Bishop Matthews: Fight against isms' in Church continues
By Maidstone Mulenga
Bishop Marcus Matthews greets Rev. Deb Scott, pastor of North Bethesda, after receiving a T-shirt during the BWARM annual meeting on Saturday, June 8, 2013 at the Conference Center in Fulton, MD.
Bishop Marcus Matthews has called upon the Baltimore-Washington Area Reconciling Ministries (BWARM) members to realize that the fight against the ‘isms’ in The United Methodist Church was an ongoing struggle.
Preaching at BWARM annual meeting on Saturday, June 8, Bishop Matthews said it was incumbent upon each United Methodist to realize that not all of God’s children have been afforded a place at the table.
He said the isms that separate God’s children continue to flourish despite efforts to root them out in our churches. Like tough and persistent Johnson grass, “isms continue to rise in new manifestations and are still effective in separating us.”
Noting that at every gathering of the United Methodists, there are differences and that the house may not be in order, Bishop Matthews reminded the listeners of the spirit of the Methodist gatherings of the 229 years ago.
“We will share in the spirit of those gatherings whose purpose was to praise God and to testify to God’s abundant feast of love laid out for everyone. And we will do so until all are welcome to the table,” he said.
Bishop Matthews thanked God for the experience from his home church in Florence, S. C., where he said no one was left out. Communion Sunday was always special as one could easily see all those who would come forward to receive the bread and the cup at the altar rail.
“Every element of our local community was represented in that experience…among those who came forward were those who happened to be straight and those who were known to be gay,” he said. “But all came to the same table and were united in our fellowship of Holy Communion within the living Christ.”
Using Ephesian 2:4-16, he noted that when Jesus died, the temple curtain was torn and that Christ broke down the wall of separation, making access to God available to all. “Through Christ, the barriers that separated people were removed and we all can be one in Christ.”
The episcopal leader called on the tearing down the walls that divide and said sometime he feels that “we’re so close … and yet we are so far apart.”
He also noted that Methodism founder John Wesley had a growing conviction that every person should have a closer relationship with God and love for neighbor. “When it came to a choice, he would always choose the advancement of the Gospel over following established practices.”
Following the BWARM meeting, Bishop Matthews attended the Pride Parade in Washington, emphasizing his message that all people are welcome at God’s table.
According to the group’s website, “the Baltimore-Washington Area Reconciling United Methodists seek to affirm lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and ensure the full participation of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities in the ministry and life of The United Methodist Church, particularly in the Baltimore-Washington Conference.”
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