Peace Be With You; Peace Be With Us. | Looking Forward
“These communities, as well as the reminders to pray and listen for the Spirit, and the confidence we have in our belovedness as God’s creations, can be foundations of strength from which we can face these trials and tribulations together without fear.”
The United Methodist Church’s 2024 General Conference starts their second week of conversations and voting today, and we are asking LGBTQ+ Christians and allies to — Read. Pray. Share. — alongside the stories of our LGBTQ+ siblings in the United Methodist Church as they fight for inclusion within their denomination. This global conference is where they can vote on policies that will govern the denomination until they can meet again, shaping the lives of United Methodists worldwide.
In this blog post, we highlight the words of QCF Community Member Grant Showalter-Swanson. Grant is currently a PhD student in Theology and New Testament, as well as the Recruitment Coordinator at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. He is an ordained Deacon in the Northern Illinois Annual Conference of the UMC who serves at Urban Village Church.
Photo of Grant Showalter-Swanson.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid” (John 14:27, NRSVue).
Jesus shares these words of peace as a reassurance right before a time of violence, separation, and despair: his crucifixion on the cross. Christ knows that this time will be brutal, but he offers three words of hope amidst the impending trials and tribulations ahead. (1) Jesus proclaims the sending of the Holy Spirit once Christ has been resurrected in verses 25 and 26. (2) Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit will bring peace and freedom from enslavement to fear for all who believe. (3) Jesus articulates a plural “you” in his promises. The plural “you” points to a community of fellowship, support, and solidarity amidst the trials and tribulations ahead.
As the global gathering of the United Methodist Church at General Conference is underway, divisive debates continue between the full affirmation and celebration of LGBTQIA+ folks or the continued exclusion and violent dehumanization of LGTBQIA+ folks from the institutional church. As we tend to ourselves during this time of divisiveness and painful conflict, these three words of hope from Christ feel urgently applicable.
(1) Christ reminds us to find time and space to pray, to tend to our wholistic well-being, and to listen for the guidance of the Spirit. While we are called to advocate for justice transformation, the loud, conflicting, and violent messages of this world can often leave us feeling vulnerable, scared, and uncertain. As a result, it is important for us to take the time in solitude and prayer to ground ourselves in God’s eternal presence of the Holy Spirit.
(2) Christ points us to the confidence we have in God’s intention of peace for all people and creation. Similarly, we know that God rejects fear as a tool of evil and domination. No matter what happens at General Conference, we can find peace and confidence in our belovedness as God’s children. No power or principality of humankind can ever take away that truth of God’s love for us.
(3) As we struggle for justice, we must find communities that support and nourish us in our fullness as individuals, and as a part of the body of Christ. I am lucky to have found such communities in three distinct places: first, within the Northern Illinois Annual Conference, where my gifts and graces in ministry as a Deacon have been affirmed and called forth; second, within Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary where I experience the time, space, and mentorship for discernment and formation of my vocation; and third, within Urban Village Church where I have found a family of support and care during the good times and the bad times, and where my husband Connor and I were celebrated in union together as a married couple.
These communities, as well as the reminders to pray and listen for the Spirit, and the confidence we have in our belovedness as God’s creations, can be foundations of strength from which we can face these trials and tribulations together without fear.
Peace be with You; Peace be with Us.
And may the United Methodist Church choose to follow the path of God’s love and victory over the sin and evil of hate so that all people, particularly LGBTQIA+ peoples, can flourish and thrive in their created fullness and belovedness.
Amen
Grant Showalter-Swanson (right), assisting with communion during a decolonial/indigenized student-run chapel service at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary.