June 2025 Connection

“Friends in Christ, exercising love, hope, and grace to enrich all lives” - GBUMC
Recently, I had the privilege of sitting down for a one-on-one meeting with Mr. Bill
Hardiman, the director of the Office of Faith Engagement, a division of the Michigan
Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). What I quickly learned is that
The Office of Faith Engagement seeks to “promote collaboration between
government, community organizations, and faith leaders to improve the quality of life
for Michigan residents, with specific efforts to inform organizations of federal/state
resources and grants, and also to convene community and faith leaders to support
program areas that directly impact Michigan’s most vulnerable adults, children, and
families.”[1]

As Mr. Hardiman shared this with me, what became clear is that the goals of his
MDHHS office and the mission of our congregation align in so many ways. They seek
to improve the quality of our neighbors lives, and we seek to “enrich all lives.” We
share a passion for collaboration, a passion for our neighbors, and a passion for
transformation. I remain convinced that the local church continues to be the
greatest tool for gospel-transformation in communities and the world, and I am
abundantly grateful for community partners such as the MDHHS Office of Faith
Engagement.

During our meeting, Mr. Hardiman asked me what I perceived to be some of the
greatest issues faced in the Grand Blanc community. I shared with him concerns
around food insecurity, noting that the Grand Blanc School District is nearing 50% of
its student body qualifying for free and reduced lunch and appreciation for the
state’s intervention to continue providing free meals to all students. I celebrated the
work of FISH, our Free Community Dinner and other feeding ministries.
Similarly, I noted concerns around affordable housing, not only in Grand Blanc, but
virtually every community that leads to growing financial hardships on families and
individuals without respect to socioeconomic status or demographic.

Finally, I noted something that is far less tangible, but something I fear is becoming
far too widespread and even normalized, and that is loneliness. I was grateful that
this is where much of our conversation landed, because it isn’t something that he’s
heard too much of. Again, it’s less visible. It’s not necessarily accompanied by
statistics and a wealth of research. It’s understood through stories that often go
untold. It’s seen in emotional distress so often left unaddressed. Furthermore,
loneliness shows up in the lives of those we’d most expect it, as well as in the lives of
those who we might not traditionally suspect it to be present.

In 1 Peter, we discover a call to those in the church – the “elders” – to “tend the flock of God among you” (1 Peter 5:1). When we read this, we might be tempted to say, “that’s why we have a pastor” or “I’m not really in charge of anything at church.” The truth, though, is that this is a call – an invitation – to all of us. In the United Methodist Church, we refer to it as the “Ministry Of All Christians.”

All Christians are called through their baptism to this ministry of servanthood in the world to the glory of God and for human fulfillment.[2]

But, even more so, when Peter says, “tend the flock of God among you” (5:2) its important for us to hear John Wesley’s assertion: “I look upon all the world as my parish.” Peter is not instructing us in our ministry to attend only to those who are part of the GBUMC congregation. He’s not instructing us to care for those in the pews. Rather, we are instructed to tend to the people of God in our midst. Let us be reminded that this includes, as our mission statement reminds us, “all lives.” No one is excluded. No one is left out. All are seen. All are heard. All are loved. And so, let me draw us back to the conditions of loneliness. What would it look like for us to meet this reality head on? Not just with a church program led by volunteers, but how can you meet this reality head on as one who claims
the ministry of all Christians. Who do you know who might be experiencing loneliness? Perhaps its someone who lives alone. Or, maybe it’s a parent who is working so hard to make ends meet and seeking to care for their family that they can feel “alone.” Maybe it’s a student who’s struggling to make friends, or a neighbor who just doesn’t get out very much.

This is not to say that we can, on our own, eliminate an epidemic of loneliness. And yet, if we raise our hands as we hear the call to go – the call to tend to the flock of God among us – the call to see the world as our community – then the work we do, the lives we touch, and the love we show makes a big difference.

Tend the flock, my friends.

Pastor Brian

[1]  https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/doing-business/office-of-faith-engagement
[2] United Methodist Book of Discipline, ¶126.