My Letter to the Bishop

Lots has been going on around here, and since I don't have very many readers of this blog, I'm assuming if you're here, you already know what's going on. So, here's my letter to the bishop that I e-mailed last night and will be snail mailing today if I don't get some sort of response:


Bishop Wills and Rev. Mabry,

I have personally experienced many emotions over the past days as I have tried to understand the recent events of the Tennessee Conference. At first I was angry that two friends in ministry of mine had been treated in a way that left them upset. Then I became gravely concerned about the future of the children, youth, and young adult ministries of the Tennessee Conference. And finally, I became very saddened at the lack of communication that I have witnessed.

I believe that the situation with the program ministries of the Tennessee Conference is one of the gravest disasters our conference has ever made. Not because Beth Morris and Susan Groseclose are no longer employed by the Tennessee Conference (though I do mourn that fact), but because there has been a systematic breakdown in the organization of the Tennessee Conference.

My husband, Mark Hagewood, and I drafted a resolution that we will be sending to the Annual Conference for inclusion in the Pre-Conference booklet to be discussed during Annual Conference that affirms the importance of these age-level ministries in the Conference and calls for these positions to be reinstated. You can read this resolution online at www.ipetitions.com/petition/TNUMCProgrammingPositions/index.html. I do not know what the outcome of this resolution will be, but I will do my best to see that this conversation is had at Annual Conference, whatever transpires between now and then.

I have been reading the e-mails and blogs that have circulated over the past few days as we try to understand what has happened, and the bottom line is, we don't. I have heard from several people who have spoken with you both directly, but I am very interested to hear from you myself before I make my own decisions about the future. The past is another story.

I am open to change. I understand that the way we've been doing ministry is no longer cutting it in our world, as the church loses members left and right every year. Change keeps us focused on the goal. We need to be looking forward, developing leaders, reaching out to others in new and innovative ways.

But the keyword here is WE. In the responses I have heard from people who have talked with you, you have mentioned a new vision, a re-structuring. It is my understanding that vision comes from the community, is embraced by those involved, and shared with those affected. A vision is not a top-down mandate, where the one in charge tells others what their vision will be. Your words say vision—your actions say agenda.

Even if the vision you have for the children, youth, and young adult ministries of the Tennessee Conference is a wonderful, God-inspired vision, the path you have taken to "share" that vision has alienated the very people you should need and want as a part of that vision. I am appalled that not one of the persons currently active in children's, youth, or young adult ministry has to this point even been told officially of what has occurred. We spend a great deal of time and energy working to sustain and develop the ministries of this conference, and I personally feel completely shut out of the current process. The connectionalism of the United Methodist Church works when we use it to its fullest ability. It's a system set in place for the furthering of visions and plans. When you go outside of the system, it dilutes it, and renders it useless for the future.

I have experience with the political system of the United Methodist Church. I've been a delegate to Jurisdictional Conference twice now, a member of the Annual Conference for nine years, and served on the Annual Conference and Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference Youth organizations. My father is a pastor in this conference. I know politics are involved, and that we often hold our cards close when we don't trust the other people involved. But how are we to be in ministry with people we don't trust?

As I write this letter, 278 people have signed the resolution in agreement of having the positions reinstated. Whatever the vision for the future is, it is imperative that we have staff persons who see that the present transforms into the future. We cannot place a break in time by halting what is currently going on with vague plans in the future to start up again with something new. Ministry is an ever-flowing experience, and we all know change in the church happens slowly. While a new vision for the future may be called for and interpreted, we cannot dismiss the past and present for the sake of that future.

I hope that you will engage me in your conversations with those concerned about the ministries of the Tennessee Conference. In seeking God's will, we will, together, find God's presence and vision for our church.

Sign this petition!

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/TNUMCProgrammingPositions/

The Programming Positions of the Tennessee Conference have been eliminated. The United Methodist Church is in a leadership crisis, and these ministries directly impact the development of current and future leadership in our church. If you've ever been affected by the programs (children, youth, young adult) of the Tennessee Conference, sign this petition to have these positions reinstated.

Living In A Tent

I went on a retreat a few months back with my husband's family's church. It was a lot of fun, in the mountains, rustic, you know. The camp we went to is one of my favorites, one I went to a lot growing up, so it was kind of like a homecoming, even though I didn't know a lot of the people there.

The speaker, a former pastor of the church, talked about living in tents. His whole meaning was that God calls us to live in tents (figuratively speaking, of course), that in our lives we're not supposed to plant deep roots in our present life, but to live in a tent so we're ready to pack up and go as soon as God calls us to move.

I did a lot of thinking about this particular concept - living in a tent. And I decided/realized that I'm not living in a tent. I'm not living anywhere. I've got my tent packed and ready to go. I'm so anxiously awaiting the next thing in my life, that my tent has never had its stakes in the ground.

This idea of living in a tent has come back to me many times since this particular retreat. It seems every time I start unpacking my emotions and thinking about putting down roots in the present, God calls me to be prepared to move. And then just when I get everything packed up again, God tells me to settle down and continue setting up camp. Living in a tent. It's an emotional rollercoaster, I tell ya. But it's kind of exciting. It keeps things interesting. What's going to happen today? Is today a day of packing and moving? Or is today a day of settling? And, you know, no matter which I wake up thinking it is, it usually turns out to be the other.

Beginnings

I like beginnings. Definite beginnings. And endings. I think that's why I liked school so much. There was always a definite beginning and ending. Beginning: First day of classes. Endng: Last day of exams. Forget all of the stress in between (I have). But things aren't like that anymore. Here it is, the 3rd of January, and I don't feel much different than I did on December 30. But a new beginning has begun. So I thought I'd mark it with a new blog. I mean, if my world no longer has definite beginnings and endings, then I can create them where I want to, right?

And with that, here is one beginning I'm instating for myself (is that a word? don't you have to instate something before you can reinstate it? makes sense to me...): A new attitude. Ali Edwards (once I figure out linking, I'll link) prompted readers of her blog to come up with a word that they want to focus on for the year. She's done this for three years now. Two years ago her word was peace. Last year it was play. She uses it as a way to focus throughout the year, maybe as a prompt for a scrapbook page or just a way to start getting words out there to talk about what's going on. I thought I'd try this out. My word for 2008 is content. I feel like over the past year I've been looking to the future - what's going to happen next, to the point that I'm missing what's going on around me. I don't want to lose my dreamer status, nor give up on what possibilities are in store for me, I just feel like I need to focus my eyes on the present, and look to the future with my peripheral vision.

So, with that said, I'm going to stop talking about the present and go live it.