Coming this Sunday is our “charge conference,” which again this year will be taking place in the format of an Action Assembly. This is a gathering of many congregations from our area, all at Beaverton First UMC. We will worship, hear from Erin, our District Superintendent, hear faith stories of people living the faith and walking in it -- one from the LGBTQ+ perspective and another, Amy Fiederowicz from outreach ministry. We will share in 1-1s and small groups. We will discuss the possible change in the UMC after General Conference comes in May 2020. And then we will have time to do the official work of voting on areas of church business.
The DS has heard some kickback about this format. Last year was the first attempt and some things didn’t go as planned. There were some responses of confusion to this format.
Erin wrote this in response:
“The confusion (about action assemblies) centers around the "Why?"
Why has the way we do Charge Conferences changed?
Why do we have to travel to different churches, gather with other people we don't know and do things otherwise not associated with Charge Conference?
The "why" question is an important one. … Let me try to be abundantly clear: Why Action Assemblies? Because there is greater power in our gathering across congregations. We are stronger together than we are apart. We break down isolation, create bigger community, and understand ourselves as interconnected with each other. Now more than ever, we are not alone. These are important values for us as United Methodists in our District at this time. Each of our contexts uniquely contributes to the greater whole. At Action Assemblies, we get to experience the richness of our varied connection as we gather in larger ways.”
I know that we do not all agree on all things, but I also know we need to be unified in order to move forward. And unity cannot be around opinions but must be centered in a Person: Jesus. Once we find our unity in Him, we can disagree on many things yet come back to unity around the Savior. The Action Assembly is one opportunity to discover that unity. Hopefully!
November 17th, 3-6 pm. Beaverton First UMC