Good morning…
I made this card of encouragement yesterday with two tiny feathers I found on my walk.
When God’s timing is right –
beautiful old things
fall off
to make space for
the new growth of God.
“Watch closely:
I am preparing something new…”
says God.
I made this card to help me process the choices our church family is facing. Inside, one of my favorite Scripture verses is expanded.
“Watch closely: I am preparing something new; it’s happening even now, even as I speak, and you’re about to see it. I am preparing a way through the desert; waters will flow where there have been none” (Isaiah 43:19, VOICE).
On Wednesday night, our church family hosted a gathering to discuss the new changes coming out of the 2024 General Conference of the United Methodist Church. Together, we watched the video below presented by the Bishop of our North Georgia Conference. The conference adopted neutral language about human sexuality. Delegates removed restrictive statements about homosexuality, and a person’s sexual orientation is no longer a hinderance to ordination in the United Methodist Church. Unpacking the details of these decisions, our head pastor very thoughtfully and thoroughly answered all of the questions posed by the large group of congregants, generated on 3×5 notecards.
Distilling it down in my own mind and heart, I am beginning to understand the choices ahead for our church. First, over the coming months, the trustees of our church (likely in collaboration with our church council) will decide if our building will be used to host same-sex weddings. Second, each of the pastors on our staff will prayerfully decide if they will perform same-sex marriages. Third, in the coming years, we will decide if our church will welcome the placement of ordained clergy from the LBGTQ community.
I spent much of yesterday talking with different church members, unpacking together our thoughts. Some people are very excited about the changes, which have been in the works for a long, long time. Others feel upset, confused, betrayed. I felt drawn to make the card above to prayerfully process all of the conflicting responses of these people I dearly love.
“Watch closely,” says God in Isaiah 43:19. “I am preparing something new; it’s happening even now, even as I speak, and you’re about to see it. I am preparing a way through the desert; waters will flow where there have been none.”
Will you watch closely with me? I am grateful to be a prayerful witness as God prepares for us a new way through, flowing refreshing waters where there have been none.
…Sue…
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