The Flock
Eastern Parkway United Methodist Church
A warm welcome to each worshiper today. We celebrate you and offer you our friendship and love. We are a congregation of people who seek to grow spiritually, to become more like Christ in His compassion and acceptance of everyone while growing more aware of what it really means to be Christians today.
As a Reconciling Congregation, EPUMC affirms the sacred worth of persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities and welcomes them into full participation in the fellowship, membership, ministries, and leadership of the congregation.
943 Palmer Avenue, Schenectady, NY 12309 / 518-374-4306 epumc943@gmail.com / www.easternparkway.org
Order of Worship
April 21, 2024
Fourth Sunday in Easter
10:00 a.m.
*You are invited to rise in body or spirit.
Prelude
Greeting and Announcements
Mission Statement: We are a faith community striving to be, to nurture, and to send forth disciples of Jesus Christ.
Call to Worship:
Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside the still waters.
They shall mount up with wings like eagles.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
They shall run and not be weary.
Yea though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil,
for thou art with me.
They shall walk and not faint.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house
of the Lord forever.
The grass withers, and the flower fades, but the Word of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting.
*Hymn O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing #57, v 1-4
Prayer of Confession:
God of many pastures,
we never tire of hearing
the voice of our shepherd;
we never tire of hearing
the call to lay our burdens down;
we never tire of hearing
the invitation to dwell in your house forever.
Forgive us, loving shepherd,
when we try to keep you as our own—
thinking that we alone have your love,
thinking that others wander alone
without your care and guidance.
Open our eyes,
that we may recognize the sheep of your fold
wherever they may be
and whatever they may look like. Amen.
Assurance:
The one who lays his life down for the sheep
will surely rescue us and lead us to safe pastures.
Through the love and grace of our shepherd,
goodness and mercy shall follow us
all the days of our lives,
and we shall dwell securely forever.
Scripture Reading John 10: 11-18
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. 18 No one takes[a] it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”
Sermon The Flock
Friends, this morning’s lectionary-appointed Gospel passage brings us very familiar words of comfort. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He’s faithful, he protects us from wolves. We recognize his voice, and he gathers us all together from all the places we’ve been scattered until we’re one flock.
I’ve preached this text several times before, one of those times being right here. These words go on like your favorite old hoodie. These words use imagery that struck a very familiar chord with Jesus’ original listeners, but have remained very relatable to us. After all, anyone who’s seen a Disney movie knows that wolves always mean trouble. And if we were sheep, all gathered together as one, we’d all be surrounded by one another’s wool. It’s a super cozy image. I wouldn’t mind a wool blankie right now, and in this passage Jesus tells us that he’s the originator of that warmth.
What cold draft is coming in through the cracks in the window insulation of your life right now? What intruder to your comfort do you need Jesus to chase away? Or, how could the rest of the flock use our combined fuzziness to shield you and keep you warm? What spiritual care do you need? What community care do you need? What harsh winds are coming in through this church’s window cracks? What will it take from us, as a church family, to keep the cold air off our skin? How can we protect one another? And what wolves can Jesus chase out of our sanctuary?
While you reflect on how these words square with your own life, and with this congregation, we, as United Methodists, have a huge, shared place to put our attention. This Tuesday begins the gathering of the General Conference in Charlotte, NC. If you think of the UMC like it’s the United States Government, with three branches that run it and keep one another’s power in check, the General Conference is Congress. It’s our legislative branch. It’s the one and only place where rules can be passed that affect our entire denomination, all over the country. More specifically, General Conference is the only body that has the authority to make changes to the Book of Discipline, the UMC’s official rule book. We have a few here at church if you’d like to check one out. There’s historical words in there that go all the way back to John Wesley, and then there’s passages that were just added the last time GC convened, in 2019. I took an entire class on it back in my seminary days, so I can tell you–it’s an interesting read. It’s also the most efficient bedtime story you’ll ever find. Forget the Calm app, this book will knock you out in minutes.
This GC is long awaited, and desperately needed. GC is supposed to convene every 4 years, traditionally on Presidential election years here in the US, and that had been the trend all the way through 2016, when GC convened for ten days in Portland, OR. That was a tumultuous time to be an American Methodist–there was a fist fight in the parking lot at GC (or so I read), and a certain infamous billionaire was elected President.
In such a year as 2016, a year where the tension between United Methodists had become so thick you could cut it with a knife, the Council of Bishops (the executive branch of our Church government) requested a new committee, the response we church folk always have when there’s a problem that needs solving, and they also called a special three-day GC session in February of 2019, in St. Louis. The Commission On a Way Forward came together to tackle the BIG ISSUE of the UMC, the issue that has dominated every single General Conference gathering since 1972. GLBTQ inclusion in the Church, particularly as it concerns marriage and ordination.
Catching y’all up to speed, because I find that that Methodist rumor mill circulates a lot of fake news–our Book of Discipline didn’t say anything about GLBTQ issues until 1972. So if anyone put you under the impression that same sex marriages and ordinations of queer clergy have always been banned in the UMC, that’s simply untrue. But the world changed rapidly through the 1960s and early 1970s between the civil rights movement, the feminist movement, and then the Stonewall riot of 1969 that brought immense public attention to GLBTQ discrimination. At the 1972 GC, our delegates proposed that we could no longer have a BoD that treats queer folx like they don’t exist, that was tone deaf and astonishingly lacking in compassion. Progressive folx proposed a sentence: “homosexual persons no less than heterosexual persons are individuals of sacred worth.” They really should have stopped there, and allowed future generations to soften that excessively clinical language. However, more conservative folx on the floor worried that expressing concern and care for our queer siblings would sound too much like we think it’s perfectly fine to be gay, and suggested a compromise: “however, the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching.” Methodist clergywoman, professor, and trailblazer Georgia Harkness approached the floor sobbing, and warned “If we put this sentence in the Book of Discipline, it will take 40 years to get rid of it.” I’m so sorry we didn’t listen to you, Georgia. It’s been 52.
Since then, subsequent GCs have added teeth to the UMC’s hostility to our queer friends, barring them from marriage, and banning the ordination of “self-avowed, practicing homosexuals.” For the record, my friend JJ Warren, a young man pursuing ordination in the New England Conference, and studying for a PhD at the University of Vienna, once responded to that by clarifying, “well, I’m not practicing, I’m a professional.” Sympathetic members of Boards of Ordained Ministry had similar thinking to Brother JJ, no one identifies as a “self-avowed, practicing homosexual”, so don’t worry, they haven’t approved any such person for ordination.
But then GC 2019 happened. Something called the One Church Plan, which would have struck the condemnatory language from the BoD and allowed us to simply follow our consciences, was favored to pass. But wolves whispered in the ears of the sheep. They spread misinformation and fear. And the wolves fought hard for something that ended up being voted into Methodist law–the Traditional Plan, which doubled down on the BoD’s harmful language, and required harsh punishments for anyone caught breaking the rules.
We so desperately needed a GC in 2020, where Jesus would call the sheep together, chase out the wolves, and have us care for one another in a warm, inclusive embrace of wool. And we were supposed to have that GC. But, as you know, something else huge happened in 2020. And because of the pandemic, that GC got pushed back again and again, and now here we are, in 2024, and we haven’t had that gathering of the flock all together in healing embrace in 5 years. And the last time we were all together, the wolves decimated our grassy knoll.
You know me well enough to know what I believe: God made us richly and wonderfully diverse in gender and gender identity, race, age, color, national origin, ability, and sexuality. God didn’t make any mistakes. We are all beautiful. I affirm your calling to a life partner, no matter their gender or yours, and I delight in the ordained ministries of my queer friends. It’s embarrassing I even still have to say all this. But it’s not the party line of the UMC, yet, so here we are.
These next two weeks, while the flock is gathered in Charlotte, I pray for all of our delegates. I pray that they hear the voice of the Good Shepherd, and they know it. I pray that, when they hear wolf howls, they’ll be able to tell the difference. I pray that, when this Conference is all over, I won’t feel like I did in 2019 or 2016 or 2012 or 2008 or 2004 or…you get the idea. I pray that the flock will know real love again, and stop gatekeeping it. And I pray that the wool of this flock all around me will feel unconditionally comforting again.
Amen.
*Hymn The King of Love My Shepherd Is #138, v 1-3
Offering
Offertory
*Doxology #94
*Prayer of dedication
Pastoral Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
Good Shepherd, within your embrace we are safe and secure. Within your embrace we know that we are precious in your sight. Within your embrace we feel the warmth of family and belonging. Within your embrace we grow and are nurtured together as one flock, the people of your pasture under your loving care and protection.
Come, let us bow down
Before the LORD our Maker
Good Shepherd, within your embrace we find comfort and healing. We bring to you those who are weak, or struggling with physical, mental or spiritual health. You are the great healer, and we pray for healing of mind and body for those we now name in the silence of our hearts.
Come, let us bow down
Before the LORD our Maker
Good Shepherd, within your embrace we find justice. We bring to you the brave voices who cry out for freedom, those prepared to stand up and be heard without counting the cost. We pray for those who have been imprisoned or tortured for their race, colour, caste or faith. For all Christians who have taken up the Cross and know its weight and pain.
Come, let us bow down
Before the LORD our Maker
Good Shepherd, within your embrace we find peace. We bring to you those orphaned, crippled or dispossessed by war, for refugees wandering this earth in search of a home, for all victims of strife and warfare, and for all those who have dedicated their lives for the search for peace and reconciliation.
Come, let us bow down
Before the LORD our Maker
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.(Psalm 118:1)
— written by John Birch, and posted on his Faith and Worship website.
Our Father, Mother, Creator God, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us. Lead us, not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory forever. Amen.
*Hymn How Firm a Foundation #529
Benediction
Postlude
Staff
Natalie Bowerman Pastor
Betsy Lehmann Music Director
Joe White Custodian
Cassandra Brown Nursery Attendant
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