Aging Well: Mrs. Louise Short: A True Hero of General Conference

Robert Beckum

One of the highlights of General Conference was the brief address of Mrs. Louise Short. Her statement was not an official part of the day’s agenda—-just a courtesy. Sometimes, however, amazing things happen apart from the “planned agenda.” But first, let me tell you what was on the printed agenda. We began each day with “The HERO Report.” This report came jointly from The General Commission on the Status and Role of Women and The General Commission on Religion and Race. The purpose of this daily report was to “monitor” the language and behavior of delegates, pointing out terms of condescension or other alienating use of language, which would undermine our commitment to holy conferencing. Furthermore, the daily report celebrated the contributions of minorities, the marginalized—-those whose voices may be minimized by commonly accepted assumptions.

Now, back to the unplanned order of the day—-Louise Short. At age 102 she was attending her 20th General Conference. She is the widow of the late Bishop Roy Short, and she attended her first General Conference in 1938. In Fort Worth, she was perhaps the only person present who had attended every meeting of General Conference in the United Methodist Church. She challenged the first assumption of the day when she informed the two young men sent to escort (read help) her to the stage that she was fully capable of coming to the stage without their assistance. She began by saying, “I know that most of you are amazed that I am still alive, but the truth is I’m not only still alive, I’m still LIVING!”

Then, to the Delegates of General Conference who, in its ten days of meeting, totally ignored the needs and the contributions of older adults she raised two concerns more powerfully than any other voice. First, she raised her concern over the role of the laity. “We (the general church) need to do a better job of empowering the laity—-the people in our local churches—-to be in ministry and to reach people for Christ. Solid leadership comes from solid local churches and the people in them—-lay persons are the heart of our churches and everything we do must enable them to be in ministry.” Second, Mrs. Short voiced her concern that the people called Methodists might be losing their courage to stand as faithful witnesses to the most important social issues of our day. Her most important advice to the 2008 General Conference: “Keep the faith,” she said simply, “Keep the faith.”
In Louise Short’s five minute address I heard the prayer of the psalmist: “So even to old age and gray hairs, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come”(Psalm 71:18). She didn’t make it into the HERO report given daily at the conference. My guess is, however, she made it into the report of heroes, which truly matters. This 102 year-old saint gave voice to the concerns of millions of United Methodists and their hopes for the future of our connection.Rev. Robert Beckum is Vice President of Church Relations and Development Magnolia Manor rbeckum@magnoliamanor.com