Dear Starkville FUMC Beloveds

I have been a member of two United Methodist Churches in my life, Shiloh Church as it is now known, disaffiliated from the UMC in 2021. Starkville FUMC, the church I was a member of in college, is in discernment and has planned a vote for September 24th.

These are the words on my heart that I would love to share with the members of Starkville FUMC.

Art by By Haley Montgomery

Dear Beloveds of Starkville FUMC,

I write this letter with deep grief and sadness that you all are voting to sever ties with the United Methodist Church. While I know that our differences within the UMC seem irredeemable, I do know that we are all called to be disciples of Jesus. We are also called to live lives of Christian love and unity. In his letter to the Romans, Paul writes, “So in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Simply put: I belong to you. I am yours.

In 2003, I Joined Starkville FUMC as a freshman at Mississippi State. Rev. Kim Parker helped me in my call to ministry as she was the youth pastor who saw gifts in me for ministry. Rev. Allison Stacey Parvin, who came from Starkville FUMC was my mentor in ministry. Rev. Dr. Giles Lindley has and always will be a spiritual father for me. His time as my D.S. in the Starkville District is a time where I learned more about ministry than in any seminary class I ever took. Rev. Jim Orman has been a friend of my family for as long as I’ve been alive. Rev. Emily Sanford is one of my dearest friends from my days at Starkville FUMC, Duke Divinity, and as ministers together in Jackson. All this is to say, my life has been impacted in many ways because of the commitment of the people of Starkville FUMC, both lay and clergy.

When I joined Starkville FUMC, many of you were asked these questions that reaffirmed you baptismal vows.

“Do you, as Christ’s body, the Church, reaffirm both your rejection of sin and your commitment to Christ?” You answered, “We do.”

“Will you nurture one another in the Christian faith and life and include Justin Warren White, who is before you, in your care?”

You all answered, “With God’s help we will proclaim the good news and live according to the example of Christ. We will surround Justin with a community of love and forgiveness, that he may grow in his service to others. We will pray for him, that he may be a true disciple who walks in the way that leads to life.”

Again, I belong to you. I am yours: because the bonds and the vows that were taken when I joined Starkville UMC, and all the vows you took when you were either baptized, confirmed, or both are strong, and they bind us together with cords of love that cannot be broken.

When I was in college, I knew that Starkville FUMC was a community of love and support. It was with Rev. Kim and doing work with young people where my commitment to Christ and to the ministry in the UMC was solidified.

Many of you have supported me throughout my entire ministry: A journey that started at my baptism and continued on when I was confirmed. You have been a part of me as I was commissioned as a provisional deacon, and you continued to be with me as I was ordained as a United Methodist elder. Though I am now an ordained minister in the Pacific Northwest, you are still journeying with me, because I belong to you. I am yours.

My hope is that you will remain to stay within the United Methodist Church. What I know to be true is that if you vote to leave the United Methodist Church, the church I have committed my life to, you can never undo the vows that were taken at our baptisms and confimations. We are all connected through Christ’s love. Again, Paul’s words to the Romans ring so true,

“So in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”

I share with you these lyrics from one of my most beloved Charles Wesley hymns,

Blest be the dear uniting love

that will not let us part;

our bodies may far off remove,

we still are one in heart.

With a love that unites us and never will let us part,

Rev. Justin Warren White

Stanwood United Methodist Church, WA