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Last week I wrote about the practice of Holy Conversation that we hope for each year at Annual Conference. Today, I'm reporting back.
One "conversation" has stuck in my head. It began in a session where we were voting on resolutions to send on to the larger church so that our denomination might support something that we value as United Methodists. In this case, it was about food and farming. The conversation started around a small table of dedicated folks called "Board of Church and Society." With seven or so hard working people around that table they did their best to put a proposal together to stand up for small farms, food safety, children's health, and creation in light of the Farm Bill that will be looked at again by the US government. However, around that first table, voices were missing. Particularly, the voices of the farmers. At first, the response to this was anger from many of the farmers in our midst. But as I watched and listened, anger shifted to claiming a responsibility to make it better. One farmer spent hours of time to add to the first voices in order to get a better result. The document was changed detail by detail in order to reach a better solution. The reason this conversation has stuck with me is because Wesley students are entering a similar one and finding inspiration from the cooperation between farmers and environmentalists in opposing new coal plants in Texas. The film "Fighting Goliath" that portrays this advocacy work will be shown by Wesley Club on the UC Campus this fall. Maybe this is the conversation that God will use to make a difference in the Central Valley. Maybe we will have a better result for all that we value- humans and beasts alike.
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 "Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your judgments are like the great deep; you save humans and animals alike, O Lord." Psalm 36:6
What inspired you to be part of Wesley Foundation Merced?
One of the great pieces that inspired me to accept an appointment to serve with the United Methodist Church here in Merced was that this community hosted a Community College and a new U.C. Campus, as well as an established Wesley Foundation. Education is something I’ve long supported. What have been the greatest blessings that you have seen over the past 10 years? I have been here in Merced for five years, and without a doubt, the greatest blessing is the growth in Campus Ministry, and the movement from a position to an appointment of a Campus Minister. This movement enables stability and the flourishing of a successful program! What is your idea for what God might do with WFM over the next 10 years? We only have a few students in the House for summer, but that doesn't mean we won't feed them! Our Summer BBQ is this Friday, June 24th. We'll be trying out a recipe for ribs that was provided at one of the House Dinners earlier in the year. (Friends are invited, so come on by!) At the typical House Dinner during the school year we are able to share a meal around the table occasionally with local United Methodists. They provide the food and teach us how to make their specialty. The conversation and food are a link between the students and our local community.  Jim Marshall has been a member of the Wesley Foundation Board since the beginning. He is also a member of the United Methodist Church of Merced and enjoys traveling.
What inspired you to be part of Wesley Foundation Merced? At the time Wesley was being considered - there were lots of questions as to what, if formed, Wesley Merced would "look like". Would it be a place for students to gather, or an intentional living opportunity, or, just a "club" meeting at the Church? As City Manager, I was asked to participate by discussing future growth plans for the City, possible sites for a Wesley House, zoning isues, etc. The thought of growing something to meet the spiritual needs of our new students to a new University in our community was exciting. What have been the greatest blessings that you have seen over the past 10 years? The purchase and lease and the House by the Bizzini's - who have been God-sends to UC Merced, CSU STanislaus, Merced College, etc. The emerging leadership - Having a "called" Pastor is critical to the success of the House - it adds authenticity, maturity, and spiritual leadership. What is your idea for what God might do with WFM over the next 10 years? Continue to grow the spiritual awareness of the students. There will always be a housing need - but filling the house should be important but not the only reason for existing. Encouraging students participation in various projects, our Church, and their spirituality should be paramount. Having critical staff in place, as noted above, is a key element of this. What is your prayer for the students that Wesley Foundation Merced reaches? Peace, understanding, a bright future including knowing the Love of Christ. One of the things that United Methodists do each year is gather together at Annual Conference. (One of the most confusing things about United Methodists is that we also call the geographical areas that the institution is divided into the "Annual Conference." What? I know. How can a place be "annual"? Well, the term comes from this meeting, also called "Annual Conference." Confused yet?)
Pastors and lay delegates from all of the local churches in Northern California and Nevada are currently in Sacramento. We do a lot of sitting, a lot of talking and listening (some do more of one than the other), and a lot of voting. The challenge every year is to be sure that we aren't just voting based on what we want, but based on where God leads. Holy Conferencing is a spiritual practice that allows us to hear God through one another. So, when someone that we may not know (or like) speaks, the discipline is to be open to how God is speaking through their words. Sometimes I don't hear it, but sometimes I do. And many times the holy part comes in the singing or the prayers or the silence in between the words. I'm listening for it with burning ears this year and hoping that the 50 days we've spent "catching fire" leading up to this Annual Conference will make a difference. Over 150 United Methodist Students gathered at the University of Evansville in Indiana from May 26-29. Our 3 Merced students were often seen laughing and making friends. The days were filled with worship, workshops and learning about how students make a difference in the United Methodist Church through recommendations to General Conference that the Student delegates vote on. A big focus of the event was how to make United Methodist Student Movement an actual movement again, instead of just an annual event. What about out West? How can we encourage students to move through their days as disciples of Christ, turning the world upside down wherever they go? One story shared at worship was about how John and Charles Wesley and the Methodists that they inspired made London a better place because of their Movement. In the face of rampant drunkenness, poverty, a lack of medical care and lukewarm faith, the early Methodists turned London upside down with their acts of piety and mercy. Visiting the prisoners, caring for the sick, preaching in the fields, praying for changed hearts- these were the things that transformed the world. And we can do it again.  Photo courtesy of Joseph McBrayer
Do you ever feel like this?
I am pursued by a wolf, circling me, ready to attack at my weakest moment. I am never able to be content. I am never secure. All I can see are miles and miles of wilderness in every direction. There is nowhere to sit and rest without the hot sun scorching me. The earth has been dried up. Nothing can quench its thirst for peace. My soul has been drained past empty. Restoration is hopeless. I am left alone to wander, lost along treacherous paths. I find myself in the abyss of fear and despair. I turn away from the Lord's rod, falling deeper into the abyss. My stomach aches with hunger while my enemies enjoy lavish banquets. Certainly, I will be left here to die in the presence of all that I fear. I will find no shelter. I will have no home. Sometimes we all have those days, months, semesters. But the faith of our ancestors shows another way to view the world. A way that brings comfort. A worldview that reminds me that I am not alone. Psalm 23 (New International Version) The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (The first writing is a Reverse Psalm that I wrote as a spiritual practice of prayer. Try it sometime. It may make a well known Psalm come to life again.) |
