Life is a Sweet Jubilee

In my whole life I will never forget this sacred moment. As Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton put his hands on my head and Bishop Alfred Johnson, D.S. Denise Smartt Sears, Vicki Flippin, Doug Cunningham, (and yes I felt the hands of Bishop Martin D. McLee and Rev. Chris Hinnen) lay hands on me in prayer and surrounded by colleagues, parishioners, friends, and family, I felt intense joy and certainty. 

What a wonderful Church! What a wonderful people called Methodists! 

This conference who danced together in late night balloting the night before joyfully waiting to vote on a historic delegation to a historic General Conference. 

This gracious Church conference where new babies were held in the arms of colleagues, we remembered those who have passed into eternal love, students were invited to engage in and lead worship, and a mantle was reverently passed from retired pastors to newly commissioned clergy. 

With care for our sisters and brothers in Puerto Rico, an expression of solidarity with our neighbors in need of sanctuary, marking 50 years since the dissolution of the racist Central Jurisdiction, knowing that we still have so much work to do. 

I don't know what the United Methodist Church will look like in the next year to two but I do know that the mission God is asking us to partner in will not change. Thank you everyone for your prayers and your support and your love and your grace. God bless you. You are are LOVED and treasured.

June 12, 2018 at 6pm

Eight years ago this weekend, after several months of experiencing a sense of stirring, I sat alone in the top bleacher of the Hofstra Arena during an ordination service. I couldn’t stop crying when I recognized that I was called into ministry as an elder in the United Methodist Church and that one day the bishop put his hands on my head with the words, “take authority as an elder . . . “

I had a sense that not responding to the call would literally divide my soul. Looking at the blue armband I wore in solidarity with my LGBTQ siblings who were excluded from ordination in the United Methodist church, I suddenly understood the depth of what that meant . . . the harm that is caused through fundamentalism and discrimination. I knew that I could not receive the privilege of ordination in the United Methodist Church without also committing myself to being part of the healing for those who are marginalized and resisting actions that would cause further harm.

Together, we are the hands and feet of Christ and will tear down every wall of division and exclusion both inside and outside the institution. We care for each other and are bringing healing and hope into a hurting world.

In these eight years, this season of already but not yet, growing in faith and in the ministry God is calling me to, I have been so thankful for the sacred ordinary days. I am blessed with generous mentors, gracious congregants, new friends, and patient long time friends and family who have walked alongside me. In these eight years, I’ve gotten married, lost my father, gained a son-in-law and became Mima, attended and graduated from seminary, was commissioned as a provisional elder. I am privileged to serve as a pastor for the community of Croton-on-Hudson through the awesome Asbury congregation as together we strive to do no harm, do good, and stay in love with God.

Stepping into this moment of ordination, I am renewed in purpose and passion to serve God’s people with love and truth and justice. “I’m convinced that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord: not death or life, not angels or rulers, not present things or future things, not powers or height or depth, or any other thing that is created.”

Holy One, fill me and use me as an instrument of your peace. I am so incredibly grateful and humbled to serve you through your church.

A Prayer on Good Friday

God of mercy, You love us enough to die because of our sins.  Grant me courage to be present in this day of sadness. I cannot begin to comprehend the      pain and brutality inflicted  on our beloved Jesus. I think about his final hours in agony,     the grief of  those gathered around him at the foot of the cross,  and the fear of  his friends who were hiding. 

The crucifixion of Jesus Christ is a reminder       of the most ugly and hateful parts of humanity. As Jesus took all the world’s sin and pain into his hands      and feet with nails driven into them, 

Wedding Day Prayer of Invocation

By Rev. Melissa Hinnen (at her daughter’s wedding 10/22/17)

On this day of celebration and joy, I invite us into a moment of centering as we breathe and pray:

Gracious and loving and holy God,

Thank you for this beautiful day. Thank you for this beautiful couple, made in your image. Thank you for each beautiful person who has gathered here in body or in spirit to bear witness to this sacred union. Thank you for your beautiful love for each of us.

A Psalm for Pride

Celebrate in churches; Celebrate in the streets!

Celebrate the power of love;      Celebrate the beautiful rainbow of diversity: lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and straight.

Celebrate with sounds of PRIDE;      Celebrate with singing and dancing! Celebrate with floats and flags;      Celebrate with body and soul! Celebrate with the loud convergence of community rising up:      Celebrate with shouts of joy in every language! With every breath, celebrate! Celebrate with Pride!

I’ve been thinking a lot about how the ways we use social media contribute to the deep divide we are seeing in the US.Partly because I have become so weary of sifting through the rhetoric, anger, and fear from both sides.

How can we instead use social media to build unity around truthful, positive, and loving positions; offer support to those who are feeling most vulnerable right now; and find healing and common ground with those who have different perspectives?

I understand the need to resist and am committed to not normalizing policies and behavior that attack civil rights or human dignity AND I think that we can do also resist by actively building up relationships and networks to bring positive lasting change.

Here are some specific social media best practices I am thinking about. They are not scientific in any way but just based on my own observations. Feel free to share and add your own:

1. When I used to offer communications and social media training, I encouraged people to use the THINK process before posting anything: Is it true? Is it helpful? Is it inspiring? Is it necessary? Is it kind? If you answer “no” to any of these, there is a strong likelihood you are perpetuating rhetoric. If you answer “no” to any of these, ask yourself why you are posting it and what you hope to accomplish.

2. What are the news sources you read and share? Are they reputable? Did you read the whole story or just the headline? Explain why you are posting it. Offer your own viewpoint, concern, and possible solution. Similarly, be mindful of any political memes you repost . . . what is the message you are sending and WHY? Who originated it? If there is any chance of any part of it being fake news/unverified alternative facts, don’t post it.

3. Consider hiding all news media links and unfollowing news sources in social media. Instead, be intentional about reading news directly from the NYT, NPR, The New Yorker and local news (these are sources I look at but find whichever work for you) applications or websites. This will also help expose you to broader news that might not be picked up in Facebook’s algorithm. And if you haven’t already, consider getting a paid subscription to support strong #RealFact journalism. I like this map for determining reliable news sources: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10155015975956062&set=a.136581636061.137713.668051061&type=3&theater

4. There is a new “Copy, Paste, don’t just hit Share” process that I notice many friends use to increase the number of people who see prayer requests, awareness campaigns, missing persons, etc. Instead of copying and pasting ask the person who posted it to turn the privacy setting to public so that you can share it and maintain the integrity of the original post (and if you don't know who originally posted it, consider not sharing it). When you are sharing to promote someone else’s commentary either keep the name of the person who wrote it or add to it to fit your own context. If you agree with it explain why you care, how you are affected, etc.

5. The “copy, paste, don’t share” process is being used most recently I've noticed to alert people of potential ICE investigations. Here is the problem – when you do that you lose the original source and date/time. So how can you verify it? And if you can verify it with the original source and time, also include “know your rights” information (Like one of these www.aclu.org/know-your-rights).

6. When you engage with posts that you disagree with, remember that you are engaging another person who has his or her own story and own reasons for believing whatever it is that they are promoting. Ask probing questions, offer your own experience/feelings, invite them to share their story about how they are affected, and offer the facts, as you know them. If it is someone who lives nearby invite him or her to discuss over coffee or lunch.

7. One of the strongest ways to make a point is to share your own story. Instead of just reposting what someone else wrote, what is something you saw or experienced and how does it make you feel? How could others make the situation better? Share your thoughts and feelings and tie it into the broader political policies.

8. Back in the day, we used social media to share what is going on in our lives, post photos, recommend restaurants, and celebrate personal events and accomplishments with each other. Somehow over time many of us have created a social network that includes hundreds of people.

Perhaps we don’t want to share personal information with that guy who we never spoke with in high school or interacted with other than to respond to a friend request. Consider revisiting your friend list and removing those acquaintances that you met for a moment 5 years ago and include only those people whose friendship/engagement you really value. Or go through your friend list and add a category so that you can make semi-private posts that will be seen just by those who you consider good friends. Or create a secret/private group with those friends/family that you want to be more intentional about sharing real relational information.

9. At least once a day find something meaningful and personal that you can share with those you care about the most about what is happening in your life. Or better yet, get off social media and spend more time keeping in touch with day to day life updates one-on-one through texting, phone calls, email/messenger, or *gasp* even in person.

10. Continue to support each other, speak out for justice in real life and on social media, and keep it real.

Before I was “religious”, I was political. In many ways, I was eventually drawn to the United Methodist Church because of its social justice tradition. I was raised a flower child of the ‘70s – attending my first political demonstration as an infant in my mother’s arms. I have been politically aware and active my whole life. And as a Christian, my politics are informed by my faith, and seek to build up justice and peace.

Not surprisingly, the past few days I cannot stop thinking about the parable that Jesus tells about a widow and an unjust judge in Luke 18:1-8. While Jesus tells the story as an illustration of persistence in prayer, the parallel message of seeking justice strongly resonates with me in light of the actions of Senator Elizabeth Warren.

I love that Jesus used a widow to illustrate his point. What empowering message did that send to women and others in the margins of his society? What message did it send to those in power that Jesus would use a person who has absolutely no power or authority as the hero in his story?

The widow in the story was relying on a judge to grant her justice. SHE KEPT COMING asking day in and day out for justice. She flipped the script of how her society expected her to act and with non-violent and consistent perseverance she kept a clear and focused approach.

I like to imagine her outside the courthouse wearing her pink kitty cat hat– maybe with a picket sign or a button that reads “#Widow Lives Matter”. Or perhaps she was shouting “No Ban. No Wall.” Maybe she was reading a letter from a civil rights leader to illustrate and back up her point.

I visited Seneca Falls this summer and stood in the Methodist chapel where in 1848 Elizabeth Cady Stanton declared that “in view of this entire disfranchisement of one-half the people of this country, their social and religious degradation, - in view of the unjust laws above mentioned, and because women do feel themselves aggrieved, oppressed, and fraudulently deprived of their most sacred rights, we insist that they have immediate admission to all the rights and privileges which belong to them as citizens of these United States.”

Does the persistent widow look like Elizabeth Cady Stanton, or one of the other US suffragists or abolitionists?

Does this persistent widow look like Noble Peace Prize laureate Leymah Gbowee who says that bringing peace to Liberia in 2003 took the form of “an army of women in white standing up when no one else would—unafraid, because the worst things imaginable had already happened to us.” 

This week, the persistent widow looks like Elizabeth Warren who in spite of being “warned,” spoke truth to justice. 

Our sisters, like the persistent widow cannot be ignored. The judge in Jesus’ story kept trying to ignore the woman – perhaps he warned her. Maybe he explained it to her. Nevertheless she persisted - until he finally realized that this woman was not going to leave him alone.

So he gave in – not because his mind was changed or because he cared about her – but because he realized this widow would not give up. She finally was granted the justice she was seeking.

Those who support the unjust judge attempted to silence Elizabeth Warren and through her, the words of Coretta Scott King. And while they silenced her on the floor, her actions ignited a rallying crying and other senators picked up on her lead.

As a person of faith, I believe that prayer is a discipline that is vital and strengthens our relationship with God and each other. And as Christians, we are called to put our prayers into action. In ‎ Salty Wives, Spirited Mothers, and Savvy Widows, F. Scott Spencer writes, “A praying widow who wears out her knees at home, synagogue, or temple is no threat to the judicial system. It’s when she gets on her feet and opens her mouth in public that we have a problem.”

Through parables like the widow and the unjust judge, we see that Jesus was a model political revolutionary who questioned authority at every turn. Coming from a position of peaceful protest and love, Jesus challenged the cultural laws of his time when they were at odds with the law of God and he put human rights first.

A vision for the great invitation:

We’re having a party!

It’s gonna be a full house but we can always fit more

There will be plenty of  nurturing food and good music celebrating all different cultures and traditions.

There are shoulders to cry on and friends who will offer a helping hand.

We’ll stand up for you and with you.

We’re a community who each brings what we can to keep the party going strong.

Do you love to laugh? So do we . . .

And we LOVE everyone who comes through our doors.

And we LOVE everyone who we meet when we go out of these doors.

And just wait until you meet our friend Jesus at the party . . . you’re gonna love him. He already loves you.

No RSVP is necessary . . . Just come as you are but I promise you will not leave the same way.

You are invited to the party where

Sermon on Micah 6:1-8  •  Matthew 5:1-12 by Rev. Melissa Hinnen Preached at Asbury United Methodist Church, Croton-on-Hudson, NY 

Perhaps you are familiar with the term “Hashtag” as a popular social media tool. Essentially, it is a way of categorizing a statement . . . putting a label on it. Often if there is a news event or a gathering, people will use the same hashtag so that they can follow the global or local conversation about particular topics.

A popular hashtag is #Blessed. If you do a quick twitter search at any given time, you will often see people boasting about something in their life, followed by the reminder that it is a blessing. It’s a bit of a humble-brag. For example these were recent tweets using the hashtag Blessed:

·      THIS is what's up! Whole wheat penne with spinach and shrimp scampi. My wife is #blessed ·      At work on a Saturday playing Seinfeld trivia #blessed ·      Greatest country singer of all time and I get to see him in concert #blessed @OfficialJackson #keepinitcountry ·      Blessed to say I have received an offer from the University of Alabama #rolltide #blessed

And while I can’t necessarily argue that acknowledging God’s role in our success is inappropriate, I wonder why we rarely hear people talking about the blessing that is found in more challenging times.

It is interesting to me that when I serve with youth who are incarcerated, so often they just want me to offer them a blessing . . . a magic word to give them luck or at least to comfort them when they are homesick or as they prepare for a court date. Perhaps some of us approach prayer more as a wish list than as a conversation that deepens our relationship with God.

Knowing that they are open to a blessing – to a connection with God, in my role as a pastoral counselor, I can then begin the work of probing . . .

·      What exactly is your prayer – your desire?

·      What would it feel like if your prayer is answered in the way you are looking for?

·      How might you respond to that blessing in your life?

·      What would you do differently?

·      What is happening in your life that prevents you from experiencing that sense of blessing now?

 So often we pray for specific things that we think are what we want without realizing that we are already blessed by God, even and perhaps especially in the challenging circumstance we find ourselves. God’s blessings are continuously being poured upon us . . . Perhaps then the blessing is the experience and recognition of God’s grace in our life. It is identifying that blessing in different circumstances that can bring us comfort and strength and hope to guide us through.

At the Bishop’s convocation, Bishop Bickerton suggested that identification of blessing can become our breath prayer. “Holy God, grant me peace, wholeness, gratitude” . . . we pray for the feeling that we want to experience and let God work out the details of how to get there.

We hear in the Beatitudes, Jesus offering a blessing to people who are perhaps not feeling too blessed or supported in their society. They are discouraged. They are frightened. They want a relationship with God, but they are just not feeling it. Jesus names their situation . . . He doesn’t just make the blanket statement: ALL Lives are Blessed. He individually names them –

·      You are seen. You are loved.

·      Your situation matters.

·      And God isn’t finished with you yet.

·      God’s justice is coming . . . on earth as it is in heaven.

All of us, at some point experience one of the categories that Jesus is blessing . . . of feeling marginalized, mourning, experiencing a sense of being poor in spirit.

Blessed to be a Blessing

And as we respond to the Great Invitation and deepen our relationship with God at places like Asbury where in our Wesleyan tradition

·      we are assured of our blessedness . . .

·      We are renewed in the promise of resurrection.

·      In the good news of God’s deep love for us, we experience transformation.

 As we more consistently fall into a rhythm of relationship with God through practicing spiritual disciplines, we begin to move from needing reminders that we are blessed to living out our faith as a blessing to others. 

We become blessed to be a blessing.

 We read in the words of the prophet Micah that to make up for the ways we fall short of perfect relationship with God and with each other, God doesn’t want us to sacrifice or beat ourselves up, but according to the Message interpretation the prophet tells us:

But God’s already made it plain how to live, what to do,     what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,     be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don’t take yourself too seriously—     take God seriously.

Or as we heard in the New Revised Standard Version:

Do Justice – Love Mercy – Walk Humbly with God

Sadly, the church is not always a place where people experience justice, mercy, or humility. And in fact unfortunately so often people seeking blessedness instead find shame, rejection, or judgment . . . the opposite of what Jesus said to reassure those who were seeking relationship with God.

 All too often, churches that claim to welcome “all” don’t act accordingly and cause harm to God’s people who lose trust and begin to believe that

·      “ALL” means everyone except People like Me.

·      “Open Hearts Open Minds Open Doors” except to People Like Me

And so I was filled with great joy during our administrative council leadership meeting when Cathy and Tina presented and the council approved a welcome statement that we have been talking about for over a year and has been refined and edited with many of you offering suggestions that were incorporated.

 The statement affirms that this is a congregation where we celebrate our diversity and welcome people of every race, culture, age, sexual orientation, ability, immigration status, gender identity, and socio economic circumstance” to fully participate in Asbury’s ministries. 

This statement is an indicator that this congregation takes seriously the words of Micah to do justice, and to love kindness,     and to walk humbly with your God

This congregation takes seriously the words of Jesus:

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.”

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

This congregation is blessed to be a blessing

Hospitality

On inauguration day, I traveled to Long Island where Bishop Bickerton and the NY United Methodist Immigration Task force spent the day in ministry with people who have immigrated to the US. We heard some stories of journey and pain and we heard stories about the grace of God through ministries of advocacy of presence.  We are a denomination that takes seriously the scriptural mandate: “The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt.”

And then yesterday, like many of us, I woke up to the sadness that our US borders had been shut down . . .

·      Keeping some of the world’s most vulnerable people from entering this country.

·      Keeping families apart and barring people who reside in the US from returning.

·      Restricting many who had been vetted and who were fleeing terrorism in their homeland from settling as promised in the US.

This is not about politics but these are life and death situations concerning God’s beloved children. Our Judeo Christian tradition is one of hospitality and welcoming the stranger in our houses of worship and to the land in which we live.

Our denomination has stated since 2008 that 

 “To refuse to welcome migrants to this country-and to stand by in silence while families are separated, individual freedoms are ignored, and the migrant community in the United States is demonized by members of Congress and the media-is complicity to sin.”

“To refuse to welcome migrants to this country-and to stand by in silence . . . is complicity to sin.”

I believe that we are entering a time in our nation when people are yearning to reconnect in relationship with God and with each other. It’s not even something people are necessarily conscience of . . . but I wonder how much of the unrest and fear and isolationism is a result of disconnection from the sense of God’s blessing.  Of people who need that blessed assurance that God sees their struggle and offers unconditional grace at whatever point they are in the journey.

People have lost the sense of connection from something greater than ourselves. As we see that disconnect take a very dangerous turn especially in recent days,

·      What can we do to be agents of peace and justice?

·      To offer a moral compass eternally pointed to the love of God through Christ?

·      As disciples of Jesus Christ, what can we do to offer a blessing to those who are hurting?

·      Those who are seeking?

In the past few weeks, I have seen secular people who are feeling discomfort and anger about the treatment of immigrants and refugees, particularly the treatment of Muslims – looking to progressive faith leaders for direction.

 The Church Responds

How will the church – you and I – step out boldly to meet the needs of those whom Jesus is addressing?

·      How will we the church comfort those who mourn

·      How will we the church share with the meek

·      How will we the church fill those who hunger and thirst for righteousness

·      How will we the church show mercy

·      How will we the church help others to see God

·      How will we the church lead children of God to be peacemakers

How will we the church – you and I - be blessed to be a blessing?

How will we the church . . . be blessed to be a blessing?

I was at the Women’s march in NYC last week and being with a group of about 150 United Methodists, experienced perhaps a 21st century American version of the beatitudes as we prayed with our feet, yelled our chants, held our signs, sang our songs we declared:

Blessed are the immigrants . . . for they will experience welcome

Blessed are the refugees . . . for they will find safety

Blessed are the black lives . . . for they matter as much as white lives

Blessed are the women . . . . for their rights are human rights too

Blessed are the scientists . . . for they share the truth

Blessed are the lesbian and gay couples . . . for they know love

Blessed are those who condemn Islamaphobia and other acts of hatred . . . for they are protecting God’s children.

Blessed are YOU when you

do justice,

love mercy, and

walk humbly with God

for you are offering Christ’s blessing in the world.

Beloveds, may you be blessed to be a blessing in the name of Jesus. 

Beatitudes for 21st Century America

Blessed are the immigrants . . . for they will experience welcome Blessed are the refugees . . . for they will find safety Blessed are the black lives . . . for they matter as much as white lives Blessed are the women . . . . for their rights are human rights Blessed are the scientists . . . for they share the truth Blessed are the lesbian and gay couples . . . for they know love Blessed are those who condemn Islamaphobia and other acts of hatred . . . for they are protecting God’s children. Blessed are YOU when you do JUSTICE, love MERCY, and walk HUMBLY with God . . . for you are offering Christ’s blessing in the world.

Why I march . . . The truth is, I wasn't going to march. I'm involved in other meaningful ways to make a difference. I thought I could sit home and join in from the comfort of my computer. The idea of dealing with the chaos in NYC seemed like a huge pain. But then tonight around 5pm, I imagined it . . . I had this vision of thousands and thousands of women (and friends) marching in more than 600 cities around the world for justice, for equality, lifting our voices and stating that whatever other differences we have . . . we have come too far and WE WILL NOT GO BACK.

And so tomorrow I will march 

Because nearly a year ago I held my precious granddaughter in my arms when she was just a few minutes old and I promised her I would do everything I could to make the world safe for her.

Because my daughter told me I will regret not being there.

Because it is in my DNA to speak truth to power thanks to parents who have taken me to demonstrations since I was 6 weeks old.

Because I want my Muslim neighbors, my black and brown sisters and brothers, my LGBTQ loved ones, my immigrant friends to know that they are valued and that they are surrounded by people who will stand up with them. Because my faith compels me to offer a prophetic voice for justice

Because Oh My Goodness! How awesome will it be to have such incredible sister power concentrated not just in one city but around the world???