General Conference Blog #1

(Blogging from Gen. Conference…)

"This is different, (pause with cautious breathe)…this is different…" he said, nodding his head in way that seemed he was almost convincing himself with his words.

'He' is Ray Hamill, lay delegate—in fact, delegation leader– for the Wyoming Conference (a small annual conference that overlaps the parts of the states of New York and Pennsylvania).

This is his FOURTH General Conference. And rather than outright cynicism—he expressed hope to my friend, Beth, and me. He said he was experiencing one of those "something big" kind of sensations. (Your eyebrows should be raised with intrigue here).

Wow. (Insert my own 'pause' here). Hope?! Hope from a middle-aged, gray haired, balding guy—that THIS General Conference could offer hope to the Church?!

I have to say—his words impressed (and startled) me. I'm impressed by this Baby Boomer, who forthrightly acknowledged that his generation talked the talk of change, but lost the walk a long time ago—in the world and in the Church. They'd run away with leadership, money (now healthcare too) and left little for the X and Y's of future generations. There's a lot he could be discouraged about… but he's not. The Church, he thought, could change and we might see it here. We could be hopeful. Things could be different.

Yikes. I'm liken' this (his words…)—and didn't think I would (the outcome of the Conference…).

I had basically prepared myself to be very discouraged and disappointed by this Conference—order, politicking, bickering for the institution. But even so, I'd definitely been excited about coming, reuniting with old friends, and eating out a lot (and drinks late at night). But the idea that this Conference could be "one of those"—that every few decades (or even centuries) comes along and makes history—was not predestined in my thousand-page booklet for General Conference.

So, before I get to giddy… We'll wait. Right now I'm typing while we wait for the elections of leadership for a very important sub-committee, "Church and Society II." It's the social justice arm of the UMC. Who wins this election will be the chairperson for the next few days and will guide, monitor (and block) discussion around and among other things, like abortion and homosexuality and the Church. I do have hope, but it's timid.

So… albeit exciting… I think I'll wait. Just a little more. I would REALLY like to be proven completely wrong.

Until then I'll remember a nice moment coming back from lunch today for plenary. There were about 4,000 United Methodists singing and clapping in this huge convention center to the song "We Are Family"— to celebrate the 40 year anniversary of the coming together of the Evangelical United Brethren Church and the Methodist Episcopal Church—to become the United Methodist Church. Methodists are an endearing, funny crowd. I saw all these middle-aged people trying to sway to the beat and sing a pop song… It was a fond flashback to times when I was embarrassed of my parents as a teenager.

If you're interested in checking out more—see if you can't download/stream the Young Adult address from this morning. That was the BEST thing of the Conference yet. Check out this other one as well from the Connectional Table—it might not be as uplifting, but…. Ya know, it is what it is…www.umc.org/stateofthechurch