Tuesday, October 27, 2009

A Name is a Name is a Name is Important

I remember my mother telling me when I was boy that she and my father chose to name me Matthew because it meant “gift of God.” My parents didn’t choose “Matthew” because a great-great-great-great uncle had that name or because it was perpetually on the list of most popular baby names. They chose it because having a baby in their mid-thirties caught them off guard and saw me as being a gift of God. (I, of course, never miss an opportunity to point that out to my older siblings!)

When the Northeastern Jurisdiction College of Bishops announced that the name for the new Episcopal Area would be “Upper New York Area”, I thought to myself, “where did they come up with that name? I’ve never even heard the term “Upper New York” before. That’s just stupid.” Needless to say I was not a fan of the name…


Then time came for New ACT Communications to sift through the hundreds of name suggestions in order to make a recommendation to New ACT. I’m not a parent yet, but I sure felt like one during that process. Choosing a name is a huge deal. We sorted recommendations into various categories and gave each thoughtful consideration (well, except for my personal suggestion—“The Empire State Strikes Back Annual Conference”.)
  • There were suggestions using various names from our Native American brothers and sisters. The decision not to use such a name came down to this: do we want the desire to appropriate a name to be the reason for being in dialogue with these brothers and sisters?
  • There were suggestions using geographical features. They were actually really cool names, but then came the realization that our conference does not have a single unifying geographical feature. I’m excited that Niagara Falls and Lake Champlain will be within the bounds of our conference, but how would they relate to someone in Cortland or Mexico (as in Mexico, New York)? Yes, there is the matter of the Erie Canal running the width of the new conference, but again, how would someone in Alexandria Bay or Corning necessarily relate to a conference with that name?
  • There were suggestions using various church/religious language, as well as New York nicknames and mottos. The suggestions were also great, but as someone who grew up in the Wyoming Conference, I had a very different opinion of using such a name. Full disclosure: I am excited that in a few months I will longer have to spend fifteen minutes explaining the history of Wyoming—the conference and the state—every time I leave the bounds of the conference!
  • So in the end, it basically came down to two options: “Upper New York” or “Upstate New York”. Both these names dominated the suggestions gathered this spring and became our recommendation to New ACT (I was still not entirely thrilled with “Upper New York”, but ultimately had faith in New ACT to make a thoughtful decision.)
When I received word of New ACT’s decision, my immediate reaction was “thank God we finally have a name—even if it’s not the one I wanted!” Helping to secure some social networking sites brought a whole new appreciation for the name "Upper New York". No one else uses that name, so it’s been far easier to secure and use without having to add “ac”, “annual conference”, etc. to the end.

Something else helped transform my feelings on “Upper New York”. This past weekend, I travelled to New York City for the first time in years. An hour east of Binghamton, my friend and I were no longer in the boundaries of the new conference, but I’m guessing our friends in Roscoe would consider themselves as being from Upstate. (I had friends in college from Westchester County that believed that they too were from "Upstate"!) Alas, what exactly are the boundaries of Upstate New York? Whose definition would we subscribe to? And let’s face it, using that name would intentionally exclude some brothers and sisters. Is that really how we want to begin our new ministry together?

Over the past week, I’ve come to really like the name “Upper New York” and the opportunities it affords us. (Hmm…where have I encountered transformational stories before?) In many regards, “Upper New York” now becomes synonymous with United Methodism in the area to the north and west of the Catskills!

I am a hockey fan (having one NHL and four AHL teams in our new conference excites me.) As a hockey fan, I feel obliged to watch the movie Miracle at least once a year. In it, Herb Brooks tells the 1980 US Hockey Team right before their match with the Soviet Team in Lake Placid that “great moments come from great opportunities.” On July 1, 2010 we have perhaps the greatest opportunity to come to United Methodism in New York State. How great is that we—like parents—will be able to chose a brand new name for a brand new conference?


The opinions expressed in this piece are those of the author and are not necessarily those of New ACT, New ACT Communications, or any Conference body.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Imagine New York churches...

The following statement of faith is based in the Vision Statement guiding the work of the New Area Conference Team (New ACT) in New York state. On September 19, both New ACT and the Critical Questions Teams used this as a prayerful affirmation in worship.
You may use this Imagine affirmation in worship, group devotional time or in your personal prayer for the conference and its churches. The document can be downloaded for print.




Imagine the people of God in Upstate New York:

Growing in our relationship with God,
Being nourished by vibrant spiritual practices,
Speaking the truth in love
Developing Christ-centered and spirit-empowered leadership, lay and clergy
Trusting in God’s abundance and guidance

Imagine the people of God in Upstate New York:
Being the body of Christ within the world,
Becoming a community where people WANT to be
Showing hospitality by welcoming, engaging and serving in love with neighbor
Being transparent in word and deed
Embracing diversity among all God's children.

Imagine the people of God in Upstate New York:
Living in the way of Jesus Christ
Opening to new ways of being and doing Church
Trusting the ambiguity and messiness of change
Seeking courage to take risks
Connecting with one another and the world
Making decisions and planning with prayerful discernment
Transforming the work of the Church into an act of worship.

* * *
What do YOU imagine?