Making Noise

By Leland Spencer

Last week, the catalytic converter was stolen from my car (in the parking lot of the campus ministry where I work, nonetheless). Apparently, a lot of people have had this problem in the areas surrounding the University of Cincinnati lately; people sell the catalytic converters to make money from the copper and other metals therein.

I learned that without a catalytic converter, my car was drivable but very noisy (similar to having no muffler). The noisiest moments were when I started the car and anytime I accelerated.

I noticed as I drove that people gave me judgmental looks at red lights. I also realized that there was more space in front of my car and behind my car than usual. People were passing me any chance they could.

Thankfully, I got my car fixed only a few days after the theft, and my decision to pay for comprehensive car insurance with no deductible paid off. The repair was fast, and now my car is quiet again.

Why am I sharing this with the RMN Blog community? Well, I realized during my few days of very loud driving that the reconciling movement (and, in many ways, each of our individual lives of faith) is a lot like my car without a catalytic converter. In the life of the church, we who call ourselves reconciling United Methodists and/or progressive people of faith have the important task of making noise.

Just like the noise my car was making, the noise we make isn't always well received. People look at us judgmentally. In the East Ohio Conference, a group of Reconciling United Methodists always walks with balloons and rainbows and sings a song. The balloons usually have a message about God's inclusive love, and many of the walkers are covered in buttons and badges that carry similar messages. I've seen laity and clergy glare at the bold group as they walk. I've seen the way they stare, and I've heard the comments about the group that is trying to ruin the church.

What a witness the movement is to make noise in a church that doesn't want to hear it! People might stare, gossip, or walk on the far side of the road to avoid the movement of God's reconciling love, but we keep making noise nonetheless. You see, although the noise my car was making did not seem pleasant, it was important because it signaled that something was wrong. The noise meant that something was broken and needed fixed. Something was missing that made my car incomplete, and without the missing piece(s), my car was not whole.

At this point, I probably don't have to finish the metaphor, but allow me to do so in a way that leaves you with some questions to ponder. As this movement makes noise in the life of the church, what does our noise mean? What is broken that needs fixed? What is missing that leaves us incomplete? What does the church need to be whole?