May 5, 2022
In this episode of the Louisiana NOW podcast, we
feature speeches from Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey and Bishop
Thomas Bickerton. Both bishops recently addressed the Council of
Bishops and the church during the most recent Council of Bishops
meeting. The bishops of The United Methodist
Church completed their Spring meeting in a spirit of collegiality
and love for one another and the worldwide
denomination.
In a moving time of worship, the bishops celebrated
the leadership of the Council with the passing of the gavel as New
York Area Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton assumed the mantle as the new
president of the Council of Bishops (COB) of the
UMC.
In his address, Bishop Bickerton called on the
United Methodists to commit to “spending most of our time
positioning our church for the next chapter of our life together:
talking about the movement of the spirit in our midst, the exciting
days that lie ahead, and the joy we will have being able to live
out our calling to preach the Good News of God’s love rather than
the bad news of what’s happening to us in the current
moment.”
“This is our church – let us claim it, guard it,
preserve it, and use it to bless generations for years to come just
as we were blessed by those who came before us.”
Using Romans 12, Bishop Harvey called
on her colleagues and fellow United Methodists to remember that
together, “we are the body of Christ, and when we actively start
lopping off parts of the body, we cease to be who God has called us
to be.”
Noting that trying to “figure out how to make sense” of separation
and the time spent has been “egregious.” Bishop Harvey said that
the Book of Discipline is often silent
or vague when it comes to addressing separation.
That’s because, she said, “the Book of
Discipline is designed to give us direction for how to be
United Methodist, not how NOT to be United
Methodist.”
Watching online videos from church leaders that start with the
premise of understanding the process of disaffiliation saddens her,
she said, “in the very pit of my stomach.”
“We ought never pander nor foster division,” she said. “We do not
need an enemy to lead! We lead out of and because of the love and
grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!”
Bishop Harvey said that she is a “big tent church person” who
believes every voice is important to the whole. But, she added, the
church needs to be very clear about who it is and who it is called
to be.