Burned Out: Reflections on Thursday of Jurisdictional Conference

July 15, 2016 / By Stephen Cady

“The college of bishops will never be the same.”  These were the words of Bishop John Schol in response to the election of our two new general superintendents—new bishops Cynthia Moore-Koikoi and LaTrelle Easterling. I celebrate this historic moment with the rest of the jurisdictional conference, both for the historic nature of the election (this is the first time a jurisdictional conference has elected two African American women) and for the passion for justice of these two new bishops. As one of our delegates, JJ Warren, put it succinctly—they have “fire.” 

The United Methodist Church is in need of some fire—the cleansing fire of the Holy Spirit. We have been carrying around unjust burdens for decades as a denomination and it is time to get rid of them for the sake of the gospel. As an annual conference located in what was once known as the burnt-over district, we know the power of the Spirit’s fire to cleanse and we started to see it at work again today.

The first item of business (following bishop Easterling’s election) was a petition from Black United Methodist Pastors (BUMP), the Black Leadership Forum (BLF) with the support of the Multiethnic Center for Ministry and NEJ-Black Methodists for Church Renewal (BMCR) that pushed for specific and tangible action to confront racism and white privilege in our jurisdiction. The petition called for solidarity in our affirmation that black lives matter by examining and addressing the systemic and structural racism within our Church. The resolution passed by overwhelming margins and ended with a moving rollcall in which each conference delegation, youth delegation, and college of bishops stood to affirm their commitment to this task. The work is still ahead of us, but the heat of the Spirit’s cleansing fire could be felt.

While the conference stood in near unanimity at the call for racial justice, the fires of justice for LGBTQ persons are still catching. Legislation was passed today that directs conference CF&As to state that no monies are available for LGBT-related trials. Similarly, a motion was passed (and reluctantly ruled out of order by the College of Bishops) which encouraged annual conferences into nonconformity with the provisions of the Discipline which discriminate against LGBTQ persons. While it is a far-cry from removing the harmful language of the Discipline, it sends a message to the denomination that the Northeastern Jurisdiction is erring on the side of love.

The good news is that God’s Spirit continues to be at work within our Conference and in our Church. Someday the Spirit’s cleansing fire will have completed its job and burned out those unjust burdens. Until then, we all have work to do.