By Pastor Scott Rosekrans
I’m a “Boomer” born in 1952. Like many Boomers, I’ve seen a lot of change as America emerged from World War II and the Korean War to fully engage in humanitarian endeavors, extending a helping hand across two oceans to share our wealth, abundance, and love for humanity. What I remember from my Civics Class was the description of America being a “Melting Pot” for all the immigrants who flocked to our shores before and after the war.
My grandmother and her sisters came from the Ukraine between 1900 and 1910. I have a family binder written by one of my father’s aunts detailing their flight from France during the French Revolution. I have Irish ancestry due to the Irish potato famine. I was so proud that my family of immigrants had assimilated into American life and were a part of the great melting pot. It now saddens me that we no longer promote ourselves as a melting pot. Immigrants and people who are different from us are vilified because being different is not acceptable.
Okay, Boomer, what’s your point? What does this have to do with the United Methodist Church? Good question.
When faced with such thorny issues, I like to turn to our new United Methodist Book of Discipline for guidance and instruction. The Preamble of our Social Principles has some great language regarding how we, as Methodists, handle our differences. It says: “We recognize that the body of Christ has many parts, and all are valuable. Thus, we respect differences within Christ’s body, including differences in understanding and expressing faith, in gifts and practices of ministry and in life experiences, as shaped by ethnicities, cultures, communities, abilities, age, sexual orientation, and gender.” That’s a great starting point, so how do we put it into action where we can make a difference?
Well, the United Methodist Church has what is called the General Board of Church and Society, and according to paragraph 1002, it states that: “The purpose of the board shall be to relate the gospel of Jesus Christ to the members of the Church and to the persons and structures of the communities and world in which they live. It shall seek to bring the whole of human life, activities, possessions, use of resources, and community and world relationships into conformity with the will of God. It shall show the members of the Church and the society that the reconciliation that God effected through Christ involves personal, social, and civic righteousness.
Nice, but wait, there’s more! The Book of Discipline provides that each Conference has its own Board of Church and Society charged with carrying out the stated purpose of the General Board. Yes, we have a Conference Board, and I have the honor and privilege of serving on that board. I am the Puget Sound District’s Social Justice Advocate. One of my duties is to work with churches in our district and encourage each church to have its own local social justice advocate. Sadly, not all of our local churches have an advocate, with the duty falling to the pastor, and some of the advocates are, like me, overwhelmed, not knowing where to start.
One way for us to turn the heat down on our boiling, melting pot we call America is to get involved with these social justice issues. As disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world, I encourage you to see if your local church has an advocate who needs help. If you don’t have an advocate, what can you do to fill that much-needed position?
So let me close with another reference to our Preamble. “Differences are a precious gift and daunting challenge. They can stretch the church’s capacity to live and minister faithfully. Yet God calls our church to difficult discipleship, with Jesus as our guide and the Spirit as our daily strength. With God’s help, we accept the challenge to follow the high calling ‘to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God’ (Micah 6:8 NRSV).
Scott Rosekrans serves as pastor to the people of Community United Methodist Church in Port Hadlock, Washington.
