Have You Heard?

By Conference Minister Diane Weible I spent Labor Day weekend with my daughters. One is a marine biologist and the other teaches intermediate school science. Both live in Hawaii. Much of our conversation was about how hot it’s been. We went to the ocean and even the ocean was warm. I don’t remember it being like that when I lived there. What I remember the most is that you could count on two things: cool trade wind breezes and cool ocean water, even in the heat of summer. I figured I had just been away from Hawaii too long and…

By Conference Minister Diane Weible A colleague recommended a book to me that I am currently reading. It’s called Learning to be White by Thandeka. I’m not very far into the book yet but I have already read two things I want to share. The first is an “aha” moment about the socialization of being white and the second is a challenge that I have accepted and want to invite others who are white to join me. The “aha” moment was when Thandeka told stories of several white individuals who recalled experiences from their childhood when they first realized they…

By Conference Minister Diane Weible We hear the news and we lament that there seems to be little we can do to address the issue of gun violence in our society. We scream and shake our fists at the TV every time a leader says that guns are not the problem, people are. Our voices are dry from telling people that we are not opposed to the 2nd Amendment, only to guns that are being used to kill in fairs and festivals and shopping centers that can shoot 100 rounds in a matter of seconds. If you are feeling helpless,…

By Conference Minister Diane Weible There is an image that has stayed in my mind for a while now and I return to it so often that I thought I would share it with you this week. I often speak about how important it is that we listen to another person’s story—not from our own perspective but deeply and carefully listen to another person’s story and seek to hear the way they experience reality. That’s really hard to do. I am relational by nature so when someone tells me their story, I want to connect with them and share a…

By Conference Minister Diane Weible Gilroy. El Paso. Dayton. It’s just too much. People spending their weekend at festivals or shopping gunned down with no apparent explanation. It’s senseless and, unfortunately, something that almost feels expected in this day and time. Instead of, “How can we stop this?” we are asking one another, “Where will it happen next?” I’m at a Companions on the Inner Way retreat this week as part of my yearly study leave and this morning, our keynote speaker, Dr. Wendy Farley, Author and Professor at San Francisco Theological Seminary, explored with us the life and writings…

By Conference Minister Diane Weible I read an interesting article in The New York Times article last month entitled, “No Easy Answers on Reparations”  by Adeel Hassan. It resonated with me as I have often thought about the issue of reparations and why it is important for us to talk about it and consider it. Hassan wrote the article because, although Americans have avoided the topic for many years, a series of public events have signaled that maybe we are ready to talk about it now. Hassan quoted a Ta-Nehisi Coates article that appeared in The Atlantic: “Mr. Coates and…

By Conference Minister: Diane Weible I have thoughts about forgiveness. One of those is a statement that I will go so far as to say is a fact. The other is something that is an important belief for me. The fact about forgiveness is that forgiveness is always the option of the person who has been harmed. It is never ok for someone to tell another person that they “should” forgive. A person who is harmed will forgive when they are ready to forgive. The belief that I have related to forgiveness is that forgiveness is really something that is…

Greetings from General Synod 32 in Milwaukee! As always, General Synod feels like a family reunion. It is a time to visit old friends and make new ones. Every year I realize how many people I meet at Synod who become wonderful friends and how many old friends I see who remain dear to me. This year’s Synod (as all Synods do) had moments that created deep reflection for me. One of those moments is what I want to share with you this day. One of our Conferences submitted a resolution about Exhibit Hall Space and whether certain groups that…