MFSA: My Church

As a pastor in the United Methodist Church, I am reminded every year at Annual Conference during clergy session that the Order of Elders is my "home church."  Our Methodist history tells us that we are itinerant preachers who find "church" not within the walls of a clapboard chapel or under the stained glass of a certain sanctuary, but instead among the fellowship of those called to Word, Sacrament, Order, and Service.

Well, the truth is, even though I hear those words proclaimed year after year-- I'm just not so sure about that.  While I enjoy the annual reunion and reconnecting with my colleagues-made-friends, I find myself drawn to a particular crowd of folks which I see not just one time a year, but many times a year.  I regularly see these people at education events, retreats, vigils, marches, and protests.  In these varied settings we learn together about theology and up-coming issues at General Conference, pray for the poor, give voice to undocumented immigrants and boldly stand for the right (not privilege) of collective bargaining.  They are the members-- clergy and lay-- of MFSA.

This past February and March, as the budget battle in Wisconsin drew national headlines I stood with members of WUMFSA (Wisconsin United Methodists for Social Action) week after week.  Together we marched with ecumenical clergy, protested with the Interfaith Coalition for Worker Justice, conducted sit-in-Bible studies at the doors of the Governor's office, and chanted the call and response, "Tell me what religion should look like--This is what religion should look like!" on the Capitol steps.  These are the people I trust, I rely on. They help me deepen my faith and broaden my embrace.  It is among this group of Christians that I find fellowship as a clergy person in the United Methodist Church.  MFSA is "church" to me.