For many United Methodists, this past weekend has been spent processing the aftermath of our General Conference meetings held here in Portland. From all of the decisions made, or not made, to our denomination’s inability to move forward and the pure exhaustion of those who spent so much of the last two weeks participating in all of the activities surrounding the conference, there has been a lot to think about.
Even though it was only a few minutes away from our house I spent most of the conference watching from afar. In the time I did spend there I think I was blessed to experience the absolute best of General Conference. Last Wednesday the Northwest experience program organized a few volunteer opportunities in the community. I led a group of 12 to the Oregon Food Bank for a morning of sorting apples for distribution to those in need. On the bus ride over we got to know each other a little bit. We were lay and clergy, delegates and volunteers, old and young, and in-between. I volunteered that day with a group of folks from the Philippines, Hungary, and a variety of locations in the United States both rural and urban. As we sorted large crates of apples in to smaller bags we shared with each other about what it means to be a United Methodist in each of our different parts of the world. I learned so much that morning. What an amazing church we have!
This is what United Methodists do best. We serve. Its in our DNA to reach out into the community and share our gifts and resources with others. And when we work side by side with each other towards a common goal we become bonded with each other in a way that doesn’t happen in other activities. On the bus ride back we talked about some of the more divisive issues that were being discussed at the conference in an honest and respectful way. My dream for our next global gathering would be for delegates to spend their first few days together building a Habitat House or sorting beans and rice at the food bank. And then if they had to, they could go and vote.
-Jeff
Recent Comments