Central Blog

  It was a fabulous turn-out for the first Cystic Fibrosis Dinner Theater Benefit:

 Shiela Strang and family work tirelessly along with her kitchen crew to put on a delicious meal, and the Lakeland Players cast and crew of “Clue: The Musical” was at their best putting on a crowd pleasing performance for over 65 guests!

 Shiela is still gushing over her dedicated crew of workers that spent countless hours preparing the meal, setting up the dining room and cleaning house following the evening’s events.  

 Thank s to all who participate, the Strang family will be presenting a generous check to the Cystic Fibrosis foundation. We will announce the final donation after all of the proceeds are counted from both on-site ticket purchases as well as those purchased through the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation website.

 A special thank you goes to the talented artisans and generous local businesses who donated items for the silent auction. The response was spectacular!

 Did you attend Saturday night’s performance and dinner? If so, we would love to have your feedback. Feel free to comment here or drop us a note at pfisher@waterfordcumc.org.

 Pam Fisher, Blog Administrator

Serving as a member of the 2011 Detroit Annual Conference was a “ Mountain Top Experience” for  me.  I am so appreciative of the support that was given to me by the entire team from Waterford Central.  It is always a blessing when you come down from the mountain and the people who were most instrumental in guiding your experience travel home with you.

Its hard to select just one or two experiences to share.  However there was one that stands out over all the rest.  I have heard it said that “ Sometimes God’s call is like a whisper, sometimes like a touch on the shoulder, and sometimes if He really wants you to answer His call, he hits you with a brick wall. “ This was one of those brick wall experiences.  I felt so empowered and at peace with what I was to do and say, that there was no doubt in my mind.

Let me back up just a bit.  On the first day of conference the Michigan Federation for Social Action had set up a tent outside the chapel.  One of the members had sewn rainbow stoles for the members to wear that acknowledged that we supported inclusion of everyone. I  wore my stole all week, and was able to share my story when people would ask me, “ What is the stole about”.  Amazingly I never received a negative response.

All week long I had been receiving a whisper, a nudge and then a tap on the shoulder from God that he had a message he wanted  shared with the entire conference concerning the stoles.  The words that kept coming to me were to “ speak boldly about love.”I knew that only three people are allowed to speak on the conference floor in support of a petition, and they were only allowed three minutes each.  The Bishop selected people at random from those who raised their cards when he called for discussion.  During the week I filled an entire legal pad with my thoughts of what I might say.  None of them seemed right.  That is until Saturday morning.

That was when the “ brick wall” experience occurred.  As I was leaving breakfast, one of the servers in the food court came up to me and said, “ Thank you for wearing your stole.”  She shared with me that her brother had dreamed of being a United Methodist pastor since he was small.  However when be began to investigate his chosen vocation, he discovered that because of his alternative live style, he was not welcome as a pastor in the United Methodist Church.  She continued, “ I don’t complete understand my brother’s life style, but I love him, and I didn’t think I would be welcome in your church either.”

I told her that we would be discussing that very topic today at our conference today,  and that she was such a blessing to me.  I shared that I had been praying to God all week to send a sign of what I was to say.  I told her that I would be honored to share her story.

As I continued walking this thought came to my head.  “ I wonder if I had been wearing a t-shirt that read, “ the United Methodist Church does not condone homosexuality and considers the practice incompatible with Christian teachings”  , if she would have come up to me and shared her story.

When I arrived at Dawson Hall the words flowed so smoothly on to paper that it was as if God was dictating them to me.  I even knew exactly what petition to concur with.  etition #2.  The title of the petition was “ Amend paragraph  161 F to change the language on homosexuality to stress God’s love and show the diversity of the United Methodist Church.”  The petition sought to strike the incompatibility statement above, and replace it with the following:

“ We recognize that the church in not on one mind about the practice of homosexuality.  Some rely on a traditional interpretation of scripture to conclude the practice is incompatible with Christian teachings.  Others come to accepting conclusions based on broad themes in the Bible, specifically God’s grace and love.  We humbly acknowledge that we may not understand God’s will on this subject, but we want our Church to be welcoming to all people.  Given the call to inclusiveness, we refrain from condemning the practice of homosexuality.”

The vote of Petition #2 came on Saturday afternoon.  The first person who Bishop Keaton recognized was a man who was opposed to the petition.  He was loud and bold as he spoke of his pain that people were wearing rainbow stoles.  He said he was hurting that people were so disrespectful of our conference that they chose to use gimmicks to disrupt the mood.  He said he was tired of them being pushed in his face.  Soon his three minutes were up and he was asked to be seated.

The Bishop asked again for a show of cards for those wishing to speak.  I raised my card and the Bishop pointed to me and told me what microphone to go to.  Normally I would have been filled with fear, both because of the words of the first speaker, because I was wearing a rainbow stole, and because there were 1000 people in the room.  However God gave me such a sense of peace, I only felt empowered as I walked to the microphone.  I described the conversation with the server, and my thoughts about the t-shirt and how much pain it brought me just to say those words aloud.  I concluded with    “ I believe it is one of the United Methodist Church’s strengths that individually we are allowed to hold our own personal beliefs.  However when words bring pain and make people feel unwelcome in our church,  they do not express the loving message of  Jesus and they should not appear in our Social Principles.”

I took my seat, and two more people spoke for the petition, and two against.  Then it was time for the vote.  At Annual Conference the vote is taken by holding up a large pink card.  The Bishop called for those in concurrence and my heart filled with joy as I watched so many pink cards go up.  The Bishop called for non concurrence and an equal number went up.  The usual practice in votes was for the Bishop to eyeball the cards and make a decision.  However because the vote was so close, a motion was made to actually count the votes.

First all those who were in concurrence raised their pink cards and stood in place.  The ushers counted the rows one at a time.  As your row was counted you could sit down.  The same was done for the vote for non concurrence.  People were forced to be bold for the Lord, what ever their view.

The vote was concurrence by 40 votes.  This means petition # 2 will go to General Conference next Spring, 2012   with a recommendation by the Detroit Annual Conference.

When God whispers, taps, nudges or hits you with a brick wall, he is asking you to speak for him.  Of  this I have no doubt.

In Christian Love,  Alice Alt

And here it comes…Holy Week.

Rich and I have felt its coming for the past couple of weeks now, with increased numbers of printed materials to enhance the Lenten  experience, and an even larger increase in the number of people stopping in the office in need of food, gas, financial assistance and perhaps most of all, a compassionate ear to get them through the season.

Easter, along with its colorful eggs, patent leather Mary Janes and moving services, brings with it a crush of increased expectations and a flood of emotions.  Easter reminds us, sadly of those who are not here to celebrate with us, and joyfully, that we will one day meet again. For families with young children, you must meet the perfect balance between celebrating visits from over-sized yard animals bearing gifts of plastic grass and marshmallow birds, with teaching what Easter morning really means to the family of God.   For the rest of us, we will try to remember why it’s important and beneficial to fit Church into our lives, not just on Christmas and Easter, but all the year through.

Back in the office, while you might hear the nashing of teeth, be assured, Rich and I remember that the influx of work is the result of the ever-expanding message God sent to the cross that mournful day, so many centuries ago. We are grateful for the new technology that has increased the ways that we can communicate with you, and we are thankful for your exuberance to receive it!

And so, to Gay Crump, who answers  me “yes Pam,  it is bad to dread the Easter season,”  I thank you for the mood elevating jelly beans, and I thank God for my job, my family, my ever-growing responsibilities and for an empty cross.

Lovingly

Your blog administrator and marketing coordinator – Pam Fisher