United Methodists meet in annual conference

BY ROBERT L. BAKER
Times-Shamrock Writer

Representatives of Susquehanna County’s United Methodist Churches gathered at Messiah College, just south of Harrisburg last Thursday, Friday and Saturday to conduct the business of the larger denomination during the Susquehanna Annual Conference.

Bishop Jeremiah Park’s keynote address Thursday set the tone for “raising up transformational leaders” across a sprawling 24-county area of Pennsylvania that stretches from the Maryland border below York northeastward to Great Bend just below the New York state line.

Tradition of annual conference that usually started with a Bible study each day was dispensed with Friday as five young United Methodist Pastors who are in the 18-35 age group known as ‘Millenials’ got on stage at 8:15 a.m. and engaged each other in a deeply probing discussion of some of the tough social issues of the day including why their generation has been considered “lost” to traditional mainline churches.

“This generation has got the distinct impression that church is a closed box,” Pastor Anna Knox, who was to be ordained Saturday said. “Don’t put me in a box. I see what happens when they put people in a box. They’re buried.”

She worried about the fingers of the Internet giving out opinions to anyone who would listen, but without boundaries for those never raised in a church.

Other pastors spoke of “turnoffs” by well-meaning but unthinking Christians who feel they need to vocally pass judgment on such things as people’s tattoos and body piercings before getting to know the individuals.

“Young adults are not targets to be conquered, but people to love,” Rev. Matthew Lake said.

The young pastors were in agreement that their generation did not “know it all” but rather was looking for an authentic relationship with God that honestly questioned how to best put their faith into practice that extended well outside a church building.

They acknowledged the recent sanctioning of same-sex marriages in Pennsylvania by a federal judge and noted the church’s position on traditional marriage.

“But, this is not about the issue of sexuality,” Rev. Jacob Waybright said. “It’s about engaging young adults who have questions. How do we do that in a world that points them in so many directions away from the church?”

Bishop Park affirmed the young clergy and noted the vexing question of losing a generation was something the larger body needed to be in prayerful consideration about.

Later on Friday when youth groups representing mostly teens, took to the stage at annual conference, the Bishop thanked them for their marvelous work during the year and then issued an unorthodox challenge.

He said that if each of the churches represented by the teens would commit to raising $100 for a benevolence known as the Bishop’s Fund, he would do 100 pushups.

Before they had an opportunity to think about it, he took off his clergy coat and hit the floor as older members gasped, and the younger ones whipped out their smart phones to capture the moment.

The bishop, who will be 63 on July 4, did 110 pushups then got up and without seemingly catching his breath, made the rounds of about 40 teens, high-fiving them into answering his challenge.

The Bishop did, however, don his more traditional robed garb for a Communion service Thursday night that honored clergy and laity who had entered glory in the past year.

Among them was Rev. William Locker, who once served the Lake Winola church.

On Friday evening about 40 clergy were honored as they moved into retirement.

On Saturday, the bishop returned to his robe during an afternoon ordination service that closed the annual conference with a celebration of new clergy, others being ordained, as well as youths who had completed confirmation.

During conference, the body voted on several measures including creating a task force for how to assign monies that had been left by a deceased member from Sullivan County whose estate had received $2.4 million in signing bonuses with Chesapeake Energy with the money in escrow since 2010.

The woman who never knew anything about Marcellus gas, Fanny Videan Thomas, had a terrific faith and left her estate to the Home Missionary Board of the old Methodist Episcopal Church, one of the parent bodies of today’s United Methodist Church.

Listening to the discussion was a history lesson as to how God’s work transcends the ages and in Thomas’ case, her legacy lives well beyond her.

In a nod to putting hands and feet on their faith, those gathered the first two days of conference also assembled 70,112 meal packets for distribution around the world by the relief organization, Stop Hunger Now.