“The Purpose of an Order is to:  1.  provide for regular gatherings... for continuing formation in relationship to Jesus Christ through (various means);  2.  assist in plans for individual study and retreat experiences; 3.  develop a bond of unity and common commitment to the mission and ministry of the UMC and annual conference; 4.  enable the creation of relationships that allow mutual support and trust;  and 5.  hold accountable all members of the Order in the fulfilling of these purposes.”   (The Book of Discipline ¶312) 

This five-fold purpose of the order of elders feels overwhelming to me.  On the one hand, I believe it is a recognition of what we experience during our lifetime of ministry:  isolation, loneliness, spiritual, emotional and physical depletion.  It is an attempt on the part of the church to say, we are responsible for each other.  On the highest plane, when we are all marching in step—forgive the military analogy—this multipurpose puts us in a beautiful formation.  On the other hand, since life is rarely altogether in step, in practice I think many of us experience this singular multifaceted purpose as five distinct purposes sometimes the various purposes conflicting with each other.  I see the task of the order first and foremost to grapple with our purpose and to determine how we can meet the needs that underlie the disciplinary statement of purpose.

 

In our annual conference the whole order meets annually at conference and once alternate years in October.  The annual conference meeting is a new feature as of conference last year.  It is a practice I hope that will continue.  I will work to make it so.

 

Throughout the year, a taskforce meets to plan and strategize with the hope of taking concrete actions to move the order toward living out its stated purpose.  One thing that has become clear to me is that much of the taskforce's work, as helpful as it is, only affects a few, namely those on the taskforce.  One of my goals is to hold up at every taskforce meeting the question:  how has our time together profited the order?  We are looking for ways to share the important, thoughtful work of the taskforce with the entire order.  One means is our web page, which will likely become an increasingly important vehicle for communication.

 

At the last taskforce meeting, December 4, 2003, we discussed our purpose in small groups.  In addition we talked about the upcoming Bend event, clergy wellness and our web page.  When taskforce meets again in April, our focus will be:  1) to continue reflection on the various aspects of the order’s purpose; 2) to plan our next gatherings both at annual conference on Friday evening, June 10, and our fall gathering with our new bishop in Bend, October 5-7; and 3) to think about how our order cares for its members, especially those experiencing difficulties in their life or ministry.

 

The Board of Ordained Ministry has asked us to develop a plan of advocacy for elders who find themselves in difficult, perhaps disciplinary, situations.  This request has involved us in serious discussions of three different roles:  caregiver, interpreter, and advocate.  We think of caregivers as those elders who will offer emotional and relational support for another; interpreters as those elders who will help interpret actions and requirements of the BOM and cabinet and Disciplinary requirements so that those in difficulty will know precisely what the cabinet and/or BOM expects; advocates are those elders who will be able to advise those in difficulty and speak on their behalf as appropriate.  As you can imagine when we started talking the nuts and bolts of how to perform these three roles, the discussions lead us into a myriad of details.

 

When we meet at annual conference, one order of business will be to elect a new co-chair.  We are already missing Sue Joiner who was elected with me to chair the order.  Sue has accepted a position at the Samaritan Counseling Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  She will be the director of a new program, Called Back to the Well, designed to cultivate spiritual vitality for clergy in the Southwestern United States.  While this opportunity sounds like it was created just for her and we know she is following the Spirit’s leading, her absence leaves a hole for us.  We will have information to share about the Bend event at our conference meeting.  We will take time to check in with each other and deal with other business you have in mind.

 

Grace and Peace! 

  

Bob

 

 

Dr. Robert Flaherty
Pastor, Roseburg First United Methodist Church
1771 W. Harvard Blvd
Roseburg, OR 97470
(541) 672-1629
Fax (541) 672-1620
http://www.fumcrbrg.org/