4. Are you willing to minister with all persons without regard to race, color, ethnicity, national origin, social status, gender, sexual orientation, age, economic condition, or disabilities?
Through the ministry to which I have been called I will uphold the Social Principles that state, “We affirm that all persons are individuals of sacred worth, created in the image of God.”[1] I will do whatever I can to provide all persons with ministry opportunities that encourage them to grow in their relationship with God.
This past summer, I was blessed to have a physically-handicapped girl named Reagan join my youth ministry after she was confirmed in the Church. One of our annual trips for junior high students is our mystery ramble. This is a surprise trip where we take the youth to an undisclosed location to do mission work, with some fun activities thrown in. Usually this trip involves working in non-handicap accessible places, because I never have had to think about it before. This year, I planned the trip so Reagan wasn’t left out of any of the activities, so that she could participate in the work and activities we did.
In our communion practice, we celebrate an open table. This invitation is for “all who love Christ, who earnestly repent of their sin and seek to live in peace with one another.[2] Providing an inclusive ministry means that I will partner with all persons so they can grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ, which will enable them to share the gifts and graces God has given them with others.
5. Will you regard all pastoral conversations of a confessional nature as a trust between the person concerned and God?
As a clergyperson, I am charged to maintain all confidences inviolate, including confessional confidences, except in the cases of suspected child abuse or neglect or in cases where mandatory reporting is required by civil law.[3]
In my ministry, I have been able to develop relationships with those of my congregation counsel and support for them as they continue their growth as children of God. When a congregation member comes to me in confession, it provides me an opportunity to help support them in their faith journey. With God’s help, I will uphold this sacred trust.
This past fall, I was asked by a former member to perform a funeral for her cousin’s husband who passed away suddenly. The family wasn’t connected to a church and due to the sudden nature of his death, the wife was scrambling and at a loss of what to do. When we sat down, prayed and opened up the scriptures, there was a sense of calm that came over the room as we prepared to celebrate her husband’s life.
In a broken world, it is easy to be caught up in gossip and hearsay, but through pastoral conversation, I will use every opportunity to speak truth and love into all conversations in order for those I am in conversation with to grow in their understanding and relationship with God.
6. Provide evidence of experience in peace and justice ministries.
Micah 6:8 gives us the great requirement to “…do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God.”[4] The way we fulfill this requirement is to be in mission in our local community, in our country and around the world. In my ten years of youth ministry, I have made it a priority to make available different mission projects for the youth of the congregation. These projects range from visiting local retirement homes, participating in home repair projects across the country and taking trips to Juarez, Mexico to build cinderblock homes for families.
and to walk humbly with your God.”[4] The way we fulfill this requirement is to be in mission in our local community, in our country and around the world. In my ten years of youth ministry, I have made it a priority to make available different mission projects for the youth of the congregation. These projects range from visiting local retirement homes, participating in home repair projects across the country and taking trips to Juarez, Mexico to build cinderblock homes for families.
This past spring, I took a group of youth and adults to Port Arthur, Texas to repair a roof on a home that was devastated by Hurricane Rita in September 2005. As we drove to this home, we saw several homes with blue tarps covering the roofs to keep the inside of the homes from acquiring more damage. Even after almost 5 years, there was a great deal of work that needed to be done in the area. The roof we were assigned was in need of repair, but it didn’t compare to the house next door which was covered entirely by a blue tarp. As we worked, we developed a relationship with the next door neighbors of the house we were working on.
While we were talking to the home owner, they kept saying, “We don’t know where to go. We don’t know what to do. Can you help us?” Being active in peace and justice ministries requires us to get out into the communities and provide healing and wholeness to God’s children. By the end of the trip, we were able to connect those homeowners with Disaster Recovery so they could get a new roof on their house. When we make ourselves available to local communities that are left in the margins, we fulfill the requirement of Micah 6:8.
I am particularly excited because Grace UMC is now partnering with one of the elementary schools in Sherman. We have committed ourselves to walk side by side with Jefferson Elementary, providing needed assistance to this low-income school. We have had a successful school supply drive and already have members of the congregation lining up to become mentors of the students of Jefferson.
When Jesus started his ministry he read from the book of Isaiah saying, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."[5] When we participate in peace and justice ministries we are carrying on Christ’s mission to help those in need, but we also show that all people are cherished children of God.
NTC Question: What is your understanding of itinerant ministry?
Itinerant ministry is a covenant in which elders in the United Methodist Church submit to in order to be sent into ministry into local communities and the world. When we submit ourselves to this covenant we understand that our ministry is a part of the global church.
The itinerant system is a called and sent ministry. This is based on the ministry of Christ when he called the disciples[6] to follow him and then Christ sent them out to be in ministry to the world. [7] As an Elder in the United Methodist Church, when I commit to the itinerant system, I will trust in the power of the Holy Spirit to guide the Bishop along with the consultation of the cabinet to send me to the ministry field that needs my gifts and graces in order to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Through answering the call to itinerancy I echo the call of Isaiah when he proclaimed, “Here I am, send me!”[8]
The itinerant ministry also binds the United Methodist Church as a connectional system, “global in scope, and local in thrust.”[9] With this connectional trait, we share in ministry together throughout our districts to the global church. We can provide quality ministries together for our local communities like the Imagine No Malaria campaign, which focuses on eradicating the deadly disease from the world by 2015.
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