“Be your authentic self.”
Bishop Martin D. McLee of the New York Conference of the United Methodist Church visited Yale Divinity School on March 31 with a powerful and simple message for students.
The bishop preached in Marquand Chapel, met with student groups, including the YDS’s LGBTQIA Coalition and Yale Black Seminarians (YBS), and met with Methodist students during a lunch-time Methodist colloquium.
Inevitably, the Bishop’s recent announcement regarding the just resolution of the Thomas W. Ogletree case was a topic of conversation. The bishop candidly discussed the agreement with students.
Jordan Scruggs ’15 M.Div., a United Methodist student, said students reacted in different ways, depending on the region they are from. “Some viewed the Ogletree discussion as incredibly progressive,” she said, “while others see the agreement as an early step toward justice.”
Future ministry contexts were certainly on the minds of many students who pressed the bishop for advice on how to move forward on issues of human sexuality their home churches.
In a meeting with the LGBTQIA Coalition, students and YDS alumni discussed the barriers to full inclusivity in the Methodist Church and other denominations.
Recently, through film screenings and discussions, the Coalition and its members have focused on learning strategies for creating dialogue in the global church, and the members talked with the Bishop about these strategies.
Acknowledging political and cultural diversity, he encouraged the group to reject the trap of creating barriers to dialogue by pinning blame for injustice or lack of progress to one group in the church. Instead he said that we must learn to build relationships across lines of difference.
YDS LGBTQIA Coalition co-chair Dana Capasso ‘14 M.Div. appreciated the conversation and noted that, “more needs to be done, and I hope that conversations like these will inspire more of our students to be leaders in creating the change.”
“I’m so grateful that he took the time to come and speak to the Coalition. For our out and queer students who are heading into ministry, hearing the support of a bishop was incredibly important to them.”
At the lunchtime Methodist colloquium, McLee spoke to students about leadership, discussing the kind of leadership required in the Church today, and how to lead people across lines of difference. In a riff on the old Carnegie Hall joke, he said, “How do you get to be leader? Practice, practice, practice.” For most people, leadership does not happen automatically, leaders have learned to insert themselves into roles of leadership. Most importantly, he insisted, that pastors must maintain the “authentic self” to be effective. He reminding the students that they don’t have to agree with people to lead them faithfully, and respect is gained when they are willing to be authentic.
McLee had words of advice for maintaining the “authentic self.” He encouraged to students to take an integrative approach to the parish and the academy. “Make yourself lean into God to learn how the academy is going to lead you.”
A scholar of church history, McLee encouraged students to, “find a way to study what your passion is. When I am spending time with my passion it helps me in the larger sphere of my work.”
Next on the Bishop’s agenda was a meeting with the Yale Black Seminarians. Derick Dailey ’14 M.A.R., a co-leader of YBS said, “He encouraged YBS, as he did the entire YDS community, to lean in and hear and see what God is up to in the present moment.”
YBS students were particularly encouraged by discussion of the bishop’s varied professional experiences as an attorney, teacher, and ecclesial leader.
“The bishop encouraged us to make choices and to resist the temptation to consistently lean on discernment as an excuse not to pursue vocation and move outside of our comfort zones,” said Dailey. “This was quite liberating and timely as I am personally making critical decisions about my next steps.”
Joining the Bishop’s conversations throughout the day were students from a number of denominations, including A.M.E., A.M.E.-Zion students, and Korean Methodists students. As he encouraged students across these denominational groups, his commitment to listening to young clergy, and celebrating academic pursuits was inspiring to many.
“Bishop McLee’s presence on the YDS campus signified both humility and tenacity which is seemingly embedded in his character,” said Jamilah George ‘15 M.Div. after attending the Methodist Colloqium. “His spiritual authority demands that you listen when he speaks, yet he does so with God’s love in a way that I will never forget; especially as I strive to be a prophetic voice in our world in ways that he has already demonstrated successfully.”
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