Pastor talks with lawmakers

An Austin pastor joined nearly 60 church leaders in a dialogue with lawmakers last month in Washington about the relationship of faith and values to domestic policy.
Will Rice, associate pastor of Oak Hill UMC, Austin, took part in the discussion during the Jan. 31-Feb. 2 Young Adult Clergy Leadership Forum. The General Board of Church and Society sponsored the event.
Members of Congress who are United Methodists shared their views.
Rice said legislators made a distinction between their role in the church and their role in Congress.
“They’re not elected to represent The United Methodist Church,” Rice said. “They’re elected to represent their constituents.”
One example was Democratic U.S. Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver, a United Methodist pastor representing Missouri’s 5th District. Rice said Cleaver specifically addressed the line between his role as a pastor and his role in government.
“His faith forms who he is,” Rice reported, “but the people he represents form his vote.”
U.S. Rep. Vic Snyder, D-Ark., described his experience as the husband of a United Methodist pastor.
“Many of you may have heard of ‘Yellow Dog Democrats,’” said Synder, who is married to the Rev. Betsy Singleton of Quawpaw Quarter UMC, Little Rock. “That’s a southern Democrat who is so devoted [to the party] he would vote for a yellow dog before he’d vote for a Republican.
“Well, you might say I’m a ‘Bruised Arm Democrat.’ I sit on the couch at night watching CNN. Every once in a while Betsy gets so upset at what she sees she reaches over and whacks my arm and says, ‘Look at that! You gotta do something about that!’”