All are one

There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galations 3:28

Paul tell us that we are all children of God - that our status, our gender, or our nationality don't matter at all to God.

One of the many reasons that I am glad -- that I celebrate -- that we were able to take Youth to SPLAT is this verse.

We talk about being a diverse church. We try to tell our children that everyone has a call from God, and that gender, status, nationality, color, ethnic background -- none of it means that any person is less loved by God. Sometimes I worry, though, that my children look around my church, and they don't see evidence of this part of our faith. They see an almost completely Caucasian congregation. Thankfully, they do see female pastors, but I'm not sure what other kind of diversity they witness.

The good news in this story is that we are United Methodists. We are part of a connectional church. At SPLAT, the United Methodist youth national event, our kids saw six different people deliver sermons. They were diverse:

• Kathleen Baskin-Ball -- a white, female pastor from Texas
• Ray Buckley -- a native American male who is a member of the laity
• Minerva Carcaño -- a female, Hispanic American bishop
• Linda Lee -- a female, African American bishop
• Scott Jones -- a white male bishop
• Michael Williams -- a white, male pastor from Tennessee.

Three women, three men; three bishops, two local pastors and a lay person; three white, one hispanic, one African American, and one native American -- diversity.

Our youth were witness to the fact that the United Methodist Church values diversity and that we live out the idea that there is neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female, and that all are one in Christ Jesus.