A Letter From The 2036 Leadership Gathering
Ten years ago, you did one thing that set up the United Methodist Church for future success
We, the participants of the 2036 Leadership Gathering, are sending back in time to you all, The United Methodist Church in 2026, a letter from the future to encourage you about what you accomplished.
What You Understood
The thing is that decisions in an institution have contextual implications — they matter both in terms of the now (in the moment) as well as the later (over time), and the us (participants inside of Methodism) as well as the them (the context of Methodism).
And, you may not have known how things would turn out over the next decade. But, you did have an understanding of how things turned out over your past decade which was, namely, that:
Methodism kept fighting over its definition of itself as a singularity, while Methodism’s context changed so fast as a multiplicity that one definition of itself could never adequately address all of its contexts.
What You Did
So, in your final statement from the 2026 Leadership Gathering, you added one key line:
We acknowledge that Methodism must be re-interpreted for every era and every context — that our singular conclusions of this gathering may not adequately address the multiplicity of contexts.
And, you followed it with one key recommendation:
We urge Methodists everywhere to continue unceasingly to engage in the work of re-interpreting Methodism for both the now and the later as well as for the us and for the them — that we create a multitude of ways of being faithful to our Wesleyan heritage for who, when, and where we are.
In other words, the 2026 Leadership Gathering set the stage for many such gatherings, conversations, and commitment to continuous change to take place throughout the entire Connection — it did not limit the focus of the work to one matter, place of ministry, or aspect of the Connection.
What You Brought About
Over the next decade, United Methodism all over the world began to dream — we started to listen and consider ideas without judgment before speaking and taking positions, projecting first the results that may come about.
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Methodists began to be known as a people who methodologically create new heritages as much as who methodologically conform to its past heritage.
Specifically, we began to construct new ways of discipleship and organization including:
- Seeing Methodist faith as a meaning-making framework (and not necessarily a checklist of values) to apply to all parts of life including career, family, and finances (for starters)…
- Seeing Sunday morning worship-centered, building-based, congregations as a good, but not the only, means of disciple-making…
- Seeing the life of John Wesley as one of continuous change in the medium by which the message of ministry would be conveyed…
With Gratitude
Now, in 2036, ten years after the first Leadership Gathering, we are seeing ourselves as the same people with a different kind of Connection — one that emphasizes Spirit before anything else.
Thank you for your courage to look beyond the now, into the later, keeping in mind the us as well as the them.
This poignant piece written by James from PASTORIA (maker of JOHNWESLEY.AI) is hypothetical and fictional, as time travel does not yet exist (in this form). Still, it is a prayer that our “vile” work as a Connection may bear fruit beyond ourselves, strangely warming the hearts of those who may come years later in the future.
