In the last two weeks, my family has sent out two daughters for their school year. My middle child, Emily, moved to Atlanta on August 20. She arrived eager and excited, and fearful of starting over with new friends, new living space, new everything pretty much. After one full week, she is leaning into the adventure, her new life on the campus of Emory University and all seems well! On August 26, my oldest child, Olivia, moved into an apartment near the campus of Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. This semester she is an exchange student through UNC-CH and looking forward to studying history and anthropology in an amazing academic environment! While still adjusting, she’s already realizing how much history there is to take in living in Ireland, walking around through history every day! I was grateful to travel with her, to explore for a few days and to help her settle into her new home away from home.
While in Ireland, we took in the sights and sounds of the city. One day we visited St. Patrick’s Cathedral there in the heart of Dublin. The beauty and majesty, the quiet interior situated amid the chaos of the city reminded me what it means to find sanctuary. As we walked through the high walls, arches, and gazed upon amazing altar spaces and tributes to the departed, I found myself curious about the history. What do I know about Ireland and St. Patrick and does that have any effect on my faith?
The hymn, “Be Thou My Vision,” is an old Irish poem which was set to music in the early 1900’s. Maybe I knew this somewhere in the back of my mind because I awoke wanting to look it up after I visited the cathedral. The tune to the hymn is Irish as well, coming from a tune written not with liturgy but love in mind. The poem was created as couplets, probably written about the 8th century. It is said to be the prayer St. Patrick prayed, a “lorica” – a prayer of protection – before he defied the king in the year 433CE. The non Christian king had decreed that no one would light a fire on the hill of Tara (who knew?) prior to arrival of Spring; yet, St. Patrick lit a candle on Easter Eve, so great was his faith and desire to share it as a missionary to all who would hear. The king, so impressed with his courage, gave him access to continue to share his message of Christ love and our salvation story to the people of Ireland.
The words of the hymn are words of protection, of binding ourselves to Christ, and keeping everything else where it should be – way down the list after our devotion and connection to God.
Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me save that thou art.
Thou my best thought, by day and by night,
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.
Be thou my wisdom and thou my true word
I ever with thee and thou with me Lord
Thou and thou only, first in my heart
Great God of heaven, my treasure thou art.
Great God of heaven thy victory one
May I reach heaven’s joys O bright heaven’s Sun
Heart of my own heart whatever befall
Still be my vision o Ruler of all.
We need words of protection right now, words that bind us to God as our Protector. We need reminding that God, our faith, the love of Christ in our hearts is what binds us to God and one another. So much worry and fear seem to be creeping in. We don’t know what the future holds, but have we ever known? Could we ever rely on ourselves to know and be safe and control what happens in our world? The answer is no; and we place our trust in God, who does walk with us, who offers protection and wisdom and courage for all seekers, who is the “heart of [our] own heart whatever befall.”
Our congregations and churches are facing difficult conversations and decisions around United Methodism. These are holy conversations, best approached peacefully and with great care, as we seek to do no harm within our church families. The congregational study, prayer, and conversations are crucial to fuel the worshipful work which must be done if a congregation is considering leaving the denomination (to become an independent congregation or to affiliate with another denomination). This decision is easily one of, if not THE, most important decision(s) in the life of each congregation. The impending decision should not be taken lightly or without great thought, input and care.
We are all looking to offer God and our congregations our best when we come to these conversations. Some of the ways we offer our best is to look for solid/verifiable information, to study and pray collectively and individually about what we have learned, and to have multiple conversations available to the members. These gathering will focus on how these facts affect our service to Jesus Christ and our ability to continue to share in mission and ministry within the local church and community.
United Methodists have given communities the gift of welcome and hospitality, offering a place of refuge and sanctuary for all who are seeking a place to share their faith. Our church members have found a home in the UMC for a variety of reasons; it is a place of forgiveness from sin, transformational ministry and hope for the future. I find joy knowing this in this season of grief. Yes, I am grieving churches who are leaving, exploring leaving, arguing about leaving. I am grieving with pastors as our beloved denomination is ripped to shreds in some conversations. I am grieving with church members whose churches are leaving and yet they want to remain. And yet I am confident that as we move forward with the “Great God of heaven, whatever befall,” will be and is the Ruler of all. Thanks be to God for the protection that holds us close to God, to our faith. This binding together brings me joy; we will continue to faithfully live out our callings, each of us, as God has placed them on our lives. We are one in Christ and one in ministry to the world. Thanks be to God to whom we offer all the glory.
Tara