Plan Ahead for Bishop’s District Visits

Despite the date on the calendar and the temperature outside, I’m pretty sure that summer is over. If there was any doubt in my mind it was laid to rest this morning when I saw the school bus picking up children in my neighborhood. When I saw two little boys running for the bus with their backpacks bumping up and down, it brought back so many good memories.  When my daughter was in elementary school, the bus stop was at our driveway. We would gather with the neighborhood children and most of their moms and visit while we waited.  Then in the afternoon, the moms would gather to wait for our kiddos to hop off the bus and share their school day.  Some of my friends would tell me that they had to pry information from their kids. Not so at my house, Mary Beth got off the bus talking and didn’t usually stop until we tucked her into bed that night. 

When Mary Beth went off to college two years ago it suddenly got very quiet at our house!  We were shocked at how little noise two adults and two dogs living in the same house made. It is still quiet here but we have gotten used to it.  And, the great news for me is that Mary Beth calls almost everyday, so I still know all about her classes, friends and what is happening in her life.  Sometimes I need those phone calls to put a smile on my face. When I am not available, Mary Beth calls Tom. So we are both recipients of the joy of sharing her life long distance.

Sunday morning I had the opportunity to worship at Chandler UMC. Rev. Jeff McDonald asked me to come and preach to help them celebrate UMW Sunday. Like many Methodist churches, Chandler has two different worship services and they are distinctly different. The early service is in the Fellowship Hall in the part of the building that used to be the sanctuary.  There are several rows of chairs toward the front of the room but the rest of the seats are arranged around round tables. The praise band was warming up as we walked in and Jeff and I joined them for a moment of prayer before the service began. They asked me if I had any prayer concerns and I said, “Just that I don’t mess up.” Their response was that they pray for that each week!

As the room began to fill I was pleasantly surprised to see that most of the folks were young, in their 20’s and 30’s, with lots of young children. Some babies, toddlers and even teenagers. In fact the praise band spanned the years – a couple of high school kids and people who, shall we say, were no longer teens! Their music was vibrant and fun, and it was great to see several generations singing and worshiping together. The music just set the stage for the entire service. The crowd was involved in worship, the children were included and I left feeling really good about the future of the United Methodist Church in Chandler, Texas.

The second service that morning was in the sanctuary. There was organ music and the featured choir was all women, in celebration of UMW Sunday.  The worshipers were mostly older than those in the early service, but it was also a wonderful experience. One woman came up to me after the service and told me, with a wide smile on her face, that this was her first time at Chandler UMC. She was there at the invitation of her son and his wife and children. 

Her comment was in direct response to my message Sunday morning. In both services, I focused on the responsibility of the laity of our church to take church out of the building and invite others to join us. I feel very strongly that if the United Methodist Church is going to grow again, it will be because the laity, in partnership with our clergy, find ways to celebrate how Christ works in our lives in such a visible way that others want to know what we have going on! 

You can expect to hear more about this from me – both in my blog and in the upcoming District visits. In case you haven’t already heard, Bishop Huie is visiting all of the districts in September. The schedule has been set and I’m sure it will appear soon on the conference website. The clergy and laity will be meeting separately so that you will all have to opportunity to speak your minds. The main purpose for these visits is to hear from you. Bishop Huie wants to know how things are going! We’ve been through an incredible amount of change in the last few years. So be thinking about what you want to share.  What is going well in your church or district? What resources do you think the conference could provide to help things go better? What needs to change for your church to be successful? I plan to be with Bishop Huie and Rev. B.T. Williamson, our Assistant to the Bishop, at most of the meetings.  If you have thoughts you would like to share before the meeting, email me at tayleah@comcast.net.

Download the the schedule for the Laity meetings

Mark your calendars.  I hope to see you there!

Showers of Blessings!

Leah Taylor