The World is My Parish

“I look upon all the world as my parish; thus far I mean, that, in whatever part of it I am, I judge it meet, right, and my bounden duty to declare unto all that are willing to hear, the glad tidings of salvation. This is the work which I know God has called me to; and sure I am that His blessing attends it. Great encouragement have I, therefore, to be faithful in fulfilling the work He hath given me to do. His servant I am, and, as such, am employed according to the plain direction of His Word, ‘As I have opportunity, doing good unto all men’; and His providence clearly concurs with his Word; which has disengaged me from all things else, that I might singly attend on this very thing, ‘and go about doing good.’” - John Wesley, The Journal of John Wesley, May 28, 1739.

The world is my parish. The whole world. John Wesley was deep... But also brilliant. Do we stop at our individual congregation? Well, we shouldn't. Wesley didn't... He got himself into hot water many times for not respecting parish boundaries in the Anglican Church. He had more to say to more people, and didn't want to be stuck by the boundaries of his parish

What does this mean for ministry today? What does it mean for the United Methodist Church? What implications does it have for the itinerant model of ministry that the United Methodist Book of Discipline commits to?

There's so much to say about it... So many directions that we can go. So often, lay people and pastors alike don't live up to the Wesleyan ideal of a world parish that many of us are quick to quote. To be in one parish for an extended period of time is to limit your skills and gifts. It is to risk a congregation that has grown too attached to its pastor, and vice versa.

It's a heck of a charge! It's not always easy to do... "The world is my parish" suggests that we can't just sit in the comfort of our local congregation all the time. We need to go out into the world and share God's love with everybody, all the time. We don't really get to rest, because we are always a spokesperson for God.

That's really all I've got for right now, I guess... I'd love to write more and to write something more cohesive, but I'm behind on reading right now and have a ton of things that I need to so, so I don't have a lot of time. And my thoughts are currently all over the place. Hopefully there's a nugget or two of wisdom hidden somewhere within my ramblings. God Bless!