Climate Justice: A Call to Hope and Action - Chapter 3

As we journey through Lent towards Easter and Earth Day, we hope that these words may enlighten or speak to you in some way. This column will be presented weekly.



In 2016 the United Methodist Women commissioned the publication of the book Climate Justice: A Call to Hope and Action, an illuminating and wide-ranging look at an issue they had been studying for several years.

“And God saw everything that God had made, and indeed, it was very good.”   - Genesis 1:31a

When a young man set sail from the coast of Virginia as a seaman in the United States Navy, he watched the shoreline fade and the horizon dominated by the Atlantic expand, as his ship headed to the Mediterranean Sea.  He realized that size and depth of the ocean and earth were beyond his comprehension.  He had begun his journey toward understanding the interconnectedness of all species living in water and on land.

That sailor, I. Malik Saafir, author of Chapter 3, “What is Climate Justice?  Why is it a Religious Issue?” helps us think through the reasons why climate justice is a religious issue.  (Malik Saafir is president of the Janus Institute for Justice, a director of the Arkansas Interfaith Power and Light, and Green Faith.)

“As a sailor, I also witnessed how we shared the sea with other animals and marine organisms, as well as our continued destruction of the ocean’s ecosystem from pollution.  Each day at sea, I saw plastic and other non-biodegradable trash floating in the ocean . . . My professional responsibilities on board the ship granted me the unique opportunity to daily witness life out at sea.  The recurring theme of beauty, complexity, and awe became an integral part of my experiences as a watch and helmsman on board the ship.”

After his naval career, Saafir lived in Virginia Beach, where he was troubled by the commercial industries that lined the beach, and the trash and waste that accumulated.  He began to understand linkages between consumer choices and environmental toxins released in communities located near fossil fuel, chemical, and manufacturing plants locally and globally.  “. . . I became overwhelmed by my moral responsibility to care for the poor.  I joined the climate justice movement to work with the poor to end the unprecedented impacts of pollution and natural disasters on vulnerable communities throughout the world.” He reminds us that we are planting seeds of climate justice when we serve the poor and those that are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change (Matthew 25:31-46). 

“The United States has 5 percent of the world’s population but is the second largest contributor of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions after China.”  The result is that those who contribute the least amount to the emission problem, are those that suffer the most, especially in disadvantaged countries, with women bearing a disproportionate cost. 

This chapter gives us rich new interpretations of the Biblical allegories and parables of Jesus we know well, and may come to value even more, as we strive to become a healthy, worldwide community. 

Please visit https://www.unitedmethodistwomen.org/ for more information about the work of the UMW throughout the world.  If you are interested in reading this book, please let us know.  Copies are available.

Jan Lichtenwalter, Glenn Environmental Committee

Climate Justice: A Call to Hope and Action - Chapter 2

As we journey through Lent towards Easter and Earth Day we hope that these words may enlighten or speak to you in some way. This column will be presented weekly.


In 2016 the United Methodist Women commissioned the publication of the book Climate Justice: A Call to Hope and Action, an illuminating and wide-ranging look at an issue they had been studying for several years.

Chapter 2, “A Biblical Model of Climate Justice” was written by Bishop Rosemarie Wenner of Germany.  In this chapter Wenner approaches the issue of climate justice through four verses of scripture.  First, we look toward the creation story in Genesis which remind us that we are created as part of the whole.  We are to balance the two tasks of tilling the earth and keeping the earth (Genesis 2:15) and copy the care and love of our Creator in doing so.

Secondly, Wenner refers to Psalm 104, a psalm of praise for creation.  “If we see Christ in all that is created and if we understand ourselves as part of the family of nature, it will impact our worldview, our spiritual practice, the worship life of our congregations, and our lifestyle.”  In 2009 the Council of Bishops wrote “God’s Renewed Creation: Call to Hope and Action” as a pastoral letter to the churches in response to the creation crisis.  “God’s creation is in crisis. We, the Bishops of The United Methodist Church, cannot remain silent while God’s people and God’s planet suffer. This beautiful natural world is a loving gift from God, the Creator of all things seen and unseen. God has entrusted its care to all of us, but we have turned our backs on God and on our responsibilities. Our neglect, selfishness, and pride have fostered pandemic poverty and disease, environmental degradation, and the proliferation of weapons and violence.”

Thirdly, Wenner looks at Revelation 21 and asks us to read this as a wake-up call to rethink our lifestyles. The aim of God is new life, not devastation.  We are to be God’s coworkers by taking action with our lives towards peace, justice, and reconciliation.  In the 2009 letter the council reminded us that as we respond to God’s call to action, the Holy Spirit will guide us.

Fourth, we are to be “good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10).  We are not the owners of the world, but rather stewards. John Wesley, in Sermon 51, describes this stewardship – “… A steward is not at liberty to use what is lodged in his hand as he pleases but as his master pleases …”  The lifestyle of humbleness is hard in today’s world where we  constantly hear about economic growth and less about the practice of having enough.

So where do we go from here?  How has the church universal responded to the pastoral letter from 10 years ago?  Have we built coalitions for political and economic change? Change is not impossible and we must develop healthier and more sustainable options as we till and keep the earth.

“Many little people, in many little places, taking many little steps, can change the face of the world.” - African proverb


Please visit https://www.unitedmethodistwomen.org/ for more information about the work of the UMW throughout the world.  If you are interested in reading this book, please let us know.  Copies are available.

Lynn Speno, Glenn Environmental Committee

A Trip to Montgomery: Awakening to the Past and Present of Racial Inequality

Last summer, a group of about 25 members of Glenn Memorial UMC took a trip to Montgomery, Alabama to visit the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and The Legacy Museum. The trip was organized as part of Glenn’s ongoing conversations around racial justice, white privilege, and the role we as individual followers of Christ and we as members of Glenn Memorial should take to fight for equal justice for all.

I went into the trip hoping to listen, learn, and discuss ways in which we can fix the systemic racism and inequality in our country. I left Montgomery sick to my stomach, with more questions than answers. How could a nation founded on equal rights for all get to such a place over the last 240+ years? How could we as a Church sit on the sidelines for so long as our brothers and sisters in Christ suffer?

The Memorial and Museum are part of a non-profit called the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI). EJI was founded in 1989 by Alabama based Attorney and social justice activist Bryan Stevenson. What started as an organization to provide death row inmates legal representation in Alabama (due to the elimination of federal funding for such support) has blossomed into a movement to tell the story of our Nation’s ugly past and the very slow march toward equal justice for all.

We started our journey at The Legacy Museum. Housed in a former slave warehouse and a block from one of the largest slave auctions in the United States, the cramped rectangular building lays out a very clear, linear, deliberate march from the massive economic engine created by chattel slavery to present day mass incarceration. Slavery, to the Civil War, to race-based domestic terrorism (i.e. lynching),  to separate but equal and Jim Crow, to mass incarceration. It’s all laid out in clear, factual detail; a nation founded on race-based power that has yet to completely heal itself. I left wondering how anyone could argue that white privilege doesn’t exist in our country then and now. I also left wondering how millions of brothers and sisters of color could keep hope in such an environment.

Our group then walked the mile up the hill to The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, a.k.a. the Lynching Memorial, passing through a rundown section of Montgomery that was likely once a bustling neighborhood before the suburban flight. This breathtaking and solemn outdoor memorial pays homage to the more than 4,400 lynchings of black people that occurred in the United States between 1877 and 1950. You enter the museum at the top of a short-crested hill, staring at rusted columns that list the names and dates of known lynchings organized by state and county.  As you continue to walk in awe, the ground slowly slopes to reveal the rusted columns are actually hanging from the structure above.

I entered the Georgia section of columns. There it was, laid bare, 592 KNOWN lynchings across almost every country in our state. DeKalb County. Fulton County. Columbia County where my wife grew up. We walked further, slowly down the slope, I entered North Carolina where I lived for a few years, then Virginia, where I spent most of my childhood. Haunting. Gut-wrenching. There are no words to describe the experience. Finally, at the end, there is a quote etched in stone above a calming waterfall:

For the hanged and beaten.

For the shot, drowned, and burned.

For the tortured, tormented, and terrorized.

For those abandoned by the rule of law.

We will remember.

With hope because hopelessness is the enemy of justice.

With courage because peace requires bravery.

With persistence because justice is a constant struggle.

With faith because we shall overcome.

And then this poem from Toni Morrison.

Back at the top of the hill lay duplicate columns for each county. In a brilliant strategy of reckoning and reconciliation, the EJI is requesting each County to personally claim their column, cover the cost of transport back to their location, and display the historical marker it in a public place. DeKalb County is set to unveil its column this September. The duplicate columns left in Montgomery will provide a clear marker of progress.

Our group slowly congregated near the exit, all quiet, in shock, in reflection. We closed our eyes, joined hands in a circle, and recited this invocation:

Litany after visiting Memorial to Peace and Justice

Today has been an opportunity for learning truths and reflecting on them.

Thy kingdom come.

We have seen the names of these children of God and we have read their stories. We lament the silence that has surrounded them for far too long.

Thy kingdom come.

As people of faith for whom the greatest commandment is to love our neighbor, we commit ourselves to shining the light of truth on our country’s history, confessing the role that that history played in creating the systems of oppression that still exist today, and working towards justice and reconciliation.

Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

As we loaded into the bus and drove home, the sunset over the southeastern Alabama landscape. For miles, it was an environment of deep reflection. Then slowly but surely, we all started to open up. What should we do next? The centuries of systemic oppression seemed so hard to solve. Our country felt like two completely different ones with different rules depending on the color of your skin.

But perhaps the solution is simple.

Listen. Understand. Pray. Show Up. Stand Up. Speak Out. Always with Christ’s love.

With God’s Grace, and Peace

Aaron Hurst

**To sign-up for this year’s day trip to Montgomery, AL to experience The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, go to tinyurl.com/montgomerytrip to register and pay. Tickets are $11/adult and $7.70/seniors and students. If you have any questions, please contact Carol Allums.

Climate Justice: A Call to Hope and Action - Chapter 1

As we journey through Lent towards Easter and Earth Day, we hope that these words may enlighten or speak to you in some way. This column will be presented weekly.

In 2016 the United Methodist Women commissioned the publication of the book Climate Justice: A Call to Hope and Action, an illuminating and wide-ranging look at an issue they had been studying for several years.

The first chapter of the book, entitled "A Biblical Theology of Creation Care," was written by Pat Watkins, retired General Board of Global Ministries missionary and implementer of the board’s Creation Care ministry.  The chapter focuses on many of the biblical stories of God's people and how these stories help us to see the threefold relationship of God, each other, and the earth.

As the author recounts, "In the Garden of Eden, Adam was created out of the dust of the earth." In the Genesis story, we humans and all living creatures were created from the same "stuff."  You might say the earth is part of our DNA!

From Genesis to Revelation, the earth - the land - is central to biblical history.  In the Old Testament, our relationships with God, with each other, and with the earth are intimately intertwined; the three need each other for true fulfillment.  The stories of Adam and Eve and of Cain and Abel show how disobedience and self-centeredness interfered with this relationship and the need to "serve and keep" the garden.  It is noteworthy that the Noah story ends with a covenant God makes not just with Noah but with every living thing of all future generations, and with the earth itself!  The right relationships have been restored.

Biblical history is filled with stories of making these relationships right again.  Those relationships are wrong when human beings believe the creation exists only for them.  The eighth-century prophets Amos and Hosea provide wonderful examples of passionate proclamations against the abuse of the land and exploitation of the poor in order to benefit the rich.  These words ring true today!

In the New Testament, Jesus drew on the imagery of the earth in most of his parables.  The people who heard him were connected to the land and understood his stories about sowing seed in good soil, about shepherding, working the fields, and fishing.  And they understood his drawing on the natural world to describe himself as a shepherd or as a vine.  Working with the earth was an integral part of people's lives.

But, just as the prophets had preached, human greed and selfishness gave rise to exploitation of the resources of creation, and too often it was the poor who suffered - and injustice prevailed.  Today we see the growing threats of pollution, global warming, toxic dumps and numerous other environmental dangers.  Our author calls us once again to see the centrality of relationships, to understand that the way we relate to God, to each other, and to the earth is of one piece - we are interdependent and interconnected.  Thus creation care is at the heart of how we live out our lives as Christian disciples.

Please visit https://www.unitedmethodistwomen.org/ for more information about the work of the UMW throughout the world.  If you are interested in reading this book, please let us know.  Copies are available.

Jean Luker, Glenn UMW President and Environmental Committee member

General Conference: Some First Thoughts

The General Conference has ended, but it isn’t over.  While we know that the Traditional Plan passed, with its goals of strengthening the ban on same-sex marriage and tightening the rules against the ordination of LGBTQ+ persons, we still don’t know until April how the Judicial Council will rule on the legality of the plan.

Below, I am sharing with you several links to information on the conference and its actions.  The truth is I’m still sorting through the details of it all myself.  Also, this Sunday, March 3, Mathew Pinson, who headed up our annual conference delegation, will share with us a bit in worship.

Now, we find ourselves in a time of flux, grief, uncertainty, and waiting.  And the truth is we’re all tired of waiting.  We’re wary of uncertainty and tired of watching folks we love excluded from the church’s rites and rights.  Today I also hurt for our wonderful seminary students and candidates for ministry, some of whom don’t know if they will be welcomed by the church they feel so deeply called to serve, and none of whom really know what will remain of our denomination when they are ready to take their places in pastoral ministry.  Please pray for them as well.

Emotions are jumbled, mixed, and raw.  So, what do we do?
We stay informed.
We support the cause of inclusion and love with our voices and our work (and explore possibilities for that work together).
We see to it that good and faithful folks represent us next year at General Conference and support them in their challenging work.
We watch and listen to see how the Holy Spirit will work through attentive and faithful servants and churches across our conference and denomination and how we can best be a part of it all. And, fundamentally, essentially, joyously, we continue to be the church God has called us to be.

Though the nations rage and the denomination quakes, we who are Glenn Memorial will do what we are called to do.  We’ll gather in worship and offer praises to the God of all that is, finding refreshment for our spirits.  We’ll invite our neighbors to worship with us and to study with us and to grow with us in the Spirit and truth of Jesus Christ.  And we will love with the here-and-now-Incarnate-nitty-gritty love of Christ, with the love that never ends, with the love that makes all things new, with the love that saves and heals.  We will love one another; we’ll love those who feel unloved by our denomination; and, yes, we’ll love our enemies.  It’s who we are.

If the people who are the church haven’t destroyed the church by now, this latest heartbreak won’t either.  God will work through faithful souls to bring the change God desires.  Jesus stands with those excluded and extends his nail-scarred hands to those who exclude.  The one who died on the cross rather than turn away from sinful humanity, the one raised by God—at whose name every knee will bow—that suffering servant will triumph over all foes (and sometimes even we are among those foes).

I wish all of us United Methodists (how ironic our name seems now) could simply be quiet for a moment and gather at the cross because at the cross there are no labels, no conservatives or progressives or moderates.  At the cross, no one is out and all are in.  At the cross, you’ll find only children, wayward and found, wondrously created and fully loved by God.  All are gathered in and all creation meets.  At the cross we are judged and forgiven; we die to be raised.  Kneeling there in as much humility as we can muster, I wish we would all confess our brokenness, our fear, our sins toward God and one another, and dive once more into God’s grace and mercy.  I wish we could start again.

Wishing doesn’t make it so, of course, but I know I need to go there, and I don’t believe I’ll be alone.

God is not done.  Christ lives and reigns.  And the Holy Spirit is working overtime.  Don’t quit.  The Good News is still good news.

In Christ,
Mark Westmoreland

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Helpful General Conference 2019 Links:
For a summary of the plans presented at General Conference click HERE

For our North Georgia Annual Conference reports on General Conference click HERE

A message from Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson at the close of General Conference click HERE

For other reports from our United Methodist News Service click HERE

A statement from The Reconciling Ministries Network click HERE

For some secular reports on General Conference:
From the AJC
From NPR
From ABC News
From NBC News
From Fox News
From NY Times

Children’s Sabbath is...

From Bethany Eyrich - who WAS a kid @ Glenn and now is the proud parent of two kids @ Glenn:  Children’s Sabbath is...

Children’s Sabbath is scary. Scary because it can be intimidating to stand in front of hundreds of people to sing or read scripture. Scary because, even though we practice, we never quite know what the children will say or do in the moment. Scary because when you’ve worked on a sermon or a joke, you never know how it will go over until the delivery.
 
Children’s Sabbath is a lot of work. Years of teaching Bible stories, weeks of learning songs and practicing instruments, hours of planning and writing a sermon, a children’s sermon, a prayer. Careful preparations to figure out the flow of each element of the worship service and where and when bodies move.
 
Children’s Sabbath is lively. Parades (or the more proper “processions”) through the sanctuary with pompoms. Balloons decorating the sanctuary. Lots of movement of bodies large and small – often bouncing or skipping rather than just walking. Laughter accompanying jokes as the kids express their delight at being in charge.
 
Children’s Sabbath is refreshing. Beaming faces remind us of the joy it is to participate in worship by singing, collecting offering, reading scripture, serving communion, welcoming people, and even smiling and waving goodbye as people go out into the world filled with the messages calling them to love in word and action.
 
Children’s Sabbath is tradition. We teach our children our traditions. We teach them the stories and the creeds and the songs that are familiar to us and they join in, sensing the magic and peace that can come from traditions. Young and old, side by side they serve communion as it has been done for thousands of years, speaking the same words Jesus taught us. We also give them room to put their own spin on traditions to make their own.
 
Children’s Sabbath is a testament. Children share the message of love they have been taught through Sunday School, choir, and participating in worship with their families. Children read sacred words for us to hear. Children think deeply about the scripture and share their insights, giving us fresh ways to think about our actions and words.
 
Children’s Sabbath is important. It is important to remind ourselves that our children are watching what we do and say. It is important for them to know that their mistakes or imperfect words are received with love, not ridicule. It is important to give them a foundation on which to build their faith. It is important to give them a voice to express their own faith and questions. It is important to give them a chance to lead us and that we trust them to lead us.
 
Children’s Sabbath is filled with joy, laughter, song, reverence, and love.

If you missed it - or want to watch again - check out the photos and videos on our Glenn UMC Facebook!

Wrath Turned Away

An interesting thing happened on Twitter last week.[1]

I’ve followed the actor/comedian Patton Oswalt for a few months now and, while I personally[2] think he could tone down his profanity, I also find him amusing and quite insightful.  Following one of Oswalt’s posts insulting President Trump (rather profanely), a man named Michael Beatty, a Trump supporter, replied by insulting Oswalt.  In a familiar social-media pattern, Oswalt responded with another joke, and a lot of Oswalt’s fans then piled on earnestly and angrily.  Such is life on social media.

Then it all took a strange[3] turn.

Oswalt could have moved along.  I mean it’s social media, where one expects to be trolled and where the life expectancy of any conversation is less than three-score and ten characters.[4]  But Oswalt didn’t move on.  He lingered and, looking back through some of Beatty’s earlier tweets, learned that the Vietnam veteran had recently been hospitalized for diabetes-related sepsis.  Faced with a $5,000 healthcare debt, Beatty had set up a GoFundMe page.  Again, Oswalt could have moved on, and no one would have been the wiser, but, again, gloriously, he didn’t.

Oswalt immediately made a $2,000 donation for Beatty and invited others to do the same.  Beatty has been “dealt some [bad] cards — let's deal him some good ones. Click and donate — just like I'm about to," Oswalt tweeted. Within 24 hours, donations stood at $35,000,[5] and currently the fund is at more than $47,000.[6]

The dollars are great, but the actual human interaction is even better.  Beatty responded to Oswalt’s tweet and gift with another tweet of his own: "Patton. You have humbled me to the point where I can barely compose my words. You have caused me to take pause and reflect on how harmful words from my mouth could result in such an outpouring."[7]

What Oswalt did was big, really big, biblically big, even.  There’s something divine and miraculous in it.  Oswalt chose a path that stretches back through millennia and miles, through Jerusalem and Galilee.  It’s been around pretty much forever, but it’s always surprising.

It’s grace.  And it’s a strange and powerful force.

It’s also a choice.  Sure, snark[8] begets snarkiness, but grace also begets graciousness.[9]  We can volley our cleverness back and forth and never engage the human being across the way, or we can “pause and reflect” and discern in the other the image of God.  Patton Oswalt paused, reflected, AND acted.  He made a beautiful choice and set loose the grace that can transform and heal.  I’m going to guess that sometime today, or maybe tomorrow, you and I will have a chance to do the same.[10]

In Christ, Rev. Mark Westmoreland

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[1] OK, just how often something interesting happens on Twitter is a matter of debate, but this, in my humble opinion (and my opinion is all that really matters on social media, right?), was definitely interesting and even, dare I say, hopeful.

[2] See footnote 1 for my very perceptive comment about what really matters on social media.

[3] By social-media standards

[4] See Psalm 90:10 (KJV) for the source of my very clever biblical allusion.  See footnote 1 again for why I can call it very clever.

[5] From CBS News (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/patton-oswalt-twitter-troll-gofundme-30000-blade-trinity-michael-beatty/)

[6] https://www.gofundme.com/help-after-sepsis-and-hospital-plus-recovery

[7] Did you notice the words?  “You have caused me to take pause and reflect,” Beatty wrote.  Wow.  Pausing is good; reflecting is even better; but put the two together and you’ve got something beautiful.

[8] On “snark”: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/snark

[9] “Grace begets graciousness” are words I first heard from Dr. Fred Craddock.  You’ve already heard them from me here a couple of times, and I promise you will hear them many more times.

[10] For an even 10 footnotes: I invite you to take a moment and enjoy Patton Oswalt at his best, improvising a few years ago during a guest appearance on “Parks and Recreation.”  He plays a citizen filibustering during a city council meeting.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYNDssdsVnM

'Twas the Week After Christmas

‘Twas the week after Christmas, and all through the land

I guess some were still joyful, but my life was quite bland.

Weeks and weeks to get ready, then in one it’s all done.

No wonder so many think the season’s no fun.

I hung decorations all around with great care,

but what goes up must come down and be taken somewhere.

And though I am careful, and really quite able,

evergreen needles will be found till late April.

I received lots of cards, but the prettiest by far

came from the gouging old guy who fixes my car.

It has a flag and a manger and Santa there kneeling.

“It’s time for an oil change,” the old elf says with feeling.

The card from my grandmother stirred a few sniffles,

but my old college friend wrote six pages of drivel.

(Her daughter’s a genius, her son strong and tall;

her family’s so perfect, I get sick from it all.)

Maybe it was me or maybe the season,

but I was feeling quite blue, whatever the reason.

The bills will come in before the tree’s even out!

Something was missing; of that there’s no doubt.

But wait!  What’s this?  One more card in the pile—

I was about to add it to the circular file.

But this one caught my eye on this day.

It stopped me and told me it had something to say.

The words leapt from the page and gave me a start.

They flew ‘round the room, then straight to my heart.

“Hope,” “joy,” “good will,” “peace,” “love” and “God’s Grace”--

For the first time all week I found a smile on my face.

The words gathered themselves and told me a story.

As I read, they sang of God’s wonder and glory.

They told of young Mary and her new baby boy;

they sang of shepherds and angels and good news of great joy.

Then there in the refuse of a Christmas just passed,

I discovered the heart of the season at last.

Emmanuel, they call him—“God with us,” it means—

at New Year and Christmas and times in-between.

And wonder is found when we share that good news,

whether at work or at play or on Sunday in pews.

God’s love comes to all in Mary’s young boy,

and his love is our hope, and his hope is our joy.

And that joy is reason to love and to share,

to notice a neighbor and show that we care,

to offer the gift not bought in a store.

When we get it and give it, we get even more.

So, my wishes for you through bad gifts and good,

through all the bills and the stuff underfoot,

through all the ads and the cheesy best wishes,

through all the heartburn and reheated dishes:

A Merry Christmas today, Merry Christmas tomorrow.

Merry Christmas in joy, in laughter, in sorrow.

Love is the good news and kindness the song.

Sing it and share it the whole year long.

In Christ,
Mark Westmoreland

Have A Green, Green Christmas

By BETTY BENTLEY WATSON for the Glenn Environmental Committee

Making those Lists…..

‘Tis the season of Lists! List-making begins for me at Thanksgiving, with a mental tally of what I’ll say as we each share what we are especially thankful for this year, my favorite ritual of the family Thanksgiving table. Every year, the seasons surprise me, and I marvel at nature’s colors – and this year, breathe an earnest thanks that global warming has not (yet?) destroyed the seasons.

So, as a member of the Glenn Environmental Committee, my next list must be “How to Have a Green Christmas!” Here’s a start:

• Swap out old Christmas tree lights for LED light strings, use candles or solar powered decorations where possible

• Feast on a more plant-based diet and eat less meat (especially, cut out or cut down on beef consumption)

• Compost food waste through Compost Now or otherwise

• Consider electronic holiday cards instead of paper; make sure that actual cards are from recycled paper and are further recyclable

• Use natural decorations indoors and out (less electricity, more recyclables)

• Decorate a living Christmas tree – and then plant it

• When giving lotions and potions, go organic and natural, avoid troublesome ingredients (Here's a list)

• Buy the most earth-friendly version of gifts available – consider materials, ingredients, packaging, whether it can be re-used or recycled, whether it’s made locally

• Give presents in reusable fabric bags instead of using wrapping paper or paper bags

• Recycle all shipping boxes, packaging materials, and gift wrap

• Recycle the Christmas tree AND wreath! Florists love to get used wire wreath frames!

And what about those gifts?? Here’s a list of Green gift ideas:

• A month ($29 to $35) or more of composting service from Compost Now

• Vegetarian or vegan cookbooks

• Vegetarian restaurant gift cards

• Snazzy stainless steel or glass water bottles and food containers (avoid plastic!)

• Sheets, towels, wooden products - anything made with bamboo (it gobbles carbon!)

• Organic and unbleached cotton products

• A gift that takes the lucky recipient outdoors

• A clothes drying rack

• Home Depot/Lowe’s gift card for LED light bulbs (not just for the holidays)

• Plant a tree! Check out the options at Trees Atlanta

• A home energy audit

• A selection from the Glenn Alternative Giving Catalog

• Mechanical or other timers for lights; motion-based light switches or controls

• An experience, adventure, or class, instead of more “stuff”

• Stainless steel or glass straws

• Low-flow showerheads or faucets

• The gift of time – pledge to do errands, cook meals, or just spend time with your friend or loved one

• A rain barrel

• “Upcycled” clothing, jewelry, etc., made from re-purposed materials

• Reusable and washable fabric tote bags/grocery bags (Trader Joe’s has great prices)

• A smart thermostat for your home or office

• An electric or regular bicycle or scooter

• A vacation by train or boat (instead of by plane)

• An electric plug-in vehicle or a hybrid electric/gas car (give this one to yourself!)

• Something made by YOU!

The ultimate gift of love in the person and the life of Jesus was the simplest and most powerful gift. As we love God and our neighbors, friends, and family this season, we remember that giving of ourselves is the most treasured and needed gift of all.

So what’s the point of a Green Christmas? The Earth is here for all of us, and when we reduce our carbon footprint on Earth, we share its bounties with others in a more fair and equitable way. The news tells us that climate change is coming on stronger and sooner, with disastrous consequences for many, many people. We can love all people by being kinder to the Earth. Even small efforts and practices add up to reverse global warming, by your actions and your example to others. Check out www.drawdown.org and see.

Now for that New Year’s Resolution List. Why not join the Glenn Environmental Committee for a greener 2019? We have a lot of fun and we are broadening our creation care impact considerably - join us, for your own sake and for others’! Contact Lynn Speno and we’ll see you in January.

Annual Thanksgiving Audit

As you prepare for this time of Thanksgiving, please complete the following information in full. Read the full directions below before beginning.

"I hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving. Reflect on your blessings and give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love." -Rev. Mark Westmoreland

The Hidden Costs of Cheap Clothes

Green Notes from the Environmental Committee

From fast food to “fast fashion,” we Americans are addicted to cheap prices and throw-away goods.

Apparel is the second largest consumer sector, after food, and according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average family spends $1700, or 3.5% of annual household income on clothes.  Costs have fallen, and consumer buying continues upward--we buy about 70 pounds of clothing a year, or the equivalent of 200 men’s T-shirts (and 94% are imported). Then, on average, we discard nearly 70 pounds of clothing and other textiles each year, according to the EPA.

Ten million tons of discarded clothes and textiles tossed in U.S. landfills every year damage the environment. Even more serious harm is done in fiber production, dyeing, and manufacturing processes.  Cotton growing in particular, uses astounding amounts of water, weed killer, and pesticides.

Cheap prices we pay for clothes do not reflect environmental costs of textile and apparel manufacturing, or health costs to workers in other countries. Groundwater for farming and drinking water are being polluted in many towns in southern India.  Significantly higher than normal occurrences of certain cancers in China appear to be caused by the harmful “micro-environments” ( factories) in which Chinese workers produce millions of cheap items Americans buy.

Unintended consequences

It’s hard for us as consumers to understand what harm we are doing when we take advantage of super buys from retailers in our country.  Most of us would not intentionally harm others. Yet the prices we pay for new cheap clothes do not provide a living wage for workers, many of whom are children, who labor long hours, in unsafe conditions.  The prices we pay do not provide for environmental clean-up of waters and soils polluted by textile production processes. Most importantly, the prices we pay do not provide for healthcare of overseas workers who get sick from unhealthy factory conditions and drinking water tainted by textile dyes from factories near their homes.

Global competition in the garment industry engenders poor working conditions for many laborers in developing nations.  In Bangladesh, a child laborer works for 10 hours a day to earn the equivalent of one U.S. dollar. Some Chinese workers make as little as 12-18 cents per hour.

What can we do?

Thrift stores are good for recycling clothing, but they represent a tiny fraction of total sales--less than five percent of the market for new goods.  Most donated clothes eventually are baled, shipped, and sold to impoverished countries. On Good Neighbor Day, we learned that stained and torn textiles can be taken to CHaRM, the Center for Hard-to-Recycle Materials (http://livethrive.org/charm/items-accepted)

By some estimates, 60% of the energy used in the life cycle of a cotton T-shirt is consumed in our homes--washing and drying at high temperatures.  As consumers, we can “go green” by using detergents that work well at lower temperatures, air-drying instead of machine-drying, extending the usable life of clothes, buying fewer and more durable garments, and recycling into the used clothing market.

There are many organizations striving to improve conditions of workers and protect the environment.  Here are just a few:

• The Clean Clothes Campaign

• The Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility

• The Ethical Trading Initiative

• The United Methodist Church: Social Principles, Rights of Workers, Para. 163B, C

This is an update to an article which appeared in The Change Agent, an adult education journal, Sept. 2010.  -Jan Lichtenwalter

What a Difference a Day Makes

Does it really matter? When we take a look at injustice, poverty, loneliness, homelessness, oppression, hunger, and other problems it can seem that they are insurmountable; that it would take too much time and more work than we are capable of to solve these problems. The idea of something like Good Neighbor Day, Glenn’s annual day of service, can seem like a raindrop on a forest fire. What difference can one day of service possibly make in the midst of such gargantuan issues?

The truth is — a lot!

At Action Ministries, 257 families will receive needed food boxes because of the work of children, youth and adults. An efficient assembly line of service kept things moving as volunteers from Glenn worked hard to make sure these boxes were filled and ready!

At Habitat for Humanity, a home was finished and one family will now have a secure place to live thanks to the time and effort of people from Glenn (as well as three other churches). Glenn has now been a part of creating a home for 28 families in Atlanta, making a difference in their lives for years to come.

The work of the environmental committee, scouts, and others at Peavine Creek made a difference in the health and usability of this beautiful area. By cleaning and working to restore the bank of the creek, they are making a difference in the ecosystem and the community.

At Intown Collaborative Ministries, a group of volunteers worked in the food pantry to sort food and serve those in need. Because of their work, ICM will be able to give assistance and hope to more people in our community.

At Clairmont Place, people ranging in age from 9 months into their 90s sang songs and brought joy into each others’ lives. They reminded each other of the important role all of us play and that we need each other to fully be the church.

Volunteers at the Women’s Community Kitchen cleaned ovens, scrubbed sinks, organized closets, and did the kind of behind-the-scenes work that is seldom recognized, but is crucial to the success of that ministry. Hundreds of women receive food and hope each week through the WCK, and the volunteers and staff showed up on Monday to a cleaner, easier-to-use facility as they continue the great work they are doing!

And last, but not least, Glenn members and Grady High School students brought joy and a little bit of competition to the bingo games at Branan Towers assisted living facility. They joined the residents to laugh, play, and learn from each other.

I don’t know if the world was changed on a global scale last Saturday, but I do know that people’s lives were changed, and organizations were better equipped to continue their work, because of the people of Glenn Church.

So a great big “THANKS” goes out to everyone who participated in Good Neighbor Day. And if you missed it, don’t worry, there’s still plenty of work to do!

Rev. Brent Huckaby
Minister for Worship and Missions

Good Neighbor Day 2018

It’s almost here!!! For quite a few years the first Saturday after Labor Day has been a special day at Glenn. While we are a church that seeks to serve our community year around, on this day, we make a concerted effort as a community to go outside the walls of Glenn to show love and care to people all over Atlanta. 

We call it Good Neighbor Day!                       

This year we have a number of opportunities to serve. No matter your skill level, ability, or talents, you can come and be a blessing to someone in our community. There are opportunities in the morning and afternoon, for kids and adults, from a one-hour commitment to all day! There’s only one thing missing: you!

Below are some detailed descriptions of each project. Find the one (or ones!) that fit you and your family best and sign up. Then invite friends to join you as we take God’s love into our community together.

This Year’s Projects:

7:00 a.m. - Habitat for Humanity Build

Join us on the last Saturday of our annual Habitat for Humanity Build. We’ll put finishing touches on the house and have a dedication ceremony around noon. Meet at Youth & Activities Bldg to ride church bus. This group will return late afternoon. Lunch provided. Age 16 & up. 

Leader: Jennifer Scott-Ward

9:00 a.m. - Peavine Creek Restoration (Helping clear and prepare bank for restoration)

Join Glenn Church's Good Neighbor Day volunteers as we inventory the native trees and bushes along Peavine Creek in Emory Village. Saturday, September 8, 2018 9 a.m. to noon, Panera Parking Lot. Please park in Emory lots or the Glenn Church YAAB on North Decatur Road. This long-neglected creek at the foot of the hill leading to Emory Village and Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church is overdue for some public love. The effort by Glenn's Environmental Committee, Emory Village Alliance, Druid Hills neighbors, elected officials and the South Fork Conservancy will begin to save the native trees and remove invasive vines smothering access to the creek. Bring gloves (clippers optional); wear closed-toe shoes that can get wet. Cub & Boy Scouts families encouraged. No age minimum. 

Leader: Michael Black

9:00 a.m. - BreakThru House Residential Recovery Program

As the first long-term residential recovery program for women in Georgia, Breakthru House is specially designed to meet the unique needs of women struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. Since its founding in 1969, Breakthru House’s founding principle has remained constant: Physical, emotional and spiritual healing through recovery is possible when each woman’s treatment program is designed to meet her individual needs. Projects include painting and administrative tasks. Meet at BreakThru House (866 Eastfield St. Decatur, GA 30032). 

Leader: Nancy Reinhold

9:30 a.m. - Food Boxes packing at Action Ministries with SPARK Kids

Come to Action Ministries with us as we pack food boxes to be distributed to those in need. This is a great way to learn about food insecurity and help eradicate hunger in our area. Meet at Youth & Activities Bldg to carpool/ride church bus. Will return by 12:30pm. SPARK Kids (4th & 5th graders) and parents encouraged for this project but all are invited. Age 6 & up. 

Leader: Kevin Lazarus

10:00 a.m. - Field Day at The Lakes at Indian Creek

An annual tradition for our youth! This year we’ll be traveling to the Lakes at Indian Creek in Clarkston (an apartment complex we previously visited during Intown Mission Week). We’ll have a morning of fun with games, face paint, and snacks with the residents then head back to the YAAB for lunch. Meet at YAAB at 10 a.m. and come ready to have fun. 

Leader: Blair Setnor

10:00 a.m. - Intown Collaborative Ministries Food Pantry

ICM provides assistance in a variety of ways to those who are homeless or struggling to make ends meet. Glenn partners with their food pantry and in other ways throughout the year. On GND we’ll be helping with the weekly food pantry distribution. Meet at the ICM Food Pantry (Druid Hills Presbyterian Church, 1026 Ponce de Leon Ave, Atlanta). Ages 10 & up. Will finish by 1:30 p.m. 

Leader: Shelby Roberts

10:45 a.m. - Sing-a-long at Clairmont Place Retirement Community

Always a fun time of fellowship and music with the residents of Clairmont Place. Meet at Clairmont Place (2100 Clairmont Lake, Decatur) and we will finish by 12 p.m. Babies/children with adults most welcome! 

Leader: John Wiley

12:45-3:15 p.m. - Women's Community Kitchen

There are teams from Glenn that serve at the Women’s Community Kitchen throughout the year. This is a ministry that offers hot meals to those who need them throughout the week. On GND we will be helping to clean and organize the kitchen to help them better serve the 100’s of women each week. Meet at the YAAB to carpool and/or take church buses to Action Ministries.

Leader: Diane Bryant

1:30-3:30 p.m. - Crafts and Games at Branan Towers Retirement Community

Bring board games or decks of cards to engage and play with the residents of Branan Towers. We’ll be making crafts as well! Youth who want to meet at the church at 1pm (following field day) can rid the bus to Branan Towers and will return by 4 p.m. Everyone else meet at Branan Towers Retirement Community, 1200 Glenwood Ave, SE, Atlanta, GA 30316. No age minimum. 

Leader: Mary Carter Van Atta

Glenn Basketball

In 2010, I tentatively stepped onto the old, uneven floor of Glenn’s Youth and Activities Building. It was my first day coaching, and I was terrified. At the seasoned age of 29, I feared I was too old to relate; I’d be found an imposter. I was moments from judgment by the fiercest predators on the Earth: a group of sarcastic high school boys.

Thankfully, they showed me mercy and let me coach without much harassment. They’ve only (openly) laughed at me twice that I recall. Once for my out-of-date basketball shoes and the other for a sleeveless t-shirt that was now much too small as I was in denial about my post-college weight gain. 

I couldn’t have been happier with that group of young men. Now, eight years later, I’ve coached 12 teams both of middle school and high school players. I have coached both young men who were great at basketball and young men who just wanted to run up and down the court with their friends, cracking jokes. I have enjoyed all of it, and each year, I am amazed that they would again welcome me as their coach and let me share the game of basketball with them.

Some people see church family at worship services in the sanctuary -- I see God’s love in the perfectly executed outlet pass arcing through the air, the result of an unselfish decision from a teenager. I see church family in the community these players form and in their celebration and encouragement of one another. I see God’s love in the hard work they put in together. I see the church family in their learning, their respect for the referees, in their perseverance, and in their love of one another and the game.

I love coaching at Glenn because I get to work with some absolutely wonderful and talented youth who are kind enough to let me teach them about basketball. I love coaching at Glenn because I get to watch these young people mature into fine adults. I love coaching at Glenn because it is here where I see and experience God’s love.

Also, winning four championships in the past six years is pretty nice.

Are you interested in coaching Glenn basketball this year? If so, contact Rev. Blair Setnor. Registration for Glenn Hoops opens for Glenn members this coming Monday, August 28th. Community registration opens September 3rd! 

Shane Setnor
A Glenn Basketball Coach

"To Run Life's Race..."

Recently my 4-year-old began asking me to take her running in the mornings. I'm pretty positive this desire stemmed solely from the fact that she loves to wear her favorite purple "running" shorts. She certainly has never seen either of her parents go for a run! In fact, the last time I went running for exercise/"fun" was about five years ago when I promptly got sick and found out the next day I was pregnant. I took that as a sign that my love/hate relationship with running was finally over. Fast forward to my daughter's request, and of course I want to instill in her a healthy lifestyle and positive experience of exercise, so finally, I caved. We both changed into our "running" shorts, put our hair in ponytails, laced up our sneakers, stretched our muscles, and we were off! We barely made it around the corner of our next door neighbor's house when she promptly stopped, sat down on the curb, and declared dramatically, "Whew! Let's take a rest!" I don't see any cross country scholarships in our future, but you never know...

Back when I did actually run on the cross country team in high school, I memorized this poem that I would recite in my mind over and over again to get me through the long, hard practices. I am not sure of the author, as I clipped it from a magazine in those days when instead of googling quotes and inspiring poems, one would scour magazines and books to make collages and decorate your Trapper Keeper. I think this is how it went:

To run life's race for you is my desire,
to contend eagerly along the way.
I'll go the distance, heart and soul afire,
as unto You I dedicate each day.
There may be obstacles along my pathway,
but I will overcome them, stride by stride.
Nothing will deter me as a run, Lord,
as long as You are running by my side.

Maybe you are a runner and can use this poem in your running repertoire for inspiration. Or perhaps you're like me and only plan to run if being chased. But either way, I hope and pray that for ourselves and the children entrusted to our care, that we will each know that we do not run life's race alone. Together we can go the distance, overcoming every obstacle together, knowing that God our Creator, the Holy Spirit our Comforter, and Christ our Savior is with us every step of the way.

Rev. Susan Pinson

Shop Till Your Carbon Drops!

August – time for school shopping, time for ordering 2019 calendars. This means it’s a great time to green up the school backpack and the home and business offices for everyone! You’ll be a better United Methodist when you do!

How’s that? Well, there’s a lot you can learn online about “What We Believe” in the global United Methodist Church. In this case, the United Methodist Church’s Social Principle on The Natural World states, “[L]et us recognize the responsibility of the church and its members to place a high priority on changes in economic, political, social, and technological lifestyles to support a more ecologically equitable and sustainable world leading to a higher quality of life for all of God’s creation.” God calls us to be honest and faithful with all the resources we are given –- and that includes the natural world. “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much” (Luke 16:10). We believe it, and we can do it, even as we shop for the small and everyday items that we may take for granted.

What’s the goal? Make your money talk and work for the Earth. Buy products that are made with a large quantity of recycled content and that can be recycled further. This will help reduce the size of landfill trash, where huge and harmful quantities of carbon and methane gases are produced and contribute to global warming. Buy products made of bamboo – it gobbles carbon gas at a phenomenal rate! Buy products that contain zero or at least fewer harsh chemicals that can end up in our water supplies or even our food supplies by way of the water and the soil.

What’s the strategy? Ideal practice: make your shopping list and first go "computer window-shopping" to find the most Earth-friendly products. Office Depot has a nice GreenerOffice webpage showcasing thousands of recycled-content or otherwise environmentally-friendly items, including 3-ring binders, Post-It notes, report covers, printer paper, recyclable ink cartridges, and organic coffee. But don’t search online for “green office” there or at Staples unless you want everything in the color green! Instead, try the “environmental” column on the Staples website, and search terms beginning with “eco.” Walmart online has more listings for “recycled” products, including cleaning and paper products that teachers will have on their wish lists. If you want professional guidance on home and office products, check out the expertise in the Environmental Working Group consumer guide. For tips on product usage and choosing between options (rechargeable or long-life batteries? gas or electric appliances?), you might want to Ask Mr. Green, or scroll through his clever Sierra Magazine column.

Fallback strategy. No time for online research? Read packaging and labels carefully as you shop. Look for items with (ideally) “100% recycled” content and a high percentage of “post-consumer” recycled content. Personally, I still feel secure with a paper calendar as well as the smart-phone version, and I’m quite fond of my At-A-Glance brand recycled calendar that’s available at stores and online. The “recycled” symbol on the front cover is easy to spot on the store’s shelves, and it gives me a smile.

If a paper product is not available with recycled content, try to find one with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) symbol, indicating that it’s made from sustainably resourced forests. Even greeting cards have notes on the back about sustainably sourced content. Other types of products have similar “sustainably resourced” labels as well. Cleaning products should be, at a minimum, without: sodium laurel/laureth sulfate (SLS), parabens, phthalates, butylene glycol, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and fragrance that is not labeled “natural fragrance.” They should also be free of animal testing. All products should have minimal packaging that is easily recycled and labeled as such.

What if you’re stumped? Your money talks, and so do you. Ask a store clerk for help, if necessary by searching the store’s computer. My recent Office Depot visit showed that some, but not all, of their staff were aware of the GreenerOffice products and computer inventory. If you have time, talk to a store manager and remind him or her that you have the option to shop online from other companies if the store doesn’t stock environmentally-friendly products. And be sure to thank them for selling whatever “green” products they do stock!

What’s the next step? Don’t forget to recycle packaging, containers, and products. Encourage your school and your offices and office buildings to buy Earth-friendly products and to recycle.

Reducing your carbon footprint by making “green” purchases helps keep you in harmony with the three simple principles taught by John Wesley himself, the founder of Methodism. We can be closer to God, he said, “First, By doing no harm,… Secondly, By doing good,… and Thirdly, By attending upon all the ordinances of God.” Read more about Wesley’s teachings here, and keep thinking of our God-given Earth as you shop “green” this fall!

Betty Bentley Watson
Glenn Environmental Committee

Free

Photo from One Eleuthera Foundation

Each time I have visited the Bahamas I have been transformed by the love shown by the Bahamian people. This year I decided to sign up once again to join 45 other youth and adults on a mission trip to Eleuthera, Bahamas. Having been to the Bahamas two times before, I had an idea of what to expect. I knew I would spend the week in community with others, be surrounded by beautiful oceans and eat conch salad. However, I was once again surprised by the power of community in the Bahamian culture. I spent much of the trip reflecting on how I personally have changed in the past three years since returning to the island and the power “island time” has on creating deep meaningful connections with strangers. I saw the beauty of God in the surrounding landscape and the people I met.

Photo provide by Sarah Napier

This year, Glenn Youth partnered with Island Journeys, an organization that focuses on creating communities through projects that provide economic, environmental, and sustainable resources to the island. The first two days of mission work, I painted a local high school. The school systems in Eleuthera are highly underfunded and rely on volunteers. While at the school, we met a teacher and the principal who both had been working at the school for many years. Their warmth and welcoming spirit brought an immense amount of joy to the group. The last day of work, I participated at the children’s camp. I was surrounded by children of all different ages. I was reminded of the power of art as the children and I painted and shared about our lives. We laughed, joked, and played games.

The word Eleuthera itself means free. Through the process of the trip, I found myself feeling more free from the worries I find at home. I thought about the lessons I learned in the Bahamas that I want to share and incorporate in my life. One of those is the concept of time. As Americans, we are often so tied to our schedules. We are too focused on meeting deadlines and are distracted by phones and social media. With this, we lose a sense of community. When you lose track of time and simply follow “island time” you find yourself free from the stress of daily life and engaging in activities with others. We met and visited with many Bahamian people. We worshiped together and immersed ourselves in their culture. We shared food, laughter, and stories. Bahamians know their neighbors. They wave when they see someone across the street.

What would our country look like if we were more like the Bahamian people? If we paused and took the time to find and welcome strangers. As I embark on my new college adventure I will take with me the memories, the lessons, and the friendships that I have built over the course of three trips to the Bahamas.

Sarah Napier

Photo provided by Sarah Napier

Photo provided by Sarah Napier

Here

I’m here. I can now say that with a little more confidence than I could two weeks ago. There are fewer boxes (though my office is still a work in progress). I had a very helpful on-boarding experience with the staff and Claire Bowen. I’ve sipped lemonade, eaten barbecue, and enjoyed cookies with some of you, and I’ve attended some helpful meetings and had some meaningful conversations. I kind of know how to find places in our buildings, and I now have my very own Emory Card, which makes me feel very official and slightly empowered.

I’m here. This is my place of service and ministry now. This is where my heart is. This is the place and you the people that occupy my thoughts and prayers and sometimes my dreams and nightmares. Here is where I will discover a new chapter in God’s call. Now, what story will that chapter tell? I know pieces of it, but there is still a lot of blank space to fill in. I’m having fun imagining.

Here, of course, is where you are, too, even though two out of three conversations seem to begin with, “We’re going to be out of town for a few weeks, but …” It’s that time of year when our paths cross and diverge, but I know you’re here, even when you aren’t. This is your church, your community; this is where you find the family of God for you or your family. Here is where you encounter God and find grace to move through your days. You were here before I ever came on the scene, and you are the life of this church. You are the body of Christ. And you are why I’m here. I have come to serve with you and move with you through life and its moments.

Which is to say: Here we are. Together we are Glenn Church, Glenn Memorial, Glenn Memorial UMC -- choose the appellation you prefer, because they’re all us. Together we will seek God’s blessings; together we will BE God’s blessings for each other, our neighbors, and the world. It all begins in our worship, in our singing, in our explorations of the Scriptures, in our prayers, and it moves from there to our homes and into our communities. We share a life, a calling, a faith that define us. This life we share is filled with the Holy Spirit and enveloped and defined by the love of Jesus Christ.

That life, strange and miraculous, ours, is here. It’s here in the amazing Little Chapel and the magnificent sanctuary. It’s here in the YAAB, all spruced up for new ministry; it’s here in our classrooms and gathering spaces; it’s here when we meet and share together.

But here’s the interesting thing about … here. Here is wherever you are right now as you read this. Here is in the Bahamas next week as 45 of us go to serve with and among the people there. Here is a remarkable place, really -- always right now in this moment, always a space of grace, always us, wherever we are. We are here, and here is us.

It’s a good place to be -- here -- a holy place. I thank God I am here with you.

Rev. Mark Westmoreland

The Tiniest Bit of Something Good

On the last Sunday in June I dropped my son off at Camp Glisson. Leaving Atlanta, I’d hoped for cooler, drier air in the mountains, but it was stubbornly hot and muggy, even north of Dahlonega. The thick woods did little to cool things off, and James and I sweated even after just one trip from the car to his cabin.

It was his first sleep-away camp experience, which concerned me a little. But what bothered me more was that I had registered him for the wrong program, the one his friend Sam was not registered for. I didn’t let on that I felt worried for him going into a cabin of 12 boys, many of whom were already paired up with buddies they’d known since they were little. But in so many ways, James is more mature than I am. Where did his social confidence come from? Certainly he didn’t inherit it from me or my husband.

I helped him make his bed, a top bunk over the counselor’s desk. He was wearing his "Free Hugs" t-shirt and what looked to me like some kind of 10-year-old’s game face. It's the face you put on when you’re girding yourself, when you don’t want to reveal any vulnerability. He sternly tucked in the corners of the fitted sheet and placed his pillow at one end. A kid across the cabin called over to James that he wanted a hug in a tone that sounded a bit derisive. James’s words were “Yeah, OK,” but his attitude was “you wanna piece of me?” I noticed another kid who also appeared to be alone and was taking solace in a book. I asked James if he wanted one of his books out of the car. “OK,” he said, “72-Story Tree House.”

After another sweaty walk out to the car, I returned with the book. James was sitting on a lower bunk with three other boys, including the hug requester, playing a game of cards. In minutes the boys had gone from being mildly contentious strangers to new friends. My heart swelled, but I kept my cool, trying not to embarrass anyone. I left the book on James’s bed and told him to have a good week without too much fanfare.

The whole drive home, Barbara Day Miller’s words played themselves in my mind. She had kicked off Glenn’s Summer Lecture Series a few weeks earlier with her talk "Prayers as a Part of Worship." There was a phrase she used that struck me as relevant to the way the boys had made friends: “the tiniest bit of something good.” She had had us close our eyes as she read Mark 4:26-34, the Parable of the Mustard Seed. Before beginning she had asked us to “see what you see, without question, without analysis, without trying to figure out what this means. Just see what you see and how that feels.”

Jesus also said, "The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once the sower goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come." Jesus also said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds in the earth; and yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade."

With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

It was a different experience –- hearing the verse read versus reading it myself. Barbara’s reading was lovely, her voice swaying with the language and pausing now and again to let our mental images form more fully. She asked what we saw as she read and showed us how the images and feelings hinted at more. An audience member said that the place was “sunny and cool.”

“Isn’t this like the kingdom of God?” she asked in response. “Haven’t you encountered God’s kingdom like this? It doesn’t feel dry or hungry or wounded, but just takes the tiniest bit of something good and pretty soon it feels like this (spreading her arms). The sower in the verse doesn’t know how it happened, no clue, just a glimpse.”

She related the idea to her own experience of singing Psalm 23 and riding the soaring crescendo that peaks with “…and I will dwell in the house of the Lord…” …how the music and the meaning combine with something else to bring us to a place of fullness. But “just like that and then it’s gone,” she said. “You’ve seen the kingdom of the Lord like this.”

I definitely have: towering, joyous, ineffable and ephemeral, but somehow more real than anything else. “The tiniest bit of something good,” is the phrase, the words that came to me over and over on the drive home from Glisson. Barbara broke character to deliver the description with a southern intonation, an emphasis on the word “good” that somehow evoked intimacy and familiarity.

Why should such a small episode as my son making friends at camp make me so happy? I could explain it as just one of life’s opportune moments, the lucky coincidence of my having had this son and that he should be fortunate enough to go to this camp with these kids. Instead, I had the idea Barbara had given me -- that of the kingdom being the tiniest bit of something good, and that that bit can grow to become even bigger. Cruising down 400, it also occurred to me that I can help it grow, that I can shower my small bit of hopeful water and help sprout the seed.

Irene Hatchett

Spiritual Disciplines, Sermons, and Seersucker: Notes on Annual Conference

A handful of Glenn's lay delegates hard at work: Katrina Voegtlin, Carolyn Gilbert, Carole Adams, and Andrew Johnson

For a third year, it was my honor to represent Glenn as a lay member of the Annual Conference. From the first gathering at Opening Worship to communion at Closing Worship, from walking shoes every day to seersucker on Thursday, from handwritten seat labels to electronic voting devices, the three thousand North Georgia Methodists were connected and united in many ways as we took over the Classic Center in Athens, GA for nearly three days of reports and votes, prayers and praise, and songs and sermons.

A few months before conference, Glenn friends Donn Ann Weber and Robert Gilleo invited me to join the Planning and Logistics Team. Robert has previously managed much of this himself, but for 2018, he recruited a team that included Nate Abrams, whose wife Joya was ordained this year, and Glenn’s pastoral alumna, the Rev. Dr. Jessica Terrell, who now serves at Eatonton First UMC. We were ably assisted by Glenn members Carole Adams, Carolyn Gilbert, and Ken Weber. Our group did an incredible variety of things to facilitate the work of the conference, to support the other teams working at the conference, and to assist individuals and groups moving to and from the Grand Hall and Theater stages for reports, presentations, and worship. Even when seat cards stuck to the robes of the Bishop and Cabinet members, even when we were asked dozens of times if the unmovable lectern could be moved, even when the names and total numbers of those to be licensed, commissioned, and ordained kept changing, even when we were up late and then asked complicated questions at our 7:00 a.m. breakfast meeting, it was truly a joy to be among good people doing good work  and to be able to contribute to a successful annual conference.

The most meaningful time of conference for me came on Thursday morning when our outstanding bishop, Sue Haupert-Johnson, talked frankly and clearly about the work of the multinational Commission on the Way Forward and the called General Conference in 2019 that will take up matters relating to the way that human sexuality is dealt with in Methodism. Bishop Sue outlined the three models developed by the Commission and the intense meetings of the Council of Bishops as they considered these models. Two particular quotes from her presentation have stayed with me: "Distance yourself from those who love dispute" and “Do not rashly tear asunder.”

Those are good pieces of advice any time, especially in the months ahead, as these matters are discussed and debated with emotion, passion, and intensity. May we all pray with and for those who will attend the called General Conference and make crucial decisions for our denomination and its people.

Ginger Smith

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Annual Conference was especially meaningful to me this year because of the serious forceful and direct content of the sermons. Bishop Sue and other leaders spoke of our responsibility to bring Jesus’ message to persons outside of our regular “in house” programs and to witness in love to all persons since we are all precious in God’s sight. This implies that we must make the changes in our social principles which are barriers to inclusion. Our congregation has a unique opportunity to increase our loving outreach ministries here at Emory and in the broader community. 

Carolyn Gilbert

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I am so grateful to be a member of a democratic denomination. I am also grateful to represent Glenn as a delegate! I’m always proud to say that I’m a member of Glenn, but especially at Conference. Below were some of the stand out moments for me. 

I really enjoyed Bishop Sue starting with a call for repentance and humility. This was something I felt was missing from last year’s conference. Her opening sermon went on to call for us to love God, love our neighbor, and to not judge others. These days, it feels especially necessary for us as individuals and as a church to remember these core teachings of Jesus.

The presentations on spiritual disciplines were also enjoyable. My particular favorite was Dr. Ellen Shepard and Dr. Greg Ellison both quoting Howard Thurman, in helping us seek the “Sound of the Genuine” inside ourselves. As a huge fan of Howard Thurman, working in one of his quotes effectively, will almost always win you points with me! 

I don’t often want to be ordained, but if I could pick a preacher for my pretend ordination ceremony, I’d pick Rev. Byron Thomas. His sermon during this year’s ceremony was nothing short of inspirational: "You are not here by accident. You are here on business, and therefore your worth does not come from anyone outside yourself. You were born in this world with intrinsic worth or value. If you did not grow up in the best of circumstances, it's alright. God already incorporated into your very fiber worth and value." His words undoubtedly inspired the new pastors as well as those of us in the congregation to go do the Lord’s work. 

Finally, Bishop Sue addressed the big issue facing our church right now: Are we, as a church, able to LOVE LGBTQI people? The Bishop was very diplomatic, which was probably needed in a room so divided. She did a good job being diplomatic while still leading the church toward love and full acceptance of our LGBTQI siblings.

Andrew Johnson

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This year at Annual Conference, the bishop and worship leaders spent considerable time focusing on “The Art of Spiritual Formation.” Bishop Sue feels strongly that each of us, clergy and laity alike, need to spend time away from the world - reflecting, meditating, and renewing our relationship with God - in order to “move toward Perfection in Love.” Our Methodist founder, John Wesley, was dedicated to spiritual practices and discipline.

We were encouraged to be like an athlete who works at a physical strength, employing exercises to strengthen our spirits as well. Our bishop referred to “your prayer closet” often, and throughout the “work elements of the conference” - hearing reports, reviewing budgets, and other administrative areas of church work -  we were given time to focus on several methods of aligning our spirits with God’s will for our lives. I was struck by the images of John Wesley’s fasting each week and a Candler School of Theology professor’s approach to understanding our own spiritual type (which explains why some of us focus on ritual and liturgy, for example, while others consider these ceremonies less important). Other disciplines included “Care for the Earth,” “The Examen” which is a prayer practice, “Fixed Hour of Prayer,” Lectio Divina” which focuses on reading scripture and reflection, “Visio Divina” a “holy seeing using a work of art in meditation," and “Spoken Word” using poetry and music. Our former minister of Glenn youth, Millie Kim, was a leader in one of these practices and gave us insights into her personal use of Lectio Divina.  All of these served as reminders to make time for connecting with God daily, and made me think of the work of Glenn congregant, Luther Lewis, whose Prayer Guides have aided us monthly in reading, reflection, and prayer. 

A Candler professor, Tavares Stephens, gave perhaps the most powerful image for me: he read a passage about his grandmother who took him on a “Summer Dark” where they went to an area away from city lights and sounds. She encouraged him to look and listen for the ways God related to him. He thought of sitting on her old porch, feeling the strength of her own faith, as he learned to seek God for himself. 

May we each set aside time to learn a new way of developing our spiritual lives and being open to God’s voice and spirit. Seek your own unique way to renew your spirit, and become more of the being the Great I Am called you to be.  

All shall be well, all shall be well...For there is a Force of Love moving through the universe that holds us fast, and will never let us go. Julian of Norwich, 1342-1416

Carole Adams

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