Photo Courtesy of Hannah Shanks
Reconciling Missouri
John Atkins, a member of the Reconciling Ministries Network team at the 2014 Missouri Annual Conference.
I walked into conference in the headspace I never wanted to be in.
“Conference veteran.”
Confession time: I am one of those lay people who, when our Bishop recognizes the folks who have attended 40+ annual conferences in their lifetime, quietly thinks, “These people need to get a better summer vacation. Is there no one else in their church who would like to come?”
Yet here I was, third year running, with the vet hat and swagger on. Thank God for new beginnings.
The bulk of my conference was spent running my happy little tail off as a part of our Reconciling Ministries Network Annual Conference Team.
I have never had so many people tell me they were “so happy to see me.” I’ve never had more people walk up to me and share frank, heartfelt stories about their own personal struggles with homosexuality and culture, or with their church’s own fits and starts as we all lurch toward our common table.
From St. Louis to Malta Bend, Kansas City to New Cambria, the Ozarks to the Bootheel and everyone in between, I was allowed the very unique opportunity to see the heart of the UMC in Missouri.
And I have NEVER been more hopeful or more in love with my church.
For any who may be under the impression that the only conversations we had were simple and only with allies, let me remove that illusion for you. Some of our conversations were difficult – not many, but some. Some ended quickly when the words “full inclusion” came up. And I’m sure some never even got started because our stance or answers were assumed.
But every conversation was kind. Grace-filled. An actual, honest, two-way dialogue where everyone listened, and no one walked away with an easy answer or with the same impression they’d had to start.
I cannot think of any better measure of success for an annual conference than that.
There is much work left to be done. We closed 10 churches in our conference this year…and we opened the Gondola Training Center in Mozambique. We retired more clergy than we commissioned and ordained. We spent a fair amount of time across the weekend lamenting low numbers in worship and how the church continues to hemorrhage members at an unsustainable rate.
And then Rev. Mark Sheets went off-script in front of God and the Bishop and literally everybody and spoke straight to our hearts when he confessed that numbers like that don’t really do it for him, that he’s not really compelled at all to return the church to its high point or to have the most perfect passionate worship on the block – but instead to have the folks we’ve got be called, equipped and sent disciples who are transforming the world.
Yes, we have stuff to work on. Our connection between rural and urban churches could be stronger. Our annual conference focuses could be drawn less narrowly. We could use the words “quadrennium” and “affinity” a little less.
But I’ve never been more thankful or more energized for the work ahead. I’m willing to say it: Missouri Methodists have what it takes to move forward – without schism and without blame. And I think if we can do it, y’all can too.
Hannah Shanks is a called layperson at Centenary UMC, a reconciling congregation in downtown St. Louis. She trains congregations and faith-based agencies on effective outreach and volunteer management in her day job. After work, you can find her at the local pub or at home, playing board games with noisy people. This article is reprinted with permission from UMCLead.