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 | Year 2000: The General Conference was held
from MAY-2 to 12 in Cleveland OH. Ironically, the conference theme
was: "We Who Are Many Are One Body." Attitudes towards equal rights for gays and lesbians seem to have
hardened. Two weeks previously, charges were laid against Melfin Talbert, a bishop in California. He said that policies in local
Methodist churches that foster "inclusiveness and justice"
take priority over national church law. On MAY-8, a resolution was rejected 705 to 210 that would have required a loyalty oath of any minister assigned to a congregation: "I do not believe that homosexuality is God's perfect will for any person. I will not practice it. I will not promote it. I will not allow its promotion to be encouraged under my authority." |
The delegates passed a resolution reaffirming their belief that homosexual behavior is incompatible with Christian teaching (the vote was 628 to 337). A compromise proposal to replace this statement with one stating that: "Many consider this practice incompatible with Christian teaching. Others believe it acceptable when practiced in a context of human covenantal faithfulness," was defeated 585 to 376. This is a 61% majority. A demonstration in support of equal rights for gays which had been peaceful, started singing the civil rights anthem "We Shall Overcome," and marched onto the stage. Randy Miller of San Francisco asked and was granted permission to address the delegates. He said:
"We have broken covenant because this church has broken covenant with us. We were baptized in this church, and grew up in your Sunday schools [only to be excluded as gay and lesbian adults.] The covenant is already broken. We take it as an act of conscience to be forcibly removed from here."
About 27 demonstrators were peacefully arrested, including two bishops and at least three ministers. Some delegates and visitors chanted "Shame! Shame!"Two other resolutions were passed. These repeated decisions of earlier conferences: that sexually active gays and lesbians cannot be ordained (640-317), and that UMC ministers may not conduct "ceremonies that celebrate homosexual union." (646 - 294) This is a majority of 69%, compared with a majority of 63% on a similar resolution at the 1996 convention. A proposal to modify the language so that violations would not be prosecuted was rejected. 5
Rev. Mel White, director of Soulforce an ecumenical gay-straight alliance said: "We think the Holy Spirit has left the United Methodist Church as a denomination. God is for justice, and when you exclude people from a congregation, God goes out the door with the outcasts."Some UMC members are suggesting a schism in the denomination. Rev. James Heidenger, editor of the conservative Good News magazine commented: "Is an amicable departure a better option than continuing to tear away at the fabric of our denomination?...We are pained at their pain, and we don't want to be unloving in our response. But I'm not sure I see a middle ground here."
| 2004: The General Conference was scheduled for APR-27
to MAY-7 in Pittsburgh, PA.
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| 2006:
The Minnesota Annual Conference of
the United Methodist Church passed nine petitions related to
homosexuality. Victoria Rebeck, communications director for the
Conference said: "The biggest news is that we had a good, respectful
discussion of these very emotional issues and people really listened to
each other." The closest vote was a real squeaker: 358 to 356. It
involved a petition to change the definition of marriage from "a man
and a woman" to "two adult persons," and to delete a sentence
supporting laws that define marriage as between a man and woman. The
resolutions will be passed on to the 2008 General Conference. Reactions:
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2008: The General Conference was held in late April and
early May in Fort Worth, TX. On 2008-MAR-30, the delegates rejected still
another motion to delete the denomination's policy that homosexual behavior
conflicts with Christian teaching. Rev. Eric Folkerth, pastor of Northaven
United Methodist Church in Dallas, said: "It was a terrible day. ...
American Methodists are ready for change." However, change appears
to have been prevented this time by the votes of international delegates,
particularly those from Africa, whose numbers and influence have grown because
of the growth of the denomination outside of the U.S.
Faye Short, president
of Renewal Network, a group of conservative evangelical UMC women commented: "If
that ever changes, it's probably the death knell for the church. I don't think
it would hold together." | ||||||||||
| 2009-MAY-02: The United Methodist Judicial Council ruled that a clergyperson cannot perform same-sex marriages or civil unions, even if their regional church district or regional annual conference supports such rituals. 10 |
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This topic continues in the next essay
Related essay:
| Is compromise possible, or is schism inevitable? |
References:
- A very complete analysis of the denomination's policies regarding homosexuality was once found at David W. Perkins' site at: http://www.geocities.com/ Unfortunately, Geocites terminated all of its sites, and this one apparently did not survive.
- The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church 1992, Paragraph 906.12, Page 450
- "The Church Studies Homosexuality," Cokesbury, Nashville, TN; (1994) Page 19.
- Jimmy Creech, "Response to the Judicial Charge", 1998-JAN-26 is at: http://www.iwgonline.org/docs/creech.html
- "Methodists vote anti-gay," PlanetOut, 2000-MAY-11, at: http://www.planetout.com/pno/news/article.html?2000
- Linda Bloom, "Daily Wrap-up: Delegates honor black members, mark UMW milestone," United Methodist Church, 2004-APR-30, at: http://umc.org/.
- "Prohibit promotion of acceptance of homosexuality," Petition 40255, General Conference, 2004-MAY-4, at: http://www.umc.org/
- "United Methodists approve ordaining gay clergy, marriage," Associated Press, 2006-JUN-02, at: http://www.in-forum.com/
- "Hundreds protest Methodist church's stance on homosexuality at Fort Worth conference," Dallas Morning News, 2008-MAY-01, at: http://www.generalconference2008.org/
- "Methodist court affirms ban on clergy uniting same-sex couples," Associated Press, 2009-MAY-02, at: http://www.onenewsnow.com/
Copyright © 2000 to 2009 by Ontario Consultants on
Religious Tolerance
Last update: 2009-MAY-03
Author: B.A. Robinson
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