At this year’s Annual Conference of the Western PA UMC, which was held in Erie, we had some hard work to do. You have heard about that hard work, so I won’t take up more of your energy for that. However, there was a moment in the middle of our Friday session where life got real for a moment. A loud wail intruded on the conversation of legislation that was being discussed, followed by some commotion. It was difficult to not turn around and stare at the gathering of people to try and figure out what was going on. It definitely left you wondering if someone was mad about the current discussion or if someone had one of those other-worldly type of sneezes that you just don’t understand how they exist. Neither was true.
After a little bit of time, someone went to the stage to inform the Bishop of a crisis that was taking place. A woman had fallen unconscious, and they had to call 911 to the scene. The Bishop stopped the meeting and asked for someone with the gift of healing to come to a mic and pray over the assembly and, specifically, over the woman. Pastor Michael Airgood got up and prayed, and after he sat down, the Bishop asked for some silence. I was amazed at how quiet a room of approximately 800 people could get. The paramedics came into the room, got her on a stretcher, and took her to the hospital. We spent some more time in silence, and then the Bishop asked for someone to play something lightly as we all spent more time in prayer.
The conference resumed, and the Bishop received another word about this woman. The person who was sitting behind her said, as soon as Pastor Airgood ended his prayer, the woman woke from her state of unconsciousness. God is good, and that is the church at work.
We will face a lot of division. We will face a lot of conflict. We will face a lot of things that take our attention away from the important work God is calling us to be a part of. But in that moment, we were able to set all of it aside and pour ourselves into the healing we believed could happen in the name of Jesus. In that moment, we set ourselves aside and put Jesus first.
Why do bad things happen? Why do things not go our way? Why do we have to fight and argue? Why can’t we all just get along? I don’t have an uncomplicated answer to that. I just know that when Jesus is put first, good can and will come of it. When Jesus is put first, the church flourishes. When Jesus is sought out and his will is done, grand things happen.
Matthew 6:33 says, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” Seek after the things from above and not of this world. It is easy to get distracted; sometimes I am grateful for the opportunities that reorient our focus to that which really matters. By the way, the woman’s name is Sue, and she rejoined us at Annual Conference later in the day. She was okay!
From one light to another,
Pastor Hannah Loughman