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Fellows from the Bishop Melvin George Talbert Leadership Institute visit
with Cassie Hinnen (right) outside the Tampa Convention Center in
Florida during the United Methodist pre-General Conference news
briefing. UMNS photos by Mike DuBose.
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A UMNS Report
By Kathy L. Gilbert*
7:00 A.M. ET Feb. 3, 2012 | TAMPA, Fla.
A small group of young people – inquisitive, well educated and diverse – will carefully watch the proceedings during the 2012 United Methodist General Conference.
These “watchers” are learning how The United Methodist Church really works.
During a pre-conference news briefing Jan. 19-21, the Bishop Melvin G. Talbert Leadership Institute Fellows got a taste of what to expect when General Conference convenes.
More than 300 delegates, communicators and others were part of the
preview at the Tampa Convention Center, the site of the 2012
legislative assembly April 24-May 4. General Conference is held every
four years and is the only body that speaks for the entire
denomination.
Attending the news briefing
was part of the training the fellows are receiving in their two-year
tutorial that started in January 2011. The program honors one of the
church’s most prophetic leaders, retired Bishop Melvin G. Talbert. He and his wife, Marilyn, are part of the team of leaders and coaches advising the young people.
Black Methodists for Church Renewal, the organization that established the program, chose this first class of fellows for their leadership potential.
Sitting in an early morning breakfast hosted by representatives of
the six United Methodist national ethnic plans on Jan. 21, the fellows
heard repeatedly how vital it is to the future of the church to raise
and nurture young leaders.
During panels representing different views on some of the major
legislation set to come before the conference, participants were
encouraged to ask questions. The fellows listened, and for the most
part, they were impressed.
“I really enjoyed hearing from Bishop [Minerva] Carcaño,”
said Deliah Fakalata, a member of Tongan United Methodist Fellowship
of Sacramento, Calif. “The things she said really inspired me,
especially about how we need to keep the church alive and vital.”
Carcaño was part of a panel discussing proposals to restructure The United Methodist Church.
“This weekend was very beautiful. I was able to see respect from a
lot of people — respect and understanding, even when they didn’t agree
with each other’s point of view,” said Liberia native Walter Gizzie
Jr., in the United States to pursue a degree in nursing. “It gave me a
lot of hope. They actually showed that they had the spirit of God in
them.”
Linda Furtado is a married mother of two small children. Her spouse
is on the ordination track to become a United Methodist elder. She said
the time to debate and debrief after the plenary sessions was
“unbelievably valuable.”
Furtado is just beginning the process to become an ordained deacon.
The presenters at the conference represented themselves and the
church well, she said. “I just want to aspire to be able to be that
kind of person wherever I am. It seems they engrain that in their whole
selves.”
Growing into leadership
The institute held its first meeting a year ago, and the fellows
have grown close to each other through interactive webinars, phone
calls and face-to-face meetings, said Marilyn Talbert.
Through technology, the fellows have started “meeting” Saturday
mornings at 7:30, she said. “They developed a buddy system amongst
themselves, and it has been rewarding to watch their growth and how
they are now beginning to lead us.”
Cassie Hinnen, a young person acting as a liaison between the young
people and those on the leadership team, sees herself as an “honorary
fellow.”
Listening to Erin Hawkins, the top executive of the Commission on Religion and Race, talk about the importance of holy conferencing was important to Hinnen.
“That brings a lot of hope and spoke to me personally because that
is what I strive to do — to understand all people when I find myself
judging another person,” said Hinnen, a kindergarten teacher assistant
who will go to seminary in the fall.
Marcus Smith, enrolled at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh,
said he is “straddling the line between government leadership and
church leadership.”
Forming a bond with people who have something in common has helped him grow. “We’ll see what happens.”
Theon Johnson III, director of the Wesley Foundation at Jackson
(Miss.) State University, did not lose sight of the importance of the
issues being discussed by the church. He is also on the track to become
an ordained elder.
In April, when the full conference is in session, the 10 days
delegates will spend deciding church policy will have far-reaching
effects, he said. “Meetings like this become gathering moments for
doing the business of God in ways that really matter.”
Kevin Kosh Jr. said the leadership institute opened the door for graduate school.
“When we first got together, I got to meet the president of Gammon
Theological Seminary, and through that, I was actually able to make the
connections to get into Gammon.”
Kosh said the honesty and openness from the presenters and participants at the pre-General Conference briefing made the experience “very insightful.”
“Even though the church is representing God, we realize we are not
doing everything right — but just because we aren’t doing everything
right doesn’t mean we can’t be more Christ-like,” he added.
* Gilbert is a multimedia reporter for the young adult content team at United Methodist Communications, Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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