So recently I was writing on a blog for class and realized that much of what I said there would pertain to what I say here.   It was in response to another poster who wrote about the importance of liturgy at General Conference and the lack of response.  I wrote 

 ”I to was at the Methodist General Conference this week. I was quite pleased by the worship services but I noticed that no matter how wonderful they were in pointing out the issues surrounding the church it did not make a difference. In fact I just received a text message from Becca that said that the floor did not recognize one of the young adults when he was trying to speak even though he was trying so hard to be noticed. The worship has emphasized so many times that receiving the young and listening to their claims is the next step to continuing the church but did it get into action no. To often during liturgy and worship settings we say what we should do but we never do what we say. The next step in this process should be action not lethargy but how an we fix this process?

We could go hardcore mean and say it is a requirement of the church to have one deed done with proof that you can show your next Sunday service. That would be quite a different way of the church but it would guarantee action. The problem with this is what action it would guarantee

We could also emphasize when something does get done, after all so many times what is done goes unnoticed, one noticeable change in that would make a world of difference. Any acknowledgment of the deeds and services done may serve the need of the church to speed it onto action.”

I never did come up with a conclusion other than the need to listen and actually do something with the message received.  The message of social justice is a large part of our church but when will we put our actions where our slogans are?   We will put our money into different places but never our time and effort.  Well I can not say everyone does this but most people do.  When actual work is done it guarantees results, laziness never prospers, which is why I am so glad that MoSAIC, RMN, PRN, and SoulForce are such a guiding action force at the general conference.  I was only there a week but not a day went by without some other action coming from the people of these groups, getting the name of inclusion out into the open and helping us take baby steps towards a unity within the church.

Categories: General Conference 2008, Reflections
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On Sunday, April 27th, my youth group from Northaven United Methodist Church went to check out the goings on of General Conference. We brought 10 youth and confirmands as well as about 8 adults (two of us being ministers). That’s a big deal for our church because intergenerational activity has been a major “opportunity to grow.” I think the coolest part for me was hooking up with RMN/Mosaic folks from different churches. Besides NUMC, there are few reconciling congregations in the Dallas/Fort Worth area so its wonderful to fellowship with other folks involved in the struggle. I had spoken to many Mosiac folks via facebook and email but it was wonderful to worship with them.

The RMN service was kind of like a family reunion. There were folks that many of us knew. A couple of my confirmands pointed to John Thornburg and said “that’s the pastor who baptized me.” How awesome is it that our newest soon-to-be members are thinking about baptism? I digress… I also met a lot of new folks. Many people came up to me and said they were encouraged by the presence of our youth group. Let me tell you, we were encouraged by yours.

Hopefully, as the week goes on, our youth will be posting about their experiences. In coming days, I will post a sermon that I’m preaching this Sunday regarding the struggle for inclusion. I look forward to the help and feedback of this online community.

In the meantime, if you want to see how Texas Reconciling Youth roll, check out our youth group’s website at www.waywardumyf.com

Grace and Peace,
Richard Newton

Categories: General Conference 2008, Reflections
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Tags: Young People's Address
Categories: General Conference 2008, Reflections
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Sorry that this got posted a day late — technical difficulties prevented me from getting it up in time..sorry!!

Also, I forgot to mention — but my friend Will J. Green, a delegate from the New England AC reminded me –

But a member of the New England delegation, my friend We Chang, asked the Bishop to change her language around a motion being “defeated” so that we don’t use war and violence language. The Bishop loved the suggestion and it got applause from the gallery!

THAT WAS US IN THE GALLERY!!!

Tags: Daily Recap,Opening Worship
Categories: General Conference 2008, General Post, Reflections
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Tags: Intro,T-Minus 1 day,Video
Categories: General Conference 2008, General Post, Reflections
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As United Methodists from around the world converge on Fort Worth, Texas, I can’t help but feel a bit conflicted. General Conference conducts the business of the denomination, but more than a business meeting, it is a time to celebrate our faith, our mission, and our ministry. Indeed the United Methodist Church is transforming individual lives and communities across the globe - and there is much to celebrate.

Over the past two weeks, I’ve had at least 10 people ask me if I was going to General Conference. Those who know me are shocked to find out that I have made a conscious decision to not be present in Fort Worth. Allow me to explain.

As the General Conference gathers and touts a deepening ministry to young adults, I cannot help but take issue with the fact that the youth, college students, seminarians, and young adults to whom the Church claims to be listening, are systematically silenced due to the schedule of General Conference. While we all know the financial cost of attending General Conference, holding General Conference while students are in the most important part of their semester is neither welcoming of young adult voices, ideas, or leadership. As the United Methodist Church proclaims to be a “Future with Hope,” I take to my soapbox to remind the Church that at its very core, young adult ministry is ministry WITH young adults, not ministry by older adults doing what they think is best for young adults.

General Conference also serves as a time and place in which we as a Church legislate doctrine and policies. Four years ago I left Pittsburgh with a passion to work for change in the policies and practices of the UMC in regards to LGBT issues. I sat down a few weeks ago and made a list of people I knew who had left the ordination process in the UMC (either of their own accord, or at the direction of their respective committees) , who have sought ordination in another denomination, or who have left the Church altogether thanks to the doctrine of incompatibility and denial of ordination of self-avowed, practicing homosexuals. I came up with 80 names. How many names can you come up with?

My absence in Fort Worth is both practical and philosophical. The time and money it takes to attend General Conference creates a de facto absence for many young adults. When part of our Church is silenced, can we honestly proclaim a future with hope? This is the same silence experienced by LGBTQ United Methodists. I can’t help but wonder if silence can serve as a metaphor for our future as a Church. I know 80 people who have been silenced - who have been led to believe that they cannot honestly answer their call to ministry - who cannot openly proclaim the Good News that they have come to know. And so, I’m not going to Forth Worth. Instead, I’m engaging in a form of active silence, in solidarity with those who are crying out for justice, and praying without ceasing - from afar.

Categories: General Conference 2008, General Post, Reflections
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In their new book, The Crisis of Younger Clergy, Ann Michel and Lovett H. Weems, Jr. explore a number of issues facing young adult clergy (and candidates for ordination) in the United Methodist Church. Through analysis of a quantitative survey of young adult clergy and the qualitative anecdotes of the Lewis Fellows Program participants, Michel and Weems give a comprehensive look at the obstacles that stand in the way of young adult clergy becoming competent congregational leaders- from the ordination process through the first pastoral position.

The decreasing number of young adult clergy across the United Methodist Church is alarming. But it shouldn’t come as a surprise to those of us who identify as young adults. There are few of us in the pews on Sunday morning; there aren’t many of us serving as committee chairs in our local congregations; and there are even fewer of us sitting on the floor at Annual, General, and Jurisdictional Conferences. Beyond the lack of young adult role models in the Church (both lay and clergy), young adults are often seen as a mission field in order to cultivate “young blood” (i.e. volunteers to do the grunt work for the projects deemed important by a previous generation). This does nothing to develop a life of discipleship, a life that aids in discerning and confirming a call to ministry.

Connected to this “perception problem,” is the fact that young adults, both Christian and non-Christian, see the Church as judgmental, hypocritical, and anti-homosexual. Ouch! The United Methodist Church, through policy and practice, had helped to create this perception problem. From the policies found in our Book of Discipline regarding same-sex marriage, ordination, and incompatibility to the practices of local Annual Conferences discouraging clergy candidates from being open about their opinions on sexual orientation and gender identity, it should come as no big shock that the United Methodist Church is lacking (or maybe frightening, silencing, or ignoring) young adult clergy.

As we prepare for General Conference 2008, let us remember that LGBT issues cannot be easily set aside on the first day of legislation, as suggested by Asbury Theological Seminary’s Chancellor, Maxie Dunnam. Decisions that affect gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons have a deeply profound affect on the life of young adults and the United Methodist Church they so desperately wish to call home.

Tags: books,call
Categories: General Conference 2008, General Post, Ordination
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