Never underestimate the power of prayer

SC Annual Conference closed on Wednesday with a worship service to set appointments.  In the "old days" the bishop read out where each minister in the Conference would be appointed.  Sometimes this reading was the first indication pastorss had that they would be moving and where they would be going.  Ministers changing churches would then go home, pack up their houses and their families, say goodbye to their churches, and be in the new place within two weeks.  My mom grew up as a preacher's kid in Louisiana.  She said this practice kept ministers from leaving Conference early.  Her dad would call before he started home to let my grandmother know whether she had to start packing or not.  High anxiety, to be sure.

Nowadays, the list is finalized before conference and handed out in printed form.  Only a few changes are recorded at the session as we all read along.  As each district has its appointments set, clergy and lay members from each stand and prayers of blessing are raised.  It's not a time of high anxiety for most, but for some a time of change is about to occur, and those prayers are especially appreciated.

But it was not that time of prayer that I remember most about last Wednesday.  Instead, it was a prayer offered during our time of business and voting.  Each Annual Conference presents on the first day a budget to be approved and resolutions to be voted on before the Conference closes.  These activities can also be a source of high anxiety, especially in these times of financial uncertainty and political division.

I thought that this year's Conference was especially congenial.  Every session ended on time or early, and there were no moments of high drama or uncertainty, at least not from my perspective.  But on Wednesday morning, the possibility existed that our good fortune would run out. Resolutions about education, health care, and gun control had the potential to derail our course.  People were passionate about their positions, and debate became heated.  As we prepared to cast a written ballot for one of the votes, the Bishop asked everyone to be still, sit in a seat, and to be in an attitude of prayer.  And he prepared us to pray, reminding us that no matter which way the voting went, the outcome would not be about winning or losing, but about loving and supporting even those who had different perspectives that ours.  So when the results were announced, there would be no clapping or celebrating from one side or the other.  We would just go on and be about the business we were called to do as the people called United Methodist in South Carolina.

I felt the attitude of the body change in that moment.  The Bishop's prayer was a centering moment.  He was loving, kind, and firm in his leadership.  In the end, we made a choice, went on to the next item, and ended the business session, once again on time and ready to move ahead.

It was a holy moment, a prayer in the midst of the business of the Conference, and it reminded me that no moment in time, no issue or position, no gathering of Christian people, where an earnest, compassionate prayer is prayed in vain.  In spite of the other great experiences of the week (renewed friendships, inspired preaching and missional service), this is the moment that made the biggest impression on me.  And in a decade when we United Methodists have not always been kind to one another, it gave me great hope.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23

Peace, Deb