The Method of Methodism

This week’s epistle comes late, and for that I apologize. The past three days I have been at an event called “Western Jurisdiction Fresh Methodism,” with the purpose of the event to better discern as a larger community where we might be going as a religious denomination and the church.

I registered as an observer with the understanding that I would be sitting back and watching. I brought work and mentally planned for an email blast landing in your inbox sometime Friday afternoon. Apparently the word “observer” means something different to the people facilitating this gathering. I was placed at a table with six methodists from across the connection and tasked with the same discussion points, brainstorming, and relationship building as those who were registered as participants.

While the practice of working alongside the leadership of the conferences making up the Western Jurisdiction was rich, it also pushed me to better appreciate the work done in these settings. I was reminded of the intentionality and methodology of Methodism. And, while it can at times be challenging, I grew in my gratitude towards the diversity of thought, theology, and experience that has led to the vastness of the umbrella we call Methodism.

I am grateful to have baptized, confirmed, commissioned, and ordained by the United Methodist Church grounded in the teaching and theology of John Wesley. I don’t know that this week’s experience in California has offered much clarity for where we’re going, but I am reminded why this journey has been so tumultuous; it is hard to let go of a movement that raised you. And for that, I am grateful.