These Addresses aren't for your mail

In the Connectional Table presentation, the new organization is looking as the local church and what it is doing among us rather than seeing the church as a problem to be solved. They have focused on the people back home along with their general church work. They are convinced that our movement is stronger than an institution. Those who are familiar with the concept in Re-engineering the Corporation will recognize the effort to remove the walls and silo effect to increase cross communication between the church agencies. The report indicates that the level of competition between the General Boards has been lowered and shared vision is growing. They appear to be looking realistically at our situation as a United Methodist Church. The hard realities of membership loss in the U.S.; the aging of our membership, 42% of churches not receiving any Professions of Faith. I feel that they have made a significant effort to make the Connectional Table.

The Episcopal Address pressed for unity. The bishops have recognized the polarization that is so pervasive in society and the politics of the secular world. They express concern that the church is reflecting the fear and divisiveness so prevalent. The feeling is that the UM soul is fractured because of this divided world. The bishops called for a “living our forgiveness.”

With their unfettered and unfiltered view, the Young People’s Address called for the church to action, now. They have modeled the global nature of the church by holding their convocation in South Africa. They also modeled holy conferencing in that convocation. The address presenters ranged in age from 16-29. They were from various states in the US and one from Russia. The address was the first for this group and joined the traditional Episcopal address and Laity Address which have been a part of the GC agenda. Volkova of Russia told us that the situation in Russia is much the same as in the US in that young people find happiness in drinking, drugs, and smoking. The United Methodist Church is a safe haven for support and understanding. They said, “ We want the church to trust our input for change and we want to stay active in the church.” “We want to make a difference in the world, but we don’t want to wait.” Their message was –They are ready—Are you?

My sympathy was with Lyn Powell as she began the Laity Address. First it was my privilege to chair the committee that presented the first Laity Address in 1984. Then, having heard the Episcopal Address and the Young People’s Address, I knew they would be hard acts to follow. Add this to the fact that she was beginning at 2:30 PM. This was deadly combination, but Lyn brought the focus to sharply bear on the responsibility of the laity to build up the church. The call went out to the Disciples Transforming the World. Consider three idea-1) invite, invite, invite; 2) keep the name of Jesus with you and 3) one member, one ministry. Find a passion—find a ministry. The continuing theme was to get out there and get involved. Laity outnumber the clergy by a long way and they need to be the ones carrying the message to the world.

A highlight of this moning's plenary session was the announcment the the United Methodist Church has received a $5 million grant from the Gates Foundation for Nothing But Nets campaign. the vision is to collect at least $100million for the antimalaria project in the next few years. Does that make the money raised by the local basketball tournments insignificant? No way! The $5 million does less for the education of the general public than the concetrated efforts of our local efforts.