from humidity to sunshine; home again, home again....

from humidity (cleveland, ohio) to sunshine (merced, california); home again, home again . . . .

i am home, as are my two traveling companions, from 'sing a new song'; this bi-annual event, co-partnered with reconciling ministries network (rmn), and methodist federation for social action (mfsa), was held at the sawmill creek resort in huron ohio, just outside cleveland. this was my first event.

amazing worship with music by mark miller; amazing preaching by garlinda burton, amy delong, sean delmore, and jennifer battiest; amazing speakers such as (retired) bishops joseph sprauge, judith craig, and clifton ives, and active bishop yvette flunder who is doing amazing ministry in san francisco; bible study by althea spencer-miller; and many other amazing things!

amazing to have over 700 people attend this event. the three of us from merced were able to attend through the generosity of our social action team, and the benefits of a long-standing endowment fund.

the emphasis was intended to help make sure that the united methodist church will one day be fully inclusive, including our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, et al folks. the struggle for inclusion has long been a struggle for immigrants, people of color, women and persons with disabilities. currently, all mainline denominations are fully inclusive of pastors and marriage, with the exception of the largest denomination -- united methodist. we are working to change that stance at general conference in tampa, april 24-may 4, 2012. i invite your prayers for a fully inclusive church, as we move toward that time.

making change not only takes prayer, as if god needs to know what needs to be accomplished in ministry (!), but a change in the human heart, and active ways to make that heart be changed by the grace of god. in this day and age, the emphasis will not be so much about standing with signs and shouting, but about telling our stories.

story-telling is nothing new. the bible is full of stories that helped faith experiences change. jesus was the master of telling stories, in the form known as parables -- stories with a twist! if anyone could change hearts and minds, it was jesus.

using jesus as our model, i invite you to being to share your stories of personal faith with others. those working toward change in the church at general conference will be making their stories of change known to every delegate who will attend...988 people from all over the world.

but i think the church in general needs to be sharing their faith stories with one another. when people ask you why you go to church, my i suggest that you don't just simply say "it's what i've always done" or "the week wouldn't be complete without it" or even "i like the music and it's where i see my friends". while all of those reasons may be true, people don't ask the "why" question to receive that information.

people not connected with the church, or who have been hurt in some way by the action of the church, want to know the deep "why" answers that speak to the heart...why it is that you are kind to people, why it is that jesus makes such a difference in your life, and why caring for others makes a difference in your life.

i met some amazing people; people who are living their faith-stories every day! people who are making a difference in this world for justice and inclusion because someone has made a difference in their life. be the face of jesus in this day and age; lend a jesus hand; walk in the steps of freedom that jesus lived and died and rose again for. . . . you'll never know the impact of your story of faith and life, unless you share it with others. some of the information from the convocation can be found on the website www.sans2011.org

and just to give you some additional information. while i did not feel the earthquake of the new england area, many of our folks did; earthquakes just don't happen in washington d.c.! then irene came to town; they've had it rough; including transportation back home, delayed. so in your times of praying, lift up the care of others who have struggled with 'natural disaster' kinds of issues as well. i, thankfully, had good flights, nice weather, good food, great dancing and fellowship, and opportunities to write letters -- by hand! -- to those who can make the necessary changes to the church at general conference.

the theme for general conference, by the way, is "love your neighbor". go, jesus says, and do likewise....