A couple of weeks ago at Annual Conference, Bishop Schwerin “fixed the appointments.” That is one of those wonderfully odd Methodist phrases that sounds, at first, like something was broken and needed repair. But in this case, “fixed” means set. The bishop sets the pastoral appointments for another year of ministry, and clergy and congregations receive those appointments as part of our shared covenant in The United Methodist Church.
So, with gratitude, I am glad to share that this marks my tenth appointment year at The United Methodist Church of Geneva: four years as your associate pastor and now six years as your senior pastor. It also marks Pastor Heather’s second appointment year at UMCG.
That is a milestone worth naming. I do not take it for granted, not for a moment. I am proud to be your pastor. I am proud of the way this congregation serves, speaks, welcomes, gives, wrestles, prays, shows up, and tries to live the gospel in real time. I am proud of the generosity we practice with one another and for neighbors in need. I am proud of the ways we have grown bolder and more faithful together.
And I am deeply grateful for the people with whom I get to share this work: our incredible staff, our retired pastors, our lay leaders, our volunteers, and, of course, Pastor Heather. I am grateful for the strategic, faithful way we are listening for who God is calling us to be as a congregation in this season.
Milestones are important because they give us a chance to look back and see what God has done. And looking back over these ten appointment years, I am convinced that we would not be able to step into the season before us without the years behind us. The trust we have built, the ministry we have shared, the hard conversations we have had, the generosity we have practiced, the mission we have supported, the partnerships we have deepened, the worship we have offered, the care we have extended: all of that has prepared us for this moment.
And this moment is no small thing. We are embarking on a restoration project of generations. We are caring for a historic building not as a museum piece, but as a living place of ministry. We are renewing spaces so they can better serve children, families, neighbors, community groups, music, meals, learning, prayer, hospitality, and connection. We are investing in a church building because we believe God is not done with the church’s mission in the world. That is a milestone, too.
Of course, for United Methodist elders, July 1 is the official beginning of a new appointment year. And it almost always arrives right alongside Fourth of July celebrations. Anyone who has ever started a new pastoral appointment knows that the first Sunday in a new church often lands on Fourth of July weekend. Somehow that always feels big. Maybe there is a little extra pressure in a new pulpit, in front of a new congregation with fireworks in the background.
This year, I have been thinking about another milestone: the 250th anniversary of the United States.
It is a significant anniversary, and yet I wonder if it feels as complicated as it feels grand. There is much to celebrate about this nation. There are real gifts, freedoms, opportunities, and privileges that many of us have received. There are also truths in our history and present that are painful, unfinished, and in need of repair.
As Christians, we can hold both gratitude and honesty. We can give thanks for what is good without pretending everything is good. We can love our country without confusing it for the Kin(g)dom of God. Our deepest allegiance belongs to Jesus Christ. We are citizens of God’s kin(g)dom first, which means we pray and work for God’s will to be done “on earth as it is in heaven.”
That is always the tension of faithful discipleship. We live here. We love here. We serve here. We vote here. We raise families here. We care about our communities here. And yet we belong to a kin(g)dom whose borders are wider than any nation and whose ruler is not a president, party, platform, or flag, but Jesus Christ.
This milestone feels to me of 2018, when The United Methodist Church marked its 50th anniversary. It should have been a grand celebration. And in some ways, it was. The UMC has done a lot of good in the world. We have built hospitals, schools, churches, camps, ministries, mission partnerships, and communities of faith across the globe. But that anniversary was also subdued, because the church was already living in the shadow of division. We were trying to celebrate unity while preparing for the possibility that we might not remain united. The great Methodist divorce came a few years later, but the ache was already present.
Milestones can be like that. They are rarely simple. They invite celebration, but they also invite reflection. They ask us to tell the truth about where we have been, give thanks for grace that has carried us, and recommit ourselves to the work still ahead.
So, as we enter another appointment year, as our nation marks 250 years, and as UMCG steps into a major season of restoration and renewal, I find myself grateful. Grateful for our forebears. Grateful for the freedoms and privileges we have received. Grateful for the chance to serve. Grateful for the call to make our church, our community, our nation, and our world more just, compassionate, generous, and faithful.
And I find myself returning to a prayer in the spirit of John Wesley’s Covenant Prayer: Lord, let me be employed for you. Let me be laid aside for you. Let me be full. Let me be empty. Let me have all things. Let me have nothing. Let my life be given to you.
May God keep working through us: through this congregation, through this new appointment year, through this restoration project, through every milestone and every ordinary day so that we might become better disciples of Jesus Christ and help transform the world by God’s grace.
I am grateful to celebrate these milestones with you.
My family will be away for a couple of weeks while the parsonage undergoes some repairs, and I look forward to seeing you when we return.
Grace and peace,
