Words of encouragement and support for those ministering "in the fields."

In 1980, Roger Straw was named Citizen of the Year for Union City, Michigan. As his spouse I was very proud of this recognition of his efforts to organize the 1700 inhabitants of our community to take on the sponsorship and resettlement of two refugee families from Cambodia.

Late in 1978, when the mass killings in Cambodia were coming to the attention of the wider world, I had advocated that our congregation assist Cambodian emigrants to find new homes in the United States. But, I had wondered, would bringing a dozen people from Southeast Asia to a hamlet in Southwest Michigan be more harsh than hospitable?

... After all, in 1978, 1699 of the residents of Union City were white. The area was very rural, its family-run dairy farms struggling to stay solvent while the whole economy of the state of Michigan teetered and small businesses regularly capitulated to the tides of recession. There was some murmuring on the street corners about immigrants “coming in and taking away our jobs.” Nonetheless, the churches united and arranged for housing; Union City natives studied Cambodian culture and became teachers of English as a second language; residents contacted friends and relatives in neighboring towns to find employment and transportation for the new arrivals; and our village’s inherent graciousness surfaced, bearing enrichment for those welcoming and those welcomed to that bountiful green dot on the map.

When Roger accepted the award he noted, “This says more about Union City than it does about me.” That in honoring his work the community was celebrating the joy of new life and expanded horizons, and the exhilaration of trusting enough to ride the cresting waves of abundance, untethered by the weight of anxiety.

I thought about all of that at our Annual Meeting, while we marked my 10th anniversary as your Conference Minister, as I received the staggering good news that despite my copious errors, disheartening shortcomings, and assorted inadequacies, I may have been granted enough of a discerning heart, enough of a critical thinking mind to partake of and share the salt of the covenant with you. To be a hollow bone through which the Spirit’s cosmic melody is piped.

As a Conference favored with artistry and solidity, spice and life, we are called to be beacons of hope, and we have been called a motley crew of grace. It has come to pass that each year when we gather we look to the covenant that binds us to God and to one another; the covenant that tells us to “speak of our dreams and visions,” to “share our resources,” to “draw strength from one another in the work of ministry.” And we remind one another of the marvel that those who were “them” yesterday are “us” today and “we” are forever changed.

That those themes lilted through the 10th year anniversary litany says more about us than it does about me. It says that our decade-long voyage has brought us into closer community, caused us to rejoice in our diversity, blessed us with new life, expanded our horizons for mission, and given us team T-Shirts that name us as members of this raucous, awkward, ebullient community of faith that is the United Church of Christ.

I thank you deeply for the warmth, affection, grace, and tolerance you have extended to me. I thank you for the gifts you gave me at Annual Meeting. [I anticipate that a writing retreat in Hawaii will materialize from the love offering.] I thank you for all the gifts you have unleashed upon your communities, your churches, our beloved United Church of Christ, and God’s universe. And I look forward to our future.

May the fire of the Creator’s love burn within us, may the compassion of Jesus charge and ionize the climate of the earth through us, and may the Holy Spirit forever disturb our peace.

                                                                                                        ~ Mary Susan

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