Minister & President-elect Jim Antal's Address to the Plenary of the 207th Annual Meeting

I have some prepared comments, but before I get to them I want to tell you something that happened last night.  And to set it up I want to tell you a story about Martin Luther King, Jr.  When he delivered his last sermon it was at the National Cathedral.  And he began by telling the story of Rip Van Winkle.  Everyone remembers that Rip Van Winkle slept for twenty years.  But most of us forget that when he walked up the mountain in order to go to sleep he passed by a poster that had the picture of King George III on it.  And then when he awoke and came down the mountain the face on that sign had changed to that of George Washington.  Rip Van Winkle had slept through a revolution. 

Now let me ask through a show of hands-  this is going to connect, just bear with me-  let me ask for a show of hands:  The ministers in the room, how many of you  have ever received a call late at night?  Yeah, you know what I’m talking about.  Thank you very much.  Well, in fact, last night at about 4:00 AM, the phone in my room at Willits-Hallowell rang- just long enough to bring me to consciousness, but when I picked it up, there was no one at the other end.  So I’m lying in my bed and wondering how to interpret this event.  And I thought of Martin Luther King’s reference to Rip Van Winkle, and I smiled.  Because I am sure that I will not be sleeping through an evolutionary or a revolutionary change that we are now in the midst of.  And my guess is, you won’t either. 

Now I want to begin by offering a word of gratitude, first to Jill and to the entire Search Committee, particularly for their fortitude.  They actually stood during all of their meetings.  It was-  everybody that has done an interview process knows how grueling it can be.  But after my first interview when I came back for a second one, I have to tell you how much I looked forward to it.  Because the interaction between and amongst us had been so rewarding for me.  I went home and told my wife all about it.  I had never felt that sense of spirit before in that context.  And it’s really a tribute to the Conference as well as to the members of the committee. 

I also want to thank the Board of Directors, and especially Nancy Lawrence.  Nancy, I was just so moved a few moments ago, and I only have a tiny sense of what you and your fellow Board members have done this past year.  You have paved the way for this Conference to truly fulfill God’s call, and we are all in your debt. Thank you very much. 

You know it’s great that this is an appreciative group, because you have a lot to appreciate here in Massachusetts.  And finally, I want to say a word of appreciation and thanksgiving for your Conference staff.  And I’d like anybody who’s on Conference staff to please stand.  I can’t name you all now, but please, please stand.  Thank you.  While facing enormous challenges, they have graciously welcomed me with enthusiasm and with support. 

And let me add an additional tribute to the staff and Conference as a whole.  Last week I went to downtown Cleveland at the national setting and I had breakfast with a clergy-couple friend of mine. We’ve known one another since seminary and I think their church is a candidate for one of the most vital churches in our United Church of Christ denomination.  At one point our conversation turned to the notion of resources and they said to me, “Jim, the materials produced by the Mass. Conference are the best materials anywhere in the UCC, and on just about any subject.”  And I think that’s a fine tribute to the staff and to your Conference leaders. 

I want also to acknowledge the grief that many are feeling about the recent changes in the Conference.  Many of you have faithfully devoted endless hours sharing your views and listening carefully to the views of others.  In this painful process, many have shown courage, many have engaged in dialogue, many have prayed, seeking God’s guidance.  I will say more about grief and change in my sermon tonight.  But right now, in prayerful anticipation of this new call, I want to share with you some of the challenges that I see when I look out at the fields that we are ministering to together. 

I see a world where millions live in poverty, suffering from hunger and disease; a world brought closer together by digital communication, yet whose citizens are increasingly fearful of other cultures.  A world threatened by global warming, terrorism and weapons of mass destruction.

I see a nation where the gap between the rich and the poor grows ever wider; a nation where millions live without adequate health care and where public school and day care centers are undervalued. 

I see a state with a long and noble history of being in the forefront of movements for democracy and inclusion; a state with a strong religious heritage, where many faiths have flourished, but where discord persists. 

I see a church with a proud past now struggling to find its role in an increasingly secular society; a church that respects the division between church and state but believes that Christians should be guided by conscience, and that government should be morally accountable; a church that is on the road to greater vitality, even though it may not know where the next turn on that road leads. 

The challenges we face can feel overwhelming, but we take courage because we do not labor alone.  We have each other, we have the church, we have people of good will the world over, and we have our God to fill our hearts with hope and give us the strength we need.  Because Jesus’ life was immersed in similar tensions, we can look to his words to guide us. 

Listen to what Jesus says:  This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  Not my will, but yours be done.  Feed my sheep.  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.  If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  So the last will be first, and the first will be last.  Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing. 

These are hard sayings, and they always have been.  There’s no clear-cut way to translate them into the twenty-first century, but what is clear is that they tell the truth.  And only by honestly sharing our hopes and hour fears and our longings can we move forward.  And we can only move forward together, remembering that with God, all things are possible. 

Now, I want to say two more things.  Many of you have asked whether my family is here, and if they’re not here, why not?  Let me explain that, so that you don’t have to ask it of me.  My wife, Cindy and our younger son, Mark, who is just finishing his junior year in high school are on their way to Baltimore.  Mark won a regional and then a state-wide competition for National History Day and he’s now entered in the national competition.  The only reason I tell you that- of course I’m a proud father-  but the only reason I tell you that is because without any influence from his dad, he chose to write this paper on Dietrich Bonhoeffer.   Isn’t that something?  So I’m very proud of that (and it’s a terrific paper, too!) 

Then I wanted to tell you just something about my congregation and, you know, I could go on and on and on about my congregation, but I want to tell you sort of a beginning and ending story about my congregation, so that you have a sense of- Jill talked about me being a transformational leader- we’ll discover that together- but in terms of the journey of transformation that my congregation went through, it’s really something. 

When I was reviewing their profile eleven and a half years ago, in the profile were these explicit words:  “While we have had several adult education discussions on the issue of homosexuality in the church, it is inconceivable that this congregation would ever take a vote on that matter.”  Nine years later, after I arrived there, as a consequence in the two years leading up to a vote, a consequence of members of that very same church, willing to sit in front of a couple of hundred of their friends and talk about their family, talk about themselves, talk about ways in which church had been the worst possible place for either members of their families or themselves, this witness, this testimony transformed my congregation so that in February, a year ago, they voted 159 to 13 to become an Open and Affirming congregation. 

You know, I don’t know if applause for institutions are ever appropriate, but applause for human beings are, and Sid Fowler, who is one of our keynote presenters at this conference, was a member of my church, I’m proud to say, and he was a primary participant in that testifying process, and we owe him and several dozen members of my congregation that applause that you just offered.