“When we come to Ash Wednesday, we have ashes on our foreheads; then we come to the annual problem: what to do for the rest of the day. Jesus told us to beware of practicing our piety before others.”
“We certainly do not want to exclude the unique witness of Bishop Mary and her ministry from those debates and deliberations. So, not without mixed feelings, we the bishops of New York will be attending the Lambeth Conference….at this time it is the intention of Becki Sander to accompany Bishop Mary to England, though she will not be permitted to participate in the Lambeth conversations and activities.” – The bishops of the Diocese of New York
“’Being perfect’ as it is used here, means more about trying to be more like God, than it means to engage the impossible task of being flawless.”
“I served as ecumenical officer of the Episcopal Church and have been to a number of General Conferences. I’ve told Episcopal Church colleagues that what was coming in the United Methodist Church would make the conflict the Episcopal Church had over Gene Robinson look like the Council of Nicaea by comparison. I knew it would be bad. But the Special General Conference was even worse than I imagined, with a level of hurt, anger, vitriol, and despair that was truly hard to witness. Many people are shocked, angry, hurt, and feel abandoned by their church.
“Sophia, Holy Wisdom says in today’s reading from the Proverbs, ‘Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Lay aside immaturity, and live, and walk in the way of insight.’”
White pastors of multiracial churches receive disproportionate resources, have greater authority and are valued more by their congregations than clergy of color. Even in multiracial churches, “Neither African American nor Asian American pastors—regardless of their particular ethnicity, race, culture, or histories—are gaining entrée into the white majority. They are both hitting the same white wall,”
It is in serving the most vulnerable, the most easily overlooked, ignored, or exploited people that we learn the most about the love of Christ; because it is by the need to listen deeply, by setting aside our own agendas and letting ourselves be led by the pain of others that we find our way to the foot of the cross.
“Whatever comes next for The United Methodist Church, I am steadfast in my belief that the General Conference cannot release us from our responsibility to love and care for a world groaning for justice.
We must also put our faith into action, and continue to work for LGBTQIA equality in civil and human rights.”
The Traditional Plan is confirmed, though it still faces judicial review as many parts of it are considered unconstitutional.
“The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is sending personal invitations to every eligible bishop and spouse (excluding same-sex spouses*) and is looking forward immensely to hosting them.” – Homepage of Lambeth 2020.