Many of you may not have been around Q&R this far back, but in November 2005 I began this blog as a place to process and vent about a decision made by the United Methodist Church regarding the authority of a pastor to determine who could and could not join the UMC. The statement stemmed from a case in Virginia where a pastor refused to let a gay man join the church solely because he refused to "repent" of his sinful homosexuality (and sinners who refuse to stop sinning shouldn't be allowed to be in the church??). The bishop of the VA conference suspended the pastor for insubordination after several attempts to reason with him, and the action was appealed up to the Judicial Council (the UMC's "supreme court"). In Decision #1032 the council stated that "the pastor in charge of a United Methodist church or charge is solely responsible for making the determination of a person's readiness to receive the vows of membership." This decision has led to all kinds of discussion throughout the UMC - and not even mostly about homosexuality, but more generally about membership in the UMC - what it means and what the steps are to being admitted.
The General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHM) hosted a consultation the middle of February to invite people from across the denomination to converse together about the implications of this decision. These are people from all levels and political opinions and the UM News Service wrote a nice article on the consultation here. I'm posting it because I think (1) it's interesting that there is enough conversation going on that one of our boards decided it needed to be formally addressed; (2) the article does a good job laying out several of the issues involved with this decision; and (3) I think it's important for people, especially those of the United Methodist Church, to understand what's going on and what the conversation is all about. SO, I encourage you all to read it for yourselves and share your thoughts....
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Schedule your Appointment Today!
For the beginning of Lent, my pastor was talking about this being a season in the Church when we are asked to really contemplate the quality of our relationship with God. In my background as a Catholic, this is a little different for me - I'm used to Lent being a time to contemplate how sinful we are, all the of the ways in which we "are the ones who kill Jesus." I don't really see Lent than way anymore, although I think a healthy dose of reality when it comes to looking at ourselves is a good thing.
Anyway, I don't know if this was because of something specific that my pastor said or if it's just how my crazy brain works, but I totally got this picture of a couple in marriage counseling. There's me and God sitting in the pastor's office, trying to work on our relationship, bettering our communication and finding ways to show our feelings in ways that will be better appreciated by the other. Can you see it?
God: She just doesn't seem to understand what I need from her. I feel like I'm totally taken for granted.
Me: It's not that I take you for granted, it's just that I'm so busy with so many other things... I know you're always going to be there.
Pastor: God, what is it specifically you'd like to see Mandy do?
God: I just want her to take some time to talk with me and really listen to what I have to say in response. And maybe a date night every now and then.
Me: I try to listen, but sometimes you aren't very clear in what you're saying. And you're right, I do need to talk to you more often. We're nothing if we can't talk with each other honestly.
I highly doubt my pastor would be comfortable, and there are obvious issues here, but it does give a new twist to thinking about the way in which I relate with God. So, as heretical as it may be, I'm choosing to look at Lent this year as my own personal "counseling season" - and I bet there's going to be homework!
Anyway, I don't know if this was because of something specific that my pastor said or if it's just how my crazy brain works, but I totally got this picture of a couple in marriage counseling. There's me and God sitting in the pastor's office, trying to work on our relationship, bettering our communication and finding ways to show our feelings in ways that will be better appreciated by the other. Can you see it?
God: She just doesn't seem to understand what I need from her. I feel like I'm totally taken for granted.
Me: It's not that I take you for granted, it's just that I'm so busy with so many other things... I know you're always going to be there.
Pastor: God, what is it specifically you'd like to see Mandy do?
God: I just want her to take some time to talk with me and really listen to what I have to say in response. And maybe a date night every now and then.
Me: I try to listen, but sometimes you aren't very clear in what you're saying. And you're right, I do need to talk to you more often. We're nothing if we can't talk with each other honestly.
I highly doubt my pastor would be comfortable, and there are obvious issues here, but it does give a new twist to thinking about the way in which I relate with God. So, as heretical as it may be, I'm choosing to look at Lent this year as my own personal "counseling season" - and I bet there's going to be homework!
Monday, February 26, 2007
Tired
We're one month into my last semester of seminary and all I can feel is tired - tired of always trying to get caught up; tired of not getting enough sleep; tired of not having enough time to do the things that I NEED to do, let alone the things that I WANT to do. I don't know how students that are also pastors and have families do it! It's gotten to the point where I find that I'm constantly re-evaluating my priorities to do the number one or two things on my list. Once those get done, I have to reorder the list, and once again do the most immediate things. I never get around to those "fun treats" that are supposed to be my rewards for getting everything else accimplished. Am I the only one who does this? I highly doubt it. I'm just tired of living my life like this. Every semester it feels this way, and now that I'm in my 8th semester of it, I'm tired of it. Graduation is just around the corner, graduation is just around the corner, graduation is just around the corner.....
While I'm at it, here are a few other things that I'm tired of:
- "news" stories about Anna Nicole Smith's fiasco and Britney Spears latest episode...
- the 2008 presidential election (and the campaigns haven't even really gotten going yet!)
- homophobic athletes
- the war in Iraq
- commercials for prescription drugs that we should all go ask our doctors for
- talk about who was wearing what designer to which awards show
- churches that talk about having "open doors" but who act intolerant to those who are different
for a variety of reasons (imagine what would happen if a homeless person walked into your
sanctuary one morning...)
- singing hymns in chapel or church at a tempo that is more like a funeral march than worship
Okay, now that the rant is out of my system, I'm going to try to be a little more upbeat and go finish my homework. :)
While I'm at it, here are a few other things that I'm tired of:
- "news" stories about Anna Nicole Smith's fiasco and Britney Spears latest episode...
- the 2008 presidential election (and the campaigns haven't even really gotten going yet!)
- homophobic athletes
- the war in Iraq
- commercials for prescription drugs that we should all go ask our doctors for
- talk about who was wearing what designer to which awards show
- churches that talk about having "open doors" but who act intolerant to those who are different
for a variety of reasons (imagine what would happen if a homeless person walked into your
sanctuary one morning...)
- singing hymns in chapel or church at a tempo that is more like a funeral march than worship
Okay, now that the rant is out of my system, I'm going to try to be a little more upbeat and go finish my homework. :)
Monday, February 05, 2007
A Question of Class
My apologies for the lack of energy here lately - having your partner come back after 5 months away and a new semester starting at the same time will kind of suck up your time and energy for a while. :) I think things are calming down into a "normal" routine again, so I promise I'll try to be more consistent here.
That said, there's been a running theme for me lately - questions around class. I'm not talking about whether you have any or not (if you're reading this blog, that probably says enough). I'm talking about economic/educational/social/political status. I don't even know how to define what class is! Oprah did a show on it a few weeks ago - a show that disappointed me, I have to say, although it did open up the door for some conversation. How do you determine what class someone is? Is it how they dress? how much money they make? what kind of car they drive? how they talk? race? hairstyle? I think for me, it's kind of a combination of things but I really struggle with this.
I know that I was raised fairly well off - (not that we didn't have those years where we lived in a tiny, moldy apartment and ate as cheaply as possible) - but it's become more and more of a realization for me as I get older just how well off I was - and continue to be. And yet, I know that I will not make anywhere near as much money as my engineer parents did. I don't want that kind of money - that's not my priority, but isn't it something that I can make that decision for myself - that I've been priveleged enough to get to this point! Just as I continually struggle with my own internal racism, I struggle with my internal classism. I know that I judge people based on their education level and personal appearance, but there are other things that come off to me as "low class" - smoking, for example. Not that I can't think of rich, "upper class" people who smoke, but in general it's something I associate with the blue collar, working class, less educated folks. I remember when I got my tattoo (which isn't bery big, and in my opinion, very tasteful) the very first thing my mother said to me was, "That's just such a low class thing to do!" I was clearly supposed to be ashamed of my actions, but the joy of rebellion wiped that out. :) So what is it? Can all Americans really be "middle class"? Who gets to decide who is which class? Which class do you think you are? Which class do you think the people you interact with on a daily basis are? the bank teller, teacher, postal employee, car salesman, grocery cashier, etc.
Now that you've thought a little bit about how you think of class, where do you put pastors? They tend to be an educated bunch (at least the ones who go to seminary), but they rarely make much money and can't send their kids to private school or choose to live in the best school districts since they have to live where the church calls them to be. They have to be able to deal with people from all walks of life - homeless to wealthy, all races, all sexual orientations (although that one can be debated). I'm curious to see what you think - and if you're clergy, where do you see yourself in the class system?
That said, there's been a running theme for me lately - questions around class. I'm not talking about whether you have any or not (if you're reading this blog, that probably says enough). I'm talking about economic/educational/social/political status. I don't even know how to define what class is! Oprah did a show on it a few weeks ago - a show that disappointed me, I have to say, although it did open up the door for some conversation. How do you determine what class someone is? Is it how they dress? how much money they make? what kind of car they drive? how they talk? race? hairstyle? I think for me, it's kind of a combination of things but I really struggle with this.
I know that I was raised fairly well off - (not that we didn't have those years where we lived in a tiny, moldy apartment and ate as cheaply as possible) - but it's become more and more of a realization for me as I get older just how well off I was - and continue to be. And yet, I know that I will not make anywhere near as much money as my engineer parents did. I don't want that kind of money - that's not my priority, but isn't it something that I can make that decision for myself - that I've been priveleged enough to get to this point! Just as I continually struggle with my own internal racism, I struggle with my internal classism. I know that I judge people based on their education level and personal appearance, but there are other things that come off to me as "low class" - smoking, for example. Not that I can't think of rich, "upper class" people who smoke, but in general it's something I associate with the blue collar, working class, less educated folks. I remember when I got my tattoo (which isn't bery big, and in my opinion, very tasteful) the very first thing my mother said to me was, "That's just such a low class thing to do!" I was clearly supposed to be ashamed of my actions, but the joy of rebellion wiped that out. :) So what is it? Can all Americans really be "middle class"? Who gets to decide who is which class? Which class do you think you are? Which class do you think the people you interact with on a daily basis are? the bank teller, teacher, postal employee, car salesman, grocery cashier, etc.
Now that you've thought a little bit about how you think of class, where do you put pastors? They tend to be an educated bunch (at least the ones who go to seminary), but they rarely make much money and can't send their kids to private school or choose to live in the best school districts since they have to live where the church calls them to be. They have to be able to deal with people from all walks of life - homeless to wealthy, all races, all sexual orientations (although that one can be debated). I'm curious to see what you think - and if you're clergy, where do you see yourself in the class system?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)