By Rick Wolcott*

“When was the last time you testified about God’s grace at work in your life? When was the last time you gave witness to how God carried you through a situation or circumstance that you know that it was only by the grace of God that you survived and still have a peace of mind. When was the last time you said, ‘thank you Lord for your goodness, thank you Lord for your grace, thank you Lord for your mercy,’” Bishop Tracy S. Malone asked in her sermon on the last morning of General Conference.

The resident bishop of the East Ohio Conference and the president of the Council of Bishops, Malone grounded her sermon in the words of Psalm 46:1-3, 10-11 (NRSV). She observed that in his confession of faith during a time of uncertainty David chose to not focus his attention on crisis or dwell on his troubles. Instead, he bathed himself in the goodness, the providence, the guidance, and the protection of God.

Malone encouraged the Church to follow David’s example.

“Beloved, we know that the circumstances, disappointments, and tragedies, and traumas that we witness and experience in life can weigh us down, they can wear us out, and they can test our faith,” Malone shared. “If we are not mindful, if we are not prayerful, if we are not confessional, if we are not testimonial, we can lose sight of God’s purpose and God’s plans for our lives and become oblivious to how the Holy Spirit is moving and is at work in our lives and all around us, in unexpected places, and even through unexpected people and even through unexpected circumstances.”

The bishop named the reality that whether they realize it or not laity and clergy across the worldwide connection of The United Methodist Church continue to feel the effects of “the racial, political, and cultural violence that is pervasive all around us”, are “living with and still working through the grief and loss associated with the separation within the Church”, and are still recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“And if we are honest, while there are many historic decisions that have been made here at the General Conference that paves the way forward as a fully inclusive church, with a generous unity, and a new form of connectionalism there is still some anxiety of how we will fully live into the decisions and the commitments that we have made here,” Malone said. 

She echoed David’s bold proclamation from Psalm 46 that God is our refuge and our strength.

“God is. Period. Fact! God is,” Malone exclaimed. “God is our shelter in the midst of the storm. God is our help, right here and right now! And always! God is with us! God is with this United Methodist Church leading us, and guiding us, and sustaining us, and preparing for us a future with hope.”

In the passage from Psalm 46, David followed his proclamation that God is our refuge and strength with a declaration that we therefore should not fear.

“Beloved of God, as a people called United Methodists, I too declare that we shall not fear, we shall not feel defeated, though the very foundation of our membership, structure and finances are being shaken, though the challenges we face as a denomination seem insurmountable, though the forces of wickedness continue to assail us. We have to choose like David not to succumb to fear and doubt, for God is with us!” Malone exclaimed.

David’s proclamation and declaration was followed by this word from God: “Be still and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations. I am exalted in the earth.”

“Being still is surrendering to God in prayer, trusting in the Lord with all of our heart, and with all that concerns us, leaning not on our own understanding and letting God direct our paths. Being still is not God’s call to rest but it is God’s call for us to get out of God’s way,” Malone declared to the laity and clergy in the room and to those watching online around the world.

“Being still is God expecting us to stop the fighting and stop the quarreling and stop the wandering. God is calling us to put down the weapons, and put down the harm, and put down the hostility, and put down the boxes we create, the fences we build, the barriers we erect, and the lines we draw,” Malone said. “God is exalted in the nations. God is exalted in the earth. God is exalted in The United Methodist Church. God is exalted in our lives. God is our refuge, and our strength, and our hope today, tomorrow, and always.”

The bishop said the work that has been done by the delegates of General Conference the past 10 days is important but not as important as what the Church will do next.

“We go forward surrendering to the power of the Holy Spirit, entrusting God to lead us and to show us God’s vision for the next expression of The United Methodist Church,” Malone said. “We go forward with the courage to continue to do the hard work and the heart work of dismantling racism, and sexism, and classism, and homophobia, and xenophobia, and white supremacy, and privilege. We go forward keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus and on our mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world, daring to dream new dreams, and daring to see new visions.”

Malone then asked delegates to imagine a United Methodist Church where hope is reborn, and where people are reconciled to one another, and committed to build God’s beloved community.

“Let us imagine a church where no one, nobody, is marginalized,” Malone said. “Let us imagine a church that transcends geography and cultures, and languages, and borders, and barriers, and differences. I’m talking about a beautiful mosaic that reflects the Kin-dom, the Kingdom of God. Let us imagine a church that is beautifully diverse, intrinsically connected to love each other, intrinsically connected as we go forth to serve our neighbors near and far. Let us together re-imagine Church.”

View the Bishop’s Sermon in its entirety.

*Rick Wolcott is executive director of Communications for the East Ohio Conference of The United Methodist Church.