For Pastor Sara McSwords, the name is important.
“Beloved.”
“This name reflects my heart and the heart of so many people who are choosing to stay UMC and I believe there is a longing and curiosity stirring for those who are beginning to express curiosity and a willingness to explore this new church plant opportunity with the UMC,” McSwords said. “We long to cultivate safe spaces of beloved belonging for all people.”
McSwords, who has lived in Marysville with her family for more than 21 years, will be starting a United Methodist Church in the community. She said the UMC district superintendent began talking to her about the opportunity when he learned the existing Marysville United Methodist Church was considering a break with the denomination. In September, that congregation disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church and chose to join the Global Methodist Church, a newly formed denomination.
The Rev. Dr. Timothy L. Bias, the district superintendent for the UMC’s West Ohio Conference, said that by planting a new congregation in Marysville, “we are being faithful to God’s love.”
He added that the primary objective is “to be faithful to God who we know in and through Jesus.”
McSwords said she wants to “bring the beloved kingdom of God together.”
“It’s hard. I don’t want to be a left-leaning or right-leaning church, I want to be a Jesus-leaning church,” McSwords said.
She said she knows that means a lot of different things to different people, but she said it needs to be Biblical.
“Everything we do has to be centered on this,” McSwords said.
The pastor said she believes the church is “called to focus on what Jesus designated as the greatest commandment,” citing a passage in the Bible’s Book of Matthew.
In that section, Jesus explained that the first and greatest commandment is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and that the second commandment is similar in that people are to “love your neighbor as yourself.” In the Scripture, Jesus said those two commandments form a base for everything else.
“That means, the church should be the most welcoming place,” McSwords said, noting that she hopes to “sow seeds to disrupt the narrative” that church is unwelcoming.
She said it is important for people “to know what it means to be beloved and what it means to affirm and embrace peoples’ belovedness.”
She said that means understanding that “the circle is wider, the love is even more transforming than we even know.”
McSwords said she believes Jesus “teaches us to invite, encourage, restore and reconcile all people to God and to one another by affirming God’s overwhelming love, compassion and grace with our words and our actions.”
Bias said that in and through the new congregation, “it is our objective to see people and the community through the eyes of Jesus, speaking with the voice of Jesus, healing with the hands of Jesus and breathing with the Spirit of Jesus.”
McSwords said the focus of the church will be a place “where everyone can ask questions and explore their faith and feel the love of Jesus.”
“We do want to create a safe space for LGBTQ+ individuals and everyone,” McSwords said.
Bias added that while the first priority of a church is not political or social, “it will certainly make an impact politically and socially.”
“Our first task is to recognize Jesus in the people God sends our way or puts in our path each day,” Bias said. “The church helps us become who God created us to be.”
Gregory V. Palmer, resident Bishop of the UMC Ohio west episcopal area, said he is “excited and delighted to bless the start of a new United Methodist Church in Marysville.”
“This endeavor has the full weight of my office behind it as we relentlessly pursue a Christ-centered and people-focused ministry that sees all the people,” Palmer said.
McSwords, is currently the associate pastor at Linworth Church in Columbus and has served at churches in Irwin, Raymond, Marion and even Marysville. She said that growing up in other denominations, she heard that women should not lead in the church. She said that experience, paired with her understanding of the Bible, has drawn her to care for people in marginalized communities.
“How dare I say anything that hurts anybody or excludes anyone when all I see is Jesus including people and loving people,” McSwords said.
The pastor said the new church is “still in the planning phases.”
She will remain on staff at Linworth into December. In January, McSwords will begin the process of planting a church full-time — identifying a location, securing resources and attracting a congregation.
“We are just starting to gather names and see who is curious and who is committed,” McSwords said.
She said she is hoping to have a Christmas Eve service, but doesn’t know when the body will begin to hold Sunday morning services.
“There are just a lot of questions still,” McSwords said.
She said she expects some individuals that had been part of the Marysville First United Methodist Church may gravitate to the new church.
She said others will stay with the older congregation. She said she hopes the Beloved church will draw people who do not currently attend a church.
Bias said that planting new churches is “in the DNA of the Methodist church,” noting that in the early 1880s the Methodists averaged one new congregation a day.
“When we are faithful in our response to God’s love and grace, we are loving and inviting people to experience God’s love and acceptance through us. A new congregation in Marysville is our faithful response to God’s love in our lives,” Bias said.
McSwords stressed that the church will be distinctly United Methodist.
“I think the traditions of the United Methodist Church are awesome,” McSwords said, specifically mentioning several UMC hymns, the tradition of lighting candles, Advent and Lent.
“All of these traditions are part of who we are and how we live our faith,” McSwords said.