Great Plains Oxford Presenters
Bishop David Wilson (second from ) was scheduled to present a paper at the annual Oxford Institute on Methodism. With him are three other presenters (from left) Rev. Gerald Liu, PhD, Rev. Maddi Johnson and the Rev. Steve Rankin. (Great Plains Conference Photo)
Bishop David Wilson and three others from the Great Plains Conference are at the Oxford Institute in England this week for a gathering of scholars to explore topics related to Methodism.
Bishop Wilson is presenting his paper on “The Invisibility of Native Americans and Methodism,” which focuses on racism in the Native experience with the church. His presentation was part of the institute’s Mission and Evangelism working group for the conference, which aims to explore Methodist understandings and practices of mission and evangelism as this relates to salvation amid times of crisis. The bishop’s paper draws on his experiences in The United Methodist Church and explores the current realities of discoveries associated with Native American boarding schools.
Rev. Maddi Johnson, Doing Justice Initiative contractor in the Great Plains, is presenting a paper on a response in the Wesleyan-Methodist tradition to survivors of sexual misconduct in The United Methodist Church. The paper, presented to the Practical Theology working group, was inspired by the efforts of the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women and the apology passed by the General Conference, an apology that was read as part of the Great Plains Annual Conference session in June.
Rev. Dr. Gerald Liu, PhD, Emerging Faith Communities Cultivator in the Great Plains, is presenting a paper about his work with the Great Plains Conference’s New Church Development team with the Theological Education working group. He is moderating an antiracism panel with esteemed educators from Perkins School of Theology in Dallas; Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois; Angola; and Brazil. Liu also is coordinating worship with Martin Clark, a musicologist with The Open University of Milton Keynes, England.
Rev. Steve Rankin, a retired elder serving at Arkansas City United Methodist Church in south central Kansas, who also is the author of one book and a contributor to at least eight others, is presenting a paper in the Practical Theology working group. His paper explores an effective way to motivate a higher number of people in congregations to pursue sustained justice efforts, using John Wesley’s view on the transformation of the affections in his sermon on the Beatitudes.