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By Melissa Lauber
UMConnection Staff

You are the one. We are the ones that can make a difference in this part of God’s world, Bishop Marcus Matthews is telling the clergy and laity of the Baltimore-Washington Conference as he joins in conversation with them at district meetings over the next several weeks.

Drawing on the wisdom of a statement from Hopi Elders, titled “We Are the Ones We’ve Been Waiting For” (see sidebar, page 3), Matthews is encouraging the people of the Baltimore-Washington Conference not to look to their colleagues, the conference staff or some ill-defined hero who will save the day. Rather, we must be aware that “we are God’s plan.

“God is depending upon each of us,” the bishop said.  “God needs you to do something. It’s good to come and worship and say, ‘amen.’ But we don’t need people standing on the sidelines. God needs you engaged. Our vision is to become fully alive and make a difference in a diverse and ever-changing world.”

On Feb. 18, Matthews spoke with the clergy and laity of the Greater Washington District at First UMC in Hyattsville and on Feb. 25 he met with the clergy of the Annapolis District at St. Mark UMC in Hanover.

The focus of the conversations was on allowing people in the pulpits and the pews to share their thoughts with the bishop, who opened the sessions with a few remarks on the character of United Methodists.

United Methodists, he said, live out a faithful blending of personal holiness and social action. “They seek a right relationship with God, but are also engaged. Where people are hurting in the world, we ought to be the ones making a difference,” the bishop said.

United Methodists also live by Wesley’s three rules to do good, do no harm and to stay in love with God. And, they live in an ever-changing community, with a living polity that centers around being counciliar, covenantal and connectional.

As United Methodists, our ministries are focused in four areas: global health, ministry with the poor, leadership development and creating new spaces for new people.

At the last annual conference in May 2013, Bishop Matthews called upon the Baltimore-Washington Conference to undertake three initiatives: to be prayer stations, to invite each member to bring someone to Christ and to form school partnerships in their community.

He encouraged those present to continue these initiatives, which are transforming churches, and he called on every United Methodist “to pray for and do a new thing.”

“We are the ones,” Bishop Matthews said. “If we miss this opportunity, if we miss the very present moment God has given us, it will be a sad day for the church of Jesus Christ.”

At the first two district sessions, those present had a number of questions for the bishop, ranging from his thoughts on same-gender marriage and recent church trials, to the importance of Sabbath leave and how the church is addressing issues of poverty and violence within our Conference.

In speaking on same-gender marriages, Matthew affirmed his role as a bishop in upholding the Discipline. However, he also expressed his personal feelings that church trials seldom solve what they seek to address. “Nobody wins in trials,” he said. “I pray we find a better way.”

The bishop also stressed the importance of clergy practicing self-care and the need for taking Sabbath leave. “These are challenging times,” he said. “I encourage you to rest, study, be anchored in prayer and to find a support group to be in.”

The bishop became most animated when talking about the need for United Methodists to address issues of poverty and violence in their communities. 

“You know, I often wonder what is being preached from our pulpits on Sunday,” he said. “I often wonder, are we saying anything about the children being killed? What are we doing on Sundays? Until we use these pulpits to really spread the Word of God, we will not be relevant. … It doesn’t help to have people coming Sunday morning if we feed them a watered-down Gospel. God is calling us at this time. Our job is to speak the Gospel the best that we know how. It’s time for us to do what God has laid on our hearts and minds.”

These conversations with Bishop Matthews will continue.