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Podcast and Article Links

The Website for the Michigan Conference of the United Methodist Church: https://michiganumc.org

A recent article on the Conference website on Methodists looking for a home:

Two sermon series from Pastor Andy on aspects of Methodism from 2018 and 2020 can be found here:

The Wesleyan Covenant Association has some ‘Critical Articles in a Time of Transition’:

Chris Ritter’s take on why Methodism was ‘coming untied’ in 2019

Podcast episodes from “Holy Conversations: A Wesleyan Covenant Association Podcast”

S2 E5 Announcing the Global Methodist Church

S2 E7 Transitional Book of Doctines and Discipline of the Global Methodist Church

S2 E8 Perfect Love: Entire Sanctification and the Future of Methodism with Kevin Watson

S2 E11 Recap of the 2021 Global Legislative Assembly

A Way Too Brief Timeline

1968 United Methodist Church is formed as the Evangelical United Brethren and the Methodist Church join together to form one denomination.

1972 The denomination attempts to join together very diverse theological groups by taking an official stance of “Theological Pluralism.”  It was an attempt to be a ‘big tent’ theologically speaking and to have room for the variety of theologies within the denomination.

1972 The denomination develops its initial stance on human sexuality, affirming that all people are of sacred worth, but that the United Methodist Church does not condone the practice of homosexuality, and considers the practice of homosexuality as incompatible with Christian teaching.

1988 The language in the Book of Discipline is changed away from ‘Theological Pluralism.’

1988 General Conference formed the “Committee to Study Homosexuality” to study the issue and report back at the next General Conference in 1992

1992 At General Conference, the Committee to Study Homosexuality came back with the recommendation to change the denomination’s stance on homosexuality.  General Conference voted to maintain its current stance instead.

1996-2018 With every General Conference the debate over human sexuality was more intense and heated.

2000 There were demonstrations from protesters and arrests at General Conference, as people fought to change the denominational stance on homosexuality.

2008 and 2012    There was a movement within the United States, to provide a resolution to the constant political fighting over homosexuality and the church.  The suggestion was especially pushed by two large church pastors in the United States and was called, “The Local Church Option.”  This would allow each individual church and conference to decide where it stood on issues of human sexuality.  It was voted down each time.

2016 As another contentious General Conference was playing out and the denomination looked to be on the verge of splitting, the Bishops paused the Conference and called for the formation of “The Committee on the Way Forward,” whose purpose was to find a way forward for the deeply divided denomination.  The Committee was to report back in either 2018 or 2019 with its findings as a specially called General Conference.

2016 The Western Jurisdiction (US) elected the first openly lesbian Bishop.

2019 In February 2019, the special session of the General Conference was held.  The Committee on the Way Forward brought forth a plan titled, “The One Church Plan,” which had much in common with “The Local Church Option,” which had been voted down twice before.  It was voted down again.  Instead, an alternate plan titled, “The Traditional Plan,” was passed in part. 

The 2019 session was very ugly and the fallout was brutal.  The divide in the church was even more acute.  As an example, retired Bishop, Will Willimon wrote, “At some point I shifted my own prayers to, “Lord, please melt the hardened hearts and smite everyone who intends to vote against the One Church Plan.”  https://www.christiancentury.org/blog-post/guest-post/methodist-mess-st-louis

2019 In December, after several meetings with a third party, professional negotiator, an agreement was reached on the “Protocol on Reconcilliation and Grace through Separation.” The Protocol would provide a way for conferences as well as local churches to decide whether to stay with the United Methodist Church or join a new traditionalist or more progressive denomination.  There was to be a special General Conference to vote on this in May of 2020

2020 Covid-19 pandemic cancels the Special Session of General Conference for May and eventually cancels the rescheduled conference which was to occur in October of 2021. 

2022 The special session of General Conference to address the Protocol is scheduled for the end of August, 2022

Throughout the history of the United Methodist Church, there has been a growing theological divide along foundational theological lines such as Bishop Sprague’s contention that Jesus did not bodily rise from the dead nor was he born of a virgin, the voting down of the Nicene Creed in committee in General Conference, forms of cultic worship, how we understand scripture, Trinitarian language, as well as sin and salvation and the centrality of Christ.  While issues around human sexuality are the focus, they are, in reality, the presenting issues of a deeper divide. 

**Word of caution**

There are medical conditions where you absolutely should not be abstaining from food.  If you are physically not able to abstain from food, or if you have battled an eating disorder, then you should not abstain from eating.  You can still observe lent by changing your diet and abstaining from some sorts of food, but please check with your physician if you have any questions on your health.

What is fasting?

Fasting is abstaining from food and drink apart from water, although there are partial fasts where a person drinks fruit juice along with water. 

What is meant by abstaining?

Sometimes we refer to the practice of abstaining from some foods as fasting.  Abstaining is simply not partaking in something, whether it be food or some other activity. 

For our purposes, we will refer to fasting as a full or partial abstaining from food for a period of time. 

What are some of the ways I can participate in a fast?

Absolute fast

This means not having any food or water.  Absolute fasts rarely go beyond 12 hours and many times they are observed from sunrise until sunset.

Normal fast

This means consuming only water for a specific period of time.

Juice fast

This means consuming only water and juice for a specific period of time.

Partial fasts or abstinence

Daniel fast: this is based off of the diet that Daniel and his companions observed in the book of Daniel and it is usually in reference to abstaining from meat, leavened bread, sweets, and wine.  People observing a Daniel fast eat fruits, vegetables, lentils, and water.

Vegetarian fast: this means abstaining from meat, eggs, cheese, and dairy

Orthodox fast: during Lent the Eastern Orthodox Church observes a fast where they do not eat meat, meat products, fish, eggs, dairy, wine, and oil.

Fasting is observed over a set period of time, and that can vary. 

Lunch to lunch fast: Eat lunch on one day, and then only drink water until lunch the next day.  You can also observe a ‘dinner to dinner’ fast.

Sunrise to sunset fast: Abstain from food from sunrise until sunset

Wednesday and Friday fasts: Wednesday and Fridays have traditionally been fasting days for Christians from the earliest times.

What if I’m new at fasting, where do I start?

If you are new to fasting, it is best to start with a dinner to dinner or a lunch to lunch fast.  This is a way to help introduce you to fasting and how your body will respond.  Set aside the time you would normally be eating and use it for prayer and scripture reading.

If you are fasting for the first time this Lent, then you may want to consider fasting on Friday, or on Wednesday and Friday throughout the season.  This is a good way to fast and this pattern has its roots in the very beginnings of the Christian movement.

What about giving up things besides food for Lent?

Abstaining from activities such as television or social media during Lent is a wonderful idea.  These are not technically considered fasting, however.  Fasting has to do with eating and drinking.  You are absolutely encouraged to consider what things may be distracting you from God, and to remove those things so that you can replace them with activities that are beneficial to your relationship with God, such as prayer or scripture study.

What else should I do while I fast?

Study Scripture: Our church has produced a Lenten Prayer and Devotional Guide that has daily scripture readings in it.  Take time during each mealtime you miss and read the assigned scripture for the day, or find your own scripture reading schedule and follow that.

Journal: Periods of fasting are excellent times to keep a prayer journal.  What is God revealing to you?  What are you struggling with?  What are you praying for?  How are you growing? 

Read: What book could you read that would help you grow in your faith?  Perhaps your small group could study a book together? 

Pray: Fasting cannot be separated from prayer.  Have a plan for how you can focus on prayer while you fast.  When you feel hungry is a great time to be reminded to pray. 

Be Thankful: It is important to be mindful when we fast, that we are abstaining from food by choice.  There are many who are poor and impoverished in this world who are not eating because they have no choice.  Be in prayer for them and be thankful for the blessings you have.