Sumgmu’s Monthly Message, July 2024

Our Lay Delegate, Diane Hornaday, and I attended the New York Annual Conference sessions last month. On the first day, when I heard the General Conference delegation report, I felt that it was the time to move on. Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton shared that there had been the attitudes of anti-bishop, anti-district superintendent, anti-pastor, and anti-United Methodist Church during the past four years. But now is the time to love rather than to fight.

A couple of months ago during the Confirmation class, we studied the difference between “unity” and “uniformity” in doing ministry together. Unity respects each other’s differences while uniformity seeks for the sameness. We are all different because God created us that way, but we become one in Jesus Christ, who died and was resurrected for all of us. As we respect each other’s differences, we are united as God’s children. This is the unity in diversity and the diversity in unity. On the other hand, if I say, “I am the pastor here. All of you should think like me and follow my decision,” then I become the one who seeks the uniformity. We Christians should value “unity” and not “uniformity.”

I would like to highlight a couple of important decisions made by the General Conference this year. The first is about disaffiliations: the delegates at the General Conference deleted paragraph 2553 in our Book of Discipline, which means no more disaffiliation process. I was surprised to know this decision, in that I believed the process of disaffiliation would resume after this year’s General Conference. I heard from this decision that the United Methodist Church had been generous toward those churches that wanted to leave the denomination based on the issue of human sexuality, and now we are moving forward as a church that embraces theological diversity.

The second is about same-gender weddings. Each pastor is now allowed to officiate in same-gender weddings. Yet, this does not mean that each pastor and each church are required to permit same-gender weddings. The decision is up to the pastor and the local congregation. In order to prevent the pastor and the congregation from being in disagreement, bishops promised that they would “make appointments based on gifts, graces, experience, commitments, and theological alignment between congregations and clergy.”

“Clergy and congregations are now entrusted to make these decisions gracefully, considering their ministry context based on their beliefs and attitudes regarding ministry with and by LGBTQ persons” (The Letter of the Northeastern College of Bishops on June 11, 2024). This decision represents unity in diversity and diversity in unity; and not uniformity.

We may speak different languages because of the place of our birth or because we are of different generations, but we become one in Christ. We may disagree on politics or social issues, and we may disagree on the Bible or theology or on what hymns we like or dislike, but we are united in Christ. Let us remember that we are one family, God’s family, by virtue of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Amen.

Sungmu Lee