be
brave, act courageously. I said in my sermon that we will not ge
anywhere in the movement if people of privilege are not willing to risk
some of that privilege —popularity, prestige, pensions, and purses. We
have to take real risk for real change to come. I would encourage my
colleagues to be bold in their witness and to put actions behind their