Veterans Day

We pause, we reflect, we remember.  We thank those who are still living, for their service.  We pray for those who are currently serving, who stand in harms way.  So we should!  This is not about honoring war, it is about remembering individuals.

Lots of people have posted on Face book, thanking our Veterans.  I posted specific names.  My father, my uncles.  My cousins, my children.  My husband, his father, his brother, his grandfather, his uncle.  Veterans are not just a generic group.  They have names.  They have families who love them.  They have connections to the world beyond just being in the military.  They are beloved:  parent, child, spouse, close family relative, close family friend.  We have a tendency to gloss over that particular point.   Those who have served and those who choose to serve are a part of us.  A unique, special and loved individual!  Regardless of our opinion about wars, we must never forget to pray and mourn and honor those who serve or have served.

On this Veterans Day, let us not forget, what these individuals have done and what they have sacrificed and take a moment to pause and reflect and honor them!  Today is a day for remembering.

Social Principles and Theology?

John Meunier's blog post yesterday hit on a topic that has bothered me for a long time!  To give you a little background in a nutshell, the United Methodist Church governing structure is based on the Book of Discipline which was originally laid out by John Wesley as a framework for the original Methodist Societies.  It's actually more complicated than that, but I'm trying to be brief and give you a general overview.  Contained within the Book of Discipline are the "Social Principles" of the United Methodist church.  They are non-binding, but essentially they are supposed to be the "prophetic voice" of the UMC.  According to the UMC website, the first social principle appeared in 1908.  Methodist History 101 in a nutshell.

Here's the thing.  To me, they read more like a political platform than a well thought out position.  There's a lot of  "we support this" and "we oppose that".  I'm not the only one that has noticed this as I discovered after reading Allan R. Bevere's blog yesterday afternoon.  The question is not so much the statement, but rather, where is the biblical justification to back up the statement?  Or, to put it another way, where is the theology behind the social principles?

So to try and find an answer to this question, I did a search which brought me to the UMC General Board of Church and Society.  I looked at the Social Principles and I looked at both of the PDF files that give the "Biblical Foundation" for our Social Principles and the "Kings Actions Condemned by the Prophets".  If you would like to look at them, go here.

Now granted, I need to dig a little more deeply than just a quick run through on the scriptures (which is what I did this morning...I looked every single one up), but I have to tell you that my initial impression was...well, let's just say I was underwhelmed.  Wow, UMC leadership, if this is the best ya got, Lord help us all!

And as far as quoting Wesley, no doubt that he was a serious advocate for social justice and reform.  The difference is, he didn't just talk a good talk, he walked a good walk!  And I don't think he ever got arrested for protesting for social reform.  The reform he advocated was active.  He didn't just say "we need prison reform" he actually went into the prisons to minister to people both spiritually and physically.  He didn't just say "we need to teach our children to read".  He created Sunday School so children had the chance to not only hear the Word of God, but to also learn how to read it as well!

I guess that's my big bug-a-boo with the Social Principles.  I think, to really have teeth you need to back it up with a strong biblical foundation and you need to be able to act upon that principle.  Otherwise, as Shakespeare said it's all "sound and fury, signifying nothing."

I'll go even one step further.  I'm not fully convinced that the Social Principles should be a part of the Book of Discipline.  They are, in the history of the UMC, a very late addition.  From my view in the pew, they have been more divisive than constructive or instructive.  I'm sure there are many that would disagree.  Either way, I think that as a church, we need a lot more discussion on this topic.

In the Beginning (Where a Journey Always Starts)

Living in limbo is not exactly a strength of mine.  I tend to be a creature of habit.  I like to know where I'm going, how I'm going to get there and when I'm going to arrive.  Planning, precision and perseverance are the tools I prefer in getting through the daily routine.  I like feeling that all is right with my world!

Things started to change over a very short time.  Not unexpected changes-I knew they were coming eventually!  My daughter graduated high school and just a few short months later left the nest to start her career in the Navy.  In November my father was hospitalized after being diagnosed with cancer.  We spent Christmas in Vermont with my family-something dad wanted!  He died in February, at home, just the way he wanted to go.  In addition, I was in the process of transitioning out of my role as Praise Team Coordinator at church because I felt it was time to let someone else step up and take over the role.  Add to that the economic and social turmoil over the last year; it added up to a lot of things happening!  Big changes which started the process of asking a whole new set of questions.

The questions seemed to all come at once-who am I, really?  Where am I going?  What am I going to do next?  How am I going to get there?  Why would I want to do certain things or make certain choices?  Some might call this a mid life crisis but I think, for me at least, it's more about figuring out what's the next step.  Where do I "fit" in the grand scheme of things?  I thought if I could figure out the answer to that question then I would have a good starting point to figure out the rest of the list!

Fortunately, I found a place to start.  I love genealogy and history!  I can thank my aunt for that particular passion!  The day she opened up a box and pulled out some old family papers and explained just what I had in my hand, I was hooked!  So I knew that my family had been Methodist for many generations.  I knew that they had helped build the church in town.  What I didn't realize though until this past year is that they were Methodist before there was even a Methodist church-they were members of one of the original Methodist Societies in the area.  The significance of this point is that there were no ministers other than the occasional circuit rider coming through the area.  The groups were organized and led by lay leaders for the purpose of study, prayer and holding each other accountable to the beliefs and practices of the society.  No easy task and there were individuals who chose to leave or were dismissed.  As I did a little more digging the question I started to ask was why?  Why choose Methodism?  Quite truthfully, if I hadn't grown up Methodist I'm not sure I would have picked it on my own!  What was so compelling about the Methodist way that my ancestors not only made the choice to participate but also to help build a church?  

The depth of what I have found so far, not only surprised me but it has challenged me to share what I've learned and to show just how relevant it is for today!  History repeats itself in some very surprising ways and I have found it is worth paying attention!  The journey begins!