Editors Corner, Living in connection
07-03-2009Heather Hahn
Editor
The lines of worshippers moved slowly, but the air pulsed with excitement. The sanctuary reverberated with the choruses of familiar hymns like “One Bread, One Body” and “Fill My Cup, Lord.”
As people gradually made their way to the bread and grape juice, many gave surreptitious waves to friends sitting in the pews. A few even broke away briefly to give a long-unseen friend a quick hug.
At Annual Conference, the celebration of the Lord’s Supper during opening-night worship was less a time of reflection than of reunion.
The atmosphere seemed absolutely right for the sacrament we usually call “Communion.”
The service offered a sense of connection not only with God but also with all the Christians around me. I found the joy of the service exhilarating.
It was a fitting way to begin a four-day event devoted to celebrating the connectional nature of the United Methodist Church.
This was my first Annual Conference, and I kept finding signs of that connection throughout the gathering.
- I heard it in the thunderous rendition of the great Charles Wesley hymn “And Are We Yet Alive,” that opened the Conference as it has Methodist annual meetings since John Wesley himself instituted the custom in the 18th century.
- I saw it in the familiar way United Methodists from different parts of the state greeted each other.
- I heard it in the buzzing exchange of ideas around the booths in the lobby.
- I especially saw it in the passionate floor debates over the proposed amendments to the United Methodist constitution.
People clearly had strong differences of opinion on the measures, with many of the conservatives on one side and liberals on the other.
But after the vote, fellowship among representatives of both sides continued as it had before. People broke bread together and celebrated with equal fervor the worship for commissioning and ordination that followed.
That’s refreshingly different from some of the church disputes I’ve covered as a religion reporter where it seems the only talking people now do with each other is through their lawyers.
These past few months, I have felt extremely privileged to have a front seat to see United Methodist ministry in action, and that was especially true at Annual Conference, where I met for the first a number of pastors and lay leaders I had only previously spoken to on the phone.
I also garnered a number of story ideas that I hope you’ll see realized in these pages in the coming months.
Please stay tuned.
