United Methodist Reporter Blog

Ready for the C & E's?

   The "unchurched" aren't all avoiding the doors of the church all of the time.  According to Ellison Research, among those who don't attend worship at least once a month, about 22% are "C & E's" - people who attend on special occasions such as Christmas and Easter.    I wrote a story about C&Es about five years for the Dallas Morning News, and got this great anecdote from a member of my congregation, Carol French. She remembered an Easter service when her Methodist pastor strode to the pulpit and said: "Merry Christmas and have a happy new year!" Seeing the congregation's puzzled looks, he added: "I won't see some of you again before Christmas, so I thought I had better greet you now." Well, we don't do that kind of snarky remark anymore.  Most United Methodist churches make an effort to welcome visitors during the Christmas season. Still, this is always a good time to remember to reach out to the stranger among us: to look around for an unfamiliar face, and say hello. 

Zoning dilemma

It's no surprise and surely encouraging—as temperatures drop and we start the Advent season—to see news everywhere of ministries to the poor and homeless. But it's not uncommon these days to hear of churches blocked from serving those in need, when Matthew 25 and city-zoning codes clash.

On Dec. 14, CrossRoads UMC in Phoenix, Ariz., will appeal a ruling that they violate the city's ban on "charity dining halls" in residential areas, by offering an outdoor pancake breakfast and worship service each Saturday (at left). The case began earlier this year, after nearby residents complained the weekly gathering attracts crime and pollutes the neighborhood.

El Dorado County in northern California has been without a formal night shelter since May 2008. Foothills UMC in Rescue, one of three churches that hope to rotate as shelter hosts this winter, has to rethink its participation for a similar reason: a special-use permit in their residential zone could cost up to $6,000 and take at least four months to process. "Given as many empty buildings and houses in this county as there are and we haven't been able to find a way to house people in the short term ... it's lamentable," Jim Ellsworth, CEO of a nonprofit health center, told the Sacramento Bee.

Several issues must be considered here, including religious freedom, community safety and property values. But it's hard to dispute these comments from the Rev. Dottie Escobedo-Frank, senior pastor at CrossRoads: "When a zoning ordinance interferes with a core belief of our faith, the implication is wide and deep.... This decision affects all faith communities, and ultimately, it changes the nature of our society. If we don't feed them, who will?"

Coming back for seconds

"Children are members of the covenant community and participants in the Lord’s Supper.... Children of all ages are welcome to the Table and are to be taught and led to interpret, appreciate, and participate in Holy Communion."  -- This Holy Mystery: A United Methodist Understanding of Holy Communion, page 16

We don't celebrate Communion every week at the congregation where I'm a member, but we (and many other congregations) will be celebrating it this Sunday. For a perspective on the sacrament, here's the latest blog entry from Questing Parson. It might create a little more anticipation for you, too.

Let's bow our heads

    Several readers wrote to express their, um, gratitude for my story in our 11/20 issue on the topic of gratitude.  I also received a few additional thoughts on the topic in the form of a press release from Jonathan Goldstein at Duke Divinity School.  It seems like the perfect postcript to share on this day before Thanksgiving. May you and yours have a happy one.

Exploring and Sojourning, in the Dec. 4 Reporter

Greetings, e-Readers!

 

Two events with local and national impact were held here in Dallas last week. Hundreds of young people showed up at Exploration 2009 to seriously discern how God might be calling them to serve. Bill Fentum says he was surrounded by enthusiastic young people-but managed to survive and turn in an encouraging report!
 
And Sojourners organized a three-day Justice Revival in Dallas, a multi-denominational event aimed at bringing churches together to address social needs. Mary Jacobs heard legendary United Methodist pastor Zan Holmes preach. He's pastor emeritus of St. Luke "Community" UMC and is well-known to those who took Disciple Bible Study in the VHS era. Participants are focusing on tackling homelessness and supporting public education, and invested in a day of service to get started.
 
Commentaries this week come from: megachurch pastor Adam Hamilton, who's already talking about Lent as he shares an excerpt from his latest book, 24 Hours that Changed the World; and Eric Van Meter, whose recent "paleontological" adventure with his young son taught him a lot about church.
 
Plus, an explanation of some of the high-level committees and study groups we keep hearing about as they try to help the denomination respond to change; a peek at how the U.S. bishops will handle their upcoming pay cut; History of Hymns; and more.

Enjoy!

Blessings,
Robin Russell, Managing Editor

p.s. -- You can now follow the Reporter on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook!

A cultural lesson for Thanksgiving

In a timely Thanksgiving message (but too late for our print version), United Methodist Bishop Timothy Whitaker (Florida) asks in his blog whether Native Americans have a place at the table today.

He reflects on the recent decision by the Supreme Court to decline hearing a lawsuit filed by Native Americans over the NFL's Washington Redskins team name.

Bishop Whitaker says:

"Naming sports teams by terms associated with American Indians may seem to be much ado about nothing. [But] I do think that this practice of naming teams this way is an indicator that we Americans have a long way to go in treating our fellow native citizens with the respect they should receive."

This is one of the "hot-button" issues for us here at the Reporter. Every time we publish something about the brouhaha over sports team names, more than a few readers heatedly tell us they think it's absolutely ridiculous to think of these mascots as offensive. 

For an eye-opening cultural lesson in how we are unwittingly hurtful (still) to Native Americans, I'd suggest a book that Dakotas Bishop Deborah Kiesey recommends: Kent Nerburn's Neither Dog Nor Wolf.

For United Methodists, in particular, it seems like it would be simple enough: Do no harm.

Even when we don't "get it." 

Bootstrapping ain't easy

... In fact, it's pretty much impossible.

One of my most vivid memories of a college course has to be when Dr. John Farthing, a professor of religion and ordained United Methodist elder, sat down in the center aisle of the Mills A lecture hall at Hendrix to illustrate the sheer impracticality of the phrase, "pull yourself up by your own bootstraps." Imagine a 50-something man rocking around on the floor, grabbing the straps of his boots and pulling as hard as he could, just to prove he would go nowhere by doing so. It put the truth out there in vivid fashion: We can't do it all by ourselves.

I thought of that illustration yet again as I read this blog post by Matt Lipan. He addresses ministry with the poor on an individual level -- he's been building a relationship with someone who really wants to turn things around, and sees God at work in his life. But bootstrap culture makes it a little more difficult to break the cycle of poverty. Matt reminds us that if someone tells you to pick yourself up by your bootstraps, they're assuming you already have boots.

Thanks, Matt, for calling your readers to step in and be the evidence of God's grace in the world.

Shift Happens

Last weekend my wife, Christy, and I made time for a date at the movies. We stood at the ticket window for a moment trying to decide what to see. I'm sure it seemed longer for the people behind us in the ticket line. In the end - no pun intended - we chose 2012.

After the movie, we threw away the popcorn bag and soft drink cups and walked to the car. Instead of thinking about special effects and theories of end times, I left talking with Christy about The United Methodist Church. Weird...I know.

There are cataclysmic shifts taking place right under our feet, and most of us are oblivious to what is happening. We can't see it. We react to the effects. We don't understand it. We try to fix blame for it, but no one did anything to cause it. Shift happens.

When social and political shifts occur, human-made monuments and infrastructures crumble. Dust they were; to dust they will return. Some of the storyline is corny and unrealistic, for sure. But let's be honest -- so is much of the ecclesial drama that is enacted to preserve the sentimental.

A pivotal question concerns power and privilege and how it conducts itself in the face of change. Will it try carefully to control the gene pool in order to ensure the survival of what is deemed by some to be the best and the brightest, or will it open its doors to the diversity and differentness of that which God created?

Throughout the action and drama lie opportunities to redeem and redefine relationships within a new landscape. It's not easy - it requires humility and courage - but this is the essential work of loving neighbor. This is intensely personal work. No one can do it for us.

For the doomsayers who announce demise, I choose hope over fear. Natalie Sleeth writes in Hymn of Promise, "In our end is our beginning," and in the beginning, God creates. God's not done with us yet.

What do you think? The next General Conference is in 2012.

Defending Creation, in the Nov. 27 Reporter

Greetings, e-Readers!

 

Environmental concerns, weapons and poverty all play into how we care for God's creation, say United Methodist bishops in their latest pastoral letter. For our cover story this week, I report on their "God's Renewed Creation" letter and document, approved at the recent Council of Bishops meeting. We all need to make some changes if we're going to be good stewards of creation, the bishops say. They're hoping pastors will read the letter to their churches during Advent.

Speaking of Advent: When retail stores are already pressing ahead with Christmas music and décor, why does the church maintain a season of waiting? Bill Fentum talked with several worship planners and liturgical experts to explore the meaning of this anticipatory season. And Mary Jacobs did a little research on the liturgical calendar that brings us Advent, Lent, Pentecost and other church seasons.
 
In commentaries this week, Donald Haynes shares thoughts on the proposed end of guaranteed appointments for Elders in full connection; Brian Bauknight reflects on the nature of sacrifice; and Eric Van Meter says he's quitting church leadership as we know it.
 
Plus, a feature from Arkansas United Methodist editor Heather Hahn on an Extreme "Mac-over" for the Ronald McDonald House; History of Hymns; a Q&A on biblical literacy and more.

Enjoy!

Blessings,
Robin Russell, Managing Editor

p.s. -- You can now follow the Reporter on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook!

Teens with a View

 TV stars live and die by the ratings, but the stars of this show have to keep up their grades to stay on the air. A group of teens, all members of St. Paul UMC in Dallas, have created a YouTube show called "Teens with a View," based on the format of the TV talk show The View.  Their goal: to create a positive presence on the Web.