Young Clergy Leadership Forum Reflections

I spent Sunday-Wednesday of this past week in Washington, D.C. exploring the ministry of the General Board of Church and Society with 50 other young clergy members from around the country. It was a very packed schedule, but it was definitely worth the trip. I think that the best part of it was getting to see some old friends from Candler, but also meeting other young clergy from different parts of the country, getting to hear their stories and learning about the churches they serve and the issues they face. It was also refreshing to be among colleagues who share similar beliefs and opinions about the mission of the church, our purpose as pastors, and who share a passion for the church as being a prophetic voice among the more challenging issues in our world.

One of the coolest things we did was meet with the chaplain of the senate. After going through 2 rounds of security, we got to hear his story, the issues he deals with, and his job description of working with the senators every day. We also learned that he is the first African American to hold the position.

We also got to hear from a former congress woman from Kansas who is now a seminary student in D.C.

Other interesting activities we did included discussing the Social Principles of the church with our colleagues and learning how to facilitate healthy dialogue with people in our churches, worshiping with a retired Bishop in the D.C. area, reflecting on who has shaped us in our lives and how that determines how we minister to and view the world, traveling on the Metro (without getting lost!), eating Ethiopian food (no utensils allowed except for our hands!), and discussing issues such as immigration, health care, gay marriage, and environmental issues.

I also took an hour for myself and skipped one of the sessions to walk down to the Washington monument, which was really fun. I figured that if I'm in D.C., I need to see something! So I went on my own personal adventure on one of the days. A few of us also ventured to the Supreme Court and walked around for awhile.

One thing worth mentioning is that the United Methodist building is situated right next to the Supreme Court, and is across the street from the Capitol Building. Who knew that the UMC has such a strong position among the political scene of our country? It really showed me that the church really does have a prophetic voice literally situated in the midst of what goes on.

Overall, it was a great trip. I took away the fact that it is important for us as young and progressive clergy to educate and be in conversation with our church members about what the UMC's stances and beliefs are about certain issues such as health care, immigration, capital punishment, marriage and family, nuclear weapons, war, etc. just to name a few. A lot of people in our pews do not even realize that they are a part of a denomination that actually takes a stand on these types of issues. So, it's time for us to be the leaders that we are and to educate and be in dialogue about them, whether people will agree with them or not. You can read more about the Social Principles of the UMC HERE. I am planning on teaching a class about them in the fall, which I think will be really interesting for all!

It was also an interesting dichotomy to have gone on this D.C. trip directly after the RIM conference that I discussed in my last blog post. I felt like we went from discussing and arguing about the mission of the church to a place where we could actually SEE the mission of the church in action in our nation's capitol and its positive affect on the gospel of Jesus Christ and the mission to transform the world.

Other adventures I faced on my trip involved the weather and the massive ice storm that hit IN while I was in D.C. I had 2 flight cancellations trying to get home, and the worst part was that when I finally made it to Indy at 8:00 pm, I spent an hour and a half scraping 2.5 inches of ice from my car in order to get out of the parking lot and head home! I called Corey in tears once and almost gave up a few times. Finally, I got angry and started banging away at the ice (thankfully NOT breaking my windshield) and it eventually started coming off in sheets and breaking on the ground. I seriously felt like a cave woman! My windshield wipers were still under large chunks of ice until this morning when I was able to free them. I called home last night to chat with my mom and at one point got my dad on the phone to thank him for getting me a beast of an ice scraper for Christmas a few years ago. This is when he said, "Jill, did you grow a pair last night?!" Haha! Only my father... ;)

What doesn't kill us only makes us stronger, right? I definitely still feel the pain in my arms and torso from breaking all of that ice.

Fortunately, I made it home and back to life as usual. I had a wonderful conversation with my mom last night about our faiths (she is Jewish) and different theologies, politics, and stuff in general. It's so refreshing to have these conversations and to share with one another. I am very thankful for her!

What's new with you lately?