Wyoming

It was the last morning of the Troy Conference session. A team of us was sitting, looking at what had happened thus far in the conference session, and what still remained for this last day. One of our group reflected on the action taken the day before, where the conference had voted, with a high percentage, for to continue the exploration with the New England Conference about Troy’s Vermont churches becoming part of the New England Conference. Her comment was: “We’re a different conference now!”

[The same reflection might have been offered on the last morning of the Wyoming Conference, when the previous day a very high majority voted for the Pennsylvania churches to become a new conference with Central Pennsylvania.]

My immediate reaction to that comment, “We’re a different conference now!” was, “No, we’re not. We still have to see what happens with jurisdictional conference in July, and then there will be two years or so in which we complete the process.” It is true that both Wyoming and Troy Conferences will continue to be the same until the final actions are taken, and the details of the arrangements are developed. It is also true that those votes have made these conferences aware that something new is emerging, and, because of the deep conversations we have had internally and begun externally, life will in some ways not be the same, even while the outer appearance will continue. In some ways, “We are different now.”

As this came back to mind, a picture flashed through my imagination. It was October 13, 1995, the day before my older daughter Becky’s marriage to Brian. I can recall this sense of anticipation of the wedding as we went into the rehearsal. I also recalled a tiny awareness of concern. Brian had been in and out of our home from the time the two had been juniors in high school. I had come to love him like a son. We would sometimes sit on the living room floor and have theological discussions while they were in high school and college!

In spite of that, Becky and Brian had maintained and deepened their relationship while going to two different colleges. Now they were about to take the step of promising to be a new family, even as they expressed to each of their families-of-origin their appreciation for bringing them to this time of love and commitment. The rehearsal was not the “real thing,” but as we left there to go to the rehearsal dinner, I knew deep within me that things would never quite be the same. Becky would always be my daughter; I would be gaining a son. I had to let go of some of my ways of viewing my daughter, and Brian was no longer just “the guy who hung around.” Now they have given me the three most beautiful grandchildren in the world. (Grandmothers are allowed to be prejudiced!) And, while our relationships have continued growing, they are not the same. And that is as it should be.

Changes came with the engagement; that time gave us opportunity to anticipate the transitions to marriage. The rehearsal helped me to envision the next steps of this transition process. And there have been continuing changes, with accompanying transition steps, across these years.

In these next months and years, while the outward appearance of the annual conferences will seem the same, in reality we know that we are in transition. We are in the process of acknowledging the endings, celebrating what has been, what is treasured. It also helps to acknowledge where there have been struggles and hurts along the way.

We will also be in the process of “letting go,” a stage that can sometimes feel like relief and sometimes like a wrenching agony. And in this in-between time, we will be in the transitional stage of exploring and developing the new – in several directions at one time. Along the way, some of “the new” may actually begin, as groups connect and work together. Our youth have been leading the way with this, having met in 4-Word for the last several years. Perhaps along the way, new identities will begin to form as well.

Some of what develops may seem much like what has been. But, if we are to be the People of God living faithfully in this time, there will be other aspects of our common life together which may look different and will feel different.

Never before in the United Methodist Church has a transition process such as we are engaged in been done – uniting all of two annual conferences and parts of two more into one new body, while having parts of two join with two others. There is no firm roadmap. There are guides to whom we are looking – conferences which have in recent years formed new entities, seeking to be faithful to the mission of “making disciples for the transformation of the world.” We can learn from them, and from consultants who have worked with change processes in church settings of other sorts.

Transitions of this sort may feel awkward at times. We may not know always how to proceed. Communication and conversation will be more necessary than ever before! Listening to others is a key part of that communication process, as well as sharing our perspectives. Patience is another essential ingredient in this kind of process. Above all, together seeking God’s guidance and listening for God’s yearnings on this journey are essential.

Although we do not have a roadmap laid out before us, we are assured that God is our “Global Positioning System.” Christ is the Light that shines on that roadmap; and the Holy Spirit provides the Counsel and Encouragement along the way. On that we can rely.

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