Speaking of Justice

A vast expanse of blue stretches before me –deep blue water, gray-blue mountains, and a pale, blue sky.  I hear the waves hitting the rocks below me.  Two women are deep in conversation two benches down.  My friend sits on the other end of my bench reading her Kindle.  Lake Tahoe is a wonderful location for a conference. 

We have been drawn together by our interest in justice—Methodists mostly from the western part of the United States, clergy and lay people, church leaders.  We have sung songs of justice, prayed, and listened to inspiring speakers.  During workshops we discussed a variety of justice issues, often with passion.

The biggest issue, near to my heart, involves changing our Book of Discipline where it states that “homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching.”  (This contradicts a statement elsewhere that says that all people are of sacred worth.)  People have been trying to change this since it was inserted 40 years ago.  Homosexuals are not allowed to be pastors under this rule.  Pastors are not supposed to perform gay unions/weddings and churches are not supposed to host them.  The chief supporters of these rules come from the United Methodist Central Conference (Africa) and the southern part of the United States.  Pastors have broken the rules and performed same sex unions; some have lost their credentials.  In some conferences there are openly gay pastors.  More and more churches are joining the Reconciling Ministries Network which actively opposes these rules.  Member churches have inclusive welcoming statements indicating they welcome everybody.

There are other issues on which we would like our church to take a clear stand.  These include the plight of the Palestinians, economic inequality, immigration (especially the children coming over our border), women’s rights, racial inequality, and the environment.  Someone stated that we need to focus the church back on the teachings of Jesus and the principles of John Wesley, our founder, instead of on sin and salvation.

The work of justice is not easy.  We talked about what we want to take to our General Conference in 2016.  One of our speakers was from Zimbabwe.  He told us how Africans focus on community and connection.  We need each other.  We were reminded that we can’t look at one another as other and attach labels.  We need to talk to and respect each other.  In later discussions I think we all agreed that we just don’t know how to do it.  We could not come to complete agreement on where our justice movement should go next.

Sitting here I feel a calmness brought on by the sun and the beauty of the lake.  At the same time the crashing of the waves makes me feel a certain urgency.  Some people will remind us that justice takes time—and history does tell us that.  At the same time there are those who have been waiting a long time, too long, sometimes a lifetime for justice.  How long must they wait?  Now would be a good time for them.  When will there be a time when we have justice for all on this earth?  I think that will be when we truly and fully live in the Kingdom of God.

Written on 8/31/2014