Day 5 and 6

I’m writing this post Sunday evening, waiting for my laundry to dry, after a much needed Sabbath. I have been either traveling or working every day since driving out of Benton after last Sunday’s Confirmation Unity service. I think (think!) I am ready for the final week of General Conference!

I was working the afternoon/evening shift, so I had the morning off. At home I do not sleep past 7 am on weekends, but the last two days I worked the evening shift I slept in until after 7. It’s been nice!
I served as the page for the Judicial Administration legislative committee in the afternoon. The pages and marshals are getting more comfortable with one another, so we’re making more small talk as we wait to serve. I had two wonderful conversations before the afternoon session - one of the marshals is a pastor in upstate New York. She is moving appointments for the first time, being appointed to serve at church by Fort Drum, near Watertown, NY. She shared how the church wants to start military ministry, specifically with the families of deployed service members. I was able to share about Benton FUMC’s veteran ministry, gave her my card, and planned on future conversations! The other marshal is a lay member from South Carolina who started a shoe ministry out of her church that sends shoes to the Philippines. Unlike the “Footprints” shoe ministry Benton FUMC leads, the local church in South Carolina collects used shoes, cleans them, ships them to the Philippines, and a mission team from the church goes over and hands them out. How cool!

The Judicial Administration legislative committee had a very different feel than the other two committees I had served. The committee was made up of many lay members who practiced law, so the process was much more deliberate and focused. Prime example: the first hour after lunch was spent continuing a conversation about a specific chargeable offense for a clergyperson. There was a 45 minute debate over one word in a petition: what it meant, how it would be interpreted, and even if the word should be included in the petition! I was thoroughly impressed how the Committee took the petition with utmost seriousness; after the final vote was taken, the chair asked for the committee to pray together for the decision it made. It was a holy moment.
The committee took up a petition written by a bishop. The committee had questions for the bishop (David Baird of the Michigan Conference), so they invited the bishop in. The parliamentarian of the legislative committee had very specific directions for the body to invite a bishop to speak to the legislative committee. Just as our form of government and its separation of powers, the church does as well: the legislative branch (General Conference) was asking the executive (episcopacy) to speak. Think about how the Speaker of the House formally invites the President to come speak for the State of the Union! So Bishop Baird came in, spoke only when answering questions, and left! Quite interesting!

The committee finished their work: they had gone through 90 petitions since Wednesday! 90 different proposals to add/amend/change our Book of Discipline by United Methodists around the globe that were under their purview - there was much rejoicing from the committee!

I walked around the convention center after the committee had finished their work. There was a Kenny Chesney concert at Bank of America stadium that evening, so I was in the midst of a different crowd with different attire than what I had been for the last few days at General Conference…!  As I people watched, I ran into Rev. Natasha Murry-Norman, a clergy delegate from Arkansas. It was the first time we saw each other; it was nice catching up with her and hearing about her experience at GC!

Sunday was a day of rest for all the delegates and support persons. There are many United Methodist Churches in the Charlotte area to worship at, but I was “peopled out” from the week, so I walked to the local Dunkin’ and streamed our 9 am service (at 10 am EST) over an XL original blend with four creams!

While I will have more time to reflect from this experience, two things I will absolutely take from being at GC:
1 - two weeks is a LOOONG time to be away from my family (too long!)
2 - I love the local church because disciple making happens at the local church. Sharing the love of Jesus in and through loving people happens at the local church - happens at places like and through the people of Benton First, not at meetings like General Conference. We have to remind ourselves time and time again that everything we do as a connection - from General Conference down - must be to equip the local church to make disciples. And yet…even if the General Conference doesn’t do its job perfectly because the Connection is like the church, filled with fallible people, the local church must continue to do what it does best: love God in and through loving our neighbors!