Where Do We Go From Here, UMC?

Rev. Molly Vetter
  • 5.0 (12)
  • CHRISTIANITY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
Where Do We Go From Here, UMC?

Conversations between a local church pastor and denominational leaders about the challenges ahead as we live toward a United Methodist Church that is fully inclusive of our LGBTQ+ siblings. Despite the anti-gay policies that remain in our UMC Discipline, more and more of us continue to move forward with the work of full inclusion. Still, institutional barriers to change and the formation of a splintering denomination provide real challenge. So, as people committed to our grace-filled way of living the gospel, where do we go from here? Hosted by Rev. Molly Vetter - Sr. Pastor at Westwood United Methodist Church in Los Angeles, CA www.WhereDoWeGoUMC.com

Episodes

  1. Making a Way When There’s No Map - Derrick Luruth Scott III

    11/02/2022

    Making a Way When There’s No Map - Derrick Luruth Scott III

    Derrick Scott III is Co-Lay Leader of the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church. A Black, Gay man, and a Gen-X leader in the church, he has spent much of his career in campus ministry in Florida, helping prepare the church to be ready to receive the generations of leaders who come after him. Audio Podcast, Transcription, and Discussion Questions - http://www.WhereDoWeGoUMC.com

    37 min
  2. We Call Each Other Family - Rev. Tweedy Sombrero Navarrete

    10/26/2022

    We Call Each Other Family - Rev. Tweedy Sombrero Navarrete

    Rev. Tweedy Evelene Sombrero Navarrete is Executive Director of the Four Corners Native American Ministry. She is Diné (Navajo), and an ordained elder in Desert Southwest Conference of the United Methodist Church. Previously, she served as pastor at congregations in Arizona. Audio Podcast, Transcription, and Discussion Questions - http://www.WhereDoWeGoUMC.com

    38 min
  3. The Keyword Is Accountability - Rev. Gary Keene

    10/12/2022

    The Keyword Is Accountability - Rev. Gary Keene

    Rev. Gary Keene spent 23 years in ministry as a clergy person working alongside Bishops in the United Methodist Church; as a Council Director, Director of Connectional Ministries, and Assistant to the Bishop, he served in ministry alongside episcopal leaders in the church. From that unique, long perspective, he offers insight about the leadership we need most from our Bishops, and what difference it makes in our local congregations. Now retired, Gary also served as a pastor of local congregations, including, finally, Camarillo UMC. Audio Podcast, Transcription, and Discussion Questions - http://www.WhereDoWeGoUMC.com

    35 min
  4. Get Out of the Institutional Mindset and Into the World - Bishop Grant Hagiya

    10/05/2022

    Get Out of the Institutional Mindset and Into the World - Bishop Grant Hagiya

    Bishop Grant J. Hagiya is a graduate of Claremont School of Theology and Pepperdine University, as well as the author of the book, Leadership Kaizen, published by Abingdon Press in 2013. As a Bishop, he has served as the episcopal leader in the Greater Northwest area, and now in the Los Angeles area. Prior to his election to the episcopacy, he served as the Los Angeles District Superintendent, Executive Director of the Center for Leadership Excellence, and as a faculty member at Claremont School of Theology. Audio Podcast, Transcription, and Discussion Questions - http://www.WhereDoWeGoUMC.com

    35 min
  5. We Queer Folks Are Here Because We Love Jesus - Rev. Hannah Adair Bonner

    06/28/2022

    We Queer Folks Are Here Because We Love Jesus - Rev. Hannah Adair Bonner

    Rev. Hannah Adair Bonner is the Director of Frontera Wesley, the Wesley Foundation of Tucson. She also serves as the Executive Director of the Campus Christian Center and the President of the University Religious Council at the University of Arizona. She received her MDiv at Duke Divinity School, and was ordained an Elder in the Eastern Pennsylvania Annual Conference in 2012. A sought after speaker and writer, Hannah has been recognized as a “Faith Leader to Watch” by the Center for American Progress, received the Prathia Hall Social Justice Award from Women Preach, Inc., and had writings published by Abingdon. She is a proud to have been honored in being made an Honorary Member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. in 2016. Known outside of Arizona as an activist of integrity, she is known locally in the desert simply as that pastor who bakes the good cookies. Transcript and discussion questions are available at http://www.WhereDoWeGoUMC.com.

    33 min
  6. We Must Do The Work of Decolonizing Our Denomination - Rev. Lloyd Nyarota

    06/21/2022

    We Must Do The Work of Decolonizing Our Denomination - Rev. Lloyd Nyarota

    Lloyd Nyarota is a United Methodist elder in the Zimbabwe East Conference, and a GBGM missionary spouse. Lloyd is on an ecumenical appointment in the United Church of Canada, where he serves a shared ministry at St John's United Anglican Church in the province of Alberta; his wife Tazvi is serving ethnic minority congregations in Canada. He has served as a consultant for the United Methodist Board of Church and Society. Nyarota is a founding member of the Central Conference Outreach team, who wrote and promote the Christmas Covenant legislation on regionalization that was submitted to General Conference. Transcript and discussion questions are available at http://www.WhereDoWeGoUMC.com.

    32 min
  7. Whenever The Holy Spirit Shows Up, The Community Widens - Bishop Karen Oliveto

    06/14/2022

    Whenever The Holy Spirit Shows Up, The Community Widens - Bishop Karen Oliveto

    Bishop Bishop Oliveto Oliveto serves as Bishop of the Denver Area. She was elected to the episcopacy in 2016, as the first openly lesbian bishop in The United Methodist Church. Before her election, she was senior pastor of the 12,000-member Glide Memorial United Methodist Church in San Francisco. She is the first woman to serve as senior pastor in one of the denomination’s 100 largest U.S. congregations. Her wife, Robin Ridenour, a nurse anesthetist, is a deaconess in The United Methodist Church. Transcript and discussion questions are available at http://www.WhereDoWeGoUMC.com.

    23 min
  8. Pensions, Property, and the Gospel - Lonnie Chafin

    06/07/2022

    Pensions, Property, and the Gospel - Lonnie Chafin

    Pastor Molly checks in with Lonnie Chafin who been Conference Treasurer for the Northern Illinois Conference for over 20 years, drawing on his skill in interpreting financial minutiae in ways that help us see the big picture. In addition to serving as president of the National Association of Annual Conference Treasurers and a member on the Connectional Table, he has been a 4 time General Conference delegate, and a leader in the organizing work of UMCNext and United Methodists. He was a GBGM missionary serving in Hungary and Philadelphia prior to moving to Chicago, where he cares for the world’s greatest dog. Transcript and discussion questions are available at http://www.WhereDoWeGoUMC.com.

    33 min
  9. I Am An Institutionalist and a Revolutionary - Randall Miller, Ph.D.

    05/31/2022

    I Am An Institutionalist and a Revolutionary - Randall Miller, Ph.D.

    Pastor Molly checks in with Randall Miller, one of the most United Methodist people she knows. As a lay person, he has served as a delegate to every GC since 1988, as a Director the Board of UMCOR and the General Board of Church and Society, and as an alternate member of the Judicial Council. He has been an active leader in the Reconciling Ministries Network, and serves on their Board RMN, and was a member of the Mediation Team that crafted the Protocol for Reconciliation and Grace through Separation. He lives in San Francisco with his husband, Glenn. Transcript and discussion questions are available at www.WhereDoWeGoUMC.com.

    25 min
  10. So...What's Going On In United Methodist Church? - Bishop Tom Bickerton

    05/20/2022

    So...What's Going On In United Methodist Church? - Bishop Tom Bickerton

    Pastor Molly checks in with Bishop Bickerton - now that General Conference is postponed to 2024 and the Protocol has fallen apart. Maybe it’s not all bad news: instead, this can be a season of Bishop Tom Bickerton is the President of the Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church, and was a member of the Mediation Team that crafted the Protocol for Reconciliation and Grace through Separation. Transcript and discussion questions are available at www.WhereDoWeGoUMC.com.

    19 min
  • 10 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
12 Ratings

About

Conversations between a local church pastor and denominational leaders about the challenges ahead as we live toward a United Methodist Church that is fully inclusive of our LGBTQ+ siblings. Despite the anti-gay policies that remain in our UMC Discipline, more and more of us continue to move forward with the work of full inclusion. Still, institutional barriers to change and the formation of a splintering denomination provide real challenge. So, as people committed to our grace-filled way of living the gospel, where do we go from here? Hosted by Rev. Molly Vetter - Sr. Pastor at Westwood United Methodist Church in Los Angeles, CA www.WhereDoWeGoUMC.com

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