Do We Have to Change Our Sign?
It was April 1968.
I was pastor at Mount Bethel Methodist Church, perched on a small hill in northern Durham County, in a place called Bahama. The congregation’s roots worked their way back into the mid 1700’s when settlers built a log meeting house. For 140 years this church had been known as Mount Bethel. Washington Duke claimed he was converted among these people. And the three families from whom the community took its name (BAll, HArris, MAngum) still had a living presence.
It was April 1968.
The conversations had moved to conclusions and The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church were going to merge. This was a moment of significant history and we were going to be living right in the midst of it. I decided that the historic Mount Bethel Church ought to host a celebration of the merger at the same time the official proceedings were taking place in Dallas. We would remember with joy names like Wesley and Asbury and we would meet long lost cousins such as Otterbein and Albright. What a gift!
It was April 1968.
There were more than 20 Methodist churches in Durham County, so the Mount Bethel lay leader and I sent a letter to every pastor and to every local church lay leader, inviting them and their congregations to be a part of this high moment of the journey. The only question was “How many bulletins do we need to print for such a crowd?” (Yes, mimeograph.)
It was April 1968.
We had enough bulletins. Nine people showed up for the service.
It was April 1968.
There were no EUB churches in North Carolina. Methodists wondered “Who are these people?” “Do we have to change the sign in front of the church?” “Why bother?” “Is this going to make apportionments go up?” For many, it was a pesky interruption to business as usual.
It is April 2018.
Our life together as a United Methodist people has blended so that we hardly know which gifts came from which family. The singular heritages must not be forgotten and the united witness must be celebrated. God has warmed more than one heart and we open ourselves now to tomorrow.