There used to be a late-night Saturday show here in Seattle called “Almost Live.” It included a segment called “The John Report.” It always began with a fellow who said, “Welcome to the John Report. I’m John, and this is my report.” Well, welcome to the Meighan report. I’m Meighan, and this is my report. You may recall that last weekend I was away at the Pacific Northwest Conference Annual Meeting in Yakima. Today I want to share with you some of the highlights of that meeting, focusing in particular on a workshop I attended, the keynote speaker, and some new congregations that were officially welcomed into the conference.
We come to this church on Sundays and we have certain expectations of how church will be. We will sit in our favorite pew, we will see people we know, the worship service will unfold in a familiar format, and so on. So once in a while it’s good to see what church is doing in other parts of the conference.
The theme of the Annual Meeting was “creating sacred space,” and the scripture reading we lifted up at every gathering was the passage from Luke that we read a few moments ago about welcoming everyone to the table, including those who cannot return the favor.
Friday was full of that start-of-gathering energy. People were arriving, checking in at the registration desk, setting up their display tables, getting their nametags, figuring out where their workshops were being held. It’s so good to be back to meeting in person and seeing people over meals, for hallway discussions—just to connect.
I went to a workshop called “Building Capacity, Learning by Doing: Active Antiracism Efforts YOU Funded!” I was interested in this for two reasons. First, antiracism has been an ongoing conversation at recent annual meetings, and it’s sometimes been in-your-face uncomfortable, especially for those of us who are white. It is easy to learn how to talk the talk, much more complex to walk the walk of antiracism. It’s a lifelong learning process. So I wanted to see what I could learn at this workshop. The second reason I was interested in this workshop is that our Social and Environmental Justice Book Group has read multiple books about racism in America and how to be an antiracist, but reading books is just the beginning. I wanted to see how other congregations were taking the next step.
A few years ago, as a result of some of these uncomfortable conversations, the Pacific Northwest Conference set up a fund to provide grants to congregations that wanted to take on specific antiracism efforts. One church that received some grant money was Alki UCC in West Seattle. They are working on multiple fronts: trying to become a more immigrant-welcoming congregation, engaging in an antiracist Bible study following a curriculum, and partnering with a synagogue that meets in their building to do work on dismantling anti-Semitism. They hosted a documentary film night, provided hands-on support of Peruvian immigrants, created worship that picked up on the antiracist Bible study, and had after-worship study sessions. Their Black Lives Matter banners kept getting torn down; they used some of their grant funds to replace them.
The church on Guemes Island also received antiracism grant money. It wanted to engage the entire island community by providing a one-week summer camp on the Indigenous history of the island. What they discovered is that they needed to develop a relationship with the Indigenous folks there first—they were putting the cart before the horse. But they learned from that experience about how to do it better next time.
Sunnyside UCC, outside Wenatchee, used their grant money for an ambitious project. They read a book by Sarah Augustine called The Land Is Not Empty: Following Jesus in Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery. You may recall that the Doctrine of Discovery is based on Papal Bulls from the 15th century saying that any European explorer who “discovered” other lands inhabited by non-Christians could claim those lands and treat the inhabitants as less than human. The Doctrine of Discovery justified colonization all over the world, including here in the U.S. So this book that Sunnyside UCC read talks about the devastating effect of white settlement on Indigenous-occupied lands. Sunnyside then invited the author, Sarah Augustine, to come and engage with them on how to decolonize Christianity. She taught them about power analysis, transforming guilt into active resistance, and organizing for repair. The pastor said that this work has to move at the speed of trust, so it’s all about relationship building. The congregation has since connected with the Indigenous Rights and Reparation Foundation and P’squouse River Connections organization to continue the work of cultivating justice.
So that was one workshop on Friday afternoon, and already I was thinking, “I’ve got to connect with this pastor and that pastor and find out more about this and this and this….”
On Saturday morning, we were treated to a keynote address by Rev. Freeman L. Palmer, the conference minister of the Central Atlantic Conference, which comprises New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia, following state boundaries, more or less. In his address, Rev. Palmer said that creating sacred space for all people is more important now than ever, especially given what’s coming from Washington, D.C., denying many the right to be sacred—be that race, trans athletes, immigrants, or others. Palmer said the Church cannot be silent. He pointed to the silence of the Church in Nazi Germany during World War II, the silence of the white Church in Birmingham, Alabama during the Civil Rights Movement, and the outright hostility of the Church toward the LGBTQ community during the AIDS crisis. We must do better. We can do better.
Rev. Palmer said there can be some confusion about what is partisan and what is political. He said the Gospel should never be partisan—Democrat, Republican—but should always be political—affecting the body politic, or the people. In his conference, the layoffs of federal employees are hitting the D.C. area hard. He said the Church must tend to the pastoral needs of its people—e.g., standing with employees who are being escorted from their buildings with a little box of their belongings as they are laid off. And the Church must bear prophetic witness, make the connection between Jesus Christ and the Gospel and the need for social justice in the world. That means confronting racism within the Church itself, and he noted that it took until General Synod in 2023 for the UCC to recognize that the African convention was a fifth stream of denominations that folded into the UCC. So we have to confront white supremacy even within our own institution, and then let that internal transformation lead to outward action.
We also have to stand up for LGBTQ rights. Rev. Palmer said courageous witness is even more needed in these times. For example, when a congregation in New Jersey put a pride and trans flag out front, someone from Moms for Liberty posted on Facebook about it and said it promoted pedophilia. Two members of that congregation that had displayed the pride flag then put the word out, and that Sunday the church was standing room only.
Immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers all need a place to thrive. Rev. Palmer said we must create sacred space, safe space. It is our biblical call to meet the needs of others without distinguishing their immigrant status. He said the US Administration is making us feel overwhelmed, paralyzed, and powerless—that’s their goal. For us to respond effectively, we need to stay focused, pace ourselves, and create SMART goals, because this is a marathon, not a sprint. We can also team up with allies to be even more effective. And toward the close he said, “My hope is staked in the presence of God in the midst of the people.”
At this Annual Meeting we noted the closing today of Broadview UCC, up at 125th and Phinney, after nearly a century of service. And we also welcomed two congregations into our conference. One was from Anchorage, Alaska, which is part of our conference; and one was from the South Seattle area. Both of these congregations are American Samoan. Our conference now includes about ten American Samoan congregations. If you want to look at where our conference is growing, it’s with the American Samoan congregations. And given the focus on creating sacred space, working on antiracism, welcoming and valuing everyone, here was the opportunity for those of us who have been in this conference for decades to walk the talk, to extend authentic welcome.
One of the people who has been instrumental in cultivating relationships with all these congregations is a woman named Donette Koloi. She is the wife of an American Samoan pastor, Kolo Koloi, in South Seattle/Des Moines area. She is our incoming vice moderator. She can talk to the American Samoan congregations—in English or Samoan—as well as to the congregations that have been here all along. She serves as a bridge.
At one point during a speak-out after a worship service in which there was emphasis on welcoming everyone to the table, she came up to a mic and said that sometimes she has not felt welcomed in this conference. That was heartbreaking to hear. She has poured her heart and soul into helping this conference thrive and grow. I am saddened to hear that she has not always experienced welcome. As much as we try to live into our aspirations of offering authentic welcome, we make mistakes. We fall short. We are a product of this culture, which bases some of its laws and thinking on that Doctrine of Discovery that says any European explorer can claim “discovered” lands despite the presence of Indigenous non-Christians already living there. Our work is cut out for us.
Rev. Phil Hodson, our designated conference minister, said there are two kinds of churches: growing churches, and dying churches. If we are to be a growing church, we can take the next step in some of the work we have begun—reading books on antiracism, welcoming an immigrant family, marching in the Pride parade, feeding the hungry, etc. I came out of this Annual Meeting inspired to create sacred space authentically, even if we make mistakes. The voice of the prophetic church has never been more needed than now. 859 anti-trans bills have been proposed in 49 states. On May 24, there will be an anti-trans event at Cal Anderson Park. A woman in our conference is organizing a peaceful counterprotest. We could go. We could march in the Pride Parade at the end of June. We could sponsor another immigrant family. We could reach out to one or more of the American Samoan congregations to get to know them.
I come back from Annual Meeting filled with ideas for possibilities. In a world of need, there are so many opportunities to love. May we thrive in the loving, so that all may know they are sacred and they are welcome in this sacred space.
I’m Meighan, and that’s my report. Amen.