I just got back from annual conference, and I’ve got to say—it was something. There’s this big conversation happening in the United Methodist Church about what we believe, what we’re willing to stand for, what our theology is.
And all I can tell you is that taking a stand, saying what you believe, doing it out loud where people can hear it—that matters. It’s hard. It’s not comfortable. But it matters.
I listened to a lot of conversations at conference. People talking about music, about what makes a church vital, about what draws people in. And I heard something beautiful—that what people are hungry for is real worship. Real community. Real spiritual leadership.
We’re small here. Our choir is nine people sometimes. We don’t have all the fancy stuff. But we have something real. And when you have something real, you protect it. You nurture it. You say yes to it even when saying yes is costly.
That’s what the church has always done at its best—it takes a stand. Not a mean stand. Not a judgmental stand. But a clear stand about who God is, what God values, what kind of people we’re trying to become.
So I’m grateful for this church. I’m grateful for people who show up, who sing, who pray, who listen, who serve. Who are willing to be part of something that actually stands for something.
That’s not small. That’s everything.
A reflection by Rev. MaryGean Cope