I write this from Montana. The cabinet met in Great Falls earlier this week where we also spent time with United Methodists from around that area. Tonight, I am in Missoula, where I just came from a potluck with United Methodists from around this area.
We United Methodists do potlucks really, really well, and this one was no exception. Our potlucks reflect the miracle of the loaves and fishes: no matter how many of us come together, the dishes seem to multiply so there is always enough lasagna and potato salad and desserts and deviled eggs (okay, maybe not enough deviled eggs!). You never go hungry at a United Methodist potluck.
The laughter at this potluck flowed as freely as the lemonade. Parishioners from the various churches renewed old friendships and made new friends. When we gather together to break bread at table, Christ shows up and knits us together as his Body.
This week in United Methodism will be studied by generations in the future. It is a week when there was much weeping and grieving for our beloved church, as the voting results of the constitutional amendments were revealed, and two constitutional amendments regarding gender equality and the full inclusion of people into the life of the church, regardless of “race, color, gender, national origin, ability, age, marital status or economic condition" were voted down. It was a painful statement of our brokenness as a church when we couldn’t even affirm Galatians 3:28 (“There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”), which shows the width and breadth of Christ’s body, that extends beyond nationality and race, class, gender, age, ability, and status to make us one.
Then came the news that Amendment One (on gender equality) was voted on with the wrong wording, invalidating the results and requiring a revote of that specific amendment. While we have the chance to right a wrong, the fact is the second amendment still failed, crushing the spirits of so many.
I am proud of Yellowstone and Rocky Mountain Conferences, which voted overwhelmingly in favor of both amendments. I am proud that we are an area formed by actions of Wyoming, the Equality State, first territory to grant women’s suffrage and the first state to allow women to vote, serve on juries and hold public office. But Wyoming was not alone: Between 1869 and 1896, only four states (Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and Idaho) granted women the right to vote. Montanan Jeannette Rankin was the first woman ever elected to federal office in the US.
In the midst of celebrating the gender equality we find in our region, we still have a long way to go—both within our church and in society—to ensure that all persons are valued, respected, and treated equally. May we not rest until Galatians 3:28 is truly realized.
I turn back to the evening’s potluck. May all our gatherings be centered around a table. May we sit expectantly for Christ to show up. When we live that way, we see one another not as strangers but kin and as kin, we seek the best for each other. It means speaking out when one in our midst experiences injustice. It means standing up to right wrongs. It means challenging powers and principalities that seek to diminish and harm someone’s dignity.
We’ve got work to do, dear ones. Tomorrow, kneel down and drink deeply from the well of our faith. Then, may we arise from our knees, roll up our sleeves, and do the work that God requires of us, the work of Love.
