missionary conferences of the united methodist church in...

Craig (2017) Missionary Conferences of the United Methodlst Church

MISSIONARY CONFERENCES of the United Methodist Church in the United

StatesWest Ohio Conference

Mission u Dr. Linda Johnson Crowell


OSIYO, ULIHELISDI! O-si-yo, u-li-he-lis-di

HELLO, WELCOME!


INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY:

! Provides an overview of the three missionary conferences—Alaska United Methodist Conference, Oklahoma Missionary Conference and Red Bird Missionary Conference; the context out of which they grew; and their current engagements

! Gives the participant a foundational understanding of how The United Methodist Church developed through the lens of these three conferences acknowledging how Methodists boldly fought against injustice while at other times they were perpetrators of it

! Examines U.S. and church history, particularly racial and economic injustices, to help readers understand how our past plays a role in our current realities

! Calls us to serve in God’s mission along with each other


We covenant to prepare prayerfully and carefully for the study. SPEAK WITH RESPECT.• Be honest—saying what you think, not what you think you should say. • Speak only for yourself.• Speak in a way that encourages dialogue.• Be brief and to the point. LISTEN WITH RESPECT.• Listen for understanding the text and one another.• Try to understand perspectives that differ from yours and respect the fact that the goal is not consensus on the meaning of a text but learning and sharing. • Carefully hold all the differences together.• Be open to new viewpoints, new ideas—to being transformed. • Keep confidential those personal stories shared in the group.

The Journey: Forgiveness, Restorative Justice and Reconciliation, Stephanie Hixon and Thomas Porter, UMW, 2011


Purpose

The purpose of this session is to reflect on the concept of mutuality in mission and evaluate ways our Church lives out this mutuality as we study the context of Missionary Conferences in the United States.


Purpose--We will look back on the United Methodist Church’s participation in or silence regarding the face of injustices toward indigenous people --We will examine ways to advocate for the restitution of land taken from indigenous people--We will advocate for elimination of stereotypes toward indigenous people.


Session One

Chapters 1-3 Understanding the Context of the Missionary Conferences


Litany Psalm 31:1-4 (NIV)! Leader:

! For the director of music. A psalm of David. ! Leader: In you, LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame;

deliver me in your righteousness.

! People: Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me.

! Leader: Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me.

! People: Keep me free from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge.

http://www.biblestudytools.com/passage/?q=psalms+31:1-4


LITANY: PSALM 31: 1-4

! Leader: In you, O Lord, I seek refuge; do not let me ever be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me.

! People: Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily. Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me.

! Leader: You are indeed my rock and my fortress; for your name’s sake lead me and guide me.

! People: Take me out of the net that is hidden for me, for you are my refuge.


Getting Acquainted

!Where do you come from? !What harms were perpetuated on your

ancestors or yourselves because of who you are ore where you are from?

!What harms have you, your family, and your larger community inflicted on others because of who they are or where they are from?


Mutuality in Mission

! Mutuality makes partners whole and complete. When there is a genuine acknowledgment of the need for the other, a commitment to a long-term relationship fosters a clear identity, promotes staying in touch, and encourages partners to keep their end of the bargain. When one partner becomes especially vulnerable, dedication to maintaining communication and keeping the relationship intact becomes critical. In a trusting relationship, both partners rediscover themselves and strengthen their individual identities.

! 50/50 Partnerships


Missionary Conferences

! UMC Book of Discipline

! Definition-A conference is a missionary conference because of its… !Particular mission opportunities

!Limited membership and resources

!Unique leadership requirements

!Strategic regional or language considerations

!Ministerial needs


Missionary Conferences

! The General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM)

Purpose, Vision, and Goals ! The General Board of Global Ministries is the global mission agency of

The United Methodist Church, its annual conferences, missionary conferences, and local congregations.

! Purpose: Connecting the Church in mission

! Provides administrative guidance and major financial assistance, including attention to the distinctive property matters for the missionary conferences.


Missionary Conferences-General Overview

! Organization-shall be organized in the same manner and with the same rights and powers as an annual conference.

! Exceptions !Budgets and Advance (special giving) projects

!College of Bishops (Jurisdiction) provides supervision

!The Bishop placed in charge provides episcopal oversight in cooperation with whom the GBGM appoints a superintendent

!GBGM provides close supervision and guidance in setting up administrative and promotional budget


Missionary Conferences-Brief Overview

! Elect clergy and lay delegates to General and Jurisdictional Conferences

! See text for clergy membership ! Only the General Conference can create or change a

missionary conference to a provisional annual or annual conference

! Missionary conferences shall have the same rights as central conferences in natters regarding ordination, use of indigenous leadership, and other ministry matters


History of the Missionary Conferences

! Methodism in the colonies began in population hubs such as Philadelphia and New York

! In those days, all Methodist work was missionary work.

! According to the GBGM, organized Methodist in America began as a lay movement.


Timeline of the Methodist Church


Timeline of EventsDate Event/Comment

1760 Robert Strawbridge organized work in Maryland and Virginia

1766 Phillip Embry and his cousin Barbara Heck began work in New York

1767 Captain Thomas Webb’s laborers were involved in Methodist beginnings in Philadelphia

Note: African Americans participated in these early groundbreaking and formational activities

1773 First conference of Methodist preachers in Philadelphia

1784 Famous Christmas Conference of preachers in Baltimore Most preachers including two African American-Harry Hoosier and Richard Allen This became organized as the Methodist Episcopal Church in America

1785 First Methodist Episcopal Church Discipline was published


Timeline continuedDate Event/Comment1794 After being pulled from his knees while praying, Richard Allen found the African

Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia

1796 A group of African American Methodists birthed the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in New York

1807 Slave Trade Act abolishing slavery1845 Methodist Episcopal Church North and South division1884 Indian Missionary Annual Conference1906 Oklahoma Annual Conference

1939 White Methodists in the North and South Reunited to form the Methodist Church

1939 The reunion was brokered by whites that led to the institutionalizing the Central Jurisdiction

1968 Establishment of the United Methodist Church Central Jurisdiction disbanded as a requirement by the EUB of merger

2014 Rio Grande Conference became the Rio Texas Conference


Terms

!Central Conferences !Central Jurisdiction !Manifest Destiny

! Our church was shaped by ideas about race and class that were birthed at the same time as Manifest Destiny. This is an ideology that promoted the westward movement of Euro Americans and a belief that Christians were destined to dominate what we now know as the United States.(p.5). Manifest Destiny was a phrase which invoked the idea of divine sanction for the territorial expansion of the United States.


Closing Worship


LITANY An adaptation of “The Great Spirit Prayer” translated by Lakota Sioux Chief Yellow

Lark in 1887.4

! Left side: Oh, Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the winds, and whose breath gives life to all the world.

!Right side: Hear me; I need your strength and wisdom. ! Left side: Let me walk in beauty, and make my eyes

ever behold the red and purple sunset. !Right side: Make my hands respect the things you have

made and my ears sharp to hear your voice,


LITANY (continued)

! Left side: Make me wise so that I may understand the things you have taught my people.

! Right side: Help me to remain calm and strong in the face of all that comes towards me.

! Left side: Help me seek pure thoughts and act with the intention of helping others

! Right side: Help me find compassion without empathy overwhelming me.

! Left side: I seek strength not to be greater than my brother, but to fight my greatest enemy, myself.


Continued…

! Right side: Make me always ready to come to you with clean hands and straight eyes.

!All: So when life fades, as the fading sunset, my spirit may come to you without shame. Amen!

! Leader: ᏙᎾᏓᎬᎰᎢ. (Read phonetically “do-na-da-goh-vi”; plural meaning “good-bye to all” in the Cherokee language.)

! People: ᏙᏓᏓᎪᎲᎢ. (Read phonetically “do-na-dag-vhoi”; singular meaning “good-bye to you” only.)

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