This spring has been packed. Right now I’m still working at General Conference. This is the global gathering of the United Methodist Church which takes place every four years. It’s sort of like our congress, where we legislate our church and write new rules for our governing book, the Book of Discipline. We are arguing over who is included in God’s grace, how women can navigate their reproductive health, the benefit of divesting from fossil fuels, and how our church views wise people from other faith traditions. My role at General Conference is to manage the volunteers who are running information, registration, and other logistics jobs. It’s been great, but a lot of energy to be present in this space as I do the work of my assigned task and watch as my friends, new and old wrestle with the weight of these important decisions.
The other big thing this spring has been the closure of my traditional church. Our last Sunday is June 26th. While we have been working for months towards that day, as it gets closer it is more and more clear how much still remains to do and say. I know that this is the right decision, but to be honest, I’m grieving a great deal the loss of this wonderful community.
What all this means for Sellwood is that there is not a lot left to give. The lovely thing about SFC is that I am not the sole organizational energy. Jeff is attending some of the events I usually go to, our friends who are staying with us did the bulk of the cleaning this week, and other leaders are continuing their work. Our community hums along. We have new things to do over the summer, and some work ahead of us as we continue to live in to God’s vision for us, yet in this season just continuing is enough.
As I appreciate the fullness of life in this moment and the ways that we step up and care for the pieces that simply cannot be tended, I’m reminded of when my dad was dying a few years ago and I handed all responsibility for our daughter to my cousins. I had my hands full caring for my mom and dad as dad’s body shut down. Jeff was busy caring for me. Meanwhile, Paige had the most delightful time with my cousins and they are now some of her favorite people. They took her to the movies, played games, read Harry Potter and made sure that a little girl had what she needed in a difficult moment. If I had tried to do it all myself I can assure you that we would reflect back on that day with more than grief, but anger and frustration too.
I am so thankful to be able to step up and serve my Annual Conference by helping host General Conference. I am so thankful to be able to walk with the people of Capitol Hill United Methodist Church as the next chapter of the story begins. And I am so thankful to be in a faith community where we can bear the other’s load.
Eilidh
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| The girl with my cousins. <3 |
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