{"id":578,"date":"2012-04-27T06:52:10","date_gmt":"2012-04-27T13:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/gc2012\/?p=578"},"modified":"2012-04-27T06:52:10","modified_gmt":"2012-04-27T13:52:10","slug":"covenanting-with-the-umc-warts-and-all-through-ordination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/covenanting-with-the-umc-warts-and-all-through-ordination\/","title":{"rendered":"Covenanting With the UMC, “Warts and All,” Through Ordination"},"content":{"rendered":"

Credit: Photo of Katie’s commissioning service by Scott Kraft.<\/em><\/p>\n

I have noticed that this year I am watching General Conference with new eyes. In some ways, the advancement of technology has literally meant I can watch and participate in GC like I haven’t in quadrennia past. But I think it actually has more to do with the fact that as a provisional deacon, about to be ordained, it all just feels a lot more important to me personally.<\/p>\n

Preparing for ordination, I have found, is somewhat similar to preparing for marriage. Both are covenants of fidelity, love, and partnership. Both are promises to choose and daily re-choose to commit to the relationship, even when the going gets rough. And both are covenants made for all parties exactly as they are—warts and all.<\/p>\n

In a number of months, if all goes well with my interview with the Full Membership Committee, I will be asked “Wesley’s Historical Questions” at Annual Conference before getting ordained. This series of questions includes a number that are specifically focused on my relationship with the UMC:<\/p>\n

Do you know the General Rules of our Church?<\/p>\n

Will you keep them?<\/p>\n

Have you studied the doctrines of The United Methodist Church?<\/p>\n

After full examination, do you believe that our doctrines are in harmony with the Holy Scriptures?<\/p>\n

Will you preach and maintain them?<\/p>\n

Have you studied our form of Church discipline and polity?<\/p>\n

Do you approve our Church government and polity?<\/p>\n

Will you support and maintain them?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I’ll be expected to answer these questions in the affirmative if I am to be ordained, and I take very seriously my responsibility to answer them honestly. And what is happening at General Conference this year directly impacts my answer to these questions.<\/p>\n

I am seeing some things that make me hopeful. I take hope in the UMW choosing to send two women from Cameroon to seminary<\/a> instead of putting together an elaborate General Conference display. I take hope in Adam Hamilton listening to the concerns of young people in response to his Call to Action presentation, and giving of his time during lunch to speak with<\/a> those young people.<\/p>\n

But I am also concerned. I am concerned that we will fail to be a place that reflects Jesus’ radical hospitality to the outsiders. I am concerned that we will continue to expend so much of our precious resources of time and energy in the ongoing contentiousness surrounding persons in same-sex relationships, women’s reproductive freedoms, and equitable representation and power of minorities within the church. I am concerned that we will privilege the politics of power over the call to go out in to the world and be the hands and feet of Jesus.<\/p>\n

So I’m finding that as I follow GC in its first few days, I have a lot of mixed feelings. Joy mixes with concern. Sadness and disappointment mix with hope. And I’m filled with trepidation at watching not only what decisions are made, but how<\/em> decisions are made. I’m watching carefully, and praying fervently, for the church I love and am about to covenant with in a new way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Credit: Photo of Katie’s commissioning service by Scott Kraft. I have noticed that this year I am watching General Conference with new eyes. In some ways, the advancement of technology has literally meant I can watch and participate in GC like I haven’t in quadrennia past. But I think it actually has more to do […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":655,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-578","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-conversation"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/katie-ordination.jpeg?fit=3282%2C1969&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2l75j-9k","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=578"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":656,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578\/revisions\/656"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}