“Fahoo fores, dahoo dores . . .” Those words were echoing through my head this weekend at Annual Conference. Quick, before you read further, do you recognize what song begins with those lyrics? It’s from “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas,” the “Welcome Christmas” song that the Whos sing even after the Grinch has stolen the stuff of their Christmas.
I kept singing that song to myself as I watched the election results come in for General Conference. Four years ago, I had been part of the delegation, and I had been hoping to go again. As the ballots started coming in, it became clear that I would not be elected this year. Political processes can be messy and feel hurtful, and so I had prepared myself as best as I could to remember my own values and priorities and joys. I am blessed with an amazing family to love and an incredible church to serve, and election results could do nothing to change that. “Fahoo fores, dahoo dores.”
Any election becomes, to some extent, an “us versus them” affair. We have many good and faithful Methodists in Missouri who have strong convictions about issues that will be coming before our General Conference next May. Loving people sitting next to each other were voting fervently for the opposite people from each other, out of a shared deep desire to shape what is best for our denomination. I have to admit that it can be uncomfortable to have one’s own name become an “us” for someone else’s “them.” Especially when the “thems” carry the day. . . “Fahoo fores, dahoo dores.”
The Whos remember what is important, and so the loss of the stuff of Christmas is a mere detail. I love the image of their focus and strength, but I also think back to the Grinch himself. As you recall, it is as the Grinch sees the Whos standing in a circle holding hands and singing that he understands the real meaning of Christmas. I remain convinced that our best witness as people of faith isn’t who wins when we fight with each other, but how well we remain connected even as we acknowledge our differences. Our delegates have difficult and important work ahead of them, and they need all of our prayers. The idealistic and simplistic side of me would love to see General Conference be the type of body that holds hands, united around what is most important. As long as we have different views of what is most important, however, we will have divisions among us. In these months leading up to General Conference, the drumbeat of our differences will continue to beat louder. To a world that is weary with infighting, may we present a different image to the world. Perhaps an image that goes something like this: (all together now)
“Christmas Day will always be, just as long as we have we. Fahoo fores, dahoo dores .. .Welcome Christmas as we stand, heart to heart and hand in hand. Fahoo fores, dahoo dores.”
