We Gather Together

 First off, let me just say that Opening Worship at General Conference is an amazing experience! We are blessed in the UMC to have the talents of Marcia McFee and others who do a fabulous job of designing worship that is energizing and inspiring.

 Worship opened with “Lord I Lift Your Name on High,” which seemed a rather bold choice to me. On the one hand, it’s a high-energy song that is familiar to many. On the other hand, it feels dated (like mid-1990s youth group dated). But then, such thoughts reveal a temptation to marginalize the worship music of the late 20th century while embracing the music of the 18th century and the 21st century. Having attended my joint briefing on intersectionality, I decided to simply enjoy the song and the energy it did bring to the room.

 Bishop Larry Goodpaster gave a rousing opening sermon. (If you’re not able to watch the service live, I encourage you to check out the archived videos on the gc2012.umc.org website.) He talked about the call of Christ to some fishermen who were mending their nets. Methodists have gathered to mend our nets. Will we hear the call of Christ in the midst of all our discussion of legislation? The service included singing, dancing, pageantry and Holy Communion.

 One of the coolest things we are able to do together as a body is say the Lord’s Prayer together, each in our own language. I know I wasn’t the only one with chills as we heard the one voice of our body, made up of so many different voices. You just can’t get this anywhere else.

 Opening worship was followed by sensitivity training. Now, this turned out to have some amusing moments, so it would be easy to be flippant about the presentation. But sometimes the things that make us giggle are things that are truly hurtful to other people. Basically, we were asked to remain aware of our diversity (GC is 37% women and 41% of delegates are from Central Conferences outside the U.S.); show kindness & respect (including: “Don’t ask if you can touch my hair”; and don’t let our biases become barriers. Good things to remember as we move forward.