Faith Made Tangible
By Nico Romeijn-Stout

INSIGHTS_Musings_nicoIn 1990 the United States Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act, an important step forward in civil rights laws in this country. And that step forward was written by a bipartisan group of folks who met each week at 100 Maryland Ave., Washington D.C., also known as the Methodist Building.

I had the extraordinary opportunity this summer to intern with the General Board of Church and Society, working in the Methodist Building. I would walk into the lobby each morning and walk by the quotes from Micah 6:8 ā€œand what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?ā€ and Isaiah 2:4 ā€œthey shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks.ā€ En route to my desk with a view of the Supreme Court, Iā€™d take a turn by the elevator to head up the stairs, passing giant copies of the 1908 Methodist Episcopal Churchā€™s Social Creed and our current Social Creed (Ā¶166 for those keeping track at home).

If youā€™re anything like me, youā€™ll need a moment to think about all that. Or grab your Bible and Book of Discipline.

We Methodists stand rooted in a long tradition of public witness to issues of social concern. Itā€™s integral to our history and our theology ā€“ the Methodist movement was founded on beliefs that loving our neighbors means more than just caring for their souls. Our belief in the need for a public witness to the needs of society is why I walked through a lobby adorned with prophetic quotes each morning this summer; itā€™s why in 1924 Methodists built a building on Capitol Hill.

Thatā€™s a lot about ā€œwe,ā€ and I really do hope youā€™ll take some time to read up on it all. But what about you? If Methodism is to continue as a movement, and to continue to publicly witness to the greatest needs of society, then you, and I, and that person who sits on the other end of the pew/row on Sundays needs to continue carrying the tradition started by those trouble-making college students back at Oxford in the 1720s. And while John and Charles Wesley may have been more interested in asking you about your rules for holy living, Iā€™ve got a slightly different question for you:

Whatā€™s your social creed?

Donā€™t have one? Thatā€™s ok, I didnā€™t either. But then I challenged a congregation one Sunday to each write their own. And so I wrote mine, and now you, yes you, can write your own. Then share what you came up with: talk to someone about it, post it on Facebook, preach a sermon, or better yet, share it by living it.

Make your faith tangible this fall.


Nico Romeijn-Stout is a student at the Boston School of Theology
and is a member of The Pacific Northwest Conference.

This article will be featured in Channels 76, October 2014.

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