‘None of us is getting it quite right all the time’: Methodists Confess in Fidi
NEW YORK — Midway through the Sunday morning service at John Street United Methodist Church in Lower Manhattan, Pastor Stephanie Bennett asked members of the church to partake in a prayer of confession.
She noted it was a Communion Sunday, and the confession prayer is a moment to recognize that “none of us is getting it quite right all the time, and probably there are days where we’re real, real, real far from quite right. Knowing that we’re not quite who we want and intend to be, but trusting that we are, in faith, getting there.”
The church, at 44 John St., was founded in 1766 and is the oldest Methodist church in North America. In the basement of the church is a museum that includes historical artifacts, such as a clock that was a gift from Methodist movement founder John Wesley.
There were only 15 worshippers at the Sunday service. They ranged in age and gender, and most came alone. Familiarity among them was clear, though, as the small group acknowledged each other through smiles and salutations before they situated themselves in different pews. The large Gregorian-style hall, lit up by a few sconces and one chandelier, was painted a cream hue and modestly decorated beside several colorful stained-glass windows.
The pastor, 55 years old, was clad in a black sweater, pants and boots, and a white clerical collar. Her color scheme matched the grand piano used to accompany the four hymns sang that day. She began the confession prayer with these words:
Holy God, / Open our eyes to the presence of your Spirit / upon us, within us, among us.
Worshippers stayed perched on the red cushions of the pews as they responded to the prayer. Though most were sat scattered apart, their voices came out as one under the soft light that came in through the windows.
For our apathy in the presence of oppression / Forgive us.
Rather than go to a priest like other Christian denominations, Methodists don’t need an intermediary for forgiveness, nor do they see confession as a sacrament. Instead, they speak the prayer of confession as a corporate act, pray right to God, and expect to be forgiven.
If we have contributed to the brokenheartedness of anyone / Forgive us.
The prayer is spoken in preparation to come to the Lord’s Table, not only a Methodist table, Bennett said, to receive Communion. It is not in Methodist doctrine to believe in transubstantiation, a literal change in substance of the bread and wine to the actual body and blood of Christ. The feast prepared for them is instead a mystery, Bennett said.
For our participation in systems that do great harm / Forgive us.
Bennett’s choice in the prayer of confession wasn’t accidental. The purpose of the prayer isn’t just to receive forgiveness from God but also to acknowledge sins. Bennett, who sat at a table in the museum and spoke to churchgoers, drank a coffee from Starbucks and wore clothes that she said someone was probably paid 6 cents an hour to make. She acknowledged she’s benefited from systems that do great harm. The purpose is to “fully examine ourselves,” she said.
When our mouths remain too tightly closed, / Loosen our lips with songs of praise and hope. / Hear our prayer, O God, and forgive our sins. / Hold us in your mercy, now and forever. / Amen.
After a moment of silence, Bennett asked the congregation to speak aloud God’s forgiveness of them. Only the creaks and murmurs privy to the first Methodist church on the continent were heard in the quiet. It sounded like a sigh of relief, breathed in by the inhabitants inside and exhaled out by the chapel into the streets of New York.