United Methodist General Conference April 2008 [Archive]

Steven E. Webster

07-04-2007, 10:17 AM

Friends,

The United Methodist Church in the U.S. is organized into something similar to legislative, executive and judicial branches.

Legislature = General Conference (meets for two weeks every four years) they create and amend church policy, law and teaching through changes to the Book of Discipline. Here I am adding a link to the website of LGBT friendly Park Slope United Methodist Church. They have posted a good list of those provisions in the Book of Discipline that effect LGBT people here: http://parkslopeumc.org/docs/etc/discipline.html

Executive = Bishops who are charged with enforcing the [i]Book of Discipline[i].

Judicial = The Judicial Council, a nine-member "supreme court" elected for terms by General Conference. They review all rulings on Church law by Bishops, and they hear appeals from decisions by lower church courts.

In order to achieve change in the United Methodist Church, it is essential to win the votes of a majority of delegates of the General Conference. The delegates are elected by each Annual (i.e. Regional) Conference. There are about 1000 delegates distributed among the various Annual Conferences.

One task individuals can do is to write to these delegates. Nearly all of them have been elected already. They will meet at the end of April in 2008.

Our General Conference is already well-aquainted with Soulforce, which had a very visible presence at both the 2000 and 2004 General Conferences.

I have set myself the task of writing to the ten delegates (five clergy and five laity) who are from the Wisconsin Annual Conference. For the 2004 General Conference the official United Methodist team of Soulforce issued a letter to all of the delegates.

What should we be saying to the United Methodist General Conference? I want your help. Any ideas?

Steven Webster

Steven E. Webster

07-04-2007, 10:59 AM

Friends,

Here's a link to a page in Dotti's Gay into Straight America blog.

http://www.gayintostraightamerica.com/236.html

It documents a formal complaint filed back in the year 2000 against a United Methodist pastor who denied her membership in the United Methodist Church because she would not "repent" of being a lesbian.

Unfortunately, Dotti does not tell us on this page how her complaint was handled by church authorities. (The complaint should have been handled by the Bishop appointed to lead her Annual (i.e. regional) Conference.)

It was not until last year that a similar complaint reached the United Methodist Judicial Council ("supreme court"). The Judicial Council, in a hotly contested decision, ruled against the Bishop who had suspended a pastor who had denied membership to a gay man. The President of the Judicial Council who joined with the majority in this ruling is James W. Holsinger, the man George Bush has appointed to be the United States Surgeon General.

The Judicial Council's decision was a shocking one that seemed to run counter to the Book of Discipline itself. The Judicial Council majority has been accused of "legislating from the bench." The only way the ruling can be overturned is for the General Conference (our legislature) to pass legislation clarifying that membership cannot be denied individuals solely for reasons relating to an individual's homosexuality.

I think Dotti's case was probably "swept under the rug" in 2000. Now the same issue will be a hot item at the 2008 General Conference next April.

Steven Webster

Steven E. Webster

07-04-2007, 06:16 PM

Friends,
I'm posting here another story by a United Methodist who was denied his right to transfer his church membership from one congregation to another--again, given that this is everyone's right under church law, I'm surpised that his attempt to get help from his District Superintendent and Bishop was to know avail.

Also, Joey Heath was one of our Equality Riders! Here is the link to the Reconciling Ministries Newslwetter that published his story:

http://www.rmnetwork.org/downloads/kat_2007_summer.pdf

MY STORY - BY JOEY HEATH
Baptized in a Tacoma, Washington UMC and confirmed at Hinesville First UMC, I have been a
member of the United Methodist Church my entire life. During middle and high school, I was
really involved with my church youth group, and served as the junior high representative for
the Savannah District. For two years, with a seat on the South Georgia conference council on
youth ministry, I was a part of planning youth events for the South Georgia conference. In
high school, my family switched from the big UMC church in town to a smaller church a little
ways out of town, Mount Olivet UMC, where I currently still hold membership.
At Valdosta State University in the fall of 2001, I joined the Wesley
Foundation. I loved the ministry. That is when I came to the realization that I
had always known about Jesus, but I never really knew him and had not
accepted him as my Savior. So that fall I gave my life to Christ and never
looked back. After my freshman year, selected as a part of Lifeguard, a traveling
youth ministry team of the Georgia Southern University Wesley
Foundation, I spent the summer with youth groups all over Georgia.
Sophomore year included leadership roles at VSU Wesley Foundation and the
youth group at Park Avenue UMC.
Something else happened that summer after my freshman year of college.
That summer, I came to the realization that I was attracted to other men. I
didn't know what do, but at that time "I knew" it was not God's will for me to
be gay. At first I tried to bury the feelings and just ignore them. In time, I sat
down with my campus minister and confessed my deep dark secret, the one
that I had never shared with anyone. He prayed with me promising that
together we could get through this. This began a two-year journey of prayer
and study. I prayed everyday. I cried almost everyday. I didn't want to be
attracted to guys. It went against what I had been taught so I struggled hard.
Sadly, this led me into depression and hurt my relationship with God. I no
longer felt that closeness I had once felt. This struggle had taken over my life
and left little room for actual time with God and growing in Him. Finally I
came to a breaking point. On the outside I looked like the happy good little
Christian, but on the inside I was depressed and struggling. One night I cried
out to God and said "I can't do this anymore. It is tearing me apart inside and is
killing my relationship with you. I don't know if it is the right thing to do but God
I have to stop this. It will destroy me or push me away from my faith." I had been
crying for a while and then I just stopped and got really quiet. That's when I
heard God say to me "That's ok, I love you anyway." So I made the very simple
response "Ok God, I'm gay." It took a little longer before I understood it
from a scriptural point of view but that came in time with study.
My senior year of college I made a decision. I decided it was time to come out
to the Wesley Foundation. In a long conversation with the campus minister,
we disagreed on the issue of homosexuality. He stated clearly that I would no
longer be able to lead canceling a devotion I was to do to not give the appearance
of approving of my "lifestyle." After they informed the youth director at
Park Avenue that I now "considered myself gay", I was told that it would be
best for me not to come back on Sunday nights to help because parents would
not like it. Since I was graduating soon, I felt it wasn't worth fighting.
Moving to Athens, Georgia, following graduation gave me another chance.
After connecting to the UGA Wesley Foundation, I found a community group
for grad students. They really welcomed me and I never hid the fact that I was
gay, but I didn't bring it up either. By spring, my relationship with God was
back on track and I was really trying to live his will for my life. I felt like God
was calling me to share with the group about my sexuality. A group leader
talked to the campus minister who basically questioned my intelligence for
believing that homosexuality was natural, and then questioned my faith for
believing God was ok with it. They threatened church discipline but backed
down saying they wanted me to stay a part of the group, but they could not
create a "pro-homosexuality" forum. To no avail, I tried explaining that I didn't
want to debate Bible passages. I simply wanted to share what it felt like to
be a gay Christian in a community that is not accepting of homosexuality.
Silenced again--rejected by my church family--the family that made promises
to me at baptism.
I tried to go elsewhere, but I kept being called home to my Methodist roots
and traditions. I missed the church that loved me and taught me Jesus loved
me. I moved back to Valdosta. With joy my first Sunday back in town, I accepted
a friend's invitation to a church--The Gathering: A United Methodist
Congregation. I went there and loved it--the praise, the worship, the warmth,
and the welcome. Quickly feeling at home, I became a greeter and usher. When the
pastor announced a membership class, I jumped at the chance. I wanted to
transfer my membership to The Gathering. After the class, I set up the required
one-to-one meeting with the pastor figuring this was more of a formality since I
am already a life-long member of the UMC. At the end of the meeting he said
"Joey I was hoping you would bring it up but since you didn't I will. I understand
you consider yourself to be a homosexual." I told him the truth. He then said
that because I am gay it would not be appropriate for me to join.
He offered two options: ex-gay reparative therapy or celibacy. I said flat out
absolutely not, because I was not willing to put myself through that kind of
pain again that separated me from God. I also knew that lying by keeping my
private life private would cause my spirituality to suffer and that Jesus longs
for us to have integrity. I do not feel called to be single and hope to one day
find and commit to a life partner. At this impasse, he claimed the power to
deny my transfer of membership. In hope, I sent letters to the Valdosta district
superintendent and to the bishop of the South Georgia conference. The pastor
told me that even if they required him to allow me to join, he would
refuse. After discussion between these United Methodist leaders from which
I was excluded, they affirmed his decision to deny my transfer of membership.
Somehow through this long and hard journey, I have clung to God and my
faith. Now I work for inclusion. In our connectional system, I simply want to
go to church--my home church--that I love so much and have given so much
of my time and service and be fully welcomed as the full member I already
am-equally, without hesitation, in whatever neighborhood I choose to live.

u-dog

07-04-2007, 07:36 PM

It just makes me want to weep and gnash my teeth -- to rage and smash things. That a fine young man like Joey Heath should be turned away from the church because of who he is an OUTRAGE.

After what happened to Jenna in Iowa, what happened to Joey, and what happened to a UMC pastor friend of mine (defrocked because she is a Lesbian in a committed relationship) All I can say with regard to the United Methodist Church is that it seems to me as though ... Jesus has left the building.

tpdncr4christ

07-05-2007, 12:22 AM

All I can say with regard to the United Methodist Church is that it seems to me as though ... Jesus has left the building.

UMC is the church I was raised in. I've seen several pastor's go through my church, most of whom weren't the greatest Shepard's of the congregation. One pastor, the Senior Pastor, had an affair with the Associate Pastor and then left his wife, and the Ass. left her husband and the two got married in our church. The Bishop simply relocated them, due to the many complaints and the sudden lack of Sunday attendance... both of them kept their "frock."

Jesus was never in the building... so He couldn't have possibly left.

Steven E. Webster

07-05-2007, 06:57 AM

UMC is the church I was raised in. I've seen several pastor's go through my church, most of whom weren't the greatest Shepard's of the congregation. One pastor, the Senior Pastor, had an affair with the Associate Pastor and then left his wife, and the Ass. left her husband and the two got married in our church. The Bishop simply relocated them, due to the many complaints and the sudden lack of Sunday attendance... both of them kept their "frock."

Jesus was never in the building... so He couldn't have possibly left.

I'm not suprised there are plenty of former United Methodists here! You certainly can't be faulted for leaving the UMC (if you haven't already been thrown out!) However, I don't believe Jesus has abandoned anyone--Some United Methodists may have abandoned Jesus, but Jesus still wants to redeem them from their hypocrisy, their homophobia, and whatever their shortcomings may be.

There are many fine lesbians and gays like Rev. Beth Stroud and Joey Heath who remain in the United Methodist Church and who, I believe, deserve our support. There are more LGBT kids being born in the United Methodist Church every day, and it would be nice to spare them the pain some of us have experienced.

The United Methodist Church is also potentially significant to us strategically for the following reasons:

1) It's the third largest denomination in the U.S.--after the Roman Catholic Church and the Southern Baptist Convention.

2) Its members hold positions of power in society--John Edwards, Hillary Clinton, George W. Bush and Dick Cheney are members of the United Methodist Church--illustrating also how wide a spectrum United Methodists come from.

3) Unlike the Roman Catholic and Southern Baptist Churches, the United Methodists actually continue to discuss their policies on LGBT people. The Roman Catholics are not democratic, and the Southern Baptist Convention simply excludes pro-LGBT persons from their governing bodies. In the United Methodist General Conference the policies are somewhat more "moderate" and dissent is alive and well. Many United Methodists have proven receptive to Soulforce's direct actions at General Conference. The pro-LGBT side wins some small victories in General Conference and is on the losing side of a 60-40 split on other issues. There is more opportunity for dialogue in the UMC than in any other of the largest denominations.

I don't fault anyone from leaving the UMC--one needs to do what is spiritually best for oneself first of all, but I am hoping to find support for good folks like Rev. Beth Stroud and Joey Heath who remain in the United Methodist Church. There are LGBT kids being born to United Methodists every day who need our support as well. I'd like to see future generations of UMC kids not suffer (and even die) from the UMC's homophobia.

I am hoping to see both Beth and Joey in Nashville next month at this fabulous pro-LGBT Convocation of United Methodists:

http://www.rmnetwork.org/

Steven Webster

BrentRichards

07-05-2007, 05:01 PM

Had the good fortune of meeting Joey on the ER stop at Messiah College ... his faith and gentleness is evident from the moment you meet him. Any church that turns him away is foolish, and a church that turns him away for his orientation has the additional "distinction" of being wicked and un-Christlike.

I grew up in the UMC. I am "ex" UMC for reasons unrelated to my orientation ... Life is not much better for us in the PCUSA, where I currently hang my hat.

Steven E. Webster

07-05-2007, 09:53 PM

Friends,

Joey Heath's story (found above in post # 4) was published in the newsletter of the United Methodist Reconciling Ministries Network--a group of United Methodists continuing to work for LGBT inclusion in the church. Joey, for now, is continuing to work for change in the United Methodist Church. Soulforce has worked with Reconciling Ministries to some extent in the past, and I hope Soulforce might do so again in the future.

Soulforce is important because it makes a spiritual home for those who've been thrown out or pushed out of their church homes. It also helps sustain people like me who've been out of the closet LGBT activists working in an anti-LGBT church environment for 35 years now.

I hope we can unite the "insiders" and the "outsiders" to defeat the homophobia that will otherwise continue to hurt more kids like Joey in the United Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Baptist, Roman Catholic and other churches.

Withdrawing from these churches' abusive environments, and staying to work for change from within are both valid responses--these different paths should work together, not against each other.

In Soulforce, back in 2000, I even found pagans, atheists and Jews who shared the passion for justice and believed we needed to unite across creedal boundaries to end the Spiritual Violence which comes from the United Methodist Church (and most other churches, it seems). I hope I can still find that support through Soulforce.

Steven Webster

Steven E. Webster

07-07-2007, 08:22 AM

Friends,

Here's an article (link below) about Rev. Drew Phoenix, formerly Rev. Ann Gordon. Pastor Phoenix is a female to male transgender person. As the article notes, he is likely to cause a stir when the United Methodist Judicial Council meets this October (with anti-LGBT Surgeon General nominee, James W. Holsinger as President of the Council), and again at the UM General Conference next April.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-
md.ci.methodist06jul06,0,4816709.story?coll=bal-local-headlines

Steven Webster

Steven E. Webster

07-07-2007, 08:42 AM

Friends,

I'm having trouble with that link to the Baltimore Sun on Rev. Drew Phoenix, so here is the text

From the Baltimore Sun

St. John's and its pastor are reborn
Church advocates acceptance, love -- starting with its transgender
leader
By Liz F. Kay
sun reporter

July 6, 2007

The pastor of St. John's United Methodist Church wasn't worried about
the congregation's reaction to his transition from Ann Gordon to Drew
Phoenix.

A banner reading "Praising God, Seeking Justice," hangs outside the
Charles Village church. Rainbow cloth is draped from poles inside the
Sunday room where members worship. And decades ago, the congregation
became an early advocate for full participation of people within the
church regardless of sexual or gender identity.

Now Phoenix, who chose the reference to the mythological beast for
his last name as a symbol of his rebirth as a man last year, is
helping St. John's rise from its own ashes.

The church's sanctuary was destroyed by a fire in 1981, and the
congregation had dwindled to about eight or 10 dedicated members when
Phoenix -- then known as the Rev. Ann Gordon -- arrived five years
ago.

Today as many as 50 adults and children regularly attend services
there, and the congregation is beginning the first stages of
renovating its building for more community use.

"Everyone can sort of walk in on Sunday, and everyone just sort of
accepts them," says Kara Ker of Wyman Park, who joined in 1998. "He
has definitely created a space where everyone's ideas are heard,
where people have a chance to grow."

And St. John's became the nurturing environment that Phoenix needed
to finally recognize and accept that the female gender he was born
with did not match the male identity he says he believes God had
given him.

"It made it much easier. To be supported by the congregation I'm
serving is pretty remarkable," he says.

The 48-year-old grew up in a small farm town in southern Ohio and
became a Methodist as an adult, while attending graduate school at
American University.

Phoenix felt the call to ordination and entered Washington's Wesley
Theological Seminary in 1986.

He was assigned to several congregations in Maryland before the
Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church placed
him in charge of St. John's in 2002.

"I don't believe in coincidences. It had to be divine intervention,"
Phoenix says.

Founded in 1828, just five blocks north of the birthplace of
Methodism in the United States, St. John's was an early base of
Methodist Protestantism.

It emphasized justice and opposed the establishment of a hierarchy in
favor of power to the laity, Phoenix says.

In the 1970s, it became the 13th congregation to join the Reconciling
Ministries Network, which promotes full participation of gays and
lesbians in ministry.

In addition to inviting in gay, lesbian and transgender members, the
church operates an emergency shelter and has housed political
refugees.

"It had a long history of being inclusive," Phoenix says. "I was
elated to be appointed here."

When he decided to pursue surgery and hormone treatment last year, he
told members individually and then in larger groups.

"I assumed it would not be a problem at St. John's, which it was
not," Phoenix recalls.

The congregation's Web site bills St. John's as "worshipping a
radically inclusive God." Last month, church members marched in the
city's Pride Parade with a float expressing the theme "This ain't
your daddy's church."

But some within the United Methodist Church are raising questions
about the roles transgender people ought to serve, calling for a
broader denomination-wide discussion.

Last month, Phoenix was received with applause when he discussed his
transgender identity and decision to live as a man during the
regional conference's annual meeting.

But some fellow clergy called for a "rule of law" on the decision to
reappoint him to St. John's, although the Methodists' Book of
Discipline -- a compilation of church legislation -- has no
references to transgender issues.

The ruling would be reviewed by the Judicial Council, the
denomination's highest legal authority, which meets in October.

"We've been very thankful that so far the church has had no
restrictions for transgender folks who are called to serve in
ministry," says the Rev. Troy Plummer of the Reconciling Ministries
Network.

Phoenix's transition and reappointment could join a broader
discussion about the place of lesbians and gays within the church.

Methodism does not now allow noncelibate gays and lesbians to be
ordained or appointed as clergy. And the growth of the church in
Africa -- where congregations of all Christian faiths tend to be more
conservative politically and ideologically -- is sure to create more
tension with respect to the issue, Phoenix says, as it has with the
Episcopal Church.

"I think the Council of Bishops is in this very challenging place, of
balancing new constituency and their beliefs and politics,
ideological understandings with everyone else's," Phoenix
says. "There's a [feeling of] not wanting to rock the boat."

The discussion could lead to the examination of questions such as
marriage of trans- gender Methodists. As an unmarried pastor, Phoenix
says he took a vow of celibacy. But he is legally considered a male
in the state of Maryland and can get married here, he says.

Few other Christian denominations have ruled on the matter above the
parish or diocesan level. Catholics have banned trans- gendered
people outright from religious order; there are isolated examples of
ordained transgender clergy in large denominations.

About 60 transgender clergy attended a transgender religious summit
last fall organized by the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in
Religion and Ministry at the Pacific School of Religion.

"There are no real policies on the books of the denominations," says
the Rev. Dr. Jay E. Johnson, the center's acting executive
director. "It's an open question for the U.S. legal system and
states, as well as in religious circles."

While serving at St. John's, the pastor became aware of the
possibility of female-to-male sex changes. The change would end the
dissonance between his birth gender and his perception of himself --
as well as the perception of those around him.

For years, people have yelled at him or called security when he
entered women's restrooms. When he would introduce himself as "Ann,"
they would comment on his interesting family name -- for a guy.

He was even asked to present identification when picking up his
credentials at two annual meetings of the Baltimore-Washington
conference.

Phoenix had initially served as pastor of St. John's as well as
Rodgers Forge United Methodist. After Phoenix told Bishop John R.
Schol about his plans to transition to life as a man, the pastor left
the Baltimore County church and the St. John's congregation increased
its contribution to his salary.

"I was really pleased that Drew was able to do something like this
without fearing for his job and without fearing for his church," says
Lexa Newman, who followed her pastor from Rodgers Forge UMC. "Now
Drew gets to be the gender he has identified as being all his life,
without being a different person than the phenomenal person that Ann
was."

During a recent Sunday morning, about 30 people sat in folding chairs
arranged in a semicircle facing Phoenix, who wore khakis, not
vestments. Children ate snacks at low tables to the side, and piano
music accompanied all four verses of each hymn.

The pastor, standing near an informal altar, led a discussion rather
than a traditional sermon. Afterward the group gathered for what they
described as a "cook-in" due to the bad weather.

Phoenix "has been a wonderful shepherd to this congregation," says
Carrie Frias of Lauraville, noting that God's message hasn't changed
despite the pastor's transformation. "There's a presence. This is
somebody who is happy with who they are and happy to reflect who they
are."

Steven E. Webster

08-05-2007, 05:56 AM

Friends,

I'm with a whole bunch (over 400!) of LGBT United Methodists and allies this weekend in Nashville. It's a great time!

I posted the story of Joey Heath a few posts earlier in this thread. Joey spoke to the whole Convocation here last night. He's the sweetest young gay man you can imagine. He's a committed United Methodist and he tried to transfer his membership to a United Methodist Church in the town he had moved to. The pastor refused to accept his transfer of membership! He filed a complaint with the Bishop and District Superintendent, but they still refused.

This still blows my mind! (As it did the rest of the convocation!) Joey was an Equality Rider this Spring. And he says he and his boyfriend are going to keep attending that church. It kind a sounds like the way Mel White keeps attending Jerry Falwell's church.

The Convocation has been a very moving and spiritual experience. There is planning and preparation for the United Methodist General Conference going on. The General Conference is in Fort Worth in late April/early May of 2008. The issue of the membership of LGBT people in the church will be a big issue. I think these people are going to make a really good witness.

The Soulforce Equality Ride was nominated for an award at an Awards Ceremony. The Ride didn't "win," but they did a good job of presenting the story (and that was all in addition to Joey Heath's moving witness). Soulforce is something of an "outsider" here, but folks seem to respect Soulforce and they expect there to be a Soulforce presence at General Conference (as there has been every four years since 2004.)

I gave a small workshop (at their invitation) on Soulforce. It went well.

It's way early in the a.m., I need to get ready for the last day of worship and planning. Then I'm flying back to Madison this afternoon.

Steven Webster

kara speltz

08-05-2007, 06:52 PM

BruceChris

08-05-2007, 06:57 PM

I/we do not believe that being born with the gender attraction that we are born with is a sin. We believe that it is a gift from God/dess.

Even if it were a sin, the people who condemn us are (A) guilty of the sin of being in judgment, and (B) guilty of the sin of election, that is, believing that they are more beloved by God than someone else is.

So in any case, they cannot call us *unrepentant sinners* without falling under the very same judgment.

As Always, Peace and Love, Bruce Chris

Steven E. Webster

08-06-2007, 07:19 AM

Dear Steve: Thanks for keeping us abreast of what's happening there. It's good to know that Soulforce was represented. I recall telling all those Methodists that I'd see them in Ft. Worth in 2008, but as Soulforce continues to make changes, I'm wondering if we will. I know I personally have given up on the Catholic bishops and I also know that's against the principles of Soulforce but as I watched Ratzinger move the church, further and further to the right, I just can't see an end. I have much more hope for the Methodists and the Lutherans.
Kara

Kara,
Maybe you shouldn't look upon Soulforce as having given up on the Roman Catholic Bishops--maybe we're just giving that a rest for now, and others are maintaining a witness in many little ways. I know there was quite a protest from the pews here in Madison when Bishop Morlino tried to tell the faithful how to vote on our so-called marriage amendment last year.

One blessing is that the United Methodist General Conference meets only once in four years. Another blessing is that there is alot more real democracy in the UMC than there is in either the Roman Catholic or Southern Baptist denominations. We have a large number of Methodist Bishops supporting us---unfortunately it is General Conference delegates we must convince, and not Bishops.

Another real attraction to the United Methodist General Conference is the presence of global delegates. There is a real need for us to connect with the global movement for LGBT equality. (I was so pleased to see at Madison's tiny pride parade a float that raised the issue of LGBT oppression in Eastern Europe--I assume by LGBT Madisonians with Eastern European connections.) Our opponents have gone global, so do we.

At the Reconciling Congregations Convocation I saw a lot of strength and hope, and, yes, a place for Soulforce to continue to work. I saw some of the good fruit that was produced by Soulforce's prior actions--even influencing church leaders.

We heard a Hispanic American Southern Baptist Scholar speak to us about how is mind was changed--he grew up in Miami and supported Anita Bryant's campaign. He said he was a "gay-basher." Now he speaks out for LGBT equality. He gave us some real insights into the global struggle for LGBT rights--a tough issue, but one we can't avoid.

More later, I'm back from the Nashville convocation of the Reconciling Ministries Network and I need to get back to my regular employment this morning.

Steven Webster

Steven E. Webster

08-19-2007, 09:58 PM

Friends,

I attended a very moving and energizing gathering of LGBT United Methodists and allies (including lots of PFLAG-type parents!) held at Vanderbilt University in Nashville earlier this month. It was a fabulous gathering with over 450 people in attendance.

Here's a link to an article in the United Methodist Reporter that gives a nice overview of the Reconciling Ministries Convocation:

http://www.umportal.org/article.asp?id=2453

Here is a link to another article that appears in the United Methodist Reporter:

http://www.umportal.org/article.asp?id=2450

The above article does include an interview with one set of United Methodist parents who do not accept their child's gayness so well--seems like they stuck this part into this story "for balance." Never-the-less the article over all is good. And the fact that the son of the non-accepting parents seems to have succeded in establishing a committed partnership with his lover despite his parents disapproval seems to speak for itself.

The pictures of the rainbow stoles are from the meeting at Vanderbilt in Nashville where the interviews with the LGBT-supportive parents occured. The Parent's Reconciling Network which is an ally-group with the Reconciling Ministries Network is producing huge numbers of these stoles and they plan to use them for a large, visible presence at the every-four-years United Methodist General Conference that meets in Fort Worth Texas next Spring.

I also want to share with you this link--a story in the United Methodist Reporter about the Rev. Beth Stroud, the United Methodist minister who was defrocked in a church trial for being lesbian. I saw her at the same meeting in Nashville, which is where the reporter interviewed her--here's the link:

http://www.umportal.org/article.asp?id=2455

You know, it's quite impressive that the United Methodist Reporter carried these articles which generally treated LGBT people fairly and sympathetically. This was not always the case with this paper. The United Methodist Reporter is not owned by the United Methodist denomination, but is a private enterprise based in Texas. They used to be very very anti-gay--especially thirty years ago. I think that may be changing a little now--we are making progress in reaching people.

Sorry, I'm going to keep editing this post as I find more articles in United Methodist Reporter coming out of the Nashville Convocation of the Reconciling Ministries Network.
Here's an interview with a transgender United Methodist:

http://www.umportal.org/article.asp?id=2459

And here's an article on a transgender issue coming before the United Methodist Judicial Council:
http://www.umportal.org/article.asp?id=2451

And here's an article on a Spanish language resource for LBGT folks and family and friends.

http://www.umportal.org/article.asp?id=2457

And here's one more--this isn't connected to the Reconciling Ministries Conference, but relates to a more local Texas Methodist story. The United Methodist Reporter has come a long way!

http://www.umportal.org/article.asp?id=2458

Steven Webster

Steven E. Webster

08-26-2007, 07:20 AM

Friends,

The official United Methodist News Service (UMNS) has picked up an article first published in the United Methodist Reporter (an independent paper based in Texas and not officially related to the United Methodist Church).

Here's the link:
http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nl/content3.asp?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=2433457&ct=4309509

I was at the Reconciling Convocation in early August where the LGBT supportive parents were interviewed. It was a great event with many PFLAG-type parents who are organized in the United Methodist Church as the Parents' Reconciling Network

For balance the article also contains an interview with parents who do not accept their son's homosexuality and who have been involved in what is called the Transforming movement---the United Methodist version of the "ex-gay" movement. It is interesting that the gay son in this case is depicted as in an 11-year committed relationship, and that he has stood his ground against his parent's intolerance of his sexual orientation.

The article then uses an interview with a third set of parents as a kind of rejoinder that rejects the "love the sinner, hate the sin" approach.

I happened to meet this reporter in the airport shuttle on the way to the airport as we left Nashville. We had a nice chat. I was impressed that she was a real listener (as one would expect from a good reporter). She clearly heard what the parents at the convocation had to say.

Once again we have an example of the powerful witness of PFLAG parents!

Steven Webster

PittsburghJeff

09-04-2007, 11:57 PM

When I read the Book of Discipline I am discouraged about the words they use to describe us as "incompatable with Christian teaching", but when I pray about their unkind words I am reminded that the love they give comes from themselves and not from our beautiful Lord whose love has no boundaries. When Jesus died on the cross, one of the things that he said was "Father forgive them for they know not what they do", meaning "Father forgive them they don't understand". It is with that spirit of forgiveness that I am able to serve with my own acceptance and a strong feeling of a call from God to serve in the United Methodist Church. All the people that vote for those words that provide exclusivity of membership, that is all the love they have to give. For we love our neighbor, as we love ourselves. Those words in the Book of Discipline have to do with them and the love they have to give; in their judgement, I believe it becomes a judgement on themselves. When I have discussions with the more seasoned Pastors in the church, they seem to get it. We have alot of friends in the United Methodist Church. Our presence in the United Methodist Church is a wonderful witness of Christ's love in the church and I believe through our presence, God's reminds his church of what it really means to love.

u-dog

09-05-2007, 06:21 AM

Thanks Jeff. That is helpful to realize and to remember. Their inability to love us has to do with THEIR sinful nature and THEIR brokeness... not OURS, and our presence in their midst is a tool God is using to bring healing to them.

antonyh

02-06-2008, 09:54 PM

I wanted to bump Steve's thread since General Conference 2008 is coming up soon. I wanted to share Reconciling Ministries Network's Flashnet with you. This week's issue is about the membership issues facing the General Conference. It is definitely an important read if you're planning to attend General Conference in Fort Worth.

http://www.rmnetwork.org/Flashnet_show.asp?FlashnetID=149

chuck2pastor

02-14-2008, 06:58 AM

To my new Soulforce friends:
When I went to college, I became involved with Campus Crusade for Christ and the students there complained about the United Methodist Church. I went to Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and the students there bewailed the liberalism of the UMC. So have all the congregations I have served as pastor. After 25 years of serving the church that I grew up in, and where I found Jesus, I am not prepared to say about it that "Jesus has left the building." There are pockets of hope in the church as witnessed by those congregations and organizations who have identified themselves as "Reconciling". In reaction to our infamous judicial council decision saying that a pastor could deny a person membership because of being gay, a group called Grace for All was formed and I am a part of that group. At their last meeting a week ago, I came out to them and received support such as I thought was not possible.

I cannot see myself joining another denomination as pastor, unless it would be the UCC or MCC; no other denomination is as accepting of gays and lesbians on an official, denominian-wide scale. I am holding my breath to see what happens at the 2008 General Conference. It just might be time to switch denominations. Or perhaps for me to leave pastoral ministry.

BenL

02-14-2008, 07:27 AM

In reaction to our infamous judicial council decision saying that a pastor could deny a person membership because of being gay, a group called Grace for All was formed and I am a part of that group. At their last meeting a week ago, I came out to them and received support such as I thought was not possible.

I cannot see myself joining another denomination as pastor, unless it would be the UCC or MCC; no other denomination is as accepting of gays and lesbians on an official, denominian-wide scale. I am holding my breath to see what happens at the 2008 General Conference. It just might be time to switch denominations. Or perhaps for me to leave pastoral ministry.

Oh, Chuck, good news and bad all mixed up here in your post. But I must commend your willingness to stick it out and bring change from within. "Grace for All" is such an apt name for the group you describe. We all have to continuously remind ourselves that God's love is available free to all, no litmus test required. Good luck. We'll be praying both for the UMC as it gathers and the Soulforce witness/action.

archyboi

03-06-2008, 07:17 PM

Hi,

I'm a member of First United Methodist Church of Conway, AR, in good standing. I am a life-long Methodist. I am a Wesleyan-Tillichian-Outlerian Methodist. I am a member of my church's Church and Society Committee. I am a member of the Arkansas Chapter of Methodist Federation for Social Action. I will be at General Conference as a representative for my MFSA Arkansas Chapter.

I wish to meet y'all at the Friday night get together. I'm looking forward to pitching in on the Action demonstrations. I wish to share my extensive knowledge too.

Let's start a on-going conversation.

antonyh

03-06-2008, 09:26 PM

c-Tw6UWtidc

http://www.generalconference2008.org

Visit often! See you in Fort Worth, TX

antonyh

04-11-2008, 08:56 PM

andrewlittle

04-12-2008, 08:37 AM

A beautifully written commentary, Steven. I sent the link to Jenna so she can read it, too. It's much closer to home for her.

BlueGirl

04-12-2008, 12:43 PM

I wanted to share an article that Stephen Webster got published at the United Methodist site (a small miracle on it's own):

http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=2789393&ct=5182207

Very powerful!

Thank you very much for sharing that article with us. I've just made copies, one to send to the minister of the Methodist church that I've been a member of but am going to withdraw from and no longer attend (as well as any other church). He has no problem with my being gay :) but the Sunday school teachers evidently do. :( One of them, who claimed to be a friend, said I shouldn't tell anyone I'm gay. She'd ask me out to eat or shop once in a while when it suited her for some reason, most likely just to give her an ego boost (long story), then treat me like I was dirt under her feet or nothing at all until the next time. I guess she was afraid of what people might think if they knew I was gay and knew that she associated with me, even if it was only once in a blue moon.

BlueGirl

Steven E. Webster

04-20-2008, 06:58 PM

Friends,

The Dallas Morning News ran the UM News Service Commentary that I wrote. It got alot of comments there from readers.

http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/04/umc-must-cease-spiritual-viole.html

This Dallas Morning News article has a quote from me. Very good local story about Northhaven UM Church and a staff member who was a United Methodist pastor before she came out as lesbian.

http://www.dallasvoice.com/artman/publish/article_8688.php

The Fort Worth Star mentions us in broader article

http://www.star-telegram.com/metro_news/story/592310.html

I worshiped this morning at a local United Church of Christ congregation in Fort Worth, First United Church of Christ. They are about to officially declare themselves "Open and Affirming."

Steven Webster
Now in Fort Worth for General Conference

Emproph

04-21-2008, 05:12 PM

but I still have no idea as to the scope of its meaning.

IRD Endangers United Methodist Church By Joining Lawsuit (http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/4/21/91257/4635)
By Steven D. Martin
Mon Apr 21, 2008

This posting comes after about a month of research into the facts surrounding the GBCS's legal case, a matter of public record and of interest to all United Methodists. As I have been aware of the controversy around the GBCS's Methodist Building trust, I was stunned to discover that the IRD brought interveners to the matter. This action truly puts the church in peril.

This action represents a serious blow to the United Methodist Church. It almost guarantees that at the very least, UMC offerings will go to pay legal expenses rather than feeding hungry children in Sudan, Haiti, or any number of places around the world. This matter shows that the IRD is truly unconcerned with the mission of the church- it is only concerned with that mission's destruction.

Steven E. Webster

04-21-2008, 06:27 PM

but I still have no idea as to the scope of its meaning.

IRD Endangers United Methodist Church By Joining Lawsuit (http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/4/21/91257/4635)
By Steven D. Martin
Mon Apr 21, 2008

Emproph, thanks for posting this. I try to keep up with Talk2Action.org.

The Institute for Religion and Democracy (IRD) is a Washington D.C. based, right-wing think tank that is very much behind the ongoing schism in the Episcopal Church, and they would like to accomplish the same mischief in the United Methodist Church.

The IRD board consists of Neoconservative, right-wing Catholics and Reconstructionists (Howard Ahmanson is a billionare who funded the Chalcedon Foundation for Rusdoony as well as the right-wing Anglicans in this country who are trying to tear apart the Episcopal Church.)

They want to quash any kind of "liberal" social justice work in the mainline churches. Their domestic politics fits right in with the Grover Norquist crowd. Their international politics is pro-Iraq War and pro-Neo-conservative, pro "American Empire". They especially want to discredit the strong pacifist tradition in the United Methodist Church.

Mark Tooley, mentioned in the article that you linked to, is IRD's point person on the United Methodist Church---he's a former CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) analyst.

Like Karl Rove, their main interest in LGBT folks is the usefulness of the "issue" to divide and conquer.

While I loved Mel White's book on "Religion Gone Bad," I don't believe he touched on this piece of the "vast right-wing conspiracy." Mel knows the right-wing Evangelicals. IRD represents the right-wing Catholics and their ties to the Evangelical wing of mainlline churches.

Steven Webster

Emproph

04-21-2008, 08:23 PM

Mark Tooley, mentioned in the article that you linked to, is IRD's point person on the United Methodist Church---he's a former CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) analyst.
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h308/JMAC_suga_BaBi_27/smiley%20faces/mood_scared.gif

Steven E. Webster

04-28-2008, 10:30 PM

Friends,

Soulforce has been a beautiful presence at the United Methodist General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas as a part of a rainbow coalition of other LGBT United Methodist organizations and other progressive UM organizations. We are working well with allied groups and providing them some of our resources and experiences in nonviolence. I'm particularly enjoying working with Reconciling Minsitries Network and with Anthony who posts to this list (see elsewhere in this thread).

There was an important victory today. Moderate and Progressive candidates swept the Judicial Council elections! That means the United Methodist General Conference has thrown out the court that gave us the awful "Decision 1032" which summarily granted local church pastors the "sole authority" (without review by their District Superintendants and Bishops) to deny membership in the local church to LGBT persons.

Here's a link to a story: http://www.umnexus.org/?p=75

The 5-4 right-wing majority was turned out and now the court has an 8 to 1 majority of moderates and progressives.

NOW WE NEED A TEST CASE TO OVERTURN DECISION 1032! Or maybe the General Conference will yet pass new legislation that will nullify the effect of Decision 1032.

We still have the rest of this week before General Conference ends.

I'll try to keep you all posted.

Steven Webster

Steven E. Webster

04-29-2008, 11:31 PM

Friends,

Our adversaries brought alot of very negative petitions to the General Conference about transgender persons. We have had some of the best panels and workshops available on the transgender issue led by transgender people themselves. Soulforce sponsored one such event and the Reconciling Ministries the other. The events were coordinated and complemented one another. One was a press conference and the other a picnic.

The good news so far is that these negative petitions have been killed in committee. They could still raise their ugly heads in the plenary sessions, but, so far, things are going well. Keep us in your prayers.

If the United Methodist Church adopts negative language about transgender persons, I believe it would be the first major denomination to do so, and it would be a bad precedent for others to follow (not to mention an embarassment because it would reveal a great deal of ignorance.)

Steven Webster

Emproph

04-30-2008, 08:44 AM

Avidly watching.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e86/alizak82/smileys/thtv2.gif

Steven E. Webster

05-01-2008, 02:50 AM

HarmlessEccentric

05-01-2008, 07:01 AM

I am praying for all of Soulforce's people in Texas. I've been following the progress of GC on the internet thanks to the streaming video, and I was deeply disheartened to watch our brothers from Africa saying such unkind things about us. Their world is so different from ours, and I don't know how to help them understand. But our cause is right, and so our victory, though too long delayed, is inevitable. Our opponents know that, too- even while they have the upper hand, they know that in the end, justice and fairness will prevail. Hang in there; my whole church is praying for Soulforce and Reconciling Ministries and their difficult work at the conference, and what you're doing is sowing seeds that will grow.

glbt_equality

05-01-2008, 07:05 AM

Friends,

We did not succeed in getting rid of the old clause "we do not condone the practice of homosexuality and consider it contrary to Christian teaching."

We did not succeed in introducing language that would legislatively reverse Decision 1032 which allows pastors to deny LGBT peple membership.

I spoke with a Methodist Bishop this evening who agreed with me that
we have probably won over a majority of U.S. delegates int he General Conference, but the number of delegates from Africa is large enough to throw elections towards more right-wing politics.'
I can't take much time to write now. We are, in fact, in negotiations with leadership of the General Conference concerning plans for direct action, possibly including arrests. These arrests could happen just several hours from now.

Please pray for us.

Steven Webster

This just breaks my heart, Stephen, I know they told us not to expect any change, but admit my hopes were soaring after Monday's news that five pro-gay judiciary members had been elected, and that the IRC had lost several positions. Now I'm wishing that I could have somehow stayed long enough to help with today's action. I would be proud to be arrested for such a noble cause.

Please know that we'll be praying for you!

And take heart that change is always slow. Gerrit Smith, at the 1870 Conference, wrote about Methodists who had spoken out in favor of slavery at the 1836 Conference:

"How wide and evil the influence of such an insanely pro-slavery General Conference as that in Cincinnati in 1836! Scarcely less so that of the pro-slavery words spoken, at subsequent periods, by such eminent and authoritative Methodists as Dr. Olin, Bishop Soule, Dr. Bond and Bishop Hedding - one of whom went so far as to say that a man's being a slaveholder should not be allowed to disqualify him for being a bishop, and another of whom positively declined putting a motion, which simply declared shivery to be a moral evil." (The Methodist Convention of 1870: Who wrote that last resolution? How came it to be adopted? Thanks to Syracuse University Library, Special Collections Research Center, Gerrit Smith Broadside and Pamphlet Collection.)

The writing is on the wall. This spiritual violence (which inevitably gives license to physical violence) must surely end. And someday soon, those who supported it will not be remembered kindly.

With great love and affection - Troy Carlyle

nmwolfboy

05-01-2008, 07:31 AM

Steven, thanks for the updates. i am saddened that GC hasn't gone a different way, but at least the balance of the court has improved, and folks from the IRD have lost ground.

Finding that we continue to be strongly held up as scapegoats is also saddening. It certainly is a "crucified place", as the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church has named it.

i formally withdrew from membership in the UMC several years ago, principally because of the stance on homosexuality. i continue to pray for those who remain and work for the change to which they discern that the Spirit is calling the church.

The UMC, the Episcopal Church where i now belong, the Presbyterian Church within which my cousin's widow serves as a pastor, indeed the church catholic - the struggles and challenges are so similar.

Thanks again for the updates-

pax- :dove:
scott

Steven E. Webster

05-01-2008, 10:35 PM

Friends,

(If you scroll all the way to the end of this message, I provide a link to video of the direct action we undertook with our allies at General Conference this morning.)

Last night we all went to bed expecting that a selected delegation of twelve of us would prepare to be arrested at the end of a direct action at General Conference this morning. We've been meeting with a crisis team of Bishops, Conference officials and a professional mediator almost every day for most of the last two weeks. The night before last we had a training in Soulforce principles by Soulforce staff Bill Carpenter and Equality Rider Alexy Bulokhov.

Suddenly, this morning, we had a break through. We had prepared a list of twelve volunteers from the allied groups at General Conference who were ready for arrest at the end of our direct action. The Bishops on the team proposed that rather than having our direct action end in arrests, they would bring forward twelve bishops who would begin a series of on-going meetings with twelve of our representatives to dialogue about our grievances in order to seek reconciliation and justice.

It seems, so far, that they will acknowledge that there were irregularities or mistakes in the conduct of the plenary during the debate related to our issues. There has already been some preliminary reporting out of the group of twelve plus twelve. The Bishops (in the United Methodist Church) do not have authority to fix all of our problems, only General Conference can do that. But they can provide powerful leadership and witness towards reconciliation and justice.

The direct action which is depicted in the video linked below was made possible by the willingness of our Bishops to use their authority to make it possible.

You will find a link titled "homosexuality witness" on this page:
http://www.umc.org/site/c.lwL4KnN1LtH/b.4047987/k.6384/General_Conference_Sights_and_Sounds.htm

Steven Webster
in Fort Worth, Texas

glbt_equality

05-02-2008, 08:56 AM

Friends,

(If you scroll all the way to the end of this message, I provide a link to video of the direct action we undertook with our allies at General Conference this morning.)

Steven Webster
in Fort Worth, Texas

Wow - this video is amazing, and I'm heartened by the news. I'm going to share it with the East Texas community through my website, too. Maybe all these prayers are doing some good after all!

You have all our love, support and fond wishes, Troy

Steven E. Webster

05-02-2008, 09:42 PM

Friends,

Here's the link:
http://www.generalconference2008.org/2008/05/constitutional.html

This was a real turn around and a surprise! I heard one of our allies say that we should have done yesterday's witness earlier in the Conference rather than wait until after the bad votes that occurred on Wednesday. It really appears that yesterday's direct action/witness had a major impact.

(see the video of that witness here: http://www.generalconference2008.org/)

The LGBTQ & allies coalition at the General Conference believe that the passage of this amendment to the United Methodist Constitution will supercede Decision 1032 and any other legislation that might be used to exclude LGBTQ from membership in any local congregation in the United Methodist Church.

However, we need to get the votes of two thirds of all voting members of all of the Annual Conferences to ratify this amendment before it becomes church law. So we've got a big job ahead of us. Every vote counts! Even if we don't get a majority in an individual Annual Conference, the "yes" votes count towards the "aggregate total" (What I'm saying is that it takes 2/3 of the annual conference members of all the conferences, NOT two thirds of the annual conferences). I'll write more on this topic later.

Steven Webster (writing from Fort Worth).

Zerbie

05-02-2008, 09:44 PM

Waita minute -- I'm completely confused (wasn't following this closely, so please forgive) -- does the condemnatory language still stand? Or not?
:confused:

Steven E. Webster

05-02-2008, 09:47 PM

Friends,

More good news from the United Methodist General Conference. A broader definition of family now also includes "same-sex couples."

Here's the link:

http://www.generalconference2008.org/2008/05/petition-on-car.html

Steven Webster

Steven E. Webster

05-02-2008, 10:08 PM

Waita minute -- I'm completely confused (wasn't following this closely, so please forgive) -- does the condemnatory language still stand? Or not?
:confused:

Zerbie,

It's way complicated, I guess. The "homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching" language is still there. However this "teaching" is only some Methodists' opinion--it won't be able to stop LGBTQ people from joining the church if this new constitional amendment is ratified. Nobody in my home church believes this so-called "Christian teaching" on homosexuality! Eventually we will get rid of this language.

The United Methodist Book of Discipline does not claim to be perfect. It is, after all, the creation of an elected committee of 1000 imperfect individuals getting together for two weeks every four years. It contains inconsistencies all over the place.

When you look at the votes, it is clear that U.S. United Methodists would get rid of all the anti-gay stuff if it was just up to them. What is happening is that a right wing faction led by the Institute on Religion and Democracy, Good News, and the Confessing Movement are using the votes of delegates from the African Conferences to block progress. Eventually we will overcome that. Delegates who stood up to support our witness yesterday included one Nigerian woman who stood up in defiance of the rest of the Nigerian delegation. She will be the first of more to come. When the Africans eventually understand what is going on (and they will), they will no longer do the bidding of right-wing white men in America.

Steven Webster (still in Fort Worth)

Zerbie

05-02-2008, 10:15 PM

Thanks.

So, is this new amendment functioning as a sort of functional barrier to any practical effect of the toxic language?

Steven E. Webster

05-02-2008, 10:22 PM

Thanks.

So, is this new amendment functioning as a sort of functional barrier to any practical effect of the toxic language?

Don't get me wrong---this toxic language is bad and still needs to be removed. We have to live with it for four more years, at least. We will need to go to the next General Conference and witness against this awful language until it is finally gone.

But in the meantime, United Methodist ministers will not be able to claim the right to deny LGBTQ people membership in the church.

Just previously I posted a link to a petition that was adopted by General Conference that recognizes that same-sex couples with children and couples without children (and alot of other family configurations) are all family. This is major!!! It adds to the contradictions in the Book of Discipline. Eventually they will recognize our marriages, it is inevitable!

Steven Webster

Steven E. Webster

05-02-2008, 10:26 PM

Friends,

Here's the link:

http://www.generalconference2008.org/2008/05/methodists-atte.html

This was a wonderful, wonderful celebration!

It will drive the right-wing nuts!!!

The ceremony was beautiful. They used the liturgy of the United Methodist Church for Marriage. It was really wonderful for me to hear the words of that service--the very same that Jim and I used when we were married in City Hall in Toronto!

Steven Webster

Steven E. Webster

05-03-2008, 07:19 AM

Friends,

Conference ended last night. One report I've seen described it as a mixture of highs and lows, good and bad, disappointment and hope. It's going to take time to see how the many language changes in the Book of Discipline play out. I will be writing more analysis in coming days and studying what other knowledgable analysts think.

Zerbie is certainly right, "incompatible with Christian teaching" is not an acceptable judgment on LGBTQ people. Nor is it right to continue the ban on ordination of lesbian and gay people.

Please note, however, that Drew Phoenix, the Baltimore United Methodist Pastor who is transgender, is safe. The General Conference was unable to add any negative language about transgender persons, even though such language was proposed by the Institute on Religion and Democracy and the Transforming Congregations ("ex-gay") organization. There still is no basis in our United Methodist Discipline to defrock a pastor simply for being transgender, or undertaking a transition from one gender to another. I was really concerned that the United Methodist Church might become the first to introduce negative language on transgender folks and set a precedent for other churches to follow--this did not happen.

This will be my last post from Fort Worth, Texas. Jim, my husband, and I will begin our long drive back to Madison, Wisconsin later today. I'll check back in when I get home.

Steven Webster (writing from Fort Worth, TX)

Kelli Busey

05-03-2008, 08:23 AM

Dear Jim and Steven,
Safe journey to Wisconsin please. Your love, friendship and leadership in Ft Worth made me a very spiritually wealthy woman!! I am so looking forward to the next General Conference!! I am attending Sunday service at the Northhaven Methodist Church this Sunday. I need to be with a Methodist Congregation.
I will share to the best of my abilities the grandness and richness of my experience at General Conference with my home Church, Agape FT Worth and Transgender Advocates of Central Texas (TACT).
God Bless you,
Love Kelli

BenL

05-03-2008, 03:47 PM

When you look at the votes, it is clear that U.S. United Methodists would get rid of all the anti-gay stuff if it was just up to them. What is happening is that a right wing faction led by the Institute on Religion and Democracy, Good News, and the Confessing Movement are using the votes of delegates from the African Conferences to block progress. Eventually we will overcome that. Delegates who stood up to support our witness yesterday included one Nigerian woman who stood up in defiance of the rest of the Nigerian delegation. She will be the first of more to come. When the Africans eventually understand what is going on (and they will), they will no longer do the bidding of right-wing white men in America.

Steven, PLEASE export some of this spirit to Lambeth at the beginning of July so that the Anglican bishops from Africa can see their way more clearly to affirming communion with the Episcopal Church USA. Unfortunately, Lambeth is a "bishops only" conference, unlike most Anglican synods, which by tradition include the laity as voting members. Lambeth has never carried canonical jurisdiction over the independent provinces of the Anglican Communion, but many conservatives, who are a vocal majority right now, would like to impose a more Vatican-like hierarchical structure on the Communion. Oh, how the Anglican reformers must be spinning in their graves!

Steven E. Webster

05-04-2008, 07:40 AM

Steven, PLEASE export some of this spirit to Lambeth at the beginning of July so that the Anglican bishops from Africa can see their way more clearly to affirming communion with the Episcopal Church USA. Unfortunately, Lambeth is a "bishops only" conference, unlike most Anglican synods, which by tradition include the laity as voting members. Lambeth has never carried canonical jurisdiction over the independent provinces of the Anglican Communion, but many conservatives, who are a vocal majority right now, would like to impose a more Vatican-like hierarchical structure on the Communion. Oh, how the Anglican reformers must be spinning in their graves!

Ben,
There would be a lot of benefit to cooperation among United Methodist and Episcopalian progressives. We have similar problems with the African branches of our communions. (And we both have the neoconservative Institute for Religion and Democracy meddling in our internal affairs!) There are different polities (organizational structure) but similar problems. And, as you probably know, Methodists come out of the Anglican tradition.

I follow Episcopalian news with some interest.

Steven Webster

Steven E. Webster

05-04-2008, 11:27 AM

Friends,

I believe that the online video of the LGBTQ witness on the floor of the General Conference (see above in post #40 of this thread) did not include the opening remarks by Bishop McClesky and Bishop Gregory Palmer. I also here transcribe Bishop McClesky's description of the "Twelve Plus Twelve" conversation between bishops and LGBTQ people.

I transcribed this from the DVD which was made available by United Methodist Communications at the end of General Conference.

I really believe these remarks represent a small, but significant, turning point in our dialogue with the church. Notice that Bishop McClesky calls it a "dialogue towards reconciliation and justice."

Steven Webster

The following are transcripts of remarks by the presiding bishop and the President of the Council of Bishops during the LGBTQ and allies witness on the floor of the General Conference.

Bishop J. Lawrence McClesky presiding:

In recent hours this body has engaged in holy conferencing regarding issues on which there is a diversity of perspective. There are members of our United Methodist family present who have not been active participants in our process, and who wish to share a witness. Rule 3.3 of your rules of order states, “the presiding officer shall have the right to recess a session of the body at any time at the presiding officer’s discretion and to reconvene at such time as the presiding officer shall announce.”

In conversation involving representatives of the commission of the general conference, the council of bishops and persons present who wish to make a witness, it appears to be in the best interest of our process of holy conferencing to provide a means for such a witness, therefore I intend to recess this plenary session to allow for this witness. In a few moments the witnesses will enter the hall by the center aisle and when I announce it the body will be in recess for 15 minutes for the purpose of receiving this witness.

You are invited to receive it in a gracious spirit of Christian hospitality and holy conferencing. At the conclusion of 15 minutes I will call the body to order for the resumption of the morning agenda.

Before we begin the recess, I will ask that Bishop Gregory Palmer, President of the Council of the Bishops come and share a statement with us, and I trust that you will grant him your permission for him to do so. Bishop Palmer.

Bishop Gregory Palmer, President of the Council of Bishops speaking:

Thank you delegates, and Bishop McClesky and friends.

In many ways this has been an extraordinary General Conference. Among other things we have been blessed by powerful worship, keen missional focus and holy conferencing.
And we have bound ourselves together in covenant to do no harm, do good and to stay in love with God.

As we have worked our way through the legislative material some decisions have been more wrenching than others to all the members of this body and the whole church including your bishops.

As your bishops, we want you to know that we have been in deep conversation, holy conferencing and sensitive listening to you and to one another.

This has led us to reaffirm our covenant to do the following four things:

To love, serve and lead all United Methodists.

To continue to prayerfully remain in robust conversation with one another, and to lead the church in doing the same, especially about difficult matters.

To preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to teach and live the three simple rules

And finally, to lead the church in making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

This covenant informs our role as your chief shepherds.

During this time of witness you will see bishops serving the body in a variety of ways:

All of us will be in prayer. Some bishops will remain in their places, and some will be in other parts of the auditorium.
Some bishops will demonstrably live out our pastoral role among this body
Some will give expression to the presidential role that the church has asked us to fulfill.

But all of us will be laboring with all of you to do no harm, to do good and to stay in love with God.

[The recess and witness begin. At the end of the witness the Bishop McClesky called the body to order with the following words]

Bishop McClesky:

We are now at the conclusion of our 15 minutes allotted for this witness and as these members of our United Methodist family who have shared their witness are departing, I’m going to ask our music leaders to lead us in singing some hymns

Let me say as we sing, that as these witnesses leave, twelve of our bishops will join twelve of these witnesses for the purpose of ongoing holy conversation towards the end of reconciling and justices.

We thank you for sharing this time with us, Will the music leaders now lead us in the singing of some hymns.

[There followed the singing of “Jesus, Remember Me” and “His Eye is on the Sparrow”]

BruceChris

05-04-2008, 08:43 PM

It will drive the right-wing wing-nuts nuts!

It's all in the punctuation

Peace and Love, and some fun :lol: now and then, Bruce Chris

antonyh

05-05-2008, 08:17 PM

antonyh

05-05-2008, 08:22 PM

One of the joys of General Conference for me was meeting Steven. He is really an amazing guy. He worked with us in all our negotiations with the Bishops. Wowza!

Daniel

05-05-2008, 11:21 PM

Truly....

I've been out of touch for awhile. Read through this thread and just want to note that I have the utmost admiration for the time and energy that has been put into the conference by Steven, his partner Jim and Soulforce. There aren't words to express to how reading through this thread has made me feel.

All I can say is that I bow to the light within you- Steven and Jim, Anthony, Zerbie, BruceChris, Kelli and SF and all those who's energy, presence and commitment has made a difference- for that is what I read here- a difference has been made- toxic language or no. The day will come when that will change too: and the hearts and minds that will change it have aready been touched with the warmth and love that bring it about.

I bow to the light within you....I bow to the light within you....I bow to the light within you....

antonyh

05-05-2008, 11:43 PM

Daniel, it is nice to hear from you. I've been rather scarce on the forum since I started at RMN three months ago. It is only because all of us at RMN have been putting in long hours to get ready for General Conference. At General Conference, I was working from 6am to 2am some days for 10 days solid. It felt like basic training. Even though LGBT people were crushed by the legislation at General Conference, I believe the preparation of RMN, Soulforce, MFSA and Affirmation paid off in non-violent witness.

There are no words for how I feel right now. Numb, heartbroken, tearful, crushed, overwhelmed. I spent most of General Conference looking through a camera at the pain and heartache of people I love being torn apart by the heterosexism and homophobia in The United Methodist Church. I had to work so hard on communications that I am only now starting to grieve myself. But mostly I am concerned for the wellbeing of those I love.

I've already started to receive letters in my inbox from people who are going to leave the United Methodist Church over what happened at General Conference. I have had the opposite experience. I have witnessed hundreds of people live out the United Methodist membership vows to resist evil, oppression, sin and injustice in the world. We put our bodies on the pavement and made the delegates walk over the wounded. We walked on the Plenary floor and declared at the center of one of the largest protestant denominations in the world, "Homosexuality is not a sin." We let our tears and our pain show. It felt like a new stonewall.

What I saw at General Conference was Methodism at it's finest....people who live out their membership vows to resist oppression. Soulforce was a quiet and powerful presence through all of it for which I am eternally grateful.

I'm in awe in my pain.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3234/2456642103_1d637b21e3.jpg?v=0
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3084/2457808554_2f091274d6.jpg?v=0

Daniel

05-06-2008, 01:30 AM

So goes the Sufi saying....

Anthony- I don't know exactly what wisdom that lies within this moment, but your pictures bring me to tears.....

I send you much love and hugs and hold you close....thank you for bearing witness to the sorrow and pain of what you and others have gone through this past week.

A light shines bright there.....

antonyh

05-06-2008, 08:26 AM

Cross Posted from GeneralConference2008.org:

O God of unfathomable depths and mysterious ways, when we think about it, there is really so little that we understand. Whether it's a storm that passes one house and destroys another, a war that seemingly has no end, or a church that sanctions exclusion, we are left shaking our heads and wondering what it all means. Wondering how we can possibly find you in the midst of the mess. How long must we wander in this wilderness, O God? How long must we ask to serve you and be told NO? God who moved over the face of the waters and who hovers still over the chaos of our lives, we are weary of the noise. We are tired of the cacophony of rattling sabers, the endless distractions that shift our gaze to lines drawn in the sand, to distinctions of mine and yours, and to legal language of right and wrong instead of words of love and grace and justice and mercy. God who breathed life into fashioned clay, breathe into us now that we may be formed into your people once again. Quiet the storm within our denomination that the wave of your grace may roll over us. Heal us and all those who suffer from oppressive measures that we may find hope in this despair, pride in the shame of it all, courage in our fear, and resolution in defeat. Shift our eyes from a downward glance to stars outshining the darkest nights. Let us find water in the rock and life in dry bones. Raise us once more to new life and make of us something strong and full of grace. Free within us the courage to be vulnerable enough to offer a hand to clasp. Heal us that we may be bread to eat, wine to share, and mortal fools for your kin-dom. Fill us that we might be bold enough to take a stand, or speak a word, or shed a tear, or to make again the decision to follow you and, in so doing, that we will, by grace, come to life abundant and come to dare, and come to hope and love your future in.
Amen.

antonyh

05-06-2008, 08:28 AM

Cross Posted from GeneralConference2008.org
an essay by Steven Dry, New England Conference

Christians, we are the children of whispered centuries, of fearful times and worried minds. Our minds have been molded in the womb of Christian authority. We were born into a rigid architecture, baptized by unquestioned lies and confirmed by poisonous precedents, all teaching us the consequences of being different. Restrictive doctrines have shattered our love with shame and have taken our pride with pleasure. The worst part is, the church has done so with no mercy and not a touch of regret within its airy buildings, buildings that are no longer places to worship, but places to worry. Light saturates the pews with fearful luminescence and stabbing shadows, while parishioners quiver behind a silent tradition, afraid that they might be the next to go. And so those mute mouths, once able to speak, have become a second Tower of Babel, collapsing to build borders, not made of language, but of fear.

White steeples loom high with condemnation as they seeks out difference and paint over it with white, using an amalgam of scriptural texts and a particular religious understanding of those texts in order to create an artificial unity, or, more appropriately, uniformity. These scriptures became a means of maintaining purity and absoluteness, a purity that heretics threaten to undermine. This tradition began with early Christian leaders who fought against the Marcions and Gnostics as a means of maintaining order in the church. Even today, despite all the supposed tolerance and liberalism in the United Methodist Church, influential leaders continue to read the Bible strictly. Rather than using it as a narrative of Christ enacting Christian compassion, leaders handle the Bible as if it were a book of answers and a means of condemning those who fall outside of the status quo. Ironically, it is within the very texts that Christian leaders use to condemn the marginalized that Jesus sought out the social outcasts, the lepers, prostitutes, tax collectors, and foreigners, and showed them compassion.

In order to return to Jesus’ calling, we must transform Christianity from a condemning, absolute orthodoxy into a welcoming, compassionate orthopraxi. Only then can the marginalized find room in its rigid infrastructure. The Bible must become a means to an end, rather than an end in itself. It must be valued as a repository of wisdom and an aid to living a Christian life, rather than simply a moral answer book. Instead of venerating the texts of Christ and using them to degrade others, we must use those texts as guides for showing Christian compassion to the entire World. By doing this, the concrete walls of the Church loosen, opening a space for all Christians, not just those who fit into the mold. Only then, can the sun can break through the foggy windows and shine a new, accepting light into the shadows where the marginalized hide. This reconciling glow will travel mystically throughout the sanctuary, seeking out the least and the lost, finally arriving at the altar. There, as the bread and the cup collide, sweet, reassuring drops of future will touch mouths once burdened with the bitter taste of tradition.

Unfortunately, this is but a distant vision. Nevertheless, in a world where hate has fettered hope and love has gone into hiding, we must arise from the shadows of this oppressive church and shine our own colorful reflections, staining the silence of this sterile, oppressive church and showing it our beautiful palette of diversity. This is the first step, and we must not be afraid. We can bear this crown of silence and cross of injustice no longer. We must have our own Easter Sunday.

Steven E. Webster

05-09-2008, 07:51 AM

Friends,

This is a summary of General Conference by the Executive Director of the Reconciling Ministries Network. As the Co-Chair of the United Methodist Team of Soulforce at General Conference, I enjoyed working with Troy Plummer, and Troy's evaluation of General Conference as "mixed" seems pretty accurate to me. Here it is.

Fort Worth Roller Coaster by Troy Plummer

I actually love roller coasters -- ups, downs, turns, surprising drops, surprising loops. With a bit of inner ear nausea, I'm still processing what it all means. While I'm not clear yet, I would like to share briefly with you some information. Unlike previous General Conferences (GC), where there was a direct downward spiral legislatively on LGBTQ inclusion, this Fort Worth's Future With Hope was mixed.

* GC kept the original basic membership language that was misinterpreted in JC #1032 (49%-51%), but strengthened open transfers of membership and later by a 2/3rds vote replaced a "list" to include with the words "ministry to all" in the UM Constitution section on Inclusivity.

*GC maintained "the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching" (45%-55%) while it added "loving caregivers" and "same-sex couples with children" to the definition of family.

*GC kept a funding ban on "promoting homosexuality" but stressed that it could not be used to "reject or condemn lesbian and gay members and friends" and further passed anti-homophobia, anti-heterosexism pieces that mandated providing resources to educate and reduce harm.

*Finally, GC gave us two peaks to celebrate: 1) the election of moderates to the Judicial Council who hopefully can tell the difference between "may" and "shall" in the eligibility section for membership and 2) the refusal to discriminate against transgender persons -- lay or clergy.

What smoothed the ride out on this roller coaster was the consistent spirit presence of the One Family Tree witness from the Parent's lunch, Young Adult drumming and rally, Reconciling Worship at First UMC, Good Friday "die in" and "Were You There?" floor witness, to the Easter hope wedding of Sue Laurie and Julie Bruno. We started with family and ended with family. We can't create One Family Tree by human means alone, but God can with and through us. Remembering our long-haul mission, planning for 2012 in Florida has already begun.

Troy refers to a "downward spiral" for LGBTQ people that I believe began with the 1996 General Conference and continued in 2000 and 2004. I think there is hope that the 2008 General Conference may represent a turning point.

Steven Webster