Jonathan LeMaster-Smith

With the closing of my annual conference and most of the United States Annual Conference we can see a few things happening.

1) We are beginning to actually grieve the losses that have taken place. Though some folks are seeking to rush past the losses, the conferences that have been hit hardest by this (losing 20-50% of their churches and clergy) are taking time to actually grieve, even if in spite of leadership that seems to be focusing on unity and staying the course.

2) We are beginning to have conversations about things we have skirted around. Constitutional Amendments and Conference petitions brought to light the realities of white supremacy, colonization, and systemic racism that are still present in both latent and overt ways, and we are ripping of the band-aids and forcing conversations.

3) We are seeing an focus on actual representation of young people, not just lip service. Conferences celebrating having youth and young adults as members to conference, on conference teams, and gathering to serve and act within the conference structures.

4) We are seeing people challenge structures that are no longer or have never been helpful, and who are willing to tell bishops, cabinets, and conference leaders no, change is going to happen, and we will decide, not you.

Some leaders will welcome it, some will resist it, some will prevent it, some will cry foul, but it is happening.

I have said it before, but these next few quadrennia are going to be harder than the the last few for The United Methodist Church. Not because of external or even internal manipulation, but because it is time once again to determine what it means to be the people called Methodist for this age.