Mary and Martha... and Burnita and more

I believe many of my Methodist mentors, now gone, would be heart broken to see our congregation considering disbanding Trinity United Methodist Church. The idea certainly breaks my heart and I pray that enough of those of us who want to continue to be United Methodist will show up this Sunday to avoid that tragedy. 

Here are more a dozen who influenced my life through this congregation of the United Methodist Church. If I had more time I could write about the influence of each on my life and then add another dozen pretty quickly.

My parents of course

Wint and Frances Barton

Burnita Burton

Madelyn Collette

Leonard and Frances Hancock

Hugh Holt

Rev. Warren Jones

Martha King

Chastain Parker

Harold Parker

Mary Stewart

Bobby and Dot Storey

Miss Annie Beth Terrell

I will not pretend to know how these folks would vote were they able tomorrow. But I do know that most of them had loved ones who lived (or live) alternate lifestyles. 

These were all United Methodists. They lived through some very divisive times, but they stuck with the United Methodist Church to the end.

As to the living: as I look around the congregation at my Trinity friends I see that most of them also have loved ones who live alternate lifestyles. 

My heart aches for the friends who have left Trinity for other churches over the last decade or so. I truly miss them and wish they had stayed. But they made that choice. They have free will. Our congregation did not vote to exclude them. If the vote is passed to disband Trinity United Methodist Church on Sunday, those of us who remain United Methodists will have no choice. Our local church will no longer exist. Our membership will be in some sort of limbo. We will be forced to either have no local church or choose a different one. That is simple fact.