The holiday season is here: Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas. Many people are traveling from one corner of the country to another. Many times, this creates stress and anxiety. People get so worried preparing for the holidays. Instead of a time to be and connect with one another, Christmastime becomes a busy time.

The General Council Of Religion and Race (GCORR) perceives we are living in a similar situation across our denomination, and I see this too. This is because multiple conferences are in the process of disaffiliation. Others are trying to forecast what will happen at General Conference, Jurisdictional Conference, and Annual Conference. Many local churches are figuring out the new normal. We are letting ourselves be consumed by speculations and uncertainty. This is multiplying among pastors or congregations with cross-cultural appointments. I am glad GCORR put Facing the Future 2023 together. I enjoyed this meeting as it offered multiple opportunities to Being, Belonging and Becoming. 

I arrived early in the morning on November 14 to Atlanta International Airport. I connected with diverse pastors from other conferences. The GCORR did not offer transportation, but a few pastors created a chat to connect with others before the event. We carpooled and shared some lunch together to get to know one another. We shared bread and personal stories. I learned that one pastor from Haiti was creating an inner-city hub for a gentrified neighborhood. They are hosting multiple services for poor and affluent people to connect and belong. Another pastor from Korea was serving a two-point charge appointment—one church is an African American and Latino church, the second is an Anglo/predominantly white church. She shared her experience growing up in Los Angeles during the Rodney King riots. Her family had a business that was destroyed by an angry mob. They lost everything, but through a long process of healing she is now serving a community who loves her and supports her ministry. It was not easy, but she continues making time to listen and learn.  

Another opportunity the participants of the event had was to have Rev. Dr. Kendrick Weaver lead us in a scripture exegesis and a creative devotional to add to our toolbox. He shared with us the meaning of the Hebrew word “Hinneni,” which means “Here I am,” or “I am,” an acknowledgment that you are somebody worthy and someone important is calling your attention. We explored the difference between “Hinne,” “Hinneni,” and “Hinnenu.” He used multiple biblical passages as an example. The passage we studied thoroughly was 1 Samuel 3:2-9, focusing on verse 9. He explained that Samuel’s “hinneni” is in verse 9 only and it is not passive; it is an active verb. He used a practical illustration to ensure we understood this better. He said, “we cannot answer a phone call unless we pick up the phone, press talk, and engage in the conversation.” According to Dr. Weaver, the story of Samuel in a way represents our call. God never stops calling us because we are worthy to Him, but we sometimes misplace our listening. Rather than making space to listen to God’s voice, we misplace our Hinneni in other people, in what we do, or in validation that we seek from others in ministry. Dr. Weaver drilled the importance of placing our “Hinneni” into God and God alone: He loves us because “We are,” and we don’t have to do anything else. We do not have to perform or produce anything to be called and loved by God. Then, Dr. Weaver led us on a creative way to use what we have learned as a spiritual practice. First, he taught us how to handwrite the word, in Hebrew, and while we wrote, we repeated the word, focusing on the word more than just the calligraphy. Dr. Weaver asked us to draw the image that came to our minds. The second practice was meditation, using it as a mantra or chanting the word. It was a meaningful time because all participants experienced the importance of being present—a critical part of being and listening for God and one another—according to Dr. Weaver.

During the three days we had time to play network Bingo, share conversations during meals, participate in different workshops, and worship together in various languages and musical styles. It was a gathering to celebrate diversity, uplift the gifts of everyone and gave us a glimpse of what it could be when everyone does Belong and Become. A small group of pastors and lay people from Rio Texas had the opportunity to connect with pastors from all over the country. I give thanks to God for the opportunity to attend the event. I give a high-five to the team who prayerfully put the event together, and I celebrate every person I met during this time. It has been a reminder of the importance of being, listening, and being present to be faithful to God’s call that has been placed in my life and to celebrate the call of every person I encounter.