-
Title
-
Ammons, Edsel A.
-
extracted text
-
I
Bishop Edsel F~ons (L)
Mr. Albert Vorspan (middle)
Rev. Rudolf ~else y (R)
\
'
I
-
,
•
EDSEl A.
ADDRESS:
_An~~QrJS
( \9 76)
1801 Lee Street , Evanston, IL 60202
DATE OF BIRTH:
February 17. 1924
FORnAL EDUCATION
Roosevelt University
Garrett-Evanqelical Theological Seminary
Chi ca~]o Theo 1ogi ca 1 Seminary
B.A.
8 .D.
D. nin.
1948
1956
1975
ORDINATION AND eONFERENCE [ ·lH~BERSHIP
Ordained Elder (AJ1.E.) in r1ichioan Annual Conference in 1949
Full me~bership in Rock River Annual Conference in 1957
Presently metr.ber of llorthern Illinois Annua 1 Conference
1\PPOI NTr'IENT RECORD
Whitfield (Rock River)
Ingleside-t-lhitfield Parish (Rock River)
Director of Urban Uork, Rockford District (Rock River)
Staff fierr.ber. Conference Program Co unci 1 ( r:orthern Ill.)
Professor. Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
1957-1960
1960-1963
1963-1966
1966--1968
1968-present
~E~BERSHIP
•
ON BOARD AND AGENCFES {Past and/or Present)
Committee on Investigation ot Publishing House
Con;mittee on Study of Church Periodicals
Chm. GCOr-1-GCFA Corr.mittee on General Ooard Headquarters location
Genera 1 Counci 1 on tii ni s tries
General and Jurisdictlonal Conferences since 1964
Interreligious Council on Urban Affairs
Bureau of Social Helfare, Church Federation of Greater Chicago
Director Educational and Cultural Institute of Chicago, Cowmittee of
Black Churchmen
Trustee, Kendall College
t1e~ber, Board of the Lay Acader.1y, Chicago
r·1errber, Board of Center for Parish Development
PUBLICATIONS, A~/AROS AND HOUORS
Chm •• Legislative Committee on Social Concerns, Gen•l. Conf., 1972
Honorary D.O. Degree from ~lestmar College in 1975
•
•
-
Ra ll o! Numbe r
~
i'43nll:
.455 468
Numbo::r O e f o::c ti vt-.
Il
3
1
Itt54 '· 65
1303 31 1
- -
-~.
Edsel
Elec t
I
4
12tr 1h9 158 161 177,1 88
100 11 3 128 135 138 154
9h 99 104 105 102 101
91 ·~::H) Wi ~ hdrcTW
66 66 i 64 57 70 74
Enerso n Colaw
Jeanne Audrey Powers
Thomas Cromwe ll
Harold Lloyd
59
Vir?'il B.iork _
Lewrence Taylor
50
34
!~ 7
Earl "8'..1tz
27
?f..
Thnmas Wa l ker
26
20
Jl
40
18
10 Wi hdrew
Ja.-:t e s on Jones
~Toodie
~-:oore
r Total
Numb~c
--
No . of Votes
Defective
17
- --
15
'74
2
..
32
27
lr7
16
17
2~
1
18
3
E&.lin Boul ton
~45
139 127 Wit rdre (17
l Emerson Col:!'.ol
117
106 115
Virgil B·j ork
Thomas
~Jal ker
81
'· 0
I
-
-
I
I
-· .
.
- -· ..
.
.
l
'
'
29 1 321 Elehec!
f
34
f
268
I
-
45 45 36
~..t
. .
.1
LeRoy Hodapp
i
hd n
- --
\() 2 305 38? Ele · t e rl
I
81
29 Wi ~hdre ':W
474 ~ 73 455
7.
~.fit
I?R7
Necessary to Elect
161 182 217 230 206 202 207 230
107 106 129 130 134 135 1ll 7 129
..
Edsel A:::.110ns
1
.
195 21 3 1230 238 231 225 245 . 254
37 27 20 {.fi tt d r e<..Jr
36 30 19 Hit'drei
34 321 26 21 1 21 20 25 32
37 28 17 17 10 Wit ~dr e ':W
472 ~72 ·4s2!
315 1315 302
I
310
'·4
•72
p15
.! Numb er Co1mted
46 4
so
11 1 ~ 28 17
11 Hit dre!x
Lewis
\ofhite
Ba I J, . r Numb ers
4 1
I
62
<2.1\
468
80 51 !Jt 51 61 60 " 53
90 90 94 142 146 144 130 146 150 182 182 172 152
'
Wi
~
hdr
60
86
100
76
81
59
60
61
70 69 79 641 72 90 84 69 58 70 76 Z3 72
Ecbtin Boult on
Frank Nestler
i
ltf
bn
., .
LeRoy Hodapp _
1·l ill i
c;
)
A:i'~'Tlons
Les ter
6 7
8
10 11 12 · n
9
4 72 h7 1 472 h60 472 469 ~69 474 472 471 4 71
1 5 1 1 1
5
3 h 4 2 3
6.o7 L.68 468 456 470 466 468 469 471 470 ~70
31 5 31h l114
1l?b13131J 305 314 311 1.313
3
I
T o t ~ I N o . o f \' o t e.s
N ec-esury t o
•
?
1
Numb.: r Coun t e d
•
lCf7b
Ballot Tally and Election Notes
North Centr3l Jursidicti onal Co nference
I
(
Wit hrl re· ld20 '
Wit ~dre1
71 69
30 \ht jhdn f,ol
J
I
I
;.
I I
-·
.I
..
• Bishop Edsel A. Ammons
Assigned to Michigan
Report of the North Central
Jurisdictional Conference
Sio~x Falls, S. D., July 13-151 11 th
•
By Richard 0. Griffith
•
It was hot and muggy when the
delegates from Michigan arrived in Sioux
Fall s South Dakota, for the 1976
jurisdi ctional Conference. The t emperature was over 100 degrees and the
humidity seemed to be as bad ; noneth eless, w ith th e exception of time at th e
pool o n Monday night, July 12, th e
people representing Michigan United
Methodism were hard at work for th e
entire week .
But even as most relaxed in preparation for an exciting week, some of the
delegates were already working, either
on the Committee on th e Episcopacy
(Michigan members , left to ~i ght, on
cover, Mr. C. Dav id Lindqurst. Rev.
Raymond Lamb, Rev. Keith Pohl, Mrs.
Jane Schairer), or attempting to gather
upport for one o f the candidates for
lection to t he office of Bishop.
Balloting started Tuesday afternoon ,
and was to co nt inue for the next 19
ballots, until two new bishops were
JULY 22, 1976
elected. This year, for the first time,
people had been openly nominated for
the Episcopacy. This did not mean that
only those nominated were available for
elec ti on; this process was designed to
assist the Conference to make more
intelligent decisions, however. A lso for
the first time there was an automatic
two-hour recess after th e first ballot so all
the voting delegates could meet and
interv iew all those people, men and
women , who had received ten or more
votes in the balloting, including Dr .
Woodie White from the Detroit Conference, and Dr. Lawrence Taylor from th e
West Michigan Conference, both of
whom wi thdrew th eir names from co nsideration during the voting process.
Leroy C. Hodapp, Program Director of
the South Indiana Conference, was
elected on t he 17th official b allot,
receiving 321 votes; 315 votes, a 1/ l
majority, were required for election .
Th e Conferen ce was in a mood to
Bishop Ammons
elect; you could feel t he exc itement and
antic ipation everywhere. A motion was
made at 11:05 p.m ., to cont inue t o vote
in t he hope that another individual
would be elected, and the selection of
bi shops wou ld be complete.
It was now 11 :25 and Bishop Kearns ,
chairing the session for th e evening
ca lled the Conference to order with the
results of t he 18th ballot: " Votes cast,
455; number of defective ball ot s, 3;
number cou nted, 452; number need ed to
elect, 302; here are th e results : Edsel A .
Am mons received 382 votes and is
elected a Bishop in The United Methodist Church!"
And again· th at evening, all stood and
applauded the man t hey had chosen to
consecrate for special service to Christ
and H is Church in t he role of Bi shop.
Introducing
Bishop
Ammons
Bishop Edsel A lbert Ammons, 52 , was
professor of Church and Urban Soc iety
and director of basic degree studies at
Garrett-Evangelical Theological Sem inary, Evanston, Ill. He had been on the
seminary's faculty since 1968.
He was ordained an elder in t he
African M ethodist Episcopal Churc h in
1949 and served two pastorates in that
denom ination between 1949 and 1954.
Fro m 1951 to 1955 he was em ployed also
as a social caseworker for the Cook
County Department of We lfare. In 1957
he t ransferred to the former Rock Ri ver
Conference of the M et hodist Church
(now th e Nort hern Ill inois Conference of
t he United M eth od ist Church) and served
as pastor of t he Wh itf ield Church in
Chicago from 1957 to 1960 and of th e
Ingleside-W hitfield parish, Chicago,
from 1960 to 1963. He became director
of urban min ist ries for the conference's
Rock ford Distri ct in 1963 and served in
that capacity unti l 1966 when he was
named a staff consultant in urban church
plann ing for th e Northern I lli nois Conference. That position included coordinat ion o f the conference's Spanish ministries i n 1967 and 1968.
He has been a member of th e
denom ination's General Counc il on M in-
DIALOGUESERMON
In a dialogue sermon, "A Strange Thing
Ha ppened on the Way," Bishop Jesse DeWitt
participated with Rev. Sharon Brown Christophe r, delegate from the Wisconsin Confere nce.
4
istries since 1973, and from 1973 to 1975
chaired the joi nt committee o f t he
GCOM and the church's Council on
Finance and Adm i nistration th at stud ied
the headquarters locations o f t he
churc h's va ri ou s boards and agencies.
The newly elected bishop served on
the Bureau of Soc ial Welfare of t he
Church Federation o f Greater Chicago
and on the board o f the Interrel igious
Counci l on Urban Affairs. He is a
member o f Black United M ethodist s for
Church Renewal, both nation al and i n
the Chicago area . He is past director of
the Educational and Cultural Inst itute of
The Nati onal Conference of Black
Churchmen's Chicago Committee of
Black Churchmen.
He has a bachelor of arts degree i n
sociology from Roosevelt Universi ty in
Chicago, a bachelor o f div inity degree
from Garrett , a Doc tor of Ministry f rom
Chi cago Theo logical Sem inary, and a
Doctor of D ivini ty degree from Westmar
College.
Bishop Am mon s was born Feb. 17.
1924, in Chicago. He and his w ife, June,
have three son s and t hree daughters.
In the
Presidential
Suite .. .
. . . of the Howard j ohnson Motel,
Sioux Falls, South Dakota. a grou p of
happy people gathered for the celebra-
tion o f the electi on o f Edsel Am mons to
the episcopacy. Th e hour w as late. After
all , he had been elected at 11 :30 p.m .,
just a few hours earl ier . Th is was a m ixed
group, black and white, women a.
men, young and old, clergy and Ia
from al l parts of the jurisdict ion - eel
brati ng togeth er a first in t he North
Cent ral j urisdiction: the election o f a
m inority person as bishop by t he North
Central j urisdiction.
Later, as it was time to let the
Bishop-elect and his wi fe return to t heir
room . one of the people present reminded t hem al l t hat they had much for w hich
they were t hankful to God ; anoth er
person volunteered to lead in prayer.
Silent ly, in a circl e of support and love
for Dr. and Mrs. A mmons, hands reached
out, circl ing and sustaini ng t hem in t heir
new ventu re while a prayer of thanksgiving, commitment and hope was offered .
Thu s did Edsel and j une start t heir
pilgrimage in the epi scopacy.
•
c. Das~ifL~~ridquist
Welcomes
Bishop Ammons
C. David Lundquist , Kalamazoo, served as chairperson of th e West M ich igan
Conference delegation to the N orth
Cen tral j urisdictional Confere nce w hich
assigned Bishop Amm ons to the Mica
gan Area during the closi ng sessions j ~
15 i n Sioux Falls. South Dakota. Speaking
(continued on page 6)
"Free ly You Have Rece ived, Freely Give" was the motto. lleld .be.fo~e the ne~rly 500 de legates
whe n the y both worshipped a nd conducted the Junsd•ch onal busmess .
MICHIGAN CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE
·I
l
Bi op Ammons~
Receives Albion
Honorary Degree ~
u;
ALBION-Albion College awarded
two honorary deg rees at an honors
convocation on Marc h 29 in Goodrich
Chapel. Edsel A . Ammons of Detroit,
resident bishop of the Michigan Area of
the United Methodist Church , was
awarded a doctor of humane letters .
Millard H . Pryor of Ann Arbor, retired
chairman of the board of Barnes
Manufacturing Co ., Mansfield, Ohio,
received a doctor of business administration degree.
In 1976 , Bishop Ammons was elected
to the episcopacy and appointed to the I
Michigan Area, which includes the
Detroit Annual Conference and the
West Michigan Annual Conference .
From 195 7-63 he served as a parish
minister in the Rock River (Illinois)
Annual Conference and then spent the
next three years as director of urban
work for the Rockford District in Illinois.
In 1968 he became a professor a.t
Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary . Bishop Ammons earned a B.A .
from Roosevelt University in 1948, and
a B.D. from Garrett in 1956 . He also
holds a doctor of ministry degree from
Chicago Theological Seminary .
I
l
Pryor has been an Albion trustee for
40 years . He served Barnes Manufacturing for 31 years, 18 as company
president and 13 as board chairman . He
has been an officer of companies in
Indiana and Ohio, as well as Michigan .
He is president of Pryor and Co ., Ann
Arbor . From 1962-65 he was chief of the
private enterprise division of the U .S.
State Department's Far East Agency for
International Development, and he
continued as a consultant for that
agency from 1965-73 . Pryor holds
bachelor's and master's degrees from
the University of Michigan . He is also
the brother of Bishop Thomas R. Pryor
who was pastor of First Church Kalamazoo from 1950-1964 .
told the delegates, I
in the east· [
I11rom.Jacksonchurches
t
510
r/79 .
Bishop :
collapses .
Bishop Ammons, who is in
fair condition. [ ; /
at parley
By HARRY COOK
Free Press Staff Writer
ADRIAN - United Meth·
odlst Bishop Edsel A. Am1mo:ns
collapsed Friday morning
while pre'Siding at the annual
meeting of a Methodist
Church conference at Adrian
College.
After first aid, adminls·
tered by several conference
delegates who said they were
trained in cardiopulmonary
resuscitation, Bishop Am·
mons, 55, was taken by a11
emergency medical unit to
Bixby Hospital in Adrian.
· A nursing supervisor at the
hospital said Friday afternoon
that the bishop was in "fair
condition and able to speak
freely with doctors and with
his wi.fe."
THE 1,400 delegates were
"shocked into silence," said
ern half of the Lower Peninsula and the Upper Peninsual,·
that he had seen Bishop Am·
mons and that he was resting
comfortably. The bishop will
be hospitalized· for several
days, Jackson said.
When the conference resumed Friday afternoon; the
Rev. Royal J. Synwolt, Bishop
Ammons' assistant, was
elected president protem of
the conference and will preside over the sessions, which
end Saturday ..
ONE PROBL._EM the con-ference initially faced was
how to ordain 25 ministers at
the conclusion of the conference. The new ministers must,
by church Ia w, be ordained by
a bishop.
But a phone call secured
the services of United Meth·
odist Bishop Leroy Hodapp of
Springfield, III.
The Rev. Clem Parr of Es-
can~ba and the Rev. Ed Coley
of Trenton, both licensed pilots, flew Friday afternoon in
a small plane to pick up
Bishop Hodapp.
Before his collapse, Bishop
Ammons continued the reassignment of clergy in Michigan Methodist churches,
which, he said in an interview
Monday, was·an effort to "reclaim the cities and help build
a more just society."
Bishop Ammons' hospitalization caused a delay in conference proceedings. Debate
expected Friday afternoon on
controversial resolutions to
determine church policy on
nuclear power plants and the
ordinations of homosexuals
was postponed until later in
the conference.
•
•
y~J/79
Bishop Ammons Collapses
While Presiding at Conference
Members of the con fe rence we re
com ing back from a break, with a long
day of controve rsial business loomi ng
ahead. Th e sec ti on reports we re coming
in, and matters of ord ination of homosexua ls, selec t ive-g iv ing, the peacetime draft, and the conti nui ng election
process fo r Ge neral and Jurisdictional
Conference de legates we re st ill going
slowly June 8 .
But the conference didn' t wa nt to be
qu iet; perh aps people we re still polit icking, talk ing, or wa nt ing to avoid the
rea l ities which lay ahead. For whatever
reason, Bishop Ammons looked frustrated . He jumped up, grabbed the
mic rophone, and st arted singing the
doxology. Others joined him; t he conference ca me together, and with the
conc lusion of the singing, prepared for
business.
As he announce d the next item, most
people t urned to th eir pre-confe rence
materia ls. A sc ream pierced t he auditoriu m; people looked up and saw the
bishop sl umped at his desk . Several
people rushed to th e platform, laid him
on the floor and loose ned his c lothing.
There seemed to be a m ixture of
paralysis and ac tion, a m ixture of
overwhe lming emotion and
stoic
rigidity .
A nurse arrived; someone c hecked
the bishop's eyes; another c leared his
ai rway and preve nted him from chok ing; and yet anothe r was tak ing his
pulse when he awakened w ith a jo lt.
"What happened?" he asked. Every thing wou ld be al l right, he was assured .
The nurse asked questions: " How are
yo u fee l ing?"
"All rig ht , I guess. "
"Bishop, do you have any pain?''
"No."
"How old are you?"
" I'm 55 ."
"Do you have any hea lth problems
that you k now of ... ?"
And the questions continued .
Meanwhi le, someone a t the podium
a.sk~d for prayer, and ano th er led i n
S l ~g 1 ng . As the bi shop regained conSc iousness, the people were told he was
ta lk ing, and were assured t ha t al l would
be we ll. By the time the ambulance
arrived, his wife , Ju ne, was with him ,
and they we nt, w ith Royal Synwolt,
a ~ea. .assistant to d1e bi shop, and
V 1rgm la Ke lly , his se c re ta ry to Adrian's
Bi xby Hospital.
'
. But the conferenc e must go on. At
first , most thoug ht that another b ishop
had to be c alled In to preside . But who
was av ai lable, and where could he be
found? Some re tired bi shops were
rumored to be vacationing in M ic higan,
while others thoug ht t hat an already
" active" bishop could be made available for duty .
So in the space reserved for the
confere nce secretary, inquiries were
made and plans set. Sometimes it was
difficult to get an outside l ine , as
people in t he room we re ask ing for the
latest r.eports, and cal ls were com i ng to
the col lege and the Conference's news
center requesting the latest i nformation. The Detroit da ily papers and
seve ral radio stations eagerly awaited
any news.
The Discipline was consulted, and
paragraph 701 .5 applied to the situation : " The bishop assigned shall preside
over the Annual Conference or, in case
of inability ... the confe rence shall by
ballot, without nomination or debate,
elect a president pro tempore from
among the traveling elders. The president thus elected shall discharge all the
duties of a bishop except ordination. "
That meant that whoever was elected
wou ld preside at the sessions, and if ·
necessary , could even make appointments . But a bishop was still neded for
the ordination se rvice sc heduled for the
eve ning .
After consu ltation with Bishop Ra lph
Alton, president of the North Centra l
Jurisdiction College of Bishops, Bishop
Leroy Hodapp of Springf ield, Illinois ,
was ask ed to preside at ordinat ion , and
arrange ments to f ly hi m directly to
Adrian were made. Fortunate ly, two
instrument-rated pi lots, Revs. Clem Parr
and Ed Coley, we re avai lable, and they
set out to Ill inois to fet c h t he bishop.
But trouble sti ll plagued t he confe rence; there we re severa l de lays in the
f ligh t , inc luding thunderstorms en route
.Hospital Report
I just returned from the hospital
where I found Bishop Ammons
resting comfortably. He expects
to be moved today from the
cardiac care unit in Ford Hospital,
Detroit, to another section. Dr.
Charles E. Jackson, his physician,
states that Bishop Ammons experienced a " coronary insufficiency" without any evidence of
heart damage . He furthe r states
that after several weeks of rest
and recuperation with limited
activity, he should recover fully.
Bishop Ammons has expressed
deep appreciation for the praye rs
and outpouring of concern expressed by persons around the
state. Prayers and ca rds are still
welcome, but visitors are being
limited to his family.
Bishop Ammons has requested
that Bishop Thomas Pryor, retired,
preside over the 144th session of
the West Michigan Annual Conference. Bishop Pryor makes his
summer residence at Lake Charlevoix, Michigan, and served as
pastor of First United Methodist
Church, Kalamazoo, from 1950 to
1964, when he was elected a
bishop.
-Royal J. Synwolt
Assistant to the Bishop
June 12, 1979
I
I
and a ma lfunctio ning landing gear.
Ordination wa s delayed on into the
evening; the sc hed ule was changed; •
bu t at 9: 15 p.m . (rather than the
plan ned 6 :00 p.m .) Bishop Hodapp'
arrived, and the setti ng-apart (ordi nat ion) of 25 deacons and elders was
ac c ompl ished by 11:15 p .m ., with Dr.
Roya l Synwolt reading Bishop Ammons' "'
se rmon in his beha lf.
0 "'
By HARRY COOK
Free Press StaH Writer
· Doctors at Adrian's Bixby Hospital said Saturday that
United Methodist Bishop Edsel A. Ammons, who collapsed
while conducting a session of the church's Detroit Annual
Conference Friday, didn't have a heart attack but "appears to
have a~ underlying coronary condition."
Adrian physician Dr. James Feeney said that "while tests
show no evidence of heart damage, we suspect the bishop has
some coronary trouble."
The bishop's condition is "stable," said Feeney, "and if he
remains stable, we will have him transferred from our cardiac
care unit to Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit early in the week."
BISHOP AMMONS, 55, who is the chief pastor for 250,000
Michigan Methodists in 900 churches, was to have presided
over the West Michigan Annual Conference at Albion College
starting Wednesday.
"There's no way he'll be doing that," Feeney said.
The Rev. Royal J. Symwolt•. the bishop's executive assistant, was elected president pro-tem of the Detroit conference
Friday and presided after the bishop's hospitalization. ·
Bishop Ralph Alton of Indianapolis, president of the Methodists' national Council of Bishops, said Saturday Illinois
Bishop Thomas Pryor would probably replace Bishop Ammons
temporarily at the West Michigan Conference.
Bishop Pryor was a West Michigan Conference member
during his years as pastor of First Church in Kalamazoo.
THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
155 WEST CONGRESS
SUITE 200
DETROIT. MICHIGAN 48226
(313) 961-8340
MICHIGAN AREA
EDSEL A. AMMONS, Resident Bishop
ROYAL J. SYNWOL T, Assistant to the Bishop
DETROIT CONFERENCE
WEST MICHIGAN CONFERENCE
January 31, 1983
Columbia Broadcasting System
Producer: "60 Minutes"
555 Fifty-Seventh Street
New York, New York 10019
Dour Sir:
Your January presentation on the National and World Council of Churches leaves
me feeling very sad. Nor is i t the fact of your criticism of Protestant and
Orthodox Christianity that troubles me. It is your complicity in the use of
questionable and unprofessional journalistic tactics, your compromise with
familiar and discredited repetorial method that saddens me. A once highly
respected media friend, "60 Minutes", has opted for the sensational at the
loss of its own character and value to the viewing public.
It is not my
cular or the
time that an
happened and
intention to try to defend the United Methodist Church in partitwo councils of Protestant Christians. This is not the first
orchestrated attack on these old and respected institutions has
likely will not be the last time. ·
I will not try to deny that there is always present the possibility that somewhere someone will betray the church's trust and misuse its generosity. But
fear that a recipient of our charitable contributions will misuse them did not
prevent our massive aid of Germany and Japan (both declared enemies) following
world War II. ~nd the wisdom of our nation's steadfastness is clearly evident
as today they are our trusted allies . Who can be sure how much of our Marshal l
Plan assistance ended up in unintended places? And i t is common knowledge that
our nation's arms shipments to those"friendly to us" often end up in the
possession of "less than friendly" places. In neitller case did or have we made
our decisions on the basis of the likely culpability of others. I also sometimes wonder what kind o~ goodness i t would have been had the Good Samaritan
refused to be charitable in fear that the man he helped might squander the good
that was done in his behalf.
Judge the church , i f you must, for its seeming naive generosity and concern for
injustice and human suffering. That is your privilege and the cross Christians
must bear. But you are not privileged to use public media as an instrument of
propaganda for narrow self-interest, to distort truth and render fact unbelievable. You have violated sacred trust and disappointed your friends of many
years. You give us cause for alarm and deep sadness. You have much to do to
make restitution. I hope you are prepared to do it.
Sincerely,
/'7
;;~c:.~-~~
Edsel A. Ammons
EAA:vk
...
An
Interview
With
Our
New
Bishop
Keith: One of the .principal tasks of the
bishop is mate/ ing ministers to ch urch es
in the p;;stor 11 appointments. What
genera' guidelin es will you follow in
the proces~ of mak ing c-ppointments?
Edsel: We ll. as I have indicated on
several ot.casio>ns, Keith, I think it's
absolute ly essential for as much discussion to take pl ace at that poi11t as at any
other time . I've sought to define itineracy as an opportunity for matching need
with abilities. And that of course can't
happen u11less an acceptable process has
been deve :ope::L That process suggests
several things.·
First , whe n tnere is an evident opening, for whatever reasc., , it is important
for the district superintendent, the Pastor-Parish Relations Committee and the
bi shop's o ffi ce to be in communication
concern ing what the church sees as its
ministry or responsibility in its community. And, of cou rse t hi s is another way of
saying in its world. In the cont ext of th at
kind of discussion the church has to
make certa in decisions about leadership
and styles of leadership. This provides
some substance around which we ca n
make judgments about the ava ilabi lity of
persons who meet such expectations .
Obviously, as fl exible as our system is
at times, we simply don't have the kind
of person every church need s. But as
much as is possible we hope to begin
discussion of men or women whose
SEPTEMBER 30, 1976
Bishop Edsel A. Ammons
abi lities, personalities, style, and commitments commend them to us as
possib le replacements for pastors who
are moving on to other appoi ntments. It
seems necessary, having had th at kind of
discussion with the church and the
cabinet, for us to begin talking to pastors
who may be co nsi dered for appointment.
Each minister needs to be give n an
opportunity for saying how he or she
feels, if he or she feels best suited for a
prospecti ve appointment .
I t hink I need to make it very clear th at
what I want to do is to be as faithful as I
can be to what I think is one of th e really
rare and unique attributes of United
Methodism. That is the appointive
process which does allow for considerable amoun t of dialogue but at the same
time does not negate th e responsibility of
the cabin et and bishop to make th e
appointment. On the other hand no
appointment can be responsibly made
that doesn't allow for very open and very
use ful and helpful dialogue w ith pastors,
Pastor-Parish Relations committees, and
wit h th e cabinet.
Keith: The bishop spends a great deal of
his time on personnel matters as a pastor
to pastors and in working with the district
superintendents. A second responsibilit y
is that of conference program, working
with the conference Council on Ministries, their committees, and other conference agencies. What will be your role
in the relationship to the program of the
two conferences? What about the conference service i nstitutions such as the
campus ministries, colleges, retirement
homes, etc.?
Edsel: I have always assumed several
t hings . One is that the program succeeds
only to the extent that constituency is
ei ther involved in the init iation of it or is,
at some point, identified w ith ownersh ip
of it. That is to say, leadersh ip is not
going to get the kind of sati sfactory
response from members of congregat ions
when program begins with leadership
and is not , in t ime, owned by constituency on whose shoulders final responsibil ity for its implemen tation rests.
Thus, I would urge considerati on always
of t he importance of con tri buti ons to
program design and operationalizat ion
by persons at the level of congregational
li fe as well as by those who are members
of boards and agenc ies.
Secondly , it seems very important to
me as bi shop to keep raising the
fundamental theological questi ons . My
3
... "-·
job is not that of program creator, but of
one who is constantly asking the
question : " Is this program consistent
w ith the life and purpose of the Church
in our time?" And, I would hope th at th at
also w ill be done by members of the
cabinet who are extens ions of my office
and by members o f program staff who,
once the program is generated, wi ll share
w ith me in its implementation . But I
want to say very firm ly that I sense th e
task of raising such questions as a
continuing responsibility of my office. Is
the program worthy of the life of the
Church? Does it bear witness to our
ultimate com mitment to j esus Ch ri st?
And, what is it going to cost us to invest
in it or not to invest in it? Nor am I
talkin g exclusively in terms of dollars and
cents, but I'm talki ng also in terms of the
price of our faithfulness or lack of it.
Hav ing asked those kinds of questions, I
will fee l that we can confidently undertake whatever price the program demands of us. But I think we've got to ask
those kinds of substantive questions.
Real power is authority granted to
Th e third thing I would exp ect is that
leadership, the gift of the right to make
they wou ld be t he kind of persons who
are able to represent my office on decisions, to make rulings and stateimportant occasions. I
defend very ments representative of the concerns and
interests of other people. Th at kind of
stron gly the United Methodist Church's
defin ition of the role of the distri ct authority is most legitimately identified
superintendent as the extension of the with strong leadership and with leadergeneral superintending fun ction of the ship that is col laborative or collegial in
church. I would want them to fee l th at sty le.
also.
Keith: Every person begins a new job
I w ill ask of every district superintendent a high level of faithfulness to the with at least some vague dream of what
he or she hopes will happen as the future
program s of th e conferences as they
emerge and take shape out of the context · develops into the present. What dreams
do you see in your new position as the
of our common labors together.
bishop of the Michiga n Area?
Keith : Some o f the words being used
these days to describe leadership style
are collaborative, consultative, and collegial, whatever these mean. How would
you describe your st yle of leadership?
Edsel: These are words that are rightly
used, interchangeabl y because they
mean essentially the same thing, namely,
that leadership is best that is most
responsive and open to the cou ncil and
Keith : Next june you will appoint at least consultation of those around it. Th at is
six new district superintendents for six of the sty le of leadership most attractive to
the thirteen districts . What qualities will me and the way I plan to do my job
you look for as you consider the during the eight years of my stay here in
qualification needed for these offices? the State of Michi gan . Several times I
What process will you follow in making have defined my kind of leadership as
your decision?
co llaborative or collegial. I understand
Edsel: Let me say immediately that I am that to mean th at I am anxious to have
concern ed that ·1 have a respresentative the contributions, the ideas, and the
cabi net in both conferences. I think we inform ati on of as many persons within
have that now and I want to continue to the conference as are available to me. To
honor that tradition . Th at means we have hear from members of the staff and
to be careful to look for men and women cabinet and pastors and laypersons, their
w ho represent the variety of ideologies kinds of concerns relative to the kinds o f
and theo logies that characterize this leadership responsibi lities I have is
area. I want the cab inet to reflect as essential to th e effective ness of my
much as possible the nature of this area office. And I hope to provide ample
by having on the cabinets of both opportunity for that kin d o f input.
conferences persons who are not at all
I think, as a matter of fact, that th e
afraid to represent their differing points strongest leadership is demonstrated in
of view, who are open to others who do those instances wh ere persons having my
the same. What I'm endeavoring to do is kind of responsibility have learned at
to help establish a context in which least two things. One is how to hear, not
persons feel both honored, respected , as to listen, alone, but to hear. And the
well as needed . As a result of that kind of second is how to delegate or to share
steady nurturing in faith, people will executive responsibilities. That doesn't
learn to risk themselves as we struggle mean at all that one surrenders authority;
together to create a responsible ministry . it simply means th at one shares it, and ,
Cabinets should represent that. As in the sharing, authority is affirmed . I
someone we ll said, the cabinet should be t rust th at thi s flexibility will be reflected
a group of persons who are alike in spirit in the sty le of my performance in these
but not necessarily conformists in poli- eight years in M ich igan.
tics or points of view or in terms o f how
I think that identifies with some
they want program implemented.
distinctions I have made in the past i n
Secondly, I certai nly wou ld hope that regard to definitions of power. Most of
they would be persons of considerable the tim e authority is described in a way
knowledge in the ways organi zations that makes it sound more authoritarian
fun ction . O urs is a highly organi zed than anything else, like little more th an a
church , and leadership must have the kind of naked dominance over the will of
ab ility to enab le the effective function- oth ers, compelling th em to comply with
ing of organization from the local churc h the pri vate concern s and aspirations
to the annual conference and beyond . o t th e o ne in charge. Obviously that
Those are the two characteristi cs which 1 wou ld not work, it would not work for
identify as most necessary .
me, it would not work in thi s A rea.
4
Edsel: There are several kind s of concern
that I have. O ne is, of course, to
establish th e fact that it is possible for a
bishop of co lor to be as good at the job
as anybody else. I say that because that
was obv iously one o f th e princip le
concern s discussed several times in the
last eight years as my name has ·surfaced
in regard to election . (That is not to
mean that I think it necessary for me to
prove to anybody that nonw hite persons
are as good as anybody, but simply to
bear witness to the fact that skills and
abilities are not given out in any biased
manner by the God who created us, that
we are all possessed with certain gifts
and graces.)
Th e second concern that I have is to
hel p such a diverse stat e like Michigan to
honor its diversity. As a matter of fact, I
find great joy in its diversity which will
bear wi tness across this church to what
tremendous hope and promi se there is
for us in Un ited Methodism, a uniquely
and wonderfully diverse church . Our
Area has within it almost every one of the
ethni c groups represen ted in our national
church . A nd I would certai nly hope th at
as bi shop of the area I would help us to
ce lebrate thi s gi ft by enabling us to greet
and meet each other in new ways and to
affirm each other in extremely productive ways .
Thirdly, I hope to co ntinue on my
predecessor's good record of work done
in hel ping the two annual conferenc es in
the Area to come to ever-increasing
affecti on for one another. They both are
very different conferences in some ways,
very unique in other ways, and very fine
in every way th at I have discovered . I
think it important for United M ethodist
Christi ans in the State of Michigan to be
enabled to come to ever-deepening
affirm ation o f each other as persons and
United Method ist Christ ians . I'll seek in
every way I can to faci litate that
continuing growth .
As I've said so many times, I hope to
serve as t he pastor to this Area. Now I
don't pretend to know all of what that
means yet, but th at seems for me at least
to be the most necessary challenge
Continued on page 6
MICHIGAN CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE
...
facing me . There are all kinds of skilled
persons who can do the admini strative
job as well as I or better, and there are a
variety of persons around who are going
to be extremely reli ed upon to help me in
that . I would think that as bishop of this
Area one of the things that I can do best
is serve as pastor to pastors and to
laypersons and help establish the context
in w hich covenantal community is
nurtured and grows. If I don' t succeed at
anything else and do succeed in that I
will feel that these eight years have been
well spent. If my tenure results in
creation of an ethos in which people
learn to accept each other, to give each
other redemptive liv ing space, and to
tolerate differences of thought and life
style, if that can be done (and it won't
be done unless the pastoral job is done
very effectively ) I suspect that of
episcopal leadership, notwithstanding,
there will be something established in
this area that will outlive all of us and of
which United Methodism
w ill be
especially proud. I commit these next
eight yea rs to that end.
Keith: We frequently boast of pluralism
in the United Methodist Church . Typically we are a diverse church in Michigan,
economically, sociologically, racially,
theologically. How can your leadership
as bishop bring creative strength to our
p!uralism rather than devisive weakness?
Edsel: I' m sure that question is on the
minds of a lot of people because the
assumpt ion , whether spoken or not, is
that a black bishop is likely to be more
favorably disposed towards a narrow
range of interests of the conference. A nd
that feeling alone, bolstered by my
identification w ith the city, may suggest
that my primary interest is the interest of
the c ity, of ethnic groups, ethnic
churches, an d essentially urban ministry.
I would not want for a moment to deny
my commitment to those kinds of
questions. But I can't imagine a black
bishop, on the basis of his own history of
pain and d enial of opportunity, not being
terribly interested in the hurts and
aspiratio ns and the growth needs of all
people. I think, in that sense, I may be
able to make a somewhat unique
contribution.
Added to that, are my own perceptions
about com munity and church which
have been shaped in the crucible of
broad experience in a rather thoroughly
mixed racial, cultural, and ethnic community through most of my life, which
has not allowed me, thank Cod, t o take
comfort in any kind of exclusiveness or
sense of isolated interest . I think such
experiences and my own understandin g
of the nature of the Christian faith
probably equip me as well as anyone to
listen to and to hear well whatever the
deep needs and aspirations are at every
6
point in the life of this A rea. I' ll have to
be t rusted to be faithful to that
perception . I'm sure that there w ill be
times whe n my own feelings, emotions,
and anxieties w ill weigh heavily on m y
best judgment, but I suspect that's a
characteristi c we all struggle w ith. But I
wi ll try to be co nsistent w ith what I think
has been the main ch aracteri sti c of my
ministry through the years, as I seek to
represent all of the persons of this Area
and to serve in behalf of their corporate
well-being.
At times to defend particular interests
because at that point they need it. At
other tim es to stand opposed to certain
interest because at that mo ment that
kind of stance is called for. A t all times to
act in ways th at are not mere elaboration
o n my own personal in clinations or
aspirations, but reflective of my understand ing of the call of the gospel. I will
require th at of all of us w ho work
together on the cab inet or staff. I cannot
imagine a bishop of this Area being
comfortable with any other stan ce .
for in t he midst of these tremendous
problem s. I suppose I am saying in a
roundabout way that one cannot be
committed to t he city who is not
committed to th e persons who live
outside the city.
Aga in , our lives are undeniably interrelated . We may sit in our liv ing rooms
hundreds of miles from c ities but our
telev ision sets make us immediate occupants of city centers. There is just no way
to declare t hat our problem s are different
except in degree. They manifest themselves differently but they are substantially th e same problems and have to be
addressed by all of us in concert.
Keith: Surely we cannot separate the
problems of Detroit from the problems of
the State of Michigan . Detroit is seen by
a good many people as one of the most
problem-ridden cities in our countr y.
What do you believe to be the role of the
church in minstering to these problems?
Edsel: I think we have a multi-fac eted
responsibility . One of our immediate
It follows, therefore, th at if the bishop need s, of course, is to be informed. We
of thi s A rea is committed to the simply have to learn how to get as many
enri chment o f human community and to · of th e facts as we can. An unfortunate
the interests of persons w ithin the reality with which I have lived is the fact
com munities of o ur ci ties, he is, of that very often well-intending church
necessity, very much committed to the persons make a vari ety of statements and
enri chment related to the lives of persons do a variety of thin gs in respon se to
who live in nonmetropolitan areas. One issues w ithout knowing exactly what the
of th e thin gs I have increasingly discov- issues are. I would urge upon us the need
ered is the fact of the interrelatedness of to learn as much as we can about our
all of our lives . The problems of our cities city, at least as much as effective
are not simply urban problems. They're ministry obliges us to have.
Another aspect of the ro le of the
natio nal problems. And they are problems which will be satisfactoril y d ealt church in thi s ci ty identifies with the
with when finally there is a commitment need to acquaint ourselves with some
at every level of our nation's li fe to begin better ways to create ecumenica l linkto invest our resources in the resolution ages so that when we speak we do not
of th em. Rural and town and co unt ry and speak as separate denominations in our
city life intersec t at too many places for own interests, but as a Christian commuthe people who live in any of th ese nity reflecting th e broad range of our
places to feel isolated from or indifferent several interests and com mitments repreto anybody else. The same modern sented by that ec1-1menica l identification .
technology and the same social ills I am thoroughly committed to an
impact our communities and our futures interre ligious engagement with the kinds
whether we live in crowded urban of problems w hich are presented to us by
centers or in the most remote v illages of the city .
Thirdly, I think we must raise some
the nation . My ana lysis is that all of us,
wherever we live, · are obliged to direct questions abo ut the meaning of congreour best resources toward the reso lution gatio nal life and ministry in a city like
of some of th e problems t hat result from Detro it. I suggest that we have to start
rapid change and soc ial innovati on again to discover what th at means, What
wi thin the fabr ic of life in o ur communi- does it mean to be a congregatio n doing
ties and that. while we don't always ministry in Detroit?
Finally, the church in the city has a
speak the same language or have the
same kind s of tastes, we are victimized responsibility w hich is re lated to what I
alike if we don't take seri ously our have said earli er . It can begin somehow
responsibilities alike for t hese things. If to help peopl e outside of th e c ity to learn
the city is going to survive, and, if the more than they think they know about
the c ity, to see it less in term s of its
pr ~vate/ fa mil y farm as an A merican
social and economic institution is to dangers and more in terms of its promise,
survive, it' s going to happen at the point to identify w ith the people w ho live th ere
where we discover our com mon stake in in ways which they have not a lways done
the stru gg le together to sustain each prev iously, to probe the meaning of such
other as we develop the reso urces ca lled questions as " How do we m aintain o ur
MICHI GAN CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE
matio n, the coun sel of others, co m templ at io n, and at t im es humility before
making statements which, w hether one
intends it or not, are go ing to be
interpreted as the mind of the church .
Th e sensiti ve nature of episcopal office is
awesomely apparent. For that reason ,
the bishop ve ry w isely avoids a "shootfrom-the-hip" posture relative to publ ic
commentary.
Keith: I'm sure tha t the ministers and lay
people alike are anxious t o help you as
much as they can to make your ministry
successful. What can we do? What
suggestions do you have that will help us
t o help you, particularly this first year?
=-~
~
•
.
..,....
·~·
" ..
f~-
historic personal ti es to o ur k ind of
community whi le, at the same time,
acknowledging a universal need for
salvation as persons belonging to a very,
very large world that is mu ch bigger than
the worlds we have ever known before?"
Keith : A few mtnutes ago you said
someth ing about public statements t hat
need to be made in w itness to the church
and societ y. How do you feel about using
the authority of your office in making
statements relative to social issues which
will emerge from time to time?
Edsel: Two ~h i ngs need to be said : First o f
all, I do not th i nk that statements relat ive
to critical public issues ought to be made
in haste . I am rem embering w hat was
said very well by o ne of our pastors years
ago. He said that o ne ought to take
several d ays, if not several m o nths, to
think carefully th rough th e implicat ions
of certain national, as we ll as local,
developments before speaking to them .
The w isdom of his observation relates to
my earlier statem ent about the need for
having cert ain basic info rmation o n
hand. But it also underscores the need to
take tim e to ref lec t on w hat that
information suggest s before presuming
to speak to it .
Secondly, I think that o ne has to
constan tly seek the coun sel of others
around him. Now that doesn' t m ean that
on e abdicates o ne' s responsibility in
certain situatio ns, to speak without the
pro tect ion of time and borrowed insights. Integrity sometimes leaves us no
escape fro m the need to address the
mome nt w hen the mom e.nt emerges. But
l .thi nk w isdom also d ictates more often ,
the need for rest raint, prudence, inferSEPTEMBER 30, 1976
Edsel : There are a coup le of things. I
rea li ze. of course. that the very nature of
our tradi tion and structu re sometimes
renders this difficu lt if not imposs ible . I' d
like fo r Michigan Area United M ethodist
people and pastors and others to accept
the ir bishop as one w ho comes among
them as a person as we ll as occupant of
an office . That's a primary concern
because my fam ily and I wi l l li ve am qng
many people we have never met before.
And, in a very real way, the happiness we
experi ence these next e ight years will
relate very d irectly to the measure and
quality of their acceptance of us in those
years.
Related to that of course is my hope
that t he pastors and the ir fa milies will
know me as t heir friend as we ll as their
bishop.
Thi rdly l 'would welcom e com munication from any pastor or layperson relative
to my performance in office or any other
matter o f interest to our common
min istry. I consid er the te lephone and
letters acceptable means of communication and t ru st that they w ill faci l itate
exchange w it h my office. And then as
opportunity provides I trust that th ere
will be time for more direct contacts. I
welcom e new ideas and shared impression s about what has happened or what
ought to happen. I trust that in the
ch urch , at least, the l ife and spiri t of
com mun ity are of such nature t hat office
does not separate us. but in fact
fac ilitates our growth toward each other.
I hope that the office of the bishop, with
the kinds of uncertainty and, even
mystery that seems at times to surround
it. w ill not stand between us in the
building of that kind of re lationship . 0
A Summar y Report of ...
THE WORLD
METHODIST CONFERENCE
DUBLI N, Ireland (UMC)-Concern for
world economic conditions, evangelism, ecumenical ties, human rights in South Korea,
Southern Africa and Northern Ireland, and the
need for hearing the voi ces of laity-particularly women and youth- in its own ranks
marked the 13th World Methodist Conference
here August 15-31. and concurrent meetings
of the World Methodist Counci l. Some 2;500
persons attended the sessions here, coming
from 60 Methodist and Methodist-related
denominations at work in 90 count ries.
Related meetings of the World Federation of
Methodist Women and other groups also were
held in and around this historic city which
John Wesley first visited in 1746.
In other busi ness, the sessions saw the
selection of a new eight-member Presidium
for the World Methodist Council (WMC) and
other officers; installation of new leaders of
the executive committee which guides the
affairs of the counci l between meetings; and
approval of a new -s-ecretariat to succeed two
men who are retiring.
Accepting a document presented by its
international affairs committee, the 450member WMC affirmed the con cept of a new
world order based on economic, social and
pol itica l justice, and urged its member
churches to engage in study, reflection,
dialogue and action in seeking such a goal.
" There is a genuine awareness among both
developing and developed countries that the
world cannot go on" with the "economic gap
between rich and poor, hunger, the arma-
ments race, the violation of human rights, the
waste of raw material resources, and damage
to our natural environment. .. ." Development was defined as " the growth of the whole
human person, " and " not merely economic
progress." Methodist Christians around the
world were called on to " renew their
identification .with and comm itment to the
poor."
Another action condemned the sentencing
of 18 church leaders in South Korea on August
28 for terms of up to eight years and urged the
government " to overturn these verdicts." The
action also calls on Methodists everywhere
"to pray for the people of South Korea and to
support those who witness to social justice
and human rights in Korea.
Apartheid in Southern Africa and " the
wanton slaughter of unarmed black men,
women and children" in South Africa was
condemned in a sweeping resolution offered
by African Methodist Episcopal Zion Bishop
Ruben L. Sparks of Roosevelt, N. Y. " We urge
all nations, church groups and multinational
corporations to support United Nations
economic sanctions against apartheid states
of Southern Africa and the withholding of
investments, " the action said . Apartheid is
called " dodified , congealed racism" which
condemns black Africans " to permanent
inferiority and poverty. "
It was reported early in the sessions that
two young South Africans, one black and one
colored, were refused passports to come to
publin, although two white South Africans
7
THE MICHIGAN CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE/
Bishop Ammons Is Elected
Pres. Board of Discipleship
As an early part of the action at a
week-long meeting of the General Board of
Discipleship which was convened in Nashville, Tenn. the week of October 6, Bishop
Edsel A . Ammons, of the Michigan Area,
was elected president of the board for the
1980-84 quadrennium. The election occurred
on the morning of October 7.
Bishop George Bashore of Boston Area
was elected Vice President. Mrs. Maxine
Marshall of Boulder, Colorado was elected
secretary of the board.
The Board of Discipleship is one of the
four basic program boards of the United
Methodist Church. It is currently without an
employed Executive Secretary. Melvin Talbert who held that capacity was in July
elected to be a bishop of the church. A search
committee has been named and is actively
seeking Talbert's successor.
The Board of Discipleship was created by
the 1972 General Conference which by that
action brought together several former
boards and functions. These included the
former Boards of Laity, Education, and
Evangelism, and the United Methodist
Commission on Worship.
Bishop Ammons is beginning his second
quadrennium as the episcopal leader of
United Methodists in Michigan.
Michigan
Christian
June 18, 1981
Many Delegates, Homeward Bound, Not Aware
Bishop Ammons Hospitalized Synwolt
Finishes in Detroit Conference Chair
The Saturday morning, June 6, final hours of the
140th session of the Detroit Annual Conference opened
with a hymn followed by the announcement from Dr.
Royal Synwolt, area assistant to Bishop Ammons, that
at 3:30a.m. the bishop had entered Bixby hospital in
Adrian. Synwolt indicated that the bishop's personal
physician had described the bishop's condition as the
result of a mild heart attack. The conference heard from
Synwolt that he had accompanied the bishop to the
hospital and that Mrs. Ammons and Mrs. Synwolt were
at the hospital. Following the prayer, the assemblage
of pastor and lay delegates was requested, in spite of
their concern, not to go to the hospital. Further
briefings were to be provided as available.
The delegates knew that two years ago
Bishop Ammons, while presiding at the
l38th session of the conference, slumped in
, his chair and was subsequently hospitalized
in the same local facility. His progress back
By Donn Doten
from that episode has been considered
Editor
excellent and he has felt that he was in good
health.
Dr. Alfred Bamsey, current chairperson of
the Detroit Conference cabinet, moved that
Dr. Synwolt be named by the body as its
president pro-tem. This action was taken
immediately. Synwolt had been similarly
called upon in the interruption of the
conference in 1979.
The legislative body completed its work
shortly after noon on Saturday. Prior to its
dismissal the group was informed that
Bishop Ammons was reported as resting
comfortably and that it was anticipated that
he would be transferred to Ford Hospital
Detroit, later.
On Friday, JuneS, 1981, Bishop Ammons presided over tbe third day of the deliberations of
the t40th Session of the Detroit Annual Conference. Within 24 hours Bishop Ammons was
hospitalized at Bixby Hospital, Adrian, Michigan. His physician described his c~ndition as
good bu't Indicated that the bishop bad experienced a mUd heart attack.
PAGE 16
JUNE 25, 1984
MICHIGAN CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE
A ·Tirrie of Appreciation
for
Edsel and June Ammons
June and Edsel Ammons greet well wishers outside Dawson Auditorium following ordination. This was a common scene.
Virginia Kelly (left) planned the celebration and presents a certificate of memories
along with calligrapher Millie Janka (right) to the Ammons.
ADRIAN (MCA)-The Detroit Annual
Conference completely fooled Bishop and
Mrs. Ammons, when at the close of the
Thursday night bicentennial production,
they followed with a surprise party.
Bishop Ammons had just started the
rest of the business, when Paul Blomquist,
chair of the general and jurisdictional conference delegation, rose, asked to
"suspender and fracture" the rules, and
gave a moving tribute in behalf of the
Bishop Ammons was presented a
Detroit Tigers cap, noting that he has
been a Chicago Cubs and Bear fan.
John Bunce, conference secretary
looks on.
rclergy of the conference (printed below).
This was followed by a thank you from
a memorable, moving eight years. I've
grown up in these years ... the problems
and difficulties have all been gifts to us."
Paul Blomquist's Remarks
"When asked to express appreciation
for Edsel Ammons on behalf of all the
clergy, I reacted with heart to say an inital and grateful "yes." But as my head
began to work, mild resistance led to pure
panic, for how do you say thank you
cleverly in three to five minutes to such a
giant of articulation?
"Then head and heart got together and
reminded ego, this is not a performance,
this is your expression of love and
gratitude on behalf of your colleagues to
a friend and spiritual companion .
"To Edsel who uses magnlficlent
language never to call attention to self
but to proclaim the Gospel and pray
with an almost unmatched profundity
and power ... who has learned (I observe)
over eight years with an often silly
bunch ... to employ humor more easily and
naturally ... we say thank you.
"To Edsel, who does not announce his
spirituality but rather allows us to experience its depth in him sometimes in
preaching, sometimes in teaching or conversation at the podium , across the desk,
at general confere nce or local
church ... whose life seems strangely affected by radiation exposure to the light
of his living Lord, to one so steeped in
Scripture and devotion that listeners look
beyond the mystic to the mystery ... we say
thank you .
Herb Glenn, representing the Detroit
East District, gives a gift representing
that "prickly" group.
"To Edsel, who loves June and his
family with obvious foo llshness ...who
has helped teach us that it is all right to
suffer weakness when the soul is really in
touch with the spirit of God ... to our bishop
gifted with a mind that inspires rather than
intimidates those who work with him .. .we
say thank you.
"You have demonstrated compassion for the dispossessed and oppressed. You have risked showing us a passionate dimension in you that moves us
sometimes to anger, sometimes to guilt,
but often to growth. We say thank you to
God for sharing you with us. We say thank
you to you for sharing God with us.
"Words, words ... so many good byes,
"do not ask for whom the bell extols, it extols for you." Let mine close that others
might begin.
"Your co-workers in the clergy sector of
the Detroit Conference have heard you
point us beyond professionalism to servanthood. You have courageously revealed an often fiery conviction housed in a
gentle framework. I say these words in
hope that everyone of us will take the glare
of adulation off you and your going and
focus on the Christ and the world of need
you seek to serve. That would be our
greatest tribute."
Let me close with two quotes: one from
Gandhi and one from Kagawa:
"There are moments in your life when
you must act, even though you cannot
carry your best friends with you. The 'still
small voice' within you must always be the
""DI a~r ~ Nr...---.iT .. vvn.!lo,· o•'
duty... "-Gandhi.
" Awaken us, 0 God, that we may with
sincerity carry the burden of others. Grant
that we may not be content to live emp ty
lives, seeking only the pleasure that each
day brings. Cause us to advance to the
0
Cross ... "- Kagawa.
Bishop Ammons was presented a
Detroit Tigers cap, noting that he has
been a Chicago Cubs and Bear fan.
John- Bunce, conference secretary
looks on.
clergy of the conference (printed below).
This was followed by a thaflk you from
Mary Jane Jewell, conference UMW president to June Ammons, for being honorary
president of the UMW.
Wayne Middleton, outgoing lay leader,
spoke for the laity, and brought the house
down when he said to the bishop: "I admire your hairdresser. I think it's the same
one I have!"
There were special district presentations, with each district standing while
1 remarks and helpful or outrageous gifts
were given . The entire conference sang
a special rendition of ''Thanks for the Ammons, " written by Virginia Kelly, the
bishop's secretary.
At the close, June and Edsel Ammons
each responded. June mentioned what a
great surprise the evening was and stated
that " it makes our leaving a little easier,
when we know someone loves us. Thank
you for the memories ." Edsel stated that
as he sat through the bicentennial play,
he was thinking, " how are we going to get
through the business tonight? It has been
language never to call attenuon to sen
but to proclaim the Gospel and pray
with an almost unmatched profundity
and power ... who has learned (I observe)
over eight years with an often silly
bunch ... to employ humor more easily and
naturally...we say thank you.
" To Edsel , who does not announce his
spirituality but rather allows us to experience its depth in him sometimes in
preaching, sometimes in teaching or conversation at the podium, across the desk,
at general conference or local
church ... whose life seems strangely affected by radiation exposure to the light
of his living Lord, to one so steeped in
Scripture and devotion that listeners look
beyond the mystic to the mystery ...we say
thank you.
family Wltn ODVIOUS TOOJISnness ... wno
has helped teach us that it is all right to
suffer weakness when the soul is really in
touch with the spirit of God... to our bishop
gifted with a mind that inspires rather than
intimidates those who work with him ...we
say thank you .
"You have demonstrated compassion for t he dispossessed and oppressed. You have risked showing us a passionate dimension in you that moves us
sometimes to anger, sometimes to guilt,
but often to growth . We say thank you to
God for sharing you with us. We say thank
you to you for sharing God with us.
" Words, words ... so many goodbyes,
"do not ask for whom the bell extols, it extols for you." Let mine close that others
might begin.
There w ere also some poignant
moments during the goodbyes.
CONFERENCE REACTION '84
Bishop Edsel and June Ammons smile in delight as they are surprised and
hono red following the bicentennial celebration.
"It was a mild conference with a lot
of fellowship. I think a number of folks
really came to say goodbye to Edsel.
There was real warmth, I think. It was
mild, with no controversy. Things that
I expected to see have a lot of battle
passed with no problem."
-Clem Parr
Flint, Outgoing Conference
Missionary Secretary)
j
AUGUST 20, 1984
PA GE 16
eld
Rosemary Ward and David Crawford
served as m.c. 's and kept the program
moving . An area choir under the direction
E. LANSING (MCA)-A large contingent of Janet Lee sang and especially moved
of Michigan area United Methodists and the audience with the anthem " Hear the
other well wishers gathered at Michigan Lambs A-Crying" arranged by Ann
State's Wharton Center here on Sunday, Thompson.
July 29 to take part in the Ammons'
Special guests Bishop H. Coleman
Alleluia celebration .
McGehee from the Episcopal Church and
The celebration featured a program , editor Joe Stroud from the Detroit Free
Press reminded the group that Bishop
Ammons' ministry extended beyond
Michigan Area United Methodists. Stroud
lifted up the two poles of Jesus' ministry
he has experienced in Bishop Ammons... gentle concern and passionate
conviction . Bishop McGehee spoke of a
ministry grounded in the relationship of
God to people, with strong emphasis on
peace with justice and the mission to people in need. He spoke of the key role
Bishop Ammons has played in the area
ecumenical movement.
The area episcopacy committee were
the major program, each sharing their
' perception of the bishop. Unfortunately,
the format suffered by being set as an initial
meeting before the bishop had come
Bishop Edsel Ammons shares at the
to Michigan . However, each person did
close of the celebration.
their best to show their feelings given this
presentations to the Ammonses, and a format restraint.
closing worship service of celebration .
Rev. Mel Williams from Hope UMC,
Bishop Ammons summed up the spirit in Benton Harbor, felt no such restraint, and
the hall when he said in his closing shared his deepest feelings of appreciaremarks: " I feel in this room the warm em- tion as he presented a check for over
brace of a lot of good people who have $7,000 to be used for the Ammons
given arms and legs to love. This is what Scholarship fund . He reminded people
the Incarnation is about. Thanks to you that this fund will go on, and can be addall."
ed to in the future.
By Ed Duncan
Richard Taylor presented keys to a new
automobile, which was parked outside the
auditorium. A voice from the crowd
shouted " Don't leave the lights on!" Since
the Ammons family car was totalled last
winter, this gift from area well wishers was
greatly appreciated .
Irene Norris presented a book of letters
and greetings from area friends and a picture album with pictures of significant
events shared by Michigan Area United
Methodists. Gladys Church presented an
Indian blanket from the Native Americans
of Michigan . A special certificate and
statement from Michigan Governor James
Blanchard was presented. Karen Dumbauld presented a cross and flame plaque
from the Detroit Conference youth. Four
of the six Ammons children able to be present were also presented to the audience.
The closing worship service of celebration was led by Royal Synwolt and Robert
Horton, past and present area assistants
to the bishop.
The closing litany of sending used the
fam iliar words of Ecclesiastes about time,
and then went on: " So, too, there is a time
for movement, new adventure, new areas
June Ammons shares at the celebration, " Your well wishes will carry us on,
we will not forget you , we will always
love you."
of ministry. With love, Edsel and June, we
send you forth in the spirit of John Wesley:
May the world be your parish. Go into your
new assignment responding to the love of
Christ in all that you do. May God's grace
and peace, mercy and joy be with you.
May you be clear channels of God's reconciling love and empowering grace to all
among whom you are privileged to serve. "
Rev. Mel Williams
presents a check In
excess of $7 , 000
towards the Ammons
Scholarship fund at
Garrett Evangelical
Theological Semi nary.
Bishop H. Coleman McGehee of the
Episcopal Church shares what Bishop
Ammons has meant to the Michigan
Area ecumenical movement.
A joint choir, directed by Janet Lee, shared In the celebration, Including the anthem, "Hear the Lambs A-Crying."
Richard Taylor, left picture, presents the keys of a Buick Park Avenue car (above]
to Bishop Ammons , a. gift from Michigan area well wishers . The Ammons ' car
was totalled this winter.
A Farewell Message From Bishop Edsel A. Ammons
AMMONS ALLELUIA CELEBRATION-Irene Norris presents Bishop and Mrs.
Ammons a picture album from the area. See photo story, page 16-mca photo
The special celebration events at East
Lansing in the Lower Peninsula and at
Negaunee in the Upper Peninsula were
lovingly and impressively planned . The
honors and gifts which were presented are
not only deeply appreciated by June and
me but will forever remind us of the
magnificent people of the Michigan Area.
The eight years of a love affair between
a bishop and his people have gone by
much too quickly. But, itineration is one
of the strengths of our church. Thus, June
and 1move on to our next assignment in
West Ohio with profound respect for the
faith and commitment of the United
Methodist Church everywhere, with many
wonderful memories, and with eager anticipation of what is ahead for us.
Hope Grounded In Grace
Christians are a people who anticipate
the future with characteristically persistent
hopefulness. Our confidence (the United
Methodist word is "assurance") is borne
only in part by a perception of our own
gifts and graces. I do not mean that, in any
way, to disparage the marvelous
capacities of the church. Eight years of life
together have shown to me the high quality of spirit and character and organization
of United Methodist Christians in
Michigan. We do acknowledge these
strengths without hesitation and with great
joy.
But our hope is grounded at last in the
grace and mercy of God who has formed
and given substance to the church and to
its ministry in this place and everywhere.
Our joy is the fruit of the awareness that
the future, anticipated but unknown, is in
the hands of God who is able to bring us
into the promised fullness of life which we
have envisioned in Jesus Christ.
Faith Tested
That faith has been severly tested in our
beloved Michigan Area over these past
few years. Many United Methodist people
and countless others who are not of our
household have experienced terrible suffering and loss. The ravages of an
economy out of control-or controlled to
the advantage of a few and the disadvantage of multitudes-have wrought much
(Continued on page 4)
Since 1873
Michigan Christian
August 20, 1984
Bishop Ammons' Farewell
(Continued from page 1)
devastation, despair, and even death.
But through it all United Methodist people have not lost faith nor faltered in confidence nor hesitated to show concern for
the victims of social and economic
catastrophy. The groundswell of response
and the outpouring of concern throughout
this season of human disaster is one of the
great stories of contemporary Christianity. I have witnessed and sought to participate in it with understandable pride and
with a sense of having been blest beyond
measure to have been the bishop of people of such faith and generous spirit.
In all likelihood, the next few years will
see much of the same. The stresses and
dangers facing our people-are more than
mere blips on the radar of human experience. A nation's way of life is going
through revolutionary change. Discovering how to live in a less bellicose manner
as one of a family of nations in the world
and how to make a better and more
equable use of our shrinking resources,
how to care about each other and about
strangers and even those we have called
"enemy" is a mandate resting on the
shoulders of all of us in the church. What
is familiar and safe is not likely to suffice.
Indeed, answers will not come easily simply because we are still uncertain as to what
questions to ask. But God is "able to keep
us from falling" as we ponder these and
other changes literally exploding all
around us.
Parting Advice
Perhaps the best advice .a departing
bishop can leave with thdse with whom he
has shared eight y ears of privileged
journey together is the ~ounsel of I Peter
4:
" ... The end of all things (things
familiar to us) is at hand: Be ye
therefore sober, and watch unto prayer... " (v. 7K.J. V.) .
The New English Translation is even
more direct:
.
"We are near the end of all
things now, and you should
therefore be calm, selfcontrolled
people
of
prayer... "(v. 7)
The admonition is instructive. The days
through which we must journey are
fraught with risk, confusion, and danger.
But it is not a time to panic. Rather, it is
a season for cool heads and prayerful
hearts. When others lose their way let us
not forsake our own. Let us not yield to the
extremes of doctrine and dogma or be
drawn into unseemly self-righteousness or
arrogance of opinion. Let us remain ever
open to the fresh winds of God's Holy
Presence and Power.
Openness Needed
Such is the quality of openness which
enables the next important step in the
Michigan Area's journey and to which I
Peter 4 points us:
"Above everything else be
sure that you have real deep
love for each other, remembering how love can 'cover a
multitude of sins'... serve one
another with the particular gifts
God has given to each of you,
as faithful dispensers of the
magnificently varied grace of
God... "(4:8-11 N.E.B.)
In short, it is a departing bishop's hope
that Michigan Area United Methodism will,
in every season, remain prayerfully open _
and ever eager to show hospitality toward
one another. A prayerful hospitality covers
or discounts a multitude of personal faults,
reaches out in charity to others without
regard for their history, · or family
background, or faith, or color of skin, or
politics, avoids labels and sterotypes and
strives simply to care and to. share.
It is that spirit of which Michigan Area
Methodists are capable. June and I have
experienced it, have been enriched by it
We join with you in prayer for its expanding manifestations so that out of the
Area's diversity will come a community
joined in Christ, unshakable and indivisible, indeed , united in devotion to Christ
and to the world for which He gave His life.
U.P. Farewell Given Ammonses
By Dale
NEGAUNEE (MCA)-August 4, 1984
marked the Upper Peninsula farewell for
the Ammonses. The Mitchell United
Methodist Church of Negaunee hosted the
gala celebration, that featured a brass
ensemble, a united men's chorus under
the direction of Sally Zanetti, and a rendering of the song "Simple Gifts" by Helen
Jeanne Doane.
After a hearty welcome by the host
pastor, King Hanna, the service was then
led by Ben Bohnsack, pastor of First
United Methodist Church of Marquette.
The meditation, "Looking Up the Line,"
was given by John Naile of St. Ignace
..UM_C.J·~~\
4 • - · - ··· . -
v•
~~··v-'" . .. ~~
Words of greeting and congratulations
were brought to the Ammonses from the
Second International Seminar on
Evangelism by our Detroit Conference
delegate , King Hanna. Also bringing
words of gratitude were Ted Doane on
behalf of the Cabinet, Peter Shumar on
behalf of the Marquette District laity,
'1/;a/ff..
Miller
Audrey Dunlap on behalf of the district
clergy, Joy Papke for the United Methodist
Women, and Robert Selberg and Dick
Taylor for the Area Committee on the
Episcopacy. Others expressing an appreciative nostalgic look back at the Ammanses' eight years with us were:
Konstantin Wipp, Joel Hurley, Susan
Miller, Chuck Tooman, Vi & Jim Hilliard,
and Velma Shimmin.
Gifts given from the District and individuals included a Konadolomite Clock
made in Ishpeming, a license-plate bearing the words "Upper Michigan-Someplace Special," handmade Christmas or( fl~rp~l).t~ .. and. a C08P.er butterfly ..
Words that were used to describe the
Am manses
included
" warmth,"
" gracious," " lovers of persons," and
"forgetful." It seems that on each trip to
the Upper Peninsula one of the Ammanses has always forgotten to bring
something. Even for this celebration
Bishop Ammons forgot to bring his dress
shoes!
In their response to all the comments
June said: "I don't know what it is about
the U.P. but we forget things-such as a
sermon, a suit, shoes ... and something
else I'm forgetting. I think we forget
because we are so comfortable with you,
because we know you are a forgiving and
forgetting people." No one will forget
Bishop and June Ammons. Thank you for
your graciousness and love.
0
.
I
Michigan Area Celebration
---____, llJJn.ons'
lle1Uia
I
Sunday, July 29, 1984
Wharton Center
fast Lansing, Michigan
I
Service
of
Celebration
SERVICE OF CELEBRATION .......... RoyaiSynwolt, Liturgist
Robert Horton, Liturgist
Doris Grapentine, Organist
Organ Prelude " Bishop's Fanfare" . .. . ... .. . . .. ... jackson
" Voluntary for a Festive Occasio n" .. Rowley
Hymn " Praise to the Lord, the Almighty"
Prai se to the Lord, the Almighty, the Ki ng of creat ion!
0 my soul, praise him, for he is thy hea lth and sa lvation!
All ye who hear, Now to his temple draw near;
join me in glad adoration!
Praise to the Lord, who o'er all things so wondrously reigneth ,
Shieldeth thee under his wings, yea, so gently sustaineth !
H ast thou not seen How thy desires e'er have been
Granted in what he ordaineth?
Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee;
Surely his goodness and mercy here daily attend thee.
Ponder anew What the Almighty can do,
If with his love he befriend thee.
Praise to the Lo rd! 0 let all that is in me adore him!
All th at hath life and breath, come now with praises before him!
Let the amen Sound from his people again;
Gladly forever adore him. Amen.
Fo r their passion for peace w ith justice,
WE ARE THANKFUL, 0 GOD.
For their merc y toward the forsa ken and forgotten of the
world,
THANK YOU, GOD.
For th eir p resence w hich has ministered to us,
WE REJOICE, 0 GOD.
For their helping us to see the w ider mission of the Church to
all persons,
WE THANK YOU, GOD.
For their faithful ministry amongst us,
WE REJOICE AND SAY AMEN AND AMEN!
Prayer
Anthem " He Is A Servant of the Lord" . ......... .. Poorman
text ad apted by Janet Lee with permission by Jenson Publications
specifical ly for thi s event.
Scripture Ephesians 4 :7, 11-16
A Litany of Sending
A Litany of Gratitude
We have gathered together to express gratitude to God for th e
lives of Edsel and June Ammons who cam e amongst us eight
years ago. For their commitment to Jesus Christ and Ch rist 's
Church,
WE ARE THANKFUL, 0 GOD.
For th eir untiring devotion to th e witness of the Word,
THANK YOU, GOD.
For their love of family and concern for others,
WE ARE THANKFUL, 0 GOD.
For their cheery smiles and warm handsh akes,
WE REJOICE, 0 LORD.
For everything th ere is a season,
a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die;
a time to plant and a time to pluck up w hat has been
planted;
... a time to weep and a time to laugh;
a tim e to mourn and a time to dance;
.. . a time to keep silence and a time to speak;
a time to hate and a time to love;
a time for war and a time for peace.
SO, TOO, THERE IS A TIME FOR MOVEMENT, NEW ADVENTURE, NEW AREAS OF MINISTRY. WITH LOVE,
EDSEL AND JUNE, WE SEND YOU FORTH IN THE SPIRIT
OF JOHN WESLEY: MAY THE WORLD BE YOUR PARISH.
Quoting
Bishop
Ammons
" Bishops do not speak for the church. They speak to the
church ."
" I worry when people only condemn , not tal k."
:'The ~hurch was twenty-five percent black in the first years of
1ts ex1stence. Blacks knew they were free in the Methodist
Church."
Apri/23, 1981
Michigan A rea Episcopacy Committee
•
" I am experiencing considerable moments of heaviness about
the future of our state. I sense this as God's gift to us a new
moment to be faithful. We can be expert lovers of people."
March 23, 1982
Michigan Area Episcopacy Committee
•
•
Bishop Ammons often refers to us, clergy and laity alike as
" pilgrim peop le."
'
" The effect of ~h at Jesus di~ is the. turning of society upsid e
down, the turnm g of human1ty on 1ts head and claiming that
the bottom is top and the top is bottom ."
january 1984
From his messages, " Doing Transition
Ministry" delivered at the NCJ Town
and Country/Urban Network Event,
Kalamazoo, Ml
•
.
Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary has established Black Scholarship Endowment Funds honoring Bishop
Edse~ A. Ammons, Dr. William H. Borders, and the late Judge
Arch1bald J. C_arey, Jr., three disti nguished b lack leaders
who are alumn 1of Garrett-Evangelical.
. T his project is a response to the recognitio n of two
pre~s1~g n eed s facing the Black Chu rch community: Black
Chnst1ans mu st be made aware of th e outstanding b lack
leaders _wh_o. have given strong spiritual leadership and insti~ated s1gn 1f1 can t social change; and , black Christians must
ave access to th e reso urces w ith w hich to cultivate their own
potential.
h
. Michigan Area United Metho dists are contri buto rs to
t e B1shop Edsel A. Ammons Scholarship Fund .
s·1h cere appreciation is extended
• to all persons and churches
Y"
contnbuted to make this day of celebration and honormg of Bishop and Mrs. Edsel A. Ammons possible.
0
Ren~al of the Allen organ used in today's celebratio n was
R,frtl_ally funded by Arlen O rgan Company and Marshall
us1c Company.
•
Ammons Alleluia Area Committee
Robert E. Horton, Chairperson
Detroit Conference
west Michigan Conference
Leon Andrews
Joan Kelsey
james Leys
Ward Pierce
Richard Selleck
Doris Stretton
Darrell Sweet
Melvin W illiams
Michigan Christian Advocate,
Alfred Bamsey
T.K. Foo
Mary Jane Jewel l
~ayne Middleton
mundMillet
Irene Norris
R~bert Selberg
B~lan Smith
Richard Taylor
Ann Thompson
October 17, 1983, p. 5 .
Vi rginia Kelly
" Localism in t he life of the church is a snare that mu st be
avoided. It may even be time for us to consider dropping the
~ se of the term ' local c~urch .'There really is no such thin g as
local church. T.he ~cnpture reference is to 'co ngregation .'
Every congreg.atlo.n 1s s1m.PIY a local expression of a Gospe l
that IS w~rTd w1de 1n ~ea~mg and ~ ~o mmun ity that is without
boundanes . We are one m the Spmt and one in the Lord' no
matter what ou r address might be."
Quotes collected by Wanda Eichler
The Bishop Edsel A. Ammons Scholarship Fund
Assisting the Commiltee
David Wiltse
Ammons
Scholarship
Fund
In
Appreciation
"My
Peace I Giv&to lfu ... "
lory
~ /99 0
MRS. JUNE AMMONS, wife of Bishop
Edsel Ammons of the West Ohio Conference, died Dec . 17 in Columbus. She
had been struggling with health problems
for several months. A memorial service
will· be held Dec. 24 at 11 a.m. at First
UMC , Evanston, Ill. In lieu of flowers
memorial gifts may be made to the West
Ohi? Episcop~l office, which will designate
a m1ss1on proJect for them. Condolences
may be sent to Bishop Ammons at 6770
Heathview, Worthington, OH 43085.
MRS. JUNE AMMONS, 62, wife of
Bishop Edsel A. Ammons of the West
Ohio Conference, died Dec. 17 after an
extended illness. She was born in Chicago
and attended Wilson Junior College and
Northwestern University, where she majored in business management and
accounting . She married Edsel on Aug.
18, 1951. She worked as a business manager and accountant for the Board of Global Ministries Health and Welfare Division
in Evanston. June was a member of the
North Broadway UMC, in Columbus,
Mrs. June
Ammons
Ohio, where she was honorary vicepresident of the Conference United Methodist Women. She also sang with the
min isters' wives' choir in the West Ohio
Conference. Her most recent job was as
council liaison for the Ohio Job Training
Coordinating Council in the Ohio Bureau
of Employment Services. Besides Edsel,
who was bi$hOp of the Michigan Area from
1976-84, she leaves six children : Marilyn
Ammons Kell (husband Michael) of Oak
Park, Ml; Edsel Ammons, Jr., currently
teaching at Knox College, Galesburg , Ill.;
Carol E. Ammons, employed by the General Board of Pensions; Kenneth G. Ammons; Carlton E. Ammons (wife Mary Elizabeth), an attorney in Columbus, Ohio;
and Lila Ammons, now living and performing voice in Miami, Fla. Memorial gifts may
be made to the June Ammons Memorial
Fund. Checks should be made to the
Council on Development, West Ohio Conference, 471, E. Broad Street, Suite 1106,
Columbus, Oh 43215. Gifts to this fund will
be used for a United ~e~odist African
mission project.
1///'/f f /
Royal Synwolt remembers June Ammons on behalf of the West Michigan
Conference, by lighting a candle during the Memorial Service on Wednesday evening.
7/-f'/lt!f/
BISHOP EDSEL A. AMMONS,
bishop-in-residence at GarrettEvangelical Theological Seminary, and HELEN FANNINGS
were married on Jan . 2 in Chicago. Helen, a veteran member
of UM general-church agencies,
is director of student life at the
seminary. Bishop Ammons served on its faculty before his election to the episcopacy in 1976.
His first wife, June, died in 1991 .
They served the Michigan Area
from 1976 to 1984.
Conversation with Bishop Ammons .......... · P13
" I still ch erish the opportunity to challeng~ the u~c~min~
pastors ... as they are ready to step forward mto ... mm1stry.
- B ishop Ammons
•
Former Michigan Area Bishop, Edsel Ammons, (r) greets members of the West Michigan Conference. With him is his wife, Helen.
(See interview below.)- mca phorofCarhy Rafferty
•
A quick conversation
with Bishop Atntnons
WAYNE
G.
REECE
MCA correspondent
•
Bish op Edsel A. Ammons,
who ser ved as bishop of the
Michigan Area from 1976-84,
pre ached at the Ord!na~ion
Service of the West M1ch1gan
Conference on Thursday evening, June 13. H e e~titled his
sermon " Clothed m Innocence."
As a side highlight of Bishop
Ammons' visit to our Conference, the Advocate had a
chance to get updated on some
aspects of the life and ministry
of our former bishop.
MCA: You were scheduled to be with us last year
as the Conference Preacher, but did not come. Why?
.Ammons: After several
res I found I was in need of
sCa )
. h
d
heart surgery, wh1c happene
just a few weeks before your
C onference last y~ar. But I am
strong and vigorous now,
very
d
.
d
1
look forwar
to my time
an
.
with you agam.
MCA: What are you currently doing?
Ammons: They call me
"Bishop-in-Residence" at Garrett-Evangelical School ofTheology. I am not teaching any,
and I'm writing a little. But I
am helping in developing the
school's Mission Statement,
and working with the facuJty in
d efining curriculum needed
for those in training for the
ministry.
MCA: What do you think
about as you prepare each
time for an Ordination Service?
Ammons: During my 16
years as bishop and occasionally since then, I try to challenge
every ordinand with " the mystery of the call," asking them to
consider what it means to b e
committed to live a life of ministry full-time. M y con cern is
that som e people's understanding of " the call" is different than it should b e. It n eeds
to be grounded in faith, in
trust.
MCA: What are some of
the different pressures
· today's ordinands face as
they enter ministry now?
Ammons: One thing is that
they must realize that numbers
are critical but numbers are
not foundational. Wo'r~ying
about numbers, concentrating
on numb e r s can impede
growth.
Also, there is a growing cynicism about the church, among
both clergy and laity. They are
quick to lift up the n egative
aspects of the institutional
church, speaking disparagingly
about " the bureaucrats."
Another concern I have is
that there is a strange kind of
spiritualism emerging among
people, including the clergy. In
many respects, this spiritualism is divested of spiritual
qualities. Some people believe
that " God has put me in this
situation and God will get me
out."
MCA:
What
about
changes in worship styles
and needs?
Ammons: We don't really
understand the differences
between "praise services" and
"worship services." In some of
both the former and the latter
there is only a kind of entertainment and noise. In those
services, in those songs, we
often lose the challenge of the
gospel. We exchange the essential for the trivial.
One thing we must remember: God is all that we must
worship. Through our worsh ip
we must nurture and develop
the p eople of G od. We must try
to transform them from "h ostility to hospitality."
MCA: How
important
are ritual and tradition?
Ammons: They both put
us in touch witl1 our heritage.
Withou t a sense of history, we
1.-_......- -!--1---._.c_---1,.._ __ ~ ........._-..... .
~-t
sh e also h as b een and still is
the Director of Student Life
for Gar rett-Evangelical.
t
MY
MEMBERSHIP
vows
Bishop Edsel A. Ammons
Discipleship Resources
Nash ville
W hen we become members of The United Methodist Church, the pastor asks us several questions.
The final question is, "Will you be loyal to The United
Methodist Church, and uphold it by your prayers,
your presence, your gifts, and your service?" Here
Bishop Edsel A. Ammons helps us understand what
it means when we say, "/ will," to this question.
It is suggested that you study just one section of
this booklet at a time. For each, pause to consider
the meaning of your pledge and how you intend to
carry it out.
MY MEMBERSHIP VOWS. Copyright © 1984 by Discipleship
Re5ources. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of
America. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner
whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief
qUotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information addre'ss Oisdpleship Resources, P. 0 . Box 840, Nashville, TN
37202.
M269K
iii
"The Church is of God, and will be preserved to
the end of time.... All, of every age and station,
stand in need of the means of grace which it alone
supplies." These familiar words from the Order for
Confirmation and Reception into the Church constitute the strong testimony of each generation of
Christians. They echo the sense of assurance which
has held the disciples of Jesus steady and confident
in times of change and uncertainty.
The liturgical statement makes two important
claims. First, the community which we know as the
church exists because of God's initiative and is not
the invention of human ingenuity and technique.
Second, the Christian church is the source of varied
and needed benefits which bless the whole of life.
Old and New Testaments declare that the church
began as an act of God. Such action is described
as "covenant-making" -the establishment of a
unique and binding relationship between the Creator and the created. The intention of Exodus 6 and
Jeremiah 13 is unavoidable. "I am the Lord.... I will
redeem you with arms outstretched and with mighty
acts of judgment. I will adopt you as my people, and I
will become your God. You shall know that I, the
Lord, am your God" (NEB). And, of course, the Gospels a nd the Epistles make clear references to Jesus
as the sign of the New Covenant. His life a nd ministry became for Matthew, Paul, and the author of
Hebrews evidence that the relationship between
God and Israel, which was begun by God, continues,
through Christ, between God and the church. "The
1
days are coming, says the Lord, when I will [make] a
new covenant with [them]. It will not be the covenant
I made with their [forebears]." The community of
faith called the church owes its origin and presence
through history to the benevolent will and power of
God.
The second important fact is that our human
community is in need of the special attributesessentially spiritual - of which the church is custodian. It is a responsibility of the church to speak and
act in ways that invite everyone to share the benefits
and blessings that are given us by God through the
church. The effort to do that is called evangelism.
The decision to participate in a period of membership training suggests that the efforts of the congregation in evangelism have been effective, at least
for those persons who have determined that they
need the grace and blessings which the church
"alone provides."
The act of joining the church, then, implies more
than may at first seem apparent. It is more than
acknowledgment of the desire for organizational
affiliation, albeit religious affiliation. It is public confession, in fact, of a deeply personal decision to
worship God, who, through Jesus Christ, has given
existence and transforming spirit to the community
called Christian. And it is expression of unashamed
yearning for personal enrichment and renewal with
which the church blesses each disciple of Jesus.
This is what makes the pledge to membership the
special act of grace that it is. And this is why each
new member is willing to affirm, "I will uphold the
church by my prayers, my presence, my gifts, and
my service."
2
I Will Uphold the Church . . . by
My Prayers
It should surprise no one that Christians are urged
to pray. The model for the church is Jesus himself.
He exemplifies an attitude toward prayer which
leaves no doubt concerning its place of importance.
His own personal prayer life is remarkably in evidence across the years of decisive experience. The
"Lord's Prayer" is, of course, a reminder to the
church of Jesus' high regard for prayer and for
the manner of effective prayer.
Nor can we forget Paul's instructive words in
1 Thessalonians (5:16-18): "Rejoice always, pray
constantly, give thanks in all circumstances" (Rsv).
Paul's counsel sounds much the same as something
which John Wesley wrote in his "Character of a
Methodist": "For indeed he 'prays without ceasing.'
It is given him 'always to pray and not to faint.' Not
that he is always in the house of prayer ... neither is
he always on his knees ... or on his face before the
Lord his God. But his heart is ever lifted up to God,
at all times and in all places." Prayer is the desire of
the faithful for a closer walk with God, for communication with the Holy, for openness of mind and
heart to the Source of life and health and peace.
The pledge to uphold the church with prayer is a
commitment to the practice of intercessory prayer.
This is prayer in behalf of others. It is a common
practice, but many who do it are not convinced of
its effectiveness. Much of Christian faith centers
here, and Christian living, in general, would suffer if
prayers for others were omitted.
3
One thing is certain: J esus prayed for others as
simply and as naturally as he prayed for himself. All
through the Bible intercessory prayer is assumed.
And a large part of the prayers of the church that
have come to us through the centuries of Christian
tradition are intercessory in nature. It is natural for
Christians to want to include prayers for others
along with personal petitions. We feel that it is at
least selfish, if not unChristian, to pray only for
ourselves. Unless overwhelmed by doubts of
prayer's validity, the most fitting and necessary
thing to lift before God is our concern for other
persons we most value . In God's world, human
beings affect one another. Intercession acknowledges this belief that spiritual connections are still
open.
What happens in intercessory prayer cannot be
fully known or verified. Its efficacy is, finally, a matter of faith and experience and fore ver beyond
rational enquiry or scientific proof. However, if one
accepts the assumption that God is real and that
there are spiritual forces in the universe which transcend but do not violate creation's natural order, the
way is then open for its possibility.
It may be difficult for some of us to imagine that
our prayer life would ma ke any difference at all in
what the church is and does. We may have serious
doubts, in fact, about the adequacy of our prayer
habits for our own personal journey in fa ith. Still,
there is good reason to believe that support of the
church is influenced, even determined, by the practice of prayer on the part of church members.
The language of Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians is revealing. In the context of instructions
given regarding the conduct or behavior of church
4
members, he urges them to "pray without ceasing"
(KJV) or to "never stop prayer, giving thanks in all
circumstances" (NEB). Then there follow words that
serve to explain the reason for the Apostle's counsel:
"Do not stifle inspiration," that is, do not prevent the
Spirit's formation of your life into that which is
whole, created, and trustworthy. Prayer, then, is a
means of personal formation. When done regularly
or as part of a disciplined devotional exercise, prayer
refines our often feeble commitments and strengthens our dedication to lofty and worthy objectives. It
is hard, if not impossible, for people who pray regularly to be lukewarm toward things they value
highly.
The application is clear. Church m embers having
a disciplined prayer life are most likely to be strong
and determined in their regard for the church, regular in their participation in the ministry of the congregation, and steady in support of what is good and
in need of their support. Prayer nurtures and enables
church members to offer themselves to God and to
the congregation as "living sacrifices, dedicated and
fit for acceptance, as good stewardship determines
that they must do" (Rom. 2:1). What prayer offers in
personal benefits to the one who prays eventually
benefits the e ntire church through the enriched life
and devotion of the person. The pledge to "uphold
the church by my prayers" is a pledge which the
regular exercise of prayer makes possible and sustains.
To pledge to uphold the church by our prayers has
a n even larger meaning related to but extending
beyond the act of prayer itself. It has to do as much
with attitude or awareness as with the words of
prayer. Again, we remember the words of John
5
Wesley in his "Character of a Methodist": "This is
true prayer.... his heart is ever lifted up to God, at
all times, in all places. In this he is never hindered,
much less interrupted by any person or thing .. .
whether he lie down or rise up, God is in all his
thoughts; he walks with God continually, having the
loving eye of his mind still fixed upon Him."
Constancy in prayer, according to Paul and John
Wesley, does more than generate a desirable practice or habit. It refashions one's being. Because "the
loving eye of the mind" sees the One who is invisible,
life is perceived differently and always in relation to
God. In other words, the one who prays lives in an
environment that is enriched and illumined by the
conscious awareness of God's presence at all times.
It is the consciousness of which the psalmist speaks
in Psalm 139:
0 Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.
Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising,
Thou understandest my thought afar off. . . .
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain unto it.
Whither shall I go from thy spirit?
Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there:
If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. . ..
The darkness hideth. not from thee ....
The darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
For thou hast possessed my reins ....
I will praise thee; ... marvellous are thy works.
Everyone who is blessed with such awareness of
God upholds the church by his or her redeemed
character and discipleship, "in retirement or company, in leisure, business, or conversation" (John
Wesley). Every thought and deed is eloquent testimony ofthe church's gospel and honors the church's
life and witness in the world.
Up to this point we have considered the effects of
prayer on those who pray and, through them, on the
church. To conclude this segment of the membership vow, we shall examine briefly some ways in
which we may pray. Earlier it was said that intercessory prayer is natural and common to the life and
membership of the church. No one disputes this
fact. What remains unsettled is the question concerning how to incorporate those prayers into the
routine of each day. Practices are many and varied.
But the following are suggestions that may be workable for you.
Personal prayer calendars
This is something that can be done with a minimum of effort. It involves the development of a list of
names of persons and conditions for which we intend
to pray. It is advisable to keep the prayer calendar
limited to a few names and situations most in need of
prayer at any one time and to give full attention to
them. When we determine that our praying has been
sufficiently thorough and directed, a new list or calendar can be developed and a new routine begun.
(KJV)
6
7
Prayer timetable
I Will Uphold the C h urch ... by
My Presence
The word routine suggests that the habit of prayer
is not to be lightly regarded. The one who prays and
the church itself are blessed by the inclusion of
personal intercessory moments into the schedule of
each day. Such prayer ought to be as natural as
breathing. Place and posture are not limiting factors. The desires of the heart given expression at any
time .(even silent expression) are known by the One
"from whom no secrets are hid."
Prayer circles
Jesus' prayer model, the "Lord's Prayer," reveals
to us the corporate character of prayer. Even in our
private moments prayer is never a safely private
matter. We are taught to say, "Our Father." Participation in a prayer circle affords opportunity to
grow in understanding of the social nature of this
most personal Christian exercise. It is the setting in
which the vow to "uphold the church by our
prayers" comes to clear focus and to significant
maturity.
8
T he church is a voluntary association. Entry into
the church is on the basis of a decision personally
made, prayerfully considered, and ultimately confirmed by the taking of vows of membership which
are only as binding as our own faith determines
them to be. This fact about the church is not to be
denied. Indeed, we would not wish it to be otherwise.
United Methodist membership cannot be imposed
by any state or by custom or tra dition in disregard
for personal judgment or decision. Joining the
church is an act of willful and grateful response to
the prior activity of God, whose care of us is revealed
through the life of Jesus Christ and the ministries of
the church. This is what makes disciples of us (Matthew 29) and leads us to the taking of membership
vows.
The pledge of membership acknowledges a decision personally made. However, it is also a decision
uniquely binding. Although entered into voluntarily,
membership implies commitment, a pledge of
fidelity, and devotion that is reliable and constant.
This needs to be emphasized as we consider the vow
to "uphold the church by our presence."
The obvious and most commonly accepted
meaning of this vow is that the new member will
be regularly in attendance at worship and at
other congregational events. It is a thoroughly
reliable assumpt ion that the quality of personal
faith and regard for the church are in direct relationship to such participation. The exception, of
course, are those who are "shut-ins" as a result of
9
problems related to age or health or employment
schedules.
Church attendance has, in fact, become a concern of increasing importa nce. More than church
membership statistics, the record of congregational
attendance is a reliable m easure of the vitality a nd
strength of a church. Denominational leaders have
generally agreed that institutional dec isions-pastoral appointments, building plans, and budgeting
cons iderations-are heavily influenced by the rate
of church attendance.
But the pledge to be regular in attenda nce a nd
participation in the life of the congregation implies
even more. Paul makes much of t he obligation of
each Christian to grow toward the maturity of
huma nity which is "of the stature of Christ," so that
"we are no longer ... children at the mercy of every
chance wind of teaching and the jockeying of those
who are expert in the crafty presentation of lies....
We a re meant to hold firmly to the truth in love a nd
to grow up in every way into Christ, the head. For it
is from the head that the whole body . . . knit
together . . . grows by the proper functioning of
individua l parts to its full maturity in love" (Eph.
4:13-16, JBP).
Christian disciples, according to Paul, are to
grow toward maturity in Christ. This is our mandate. But such growth is impossible for separated
or isolated believers. It happens within the community, the church, as the community itself moves
toward such maturity. This is what disciplined
church attendance makes possible. It is essentia l to
grow toward a discipleship having integrity a nd
meaning a nd reach beyond the member's own private and personal aspirations.
10
Paul's words to Christians at Ephesus include
a nother familiar expression which serves to explain
the nurturing value of steady church attendance. In
company with others in the church, we are
"equipped," prepared, made ready for the work of
ministry (Eph. 4:12). Everything about the congregation- its vision a nd spirit, its resources and
its skills-contributes to the preparation and
enablement of members a nd, consequently, to the
building up or support of the whole Body. To pledge
to uphold the church by our presence is, therefore,
a commitment to a process as well as to a place. It
includes the promise to share in the work of ministry of a single congregation and the expectation
that we will mature in faith and in the use of
resources which make t he work of the congregation
possible a nd dependable.
"Christian presence" has yet a nother meaning,
which we sometimes overlook. It has to do with our
disposition toward persons a nd conditions in the
world beyond the congregation. We acknowledge
our love of the church a nd our support of its goals of
ministry by our efforts in beh alf of the poor a nd
oppressed a nd heavy-laden. In this sense, presence
means being identified with those who suffer. It
means declaring our solidarity as Christians with
the dispossessed a nd despairing, with a ll who live
da ily in fear and in loneliness.
When the Church of England turned its back on
John Wesley, he spoke the words that a re well
known to a ll United Methodist people: "The world
is my parish." His declaration of presence with
hurting and needy people was his strong assertion
of s upport of the church and of the ministry of the
church of Jesus Christ. The pledge, "I will uphold
11
the church with my presence," expresses a willingness to live and grow a nd serve with the congregation of choice, to be sure. But it also obligates us to
reach beyond congregational bounda ries in order to
live our discipleship faithfully and compassionately
in places far removed from the congregation to
which we belong.
These several expressions of "presence" witness
to the global nature of Christian discipleship, about
which more will be said later. They declare the
gospel of Jesus Christ to be the power that renews
and redeems to the utmost. The resolve to "uphold
the church by my presence" puts us on record as
desiring to be instruments of that power for the
sake of the church in the neighborhood or for the
sake of the nation in search of its soul.
12
I Will Uphold the Church .. . by My Gifts
i
'f
D iscussions about money in the church are
almost predicta bly stressful and frequently divisive.
In most congregations, the annual campaign to
underwrite the budget of the church is viewed a s an
unavoidable chore. Large sums of money may be
paid to professional fund-raisers, in part because
"an outsider seems to h ave more success in achieving results." It is also widely known that many
pastors studiously avoid preaching on the subject
any more than is required. Reluctance to face the
issue of giving as a matter of faith a nd stewardship-the same a~, applies to other important
issues in the life ofthe church-has led to reliance
on gimmicks that raise dollars but not consciousness of the meaning of generosity and Christian
charity.
No a spect of Christia n congregational life has
produced more humorous stories tha n the efforts
to ra ise money. Everything from chicken dinners
to automobile raffles are included as churchsponsored activities to "get people to do what they
won't do otherwise." The humor suggests awareness (unacknowledged, of course) that such gimmickry exploits the delinquencies a nd base motives
of church folk and contributes little to a maturing
commitment to the gift of money in support of
Christian ministry.
Jesus directed much of his teaching to attitudes
toward money and wealth. Watching his ministry
unfold a nd listening to his words leave no doubt
that he looked upon the proper regard for money as
13
basic to a uthentic discipleship. He warned against
the corrosive effects of the desire to have and to
hoard great amounts of money. "It is easier for a
camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a
rich man to enter the kingdom of God" (Matt.
19:24, Rsv). We can be sure that this is neith er a
condemnation of wealth as such nor a judgment
that a person having money will be denied God's
fina l blessing. It is, indeed, a warning that our good
intentions may not be enough to keep faith in God
the priority of highest devotion or to prevent our
surrender to the seductive powers of that which we
thought we owned but which may have come to
own us.
A similar warning is implied in J esus' moving
encounter with the rich young nobleman: "Give
away the wealth that has captured your affection
and become a roadblock and a hindrance to your
faith a nd follow me" (paraphrase, Luke 18:18-22).
Again, Jesus' a dmonition and invitation had little to
do with a young man's social status but everything
to do with his misplaced fidelities and values. And
ultimately the young man's enslavement to his
money prevailed a nd led to his despair.
Contemporary Christia ns, like the rich nobleman, struggle to decide how they will respond to
the conflict between dolla rs and discipleship. It is a
struggle compounded most simply by the money
orientation of our culture. The nation has for a long
t ime associated the accumulation of wealth with
personal virtue and moral righteousness. It has
been thought to be a sign of God's approva l and
special benevolence toward those to whom much
has been given. And it has mattered little how t hey
may have come into their wealth.
14
This attitude has continued to this day, reinforced by another strongly held belief that money is
personal property and, therefore, an entirely private
matter. Any raising of the issue to challenge or
question these assumptions has been met, in many
cases, with sharp criticism a nd very direct
resistance. It is not hard to understand why some
church leaders are less than eager to talk about
money a~d how it relates to congregationa l management a nd ministry.
Almost as pervasive as the myth of money as a
private property matter, is the belief that money is
by nature worldly a nd materia l a nd that it deserves
only minima l consideration in the church where
the concerns are spiritual only. Bills and salaries
a nd other financial obligations must be discussed
as a ny corporate body would consider such obliga t ions. But having gotten these matters out of the
way, the congregation should tend to its real task of
"saving souls."
This attitude is, of course, unbiblical. As stated
earlier, Jesus made money a central issue in C hristian discipleship. Any attempt to make it a
peripheral issue in the life of the church is more
Greek than Christian in point of view. Greek
mythology separated human life into categories of
body and spirit and separated nature itself into the
material and the non-material. This myth insists
that evil resides in the bodily and the materia l,
while good locates in t he spiritual and the nonmaterial. This a ncient dichotomy still remains as
an influence in the church. And it is current in the
thinking of those who argue that money is not
deserving of a major emphasis in the life of the
church.
15
The person who pledges t o "uphold the church
by my gifts" will want to remember that money to
the Christian is always more than private property
and more than a worldly and unspiritual intrusion
into the proper business of the congregation. A
mature and positive commitment to giving happens
when we think of money in a broader context. If
money is thought to be foreign to t he spiritual
nature of the church, a nd if the focus is narrow and
concentrated on ownership, we will be inclined to
selfishness and t o giving that is grudging and meager. But if horizons of t he faith a re expanded a nd we
can think of ourselves as debtors (rather than
owners) to whom muc h has been entrusted for the
sake of ministry as Christian disciples, we will be
inclined, in gratitude, to a ha bit of giving that is
generous and joyous.
The key word here is gratitude. It transforms
grudging into generosity and possessiveness into
sharing. A grateful heart judges good fortune and
material well-being as having little to do with persona l virtue or unsullied persona l morality-and
everything to do with the mercy and grace of God
for which we give tha nks and money in support of
t he ministry of the church.
The notion of ourselves as debtors and the shift of
emphasis from owners to users or trustees are
essentia l to a healthy view of Christian responsibility for the s upport of the church by our gifts. What
has been said before deserves repeating: the church
is a voluntary association. At every level it is made
up of people who have self-consciously c hosen to
be a part of its community. Joe Walker's words are
helpful: "Even t he sense of duty to Gra ndma who
lives down the street is disappearing in a n
16
increasingly transient society. S ocial pressure from
neighbors a nd friends is diminishing as it becomes
socially acceptable not to have closer ties to the
church. Those who are part of the church have
exercised a very real option - t hey have volunteered. Duty and obligation are being replaced by
free choice and love" (Money in the Church,
pp. 54-55).
Mr. Walker's insights a re cogent but incomplete.
We might a dd that wherever free choice and love
are based upon a strong sense of stewardship or
trusteeship, giving does become an obligation
which, though not imposed, is free ly a ccepted. And
where stewardship prevails, giving becomes a duty
done in faith a nd not in fear of external coercion.
The pledge to support the church "with my gifts"
is not a "necessary evil" tacked onto the sacred
business of joining the church. Nor is it fitting for
the pastor and for other leaders and members of
the congregation to avoid a very direct and earnest
consideration of the importance of money in the
church. S uch avoidance cannot happen when the
pledge to support the church with our money is
seen as an essentia l and tangible expression of our
grateful response to what God has given to us in
J esus Christ, when money is regarded as a means
of serving God and neighbor as well as paying the
church's bills. Again, money is not an evil the
church tolerates for the sake of "bottom-line" obligations. To be s ure, it is an instrument of C hristia n
stewardship which does help " pay the bills." But
money supports the church even more broadly a nd
meaningfully through the deeply personal commitments which giving discloses and t he widespread
ministries of service across the world.
17
The question that every church member must
answer is, "How much shall I give?" The answers
can and do vary. The majority of persons who join
the church feel a very genuine desire to support the
church generously a nd regularly. The most widely
advocated basis for answering the question of how
much to give is the tithe. There is some disagreement as to what constitutes a tithe (whether a
percentage of gross or of net incom e). But for those
who tithe, there is no disagreement regarding obligation and duty. (This is an interesting departure
from the sense of volunteerism concerning the
nature of the c hurch.) Inspired by Old Testament
tradition, this familiar approach serves as a useful
standard for at least minimal giving.
Another significant basis for setting our giving
goals is Jesus' New Testament parable of the
widow's mite (Mark 12:42). In one sense, the parable is a clearer statement of a principle that is only
implied in the practice of tithing. J esus' words,
"She in her poverty, who needs so much, has given
away everything, her whole living!" (JBP), suggests,
in strongest terms, that Christian giving is a uthentic when it is sacrificial-not when it is what we
can afford (as is true of some tithing), but when it is
in excess of what is affordable.
Further, what the widow demonstrated and Jesus
noted was that the giving of money and the amount
determined a re very much related to a larger view
of life which the church has identified with the
concept of stewardship. According to Jesus, the
"whole life" of the impoverished widow was offered
to God through the meager amount of money
which she was able to give. Thus, all of life belongs
to God. The giving of money not only supports the
18
church but it confesses to the belief that a ll of
creation is under the sovereignty of the Almighty.
This reordered attitude toward the meaning of
giving makes the pledge much more than a ceremonial gesture.
19
I Will Support the Church ... by
My Service
Women's work in the United Methodist
churches of the Philippines still carries the label,
"Women's Society of Christian Service." When
they are asked why they did not adopt the new
name at the time of the Methodist-Evangelical
United Brethren union in 1968, members state that
they wanted to maintain the emphasis on service by
retaining the old title.
The practical effects of the pledges of support of
the church all point in the same direction, namely,
toward an active discipleship, toward offering ourselves "as ~ living sacrifice, consecrated to [God]"
(Rom. 12:1). When we join the church, we begin a
journey having two foci-personal or spiritual formation, and our servant ministry in the world. The
entire service of reception into membership represents these discipleship concerns. But in a very
special way, the pledges of support through prayer,
presence, gifts, and service build to a convincing
crescendo from the deeply inward and personal to
the very outward and social, from the secret place
of the Most High to the public place of the most
earthly, from preparation to practice.
The story of United Methodism is the story of a
church committed to an evangelism that leads to
mission and service through those persons who
elect to become members of the church. This dual
expression of its life is most clearly stated in the
liturgy for the consecration of bishops. As the episcopal stole is placed upon the shoulders of the new
bishops, the words are spoken: "Come among us as
21
one who serves." It is expected that every United
Methodist member will grow into a discipleship
that pursues every opportunity for a life of service.
The words of J. Harry Haines are fitting: "Rooted
in John Wesley and the world into which he came,
Methodism emerged from Wesley's realization of
the needs of his times, from the way in which h e
was made aware of it, and from the way the message was conveyed in . . . mission and in social
concerns .... United Methodism in America, during its first two centuries . . . was a frontier religion,
moving westward ... with successive waves of settlers and immigrants. It offered stability in the
midst of transition and upheaval, faith that God
went with him and hope for the future. The spirit of
United Methodism was characterized by a zeal for
the salvation of sinners, the nurture and edification
of believers, and compassion for the powerless, the
oppressed and the dispossessed" (Committed
Locally, Living Globally, pp. 11-12). Dr. Haines
might have added that Methodist zeal and compassion have produced schools and colleges, hospitals
and homes, and have led to continuing efforts to
promote peace and to eliminate the evils of racism,
sexism, and a ll socially demeaning customs.
Its history of outreach a nd service has prompted
the charge that The United Methodist Church is
too inclined towa rd social activism, too political,
and not concerned enough about the nurture a nd
care of its own members and about spiritual matters in general. However, throughout its history,
United Methodism has given highest priority to
evangelism and to the care and enrichment of the
congregation-or, in Paul's familiar words, to the
"equipping of the saints" in the household of faith
22
(Eph. 4 :12). The vast amounts of its energies a nd
money are and have been invested in those services
that support the work done on its own behalf or to
sustain the internal life of the denomination.
Still, the criticism does have merit. Included in
the pledge to "uphold the church by my service" is
the promise to accept responsibility along with others for the planning and work of the congregation
as it endeavors to maintain and develop its own life
and resources. This, too, is a service obligation
without which the outreach a nd extension ministries long associated with The United Methodist
Church are not possible. Recent history has t a ught
an unmistakeable lesson, namely, that effectiveness
in service of the vast needs of the society requires
healthy and resourceful congregations as the base
of support for such ministries. New members will
want to discover as soon as they can where and
how to get involved in congregational planning for
the sake of the development of the whole ra nge of
options facing a Christian people who wish to be
faithful and fruitful disciples of Jesus Christ in the
world.
The phrase vital piety has long been used by
United Methodist Christians to explain what it is
that motivates their pledge to a discipleship that
responds to the love of God through services that
meet the needs of both the church and society.
Such vital piety is, in fact, the uniqueness of our
United Methodist tradition. At the root of it is t he
desire to "lead a [wholly] new life following the
commandments of God." In "The Character of a
Methodist," John Wesley explained that we are to
be known by the fruits of our actions which result
from vital piety. His concluding words are:
23
As he has time he "does good unto all men,"
unto neighbors and strangers, friends and
enemies; and that in every possible kind, not
only to the bodies by "feeding the hungry,
clothing the naked, visiting those that are sick
or in prison," but much more does he labor to
do good to their souls ... to awaken those that
sleep in death . .. that being justified by faith
they may have peace with God .. . and abound
more in love a nd in good works.
When we choose to become United Methodist
members, we willingly agree to do whatever is necessary to provide mutual care, guidance, comfort,
and encouragement of the congregation where our
membership is lodged. Also, we pledge to join with
the rest of the community of faith in search for
avenues to be of service to others wherever the
search leads. "Many of these activities will be
within the context of those developed and s upported primarily by United Methodists. But in
some, we will join other Christians in ecumenical
and cooperative settings to carry forward our witness and service" (Alan K. Waltz, Proclaiming the
Faith, p. 69). According to Dr. Waltz, United Methodist piety is vital because "it is invested in creative
activity which serves the spiritual needs of some
and the human needs of all. It is not a passive
piety" (p. 69).
"I will uphold the church by my service." By now
it should be clear that this vow is broadly inclusive.
The new member will be expected to participate in
the internal life and work of the congregation. This
will mean serving on one or more of several boards
or committees or special units that enable God's
24
household to do what it must in order to be a viable
congregation. Beyond that the vow has meaning
which keeps us conscious of the global nature of
our Christian discipleship and which prevents us
from ever concluding that our faith and ministry
are simply local matters.
John Wesley pointed to the global reach of Christian service in a series of questions and answers
which he wrote into the 1785 Discipline of the
Methodist Church. One of the questions asked was
"What may we reasonably believe to be God's
design in raising up the preachers called Methodists?" (The early conference was a conference of
preachers only.) The answer to the question reads:
"To reform the continent and the spread of scriptural holiness over these lands." The transformation of the continent and scriptural holiness are
essentially moral and ethical objectives implying
not only personal spiritual reform but also reform of
the social, economic, and political realms. Thus,
the member's pledge to "support the church by my
service" is not to be narrowly conceived. It is a
public confession of commitment to do what is
right in God's kingdom for both the individual and
the society.
This is a ministry which exceeds the capacity of
any single United Methodist member or congregation. However, United Methodists are a people "in
connection." We are a "connectional" denomination in which each of us is bound to others by a
common core of belief (variously interpreted) and a
common organizational network. It is the "connection" that gives United Methodism its unique character, strength, and resources to undertake a
marvelously diverse program of services. Because
25
we are connected, we "find the power, regardless of
the setting, to proclaim the faith, build the church,
and serve the world" (Waltz, p. 72). Membership in
a United Methodist congregation is membership in
a community of faith and service that is worldwide.
More important, joining a United Methodist congregation means being surrounded by a community
that will care for us, pray for us, stand by us, in
seasons of both joy and despair, and hold us steady.
It is a community inspired and empowered by its
vision of
A glorious band, the chosen few
On whom the Spirit came,
Twelve valiant saints, their hope they knew
And mocked the cross and flame;
They climbed the steep ascent of heaven
Through peril, toil, and pain;
0 God, to us may grace be given
To follow in their train!
(Reginald Heber, The Book of Hymns, No. 419)
"Will you be loyal to The United Methodist
Church and uphold it by your prayers, your presence, your gifts, and your service?"
"I WILL."
26
My Pledge of Loyalty to My Church
Iuphold
will be loyal to The United Methodist Church and
it by my prayers, my presence, my gifts, and
my service.
My
(
(
(
prayers
) I will develop a disciplined prayer life.
) I will pray daily for my church.
) 1 will pray for neighbors and for the state of
the world.
) I will use The Upper Room or a similar devotional resource.
My presence
( ) I will be regular in attendance at worship and
in the church school.
( ) I will participate in some small-group church
activity.
( ) 1 will let my conduct in the world express my
love for the church.
My gilts
( ) I will give a significant proportion of my
income for the support of the church.
) I will give something of myself every week for
the support of the church.
( ) 1 will resolve to think of God as sovereign and
owner of creation and of myself as steward
and debtor.
My service
( ) 1 will speak to others about Christ and the
church.
27
) I am willing to be used in some place of service in the church.
( ) I will take part in God's renewing work in my
community and the world.
) I will consider every area of life as a field of
service and witness.
28
Ammons, Edsel A.