\nthe Methodist Church merged with the Evangelical United Brethren
\nChurch \u00a0to form The United Methodist Church. \u00a0Both of the predecessor
\ndenominations had social creeds, statements about what justice looked
\nlike. \u00a0This had started in 1908 when The Social Creed was passed in
\nthe Methodist Episcopal church calling for end to child labor, a fair
\nwage, and safety standards.1<\/sup><\/a><\/sup>
\nInitially, the statements of both churches were included in the
\nDiscipline, but the 1968 merging conference created a study committee
\nto create a unified statement, the first edition of the Social
\nPrincipals which state where we \u2013 as a church \u2013 stand on a wide
\nvariety of issues.2<\/sup><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The
\ncommittee came to the 1972 General Conference with language that
\nsaid, “homosexual persons no less than heterosexual persons are
\nindividuals of sacred worth.” (It seems worth noting that the
\nStonewall Riot was in 1969, and may well have influenced the
\nintentional inclusion of this statement.)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
However, <\/p>\n Thus <\/p>\n At the <\/p>\n Meanwhile, <\/p>\n In 2012 <\/p>\n Meanwhile, <\/p>\n And <\/p>\n In 2016 <\/p>\n The <\/p>\n And, as <\/p>\n \u201cWhere The <\/p>\n There <\/p>\n In the \n\u201cWe celebrate God\u2019s gift of diversity and value the \n<\/p>\n We <\/p>\n And, we <\/p>\n We are \u201cA I know <\/p>\n But <\/p>\n I <\/p>\n And, of <\/p>\n When I <\/p>\n At this <\/p>\n At its <\/p>\n BUT, at <\/p>\n While I epidemic <\/p>\n To do 1<\/a>https:\/\/www.umc.org\/en\/content\/methodist-history-1908-social-creed-for-workers<\/a><\/p>\n 2<\/a>https:\/\/www.umc.org\/en\/content\/ask-the-umc-why-do-we-have-social-principles-where-did-they-come-from<\/a><\/p>\n 3<\/a>https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Homosexuality_and_Methodism#United_Methodist_Church<\/a>, <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Worship 7\/24\/2022<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\nGeneral Conference fussed over the language, and Don Hand, a delegate
\nfrom Southwest Texas suggested that the period be turned into a comma
\nfollowed by the phrase “though we do not condone the practice of
\nhomosexuality and consider this practice incompatible with Christian
\ndoctrine.”3<\/sup><\/a><\/sup>
\n It passed.<\/p>\n
\nbegan the 50 years of EXPLICIT homophobia in The United Methodist
\nChurch \u2013 50 years and counting. \u00a0The next General Conference \u2013
\n1976 \u2013 added funding bans to prevent church funds from being used
\nto \u201cpromote\u201d homosexuality. \u00a0The 1984 Discipline Adopted as the
\nstandard for ordained clergy, commitment to \u201cfidelity in marriage
\nand celibacy in singleness\u201d and \u201cself\u2010avowed practicing
\nhomosexuals are not to be accepted as candidates, ordained as
\nministers, or appointed to serve in The United Methodist Church.\u201d \u00a0
\nI remain particularly horrified that the church wrote in \u201cfidelity
\nin marriage and celibacy in singleness\u201d in order to attack LGB
\npeople, while claiming to do otherwise. \u00a0It took until 1996 to ban
\nclergy from presiding at \u201chomosexual unions\u201d and to tell churches
\nthey couldn’t host them. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nsame time, occasionally, the UMC would make attempts to remind others
\nthat they should be in ministry \u201cfor and with all persons\u201d (1996)
\nand ask \u201cfamilies and churches not to reject or condemn their
\nlesbian and gay members and friends.\u201d \u00a0(2000.) \u00a0Isn’t is great the
\nchurch asked people not to reject people while actively rejecting
\npeople? \u00a0In a great turn of irony the 2008 General Conference adopted
\na resolution to oppose homophobia and heterosexism. \u00a0(FACEPALM.) \u00a0You
\ncan’t make this stuff up, can you?<\/p>\n
\nover the course of these years, the AIDS crisis raged, suicides
\nstayed common, and LGBTQIA+ kids were kicked out of their homes and
\nonto the street. \u00a0Clergy were defrocked, and people called by God
\nkept their calls quiet (or lived in death spiral closets),
\nindividuals were rejected from their churches and families, and the
\nchurch’s attention remained on an odd definition of sexual purity
\nINSTEAD of focusing on income inequality, poverty, colonialism,
\nsexism, racism, or climate change.<\/p>\n
\n there was an attempt to acknowledge that people of faith disagree
\nabout homosexuality. \u00a0It failed. \u00a049% to 51%. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nas you may well know, individuals, churches, communities, and
\nsometimes even Annual Conferences refused to obey unjust laws. \u00a0Many
\norganizations were founded by people who worked for inclusion, many
\nchurches became Reconciling (26 years ago here), clergy refused to
\nobey rules about homosexual unions and marriages, Bishops refused to
\ndeny people ordinations, people of God simply refused to obey unjust
\nlaws.<\/p>\n
\nthose who wanted control, those who wanted to have authority over
\nOTHER people’s bodies, other people’s love, other people’s sex lives,
\nwere really, really upset that they could pass the laws but they
\ncouldn\u2019t crush the dissent. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nthis came to a boiling point at General Conference, and instead of
\npassing more laws from both sides of its mouth, the church created a
\nCommission to create a new way forward, and called for a Special
\nSession of General Conference in 2019 to receive and act on their
\nreport. \u00a0The Commission called for a moderate way forward, \u201cThe One
\nChurch Plan\u201d which let Annual Conferences, Bishops, clergy, and
\nchurches be led by their own consciousness and faith. \u00a0It aimed to
\nremove explicit homophobia from church policy but protect those who
\nwished to live it. \u00a0Meanwhile progressives called for a FULL end to
\nhomophobia with the \u201cSimple Plan\u201d and conservatives to a doubling
\ndown on it all with the \u201cTraditional Plan.\u201d \u00a0(While I’m teaching
\nthis history lesson, I still can’t \u00a0make myself explain all the
\nhorrors of the Traditional Plan.)<\/p>\n
\n2019 General Conference passed the Traditional Plan.<\/p>\n
\nyou may know, there was general outrage and horror, and even the
\nmoderates in the USA got upset, and it became certain that The UMC
\nwas headed to divorce, with the only questions being which side would
\nexit, where the moderates would land, and how the money would be
\ndivided. \u00a0And then, and I’m pretty sure you DO know this, there was a
\npandemic, and here we still stand. \u00a050 years of death and
\ndestruction. \u00a0And so, we lament. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nare We Now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\nUnited Methodist Church these days is stuck. \u00a0We’ve realized that we
\ncannot stay together \u2013 not when some of the church says that the
\nmost important litmus test of faith is fidelity to homophobia at all
\ncosts — and the rest of us \u2026 I don’t know, exist and don’t agree
\nwith that immoral and theologically bankrupt assessment. \u00a0On May 1st<\/sup>,
\nafter years (decades?) of planning, the \u201cGlobal Methodist Church\u201d
\n(GMC) launched, inviting churches and clergy to leave The United
\nMethodist Church and join the GMC. \u00a0That church \u00a0is designed for
\nthose who think homophobia is faithfulness to God, although oddly
\nthat isn’t on their website. \u00a0Slowly, but rather consistently, some
\nchurches are \u201cdisaffiliating\u201d from The United Methodist Church
\nand joining the GMC. \u00a0I wouldn’t call it a mass exodus, perhaps
\nbecause leaving involves paying a fair share of debts owed, ministry
\nshares, and shared pension liability, and perhaps because their
\ntheology is shallow and deviates wildly from Jesus’s. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nwas a hope among many that the 2020 General Conference would pass
\nlegislation to allow a mostly graceful way forward, allowing
\nchurches, clergy, and even Bishops to leave The UMC. \u00a0However, the
\nnext General Conference is now scheduled for 2024, (2020 never
\nhappened) and things keep changing. \u00a0There is, unfortunately, little
\nhope that the denomination’s official homophobic stances will change
\nin 2024, but there is SOME hope that our Annual Conference might
\nbecome a part of the church that refuses to acknowledge such laws.<\/p>\n
\nmeantime, we HERE remain committed to the Reconciling statement:<\/p>\n
\nwholeness made possible in community equally shared and shepherded by
\nall. We welcome and affirm people of every gender identity, gender
\nexpression, and sexual orientation, who are also of every age, race,
\nethnicity, physical and mental ability, level of education, and
\nfamily structure, and of every economic, immigration, marital, and
\nsocial status, and so much more. We acknowledge that we live in a
\nworld of profound social, economic, and political inequities. As
\nfollowers of Jesus, we commit ourselves to the pursuit of justice and
\npledge to stand in solidarity with all who are marginalized and
\noppressed.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\ncontinue to celebrate love and weddings for God’s beloveds, with no
\nboundaries around gender or sexual orientation. \u00a0We continue to
\nwelcome into membership all of God’s beloveds, and invite people to
\nbe in leadership in the church when they are willing and able. \u00a0We
\nwork in regular and consistent opposition to both the unjust laws of
\nthe church, the implementation of those laws, \u00a0the homophobia and
\ntransphobia of the country and the world, and the patriarchal, white
\nsupremacist narrative that only some people matter.<\/p>\n
\nknow that there are beloveds of God who cannot stomach being with us
\nbecause we are a part of The United Methodist Church, and\/or
\nChristianity, and the harm they’ve experienced from one or both. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nin-between. \u00a0Clear on what we believe, but stuck without a good way
\nforward, aware of harm happening in the meantime, and yet still
\nhoping God can help us find a way forward. \u00a0That’s what this time of
\nworship is about \u2013 praying for help in the midst of all that is
\n\u201cwhere we are now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nGlimpse of God’s Vision\u201d<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/64.media.tumblr.com\/9361d09c9c5cd7e6e23f98bc064acd03\/b46c4794df2ae1ca-06\/s540x810\/71964bcc9691e83d06645ad202b23a2cea4961de.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n
\nthat no local church, no denomination, and no clergy person will ever
\nbe perfect. \u00a0We’re human, we’re finite, our perspectives are limited,
\nand our needs differ from those around us. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nsometimes I let the perfect be the enemy of the good, and I forget to
\neven dream with God about where God wants the church to go (because
\nif we can’t be perfect, why bother???) \u00a0I don’t have the full vision
\nof God wants, no one person does, but I am going to share with you
\nwhat I can see, so that it becomes part of the conversation that can
\nbecome whole.<\/p>\n
\nbelieve that the GMC is predominated by wealthy, cis, straight, white
\nmen who are angry they couldn’t control the movement of the Spirit.
\nThat helps me see what I want the church to look like: \u00a0economically
\ndiverse, and careful to center the voices of people living in
\npoverty; diverse in gender expression and careful to center the
\nvoices of those who are trans and non-binary; diverse in sexual
\nexpression and careful to center the voices of those who are
\nLGBTQIA+; racially and ethnically diverse and careful to center the
\nvoices of people of color and immigrants; with men, women, and
\nnon-binary people, with carefulness in centering the experiences and
\nneeds of women and non-binary people. \u00a0My language here is very
\ncareful, because I believe in community where all are welcome and
\nfully engaged members, but the hierarchies of the world enter the
\nchurch with us and unless we INTENTIONALLY invert the power dynamics
\nof the world, they’ll replicate themselves in the church.<\/p>\n
\ncourse, I want to be a part of a community open the radical movement
\nof the Spirit. \u00a0The GMC uses scripture as a means of control, to
\nlimit people and prescribe their lives. \u00a0I hope to be part of a
\nchurch that sees scripture as an invitation to dialogue about what
\nmatters, what justice looks like, and how we might work together for
\nthe common good of all of God\u2019s beloveds. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nlisten to Jesus, I hear a lot of intentional inversions of the power
\ndynamics of the world, so I’m pretty sure he’s into that. \u00a0I also
\nhear an amazing amount of empowerment, and reminders that together,
\nthe people have enough to care for each other. \u00a0The world believes in
\nscarcity, but the church is called to believe in abundance.<\/p>\n
\nmoment in time, I see several intersecting crises that I believe we
\nare all called to be attending to: \u00a0poverty and income inequality,
\nclimate change, militarism and escalation of violence, and an
\nepidemic of loneliness. \u00a0(In terms of analysis, the way we practice
\ncapitalism seems fundamental to all of these concerns.) \u00a0I hope that
\nwhen the church stops infighting about who is lovable in God’s eyes
\n(eyeroll) and acknowledges the answer \u201ceveryone\u201d we might put our
\nenergy and attention to enacting that by working on the current
\ncrises. \u00a0(I know, all too well, than when we move from explicit
\nhomophobia to implicit homophobia and transphobia not nearly enough
\nwill change. \u00a0I know that, and I’ll keep working on it. \u00a0But the care
\nof all people includes these pieces TOO.)<\/p>\n
\nworst, religion is the set of myths that empower the societal systems
\nthat create injustice, inequality, hierarchy, and despair. \u00a0I think
\none of the tells of this use of religion is when it is focused on
\ncontrol.<\/p>\n
\nit\u2019s best, religion lives out the love of God for all people,
\ndreams of a society of equity, justice, equality, and hope. \u00a0I think
\none of the tells of this use of religion is SHARED power.<\/p>\n
\nhope we will speak, act, live out, and advocate for justice in all
\nthe crisis areas, I think we are best set up to change the world is
\nby being a place for humans to really connect,
\nto God and each other, and therefore changing the\n<\/p>\n
\nof loneliness. \u00a0We are already a community. \u00a0We already have a
\nbuilding that can help people gather. \u00a0We are already practicing
\ncaring, and listening. \u00a0Many among us have already have lives
\ntransformed by being a part of this community, that is, by God and by
\neach other. \u00a0Seeking to use our gifts and resources to connect with
\nothers, and transform loneliness would ALSO increase our empathy and
\nlead us towards more valuable work in KNOWING that our well-being is
\ninterconnected. \u00a0I dream of a church where people are loved exactly
\nas they are, and listened to, and thus healed, and thus a source of
\nhealing and love for the world around them. \u00a0I think it is possible,
\ntoo!<\/p>\n
\nthis, though, would require a rather different way of \u201cbeing\u201d
\nthan we are now, and I am waiting to see how the Spirit moves in
\nothers, to learn how we will move forward together. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n\tthe word \u201cdoctrine\u201d was changed to \u201cteaching\u201d by friendly
\n\tamendment before the amendment and statement passed.<\/p>\n