Doris F. Clark: Why I Choose the UMC

Growing up in a rural community and attending the Methodist church two Sundays and the Baptist church two Sundays a month kept me in church every Sunday. So the decision to become an active church member was in my DNA. It was didn't hurt that my grandfather was a Baptist minister. However, to become a United Methodist was a family decision.

My father-in-law who was visiting us attended a worship service at a United Methodist church and strongly recommended that our family visit this church, and we did. The pastor and the congregation warmly greeted us and after a few more visits we decided this was the right church for our family. We became active members attending both worship services and Sunday school classes.

I will always remember the famous quote by Dr. Martin Luther King: "Life's most urgent question is: what are you doing for others?" That describes what I feel about the United Methodist Church -- we see the world as the place that God wants us to work. We see our responsibility to serve and to be transformative people. The United Methodist Church knows what social consciousness awareness is and tries to address injustices.

Long before having a full theological understanding of the United Methodist Church I understood that God's grace was free and that God calls us all for God's purpose. Being part of a connectional church allows us to be the servants that understand the need to love all God's creation and to extend grace at all times. I am grateful that we have this common tradition of faith and that together we are working for the good.

To live out the practices of worship, study, community, prayer and service in the United Methodist Church is a gift. To see the grace of God daily in how we live our our faith constantly reminds me of how Great our God is.

Doris Clark is a member of the Indiana Conference serving as an Associate Conference Lay Leader and Co-District Lay Leader.  She is married and has one son and one grandson.

Barbara Boigegrain: How I came to be a United Methodist

There are two choices you cannot make: you cannot choose your parents or your siblings. Some of us are very lucky and really blessed when those choices turn out well, because the quality of our lives depends on them.

Before I was even aware of the choices life had made for me, The United Methodist Church became my family and, in many ways, became me.  When I was born I had a severe blood disorder and the doctors gave me a very low chance for survival.  As my parents dealt with the realities of a newborn, let alone the array of blood exchanges and transfusions I required, the word went out to my father’s new church start of about 80 adults that I needed blood –over 70 reported to the hospital within hours to donate blood. For a new pastor and his wife, this unfortunate situation had a silver lining—it also helped connect my parents to their new congregation.

Over the years, as I ran about the church, played in the nursery, climbed in and out of the pews and generally grew up, everyone saw something of themselves in me—I had become “everyone’s child!”  Those who provided my life’s blood saw personality traits and physical characteristics that were parsed and attributed widely to many of them—I quickly found that I couldn’t get away with anything!  My ongoing interactions and developing relationships subtly formed lifelong values which, I came to understand over time, were in fact the values of the Church.  I developed a deep appreciation for them and the ways in which we, as United Methodists, continually strive to be Christ in the world.

And the world entered our small parsonage.  We had Cuban refugees living with us for several months, as they assimilated, became acclimated to the United States, found jobs and eventually set-up a home.  In the early seventies at the height of the Black Power movement, my siblings and I were repeatedly sent to help the Black Panther organization in Denver collect and wrap toys for children who otherwise would not have any.  The strong values of equality, inclusivity and acts of mercy stayed with me as I completed my education in the late seventies and entered the business world with many other women for the first time.

In my entry level consulting position at an international consulting firm, I tried to bring a gender-neutral perspective to the documents I drafted and was told to “stop messing around and get back to the correct” male-only language that was the accepted norm.  Situations like this made me realize the true benefit and deep appreciation that I held for a Church family that went to such great lengths to ensure that everyone feels welcome and valued in the language we use, in our commitment to inclusivity and through our shared understanding of Social Holiness.

Over my 16 year corporate career, I never expected I would be called in a most unusual way to serve the Church myself by helping support its ministers.  I have served as general secretary of the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits for 18 years.  Those deeply-held values, instilled in me by a church family I did not know and one that my parents barely knew, remain essential in my life’s purpose to this day.  The Church spreads Hope to a torn world and broken lives.  It is my honor and privilege to serve those who serve God in all places by helping assure that they, their spouses and family members have a measure of financial and benefits security when their careers in ministry end.  For me, being a United Methodist provides a foundation for a life of caring service.  Something that was literally infused in me early-on by many, many who cared for someone they did not know.

Barbara Boigegrain has served as chief executive of General Board of Pension and Health Benefits since 1994. Under her leadership, strategies have been established to secure the long-term viability of pension plans, retirement savings programs, and benefit plans for over 74,000 employees of the UMC. 

Marc Brown: Why I choose UMC

I remember the first time I witnessed an infant being baptized and the first time I received the Lord’s Supper even though I was not a member of The United Methodist Church. Infants were not baptized in the denomination in which I was raised and it was understood that church membership was required to receive the bread and the cup. When I saw the infant receiving the sacrament of baptism and when I was welcomed to the sacramental table of the Eucharist, I began a new journey in understanding how God’s inviting love is proclaimed. In time, I joined that congregation because I knew I had been welcomed by the love of God that was beyond my understanding.

As a follower of Jesus, I still choose to be a member of The United Methodist Church because I want my life to be connected to the story of God’s inviting love that is still beyond my understanding. I want the story of my life to be witness to the claiming grace of God where people are baptized and invited to the Lord’s Table so they may join in the journey of following Jesus.

The Rev. Marc Brown is an elder in the Virginia Conference who is currently appointed as the conference’s Director of Connectional Ministries.  Prior appointments have included serving as pastor of small, medium, and large churches as well as service as a district superintendent.

Jovito J. Sermonia, Jr: Why I Chose UMC

As I reflect upon what had been happening in our church (UMC) during the last two to three decades, I could not help but feel sad because I believe that we have been falling short of our mission. In the Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church, we are told that “The mission of the church is to make disciples of Christ for the transformation of the world. And that “local churches provide the most significant area through which disciple-making occurs.” At the UMC, however, we can all acknowledge that our population had been dwindling continuously over the years. So the question is – how can we ensure disciple-making at the UMC when there are fewer and fewer of us left? Also, with the shrinking church membership, how can we ensure that the UMC’s role as a community in which the people of God could grow and flourish is maintained?

From my cursory research I gathered that, in general, people leave the church for various reasons including the following. First, people leave the church when roots are not established – without roots, people come and go as they please. Second, people leave the church when connections are not made. People tend to leave when they do not connect to the vision and direction of the church. Third, people leave the church when they are running from the truth. When the word of God is taught, it brings with it the truth and reality about God, as well as about ourselves, and some people simply resist when the truth is presented to them. Fourth, people leave the church when offense occurs between church members. An example maybe when one church member gossips about another member, who most likely will be offended and leave the church. And fifth, people leave the church when they lose their hunger for things of God.

On a less intellectual note, my casual observations over the years tell me that people left the UMC due to various reasons which include the following. One reason is that some people have migrated and now attend another church in their new location. Also, others might have become tired of the Methodist church and have joined a non-Methodist church. Another reason is what I have outlined as the “fourth reason” above. Finally, some people perhaps were trying to find their “comfort zones” and followed their friends who had left the UMC.

As it is, we can all acknowledge that we have some issues within the church that we need to address. These issues, however, need not be the justification for us to leave the church. The battle is here and the opportunity to gain and strengthen our faith is here! In fact, if we look closely at what’s happening around us and look closely at our church, we might see the light.

I personally am very optimistic that we can encourage current members to become more active and that we can recruit many new converts to our church because salvation is still in the United Methodist Church! Why and how, you might ask? First, our church shares a common heritage with all Christians. Second, our church has always maintained a neutral political stand unlike some churches/religions which I shall not name. Note that here and elsewhere, the political activism of some churches/religions has turned people off. Third, our church has maintained its clean image, again unlike some churches which have been involved in various scandals (sexual, financial, etc.). In short, the reputation of our church as a “neutral” community and one which exists solely to promote our spiritual well-being has been safely preserved all these years!

James 1:2 said, “consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Jun Sermonia is a member at Knox United Methodist Church and currently the Conference Lay Leader of Philippines Annual Conference. He supports various missions in the Philippines and overseas as well like UAE, Kuwait and Qatar. He is also involved in Medical missions particularly in the Baguio Episcopal Area.  In business, he deploys Filipino workers for overseas employment.