There were many wonderful things shared today at General Conference. To the person, we agreed that Bishop Sharon Brown Christopher’s Episcopal Address was absolutely outstanding. Interspersing statements of the power of Jesus Christ to transform lives, churches and communities with the order of the Lord’s Supper and video presentations, we sensed an authentic witness of the Gospel. If only that spirit could prevail over all the rest of our time together!

Two other moments stand out clearly in my mind: a young girl named Katherine who has raised over $40,000 for NOTHING BUT NETS, the cooperative effort that is providing nets for beds to protect people in Africa from mosquitoes carrying the deadly malaria virus. The other was Eddie Fox sharing the story of the church in Bulgaria that buried the church bell when the Communists closed all churches when they took over the country. For 40 years that bell remained buried until one day Communism failed, the church emerged, the bell was uncovered, and placed high in the belfry of a new church structure. Every day since, that bell has rung out the sound of the hope that is found in Jesus Christ across that city. Today, we could see more clearly that our connection as United Methodists is a means of grace, not a burden.
There were other moments that were less inspiring to me personally, but were encouraging to others. It was also very cold in the auditorium, so it was easy to stay awake (even after only 4 ½ hours of sleep!).

We organized into legislative committees in the afternoon and evening. That is where the issues before the UMC will be discussed, perhaps amended or discarded, and then presented next week to be voted on by the entire Conference. I am secretary to the “World-wide Nature of the Church” sub-committee which will consider changing our constitution so as to re-structure the UMC. While re-structuring seems like a waste of time and energy, sometimes it becomes necessary. But, my primary questions are what will this re-structuring look like, and how does it affect the mission and witness of the church? Stay tuned.