Day One
Connections in the Connection
Y’all. I have been at my hotel for less than 24 hours and I have already been to Whole Foods THREE times. I’m worried they are going to start recognizing me. But it’s good, healthy, easy, and cheaper than a restaurant, by far!
The Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters convened at 3pm and it was wonderful to actually get started working on legislation. You might have thought it boring, it is pretty wonky. But it’s also what we came here to do.
The first piece of business we tackled was accepting the work done by the Eurasian annual conferences to become an autonomous Methodist Church. These are 4 annual conferences in Russia who have concluded it is no longer possible to remain in the UMC. Basically the feeling is that any move the church would make to be more progressive on sexual orientation could put them in grave political danger. They don’t want to leave but see it as untenable to stay.
The UMC in Russia was first established by missionary activity in the early 20th century and then all but eliminated by the communist revolution. With Glasnost in the 1990s, missionaries once again helped a Russian UMC gain a foothold. It has a small but vital presence. It is really sad we have to separate in this way, though there is hope that we can find ways to cooperate with one another once they are established as an independent church.
The current bishop of the Eurasian annual conferences is Eduard Khegay, who happens to be a seminary classmate of mine. (Hey, hey Candler!) Bishop Khegay is a pastor and leader of incredible integrity and faithfulness. We had a powerful conversation about a year ago where he shared with me some of what it’s like to lead churches in Russia as his country wages war with Ukraine.
The mood in our committee was very somber as we voted to accept their separation. It will now go to the full GC for approval. Join me in praying for Methodists in Ukraine, that God might preserve and prosper them.
We managed to handle a good number of other petitions in our 3hrs together but I won’t bore you with the details. I was a little surprised that we got hung up talking about a few petitions that were submitted by people we know have disaffiliated and are no longer in the UMC. Tomorrow the Committee on Reference will decide what to do with the large number of petitions that fall into this category. Chances are they will just flag them for legislative committees and let people vote them down. That’s what we ended up doing but it was an important moment to process the idea that we have legislation to change the UMC from people who chose to leave the UMC.
As I exited the convention center tonight, I encountered a bishop staring intently at his phone. After greetings and “how are yous” he confessed he needed help sending a video he had just recorded to his conference staff so they could post it. I helped. And then told him it might have been the most productive thing I did all day. Ha!
Actually the best part of the day was all the hugs I got from friends around the world as we started our meeting. Methodists talk and live connection. I’m glad to be a part of this worldwide web of faithfulness.
Oop, I see a typo. I meant, join me in praying for United Methodists in Russia.
So glad to get to read these updates. Will be praying for the Russian churches. Brave and important work. Love you, Lippoldt! Praying for you.