Bishop Fairley: ‘From Mourning to Dancing’
Photo by Matt Brodie
By Jessica Brodie
WEST COLUMBIA—Church leaders across South Carolina headed to the Midlands Oct. 13 for a service designed to welcome Bishop Leonard Fairley to the Palmetto State and officially install him as the annual conference’s episcopal leader.
Held at Mount Hebron United Methodist Church, the service ushered in an encouraging, hopeful and excited air as South Carolina stepped into a time of new leadership for the first time in 12 years.
After a processional with participation from district superintendents and other South Carolina Conference leaders, the Rev. Cynthia Taylor welcomed the large crowd to the church.
The Rev. J. Jeannetté Cooper, chair of South Carolina’s Committee on Episcopacy, offered a call to worship with Psalm 34:3, and Herman Lightsey led the body in the affirmation of faith.
The Rev. LaTonya Dash offered a prayer for illumination, calling on the Lord, “Pour out on us the spirit of wisdom and understanding, that our hearts and minds may be opened to know your truth and your way.”
Kenneth Bingham served as psalter, and soloist LaToya Adams performed “O Divine Redeemer.”
Next, the Rev. Enrique Gordon brought the Old Testament reading, on God as the true shepherd from Ezekiel 34:11-16.
Lou Jordan read the epistle, from Titus 1:7-9 on the character of a bishop, while the Rev. Mack McDowell read the gospel lesson, on “feed my sheep” from John 21:15-17.
Next, the Rev. Ken Nelson and Jackie Jenkins, the conference’s delegation co-chairs and members of the Southeastern Jurisdictional Committee on Episcopacy, along with Cooper, introduced Fairley to the body as South Carolina’s new episcopal leader.
The Rev. Jeffrey Salley led the covenant service officially installing Fairley as bishop.
As Fairley proclaimed during the service, “By the grace of Christ, I promise to be among you as a teacher of the faith, a pastor of souls and a means to the unity of the body of Christ. … I promise to be for you a means of reconciliation and healing, that all those who are burdened or oppressed may be made whole and able to rejoice in the new life in Jesus Christ.”
Various representatives from the conference presented Bishop Fairley with signs of the episcopal office before the body, including the pastoral staff presented by Cooper, the Bible presented by Conference Co-Lay Leader Michael Jennings, the bread and cup presented by Columbia District Superintendent Fran Elrod, and the Book of Discipline presented by Chancellor Kay Crowe. Jessica Brodie, Advocate editor, presented Fairley with a copy of the Advocate, asking him to guide the conference in telling its stories.
After the introduction of Fairley’s wife, Dawn, and a recognition of denominational leaders in the crowd, others offered words of welcome.
Cabinet Dean the Rev. Cathy Mitchell noted she is excited and encouraged by Fairley’s leadership so far, noting how he has “listened to hear us.”
Conference Co-Lay Leader Betty Void shared how she and the other laity “look forward to working with you in service to meet the needs of local congregations.”
Connectional Ministries Director the Rev. Millie Nelson Smith said she is eager for Fairley to lead all “in new places we have not yet explored.”
As Smith quipped with a Star Trek reference, “In the words of your favorite TV show, help us boldly go where we have not gone before.”
Fairley’s message, “From Mourning to Dancing,” came just a day after the loss of his mother, Doreatha Fairley, and he offered the sermon in tribute to the woman he called “a tenacious lady.”
Fairley noted that Psalm 30, which talks about how God has turned sorrow into delight, means more to him today after the loss of his beloved mother. As Psalm 30:11-12 proclaims, “You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, so that my soul may praise you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever” (NRSV).
When he was a child, Fairley said, he’d sometimes catch his aunt dancing in the living room with joy, and back then he didn’t understand it.
“Now I do,” he said.
And he invited the church, after its own long period of sorrow and difficulty as a denomination, to join in.
“What if it’s time we turn our mourning into dancing?” he asked. “We have been in the storm too long.”
Often, our hearts and spirits are filled with so much anxiety and uncertainty we have almost forgotten the joy in the Lord, but we need to trust God and own the joy God offers.
“When the world is tossing you around like the ship upon the sea, I’ve learned to dance whatever the circumstances might be,” Fairley said to applause.
In healing he said, we can begin to dance to the rhythm of God’s transformation and remember what happened at Pentecost.
“How can we keep from dancing when we have tasted and seen that the Lord is good?”
Fairley noted his all-time favorite painting is by the artist Jack Dawson. In the scene, all around lightning flashes and waves crash, but if you look closely, you can see in the cleft of the rock a dove sitting on her nest.
“Even in midnight of trouble, even in the storms of life, my God is able to turn mourning into dancing,” Fairley said, urging the body to embrace God’s great possibility for The United Methodist Church. “When the Lord liberates your feet from the grave, you can’t help but dance.”
He closed by reminding the body Jesus Christ is indeed the living water, the bread of life, the anointed son of the living God, the resurrection and the life and, indeed, the Lord of the dance. And it’s time we all let that joy dance within us.
“South Carolina, you’ve got to let it get into your feet. You’ve got to let it get into your hands. You’ve got to let it get into your heart.
“I don’t want to spend my last four years dealing with drama and conflict. I want to spend my time doing something beautiful for the Lord.”
The room gave a standing ovation as he closed, “South Carolina, put on your dancing shoes and dance like nobody’s watching.”