Christ for the world we write

The United Methodist Church's Council of Bishops has come out with their most recent pastoral letter, "God's Renewed Creation: A Call to Hope and Action." (You can read the actual letter here.)

The bishops--God love 'em-- are calling for United Methodists and others around the world to offer themselves as "instruments" of God's "renewing Spirit in the world." They offer three concrete actions: 1) orienting our lives towards God's holy vision; 2) practicing social and environmental holiness; and 3) living and acting in hope.

I am glad to hear that clarion call for hope. In our world today, fear is the main currency traded in the arena of public discourse (Glen Beck, Lou Dobbs, Keith Olberman, Rush Limbaugh, etc.). The pundits and politicians of our post-9/11 society seem to be experts in fear mongering, cynicism and sarcasm, and it is the church's job--and the bishops are doing this--to provide an antidote to all this: hope.

The bishops also issue nine "pledges" that they say they will take moving forward. One of them--#6--states that bishops will measure the carbon footprint of their episcopal and denominational offices and determine how to reduce it. That's a very good thing... and a great model to pass along to our local churches. Imagine if all 34,000+ churches did that! It would have a huge impact.

Here in Florida, we're buidling a new Conference Center. I know that our board of trustees has taken this "green building" idea seriously, even to the point of doing some things that will be beneficial to the environment but harmful to the bottom line (in the short run). For this, our leaders should be applauded.

Another important pledge is #5: "We pledge to advocate for justice and peace in the halls of power in our respective nations and international organizations." I want us, as United Methodists, to hold the bishops accountable for this one. I would love to see a report, in about 6 or 12 months time, that shows what each bishop did to advocate for justice and peace in the halls of power.

Our own bishop, Tim Whitaker, does this on a regular basis when he comes to Tallahassee for Florida Advocacy Days at Children's Week. I've seen the bishop meet with the governor, the president of the senate, and other key lawmakers, urging them to keep children a priority as they go through their budget-making process. I hope other bishops follow this kind of advocacy work, too.

But my favorite is #9: "We pledge more effective use of the church and community webpages to inspire and share what we learn. We celebrate the communications efforts that tell the stories of struggle and transformation within our denomination."

As one whose ministry is sharing those stories, I'm tickled to death to have the bishops' support.