GC 2008 ~ Day 5 - part 3

Today there have been several sensitivity issues running through my mind...

• The first one deals with something that I alluded to earlier. When I first read the petition dealing with the ELCA I naturally assumed that this petition had Global issues for United Methodism, but because this portion of the Lutheran communion has the word 'America' in the title, some of the Central Conference folks made the assumption, and drew attention to the notion that this petition might only have implications for United Methodists in America. I think that it was helpful for our brother from Africa to draw attention to this particular point of clarification.
• The second issue deals with the UMC mission statement petition that I pointed to in an earlier post. The petitions are printed in a Book Called the Daily Christian Advocate... there was an advanced version of the DCA printed and we receive updated volumes each day. As it turns out, the Advance version was printed in several languages including French, Spanish,and Portuguese. What we have learned is that some of the translations are not very accurate, in fact the first French version was rejected and had to go through another round of translating. In this instance, as we dealt with the mission statement, we all learned, from one of the translators, that the word make... as in 'make disciples of Jesus Christ' was actually translated 'Create.' As well, we have since learned that there were a number of locations where the word 'not' was left out and was not translated.
• A third instance that demanded attention regarding sensitivity came at the beginning of one of the Faith and Order Legislative sessions when a delegate asked for a point privilege to share something that was on his heart. As it turns out, this particular person, who happens to be the leader of his delegation, found himself at a local restaurant, which I won't name here... while at Bennigan's his order was somehow lost and eventually totally disregarded by the wait staff and ultimately this person was never served a meal. The interesting part to me was that it was pointed out to this person, by another member of his delegation, that this mix up with his meal was a deliberate act of intentional racism rather than a simple miscommunication between the wait staff and the kitchen. As a result of this story the entire room of delegates gathered around this person for a prayer and to extend words of comfort... While I am still processing this experience, I am sure of one thing... As Christians, in a global context, I think we are all called to be attentive in some way to issues such as this whether they are what they seem or not...
• My final instance is more of an observation than anything else. As it turns out, in each of the 13 Legislative committees you can find, within the gallery of visitors, a number of representatives of COSROW. COSROW is a watch dog group that reports to the General Conference, and to the denomination regarding the inclusivity of persons regarding a variety of isms like racism and sexism. I find it interesting that the COSROW representatives in the Legislative Committees that I have been watching have all been white females. I find that to be an interesting example of inclusivity. I am guessing that COSROW also watches itself and as a whole is represented well across sex, gender, and racial lines...

I bring all of these examples up in order to say that I think, as we navigate this world, we are all called by God to be sensitive to a variety of variables that in some way impact the entire context of our lives together. I am thankful for experiences like this that cause me to think.