The Wesleyan Covenant Association simulcast - initial thoughts

On Saturday I attended the simulcast of the Wesleyan Covenant Association Global Gathering - MOVE - On Mission With God. I recorded a short video about why I was planning to attend and promised to share some thoughts afterwards. These thoughts are still forming, but I am a procrastinator so it seems better to get something on virtual paper and out there now, and I'll add other thoughts as they come. First, some general information that was shared at the gathering, and some gleaned from their website.

• There were 2300 people in attendance across 65 locations.

• This was described as a "global gathering" but I could not find any non-US based locations on their website.

• The distribution of the locations was as follows (Keith Boyette said there were 65 locations, but only 63 are listed on the website.

  • North Central Jurisdiction - 17 (West Ohio had 6 locations)

  • Northeastern Jurisdiction - 15 (Baltimore-Washington had 3 locations)

  • South Central Jurisdiction - 8

  • Southeastern Jurisdiction - 18 (North Georgia had 5 locations)

  • Western Jurisdiction - 5

There were nine main speakers, of whom two were white women, three were men of color (two African-American, one African) and four were white men. The MC of the event was Rev. Madeline Carrasco Henners, who I believe is Hispanic/Latina. There was a fairly active Twitter feed that I participated in, most of my tweets were quotes from the speakers, with occasional comments from me directly. As I have started to review my notes from the gathering, several themes from the speakers emerged.

1. Fussing and fighting is taking up too much time, we need to get back to saving souls

   • It was clear that conversations about LGBTQ inclusion are viewed as distractions from the primary work of the church. LGBTQ inclusion was not named of course, but this was the subtext.

2. The "culture of the age" is to be resisted not conformed to

   • This term used as code for the increasing acceptance of LGBTQ people and relationships in culture.

3. They want to be perceived of as "winsome" in how they do their work - this word was used by several speakers

   • Definition of winsome from Merriam-Webster "generally pleasing and engaging often because of a childlike charm and innocence"

4. The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a dead denomination

   • They had little positive to say about The UMC in its current form, it was described as dead, with no life at all. 

There were many other things that were said of course, but these are the ones that have lingered with me the most. The overriding sense I came away with is that for the WCA there is...

• only one way to be a "proper" Christian

• only one way to interpret Scripture

• only one way to build and be a successful church.

And furthermore, that staying connected with those who...

• embody their faith differently

• read the Bible differently

• consider what a successful church should look like differently

well this would weaken, dilute and detract from their perfect way.

This all might sound rather uncharitable of me, but I can only say that these are the strong impressions I left with. I certainly did not feel like there was room for me in their vision of the church, even aside from the fact that I am not a cisgender, heterosexual person. I am a person who has a strong and abiding faith in a present and loving God and I am one who wrestles with Scripture and doubts often, and who believes salvation cannot be encapsulated in a three line prayer. And for the WCA, that would not be enough.