First Sunday Program, January 5

On Sunday, January 5, instead of a worship service we will have a discussion surrounding the upcoming trial in Detroit involving the constitutional ban on same gender marriage in Michigan. Our guest will be the Rev. Kim Riegel, a Universalist Unitarian pastor who has been at the forefront of the fight for marriage equality in Michigan. She will discuss what has been done to prepare for the trial, some background of what brought the case to the federal court, the reasons Judge Friedman did not rule in October, what the various outcomes might be in February and how we should respond to his ruling, i.e. what is the next step if he rules against us and what our options are if he rules in our favor regarding a window of time we would have for couples to obtain licenses before Att. General Shuette issues a stay against the judge's decision. George Jonte-Crane will moderate the discussion.

Fellowship at 7:00 and discussion at 7:30. Please note the time! The program will be at our usual place, in the chapel of Nardin Park United Methodist Church, 29887 W. Eleven Mile Rd., Farmington Hills. That's just west of Middlebelt.

Free Tax Help

Newburg United Methodist Church is offering free tax help to anyone whose tax filings may be impacted by the repeal of DOMA. The Income Tax and Retirement Planning Workshop will be Saturday, January 11, 2014, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm in Guthrie Hall at the church. In June the Supreme Court ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional. This ruling has tax implications for all same-sex couples regardless of which state they reside and their current marital status. The seminar is free and open to the public. Newburgh UMC is at 36500 Ann Arbor Trail, Livonia. Please call the church office to RSVP: 734-422-0149.

This event is being offered as a free informational session for the community. It should not be construed as legal and/or tax advice.

Newburg UMC is a welcoming community.

Obedience to avoid chaos (and love)

I recently got a link for the General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church for their report on the recent meeting of the Council of Bishops. This is the meeting that called for charges be brought against Bishop Talbert for conducting a same-sex ceremony in Alabama. This post has some more details.

Before the ceremony Talbert informed the Council President and the bishop of Northern Alabama (where the ceremony was to be held) of what he intended to do. Both of them requested he not do the ceremony. He did it anyway. That's why the Council of Bishops want him charged with "undermining the ministry of a colleague." The other recommended charge is the more obvious "conducting a ceremony to celebrate the marriage of a same-gender couple."

It appears the full Council voted to approve this recommendation to bring charges. The vote tally isn't recorded. However, it is the "offended" bishop and/or the Council President who must actually bring charges, which are taken to the much more liberal Western Jurisdiction where the decision of what to do with Talbert is made.

The full resolution the Council voted on is more than a statement that they didn't like what Talbert did. While they say Talbert is in clear violation of the Book of Discipline and therefore charges should be brought, they also say the denomination as a whole and (more importantly) the Council of Bishops are "not of one mind" on the issues around homosexuality. The resolution includes a recommendation "for a task force to lead honest and respectful conversations regarding human sexuality, race and gender." Yeah, we get to be "studied." Again.

The Council also discussed the letter that requested the bishops stop holding trials. There were two responses from observers at the meeting. One was from Good News the conservative counterpart to Reconciling Ministries Network (the folks working for gay inclusion and other progressive issues). Good News is against a moratorium on trials. They essentially said if we don't have obedience to the Book of Discipline there will be chaos and anarchy. So, yeah, obedience trumps love. A very Power way of looking at it.

The other response was from Amy DeLong, a pastor who was put on trial in 2011 for conducting a same-sex ceremony and for being a lesbian in relationship. She is also against the moratorium. All it does, she says, is push the issue under the rug. We will be a divided church until we deal with the exclusionary language.

I disagree with DeLong because we can't officially change the policy until 2016 with no guarantee that it will happen then. If we continue the trials we'll get a public relations black eye, we'll lose a lot of good pastors, and we'll lose a lot of members.

Three other clergy are facing charges that might go to trial.
* Rev. Thomas Ogletree officiated at the wedding of his gay son.
* Rev. Sara Thompson Tweedy is accused of being a lesbian in relationship.
* Rev. Stephen Heiss officiated at several same-sex weddings, including that of his daughter.

UMC pastor suspended

I wrote about Frank Schaeffer's trial on my brother blog.

An apology

I wrote about a panel discussion I attended yesterday in which there were only five of us in attendance. When I wrote that yesterday evening I was rather dismissive of people letting a little storm keep them home. The news this morning was full of stories about how that storm was not at all little, spawning perhaps over 60 tornadoes and causing 8 deaths. Though there wasn't much damage where I was, either at the church in Ferndale or at home (though there were some huge puddles in the streets on the way home), elsewhere in the Detroit area there were a lot of downed branches and tens (hundreds?) of thousands without power.

I apologize for being dismissive.

Judicial Council Rulings

Three weeks ago I was at the Dedicated Reconciling United Methodists Fall Potluck and Program. The speaker was Bill Ritter who talked about his personal experiences with homosexual issues in the churches he served. As part of his talk he said the October meeting of the Judicial Council of the United Methodist Church was about to get underway and a few issues concerning gays would be on the docket. Ritter also said the Council of Bishops now has a distaste for conducting church trials for pastors who conduct same-sex marriages or civil unions.

I hadn't heard anything in the news or in any of my usual sources. Then a few days ago my dad sent me a link to a letter, which prompted me to go searching for the judicial rulings. I'll get back to the letter later. On to the rulings of interest with my attempt to decode the legalese:

Decision 1250: The Western Jurisdiction (Colorado and west) declared that when a pastor is brought to trial for conducting a same-sex ceremony the maximum penalty shall be one day. Those who promoted the declaration essentially said: You conducted a same-sex ceremony? Oh, darn, you get a day off.

The Judicial Council ruled that the Book of Discipline says the only people who can determine a penalty as a result of a trial is the jury at that trial.

Decision 1254: The California-Pacific Annual Conference (southern California, southern Nevada, Hawaii) declared they support another Western Jurisdiction declaration that calls on pastors to "operate as if the statement in Para. 161F does not exist."

I had to look this up to see which statement in the Book of Discipline is meant. Paragraph 161F is a long one, but this case could only refer to one big statement: "The United Methodist Church does not condone the practice of homosexuality and considers this practice incompatible with Christian teaching." That one is the foundation for all the nasty stuff, the ban on gay clergy who are not celibate, the ban on clergy performing same-sex ceremonies, and the ban on such ceremonies in our churches. So if this one is to treated as if it doesn't exist, all three bans are to be ignored. The bishop for the conference declared it legal.

Those who support the declaration say the statement is in the Social Principles section and because of that does not have the force of law. Blessing a same-sex union should correspond to another Social Principle that says war is bad, yet various church leaders sometimes declare war as justified and suffer no consequences when blessing a soldier before deployment. Alas, there was a ruling a few years ago that says the incompatibility clause is the lone exception that must be seen as church law, not a guiding principle.

The Judicial Council thought it odd that they were not ruling on the Western Jurisdiction's declaration (no one filed a complaint on the jurisdiction), but on the conference's support of the jurisdiction's declaration. Even so, they ruled on the issue before them.

Since the conference didn't "renounce" the statement in the Book of Discipline and didn't take action itself (it only called on churches in the conference to take action) their declaration is legal. The bishop did the right thing.

This decision does have a dissent. They wrote that a bishop's ruling, if not opposed by the Judicial Council, will be seen as law and bishops are not allowed to change church law.

Decision 125: The New York Annual Conference adopted a resolution titled "Commendation of Those Who Have Taken a Stand for Justice." It is commendations of individuals who have provided care for same-sex couples, have performed ceremonies for same-sex couples, and who have faced formal complaints for those actions. The Council was asked to rule on the legality of the resolution.

The Judicial Council says they get a lot of complaints similar to this one. And this ruling is the same as all the others. Such a resolution is a declaration that the signers disagree with current church law and hope to have it changed. That is permissible. It is also quite distinct from actually breaking church law or calling on others to break the law.

The ban on performing same-sex ceremonies will be on public display starting tomorrow. Rev. Frank Schaefer of Iona, Pennsylvania will be put on trial for officiating at his son's wedding in Massachusetts in 2007. Sheesh, how can a dad say no? So, yeah, a father put his career on the line because he loves his son who happens to be gay. This article in the UK Progressive tells Schaefer's story and provides a bit of history. It also summarizes what's wrong with this picture:

The public trials of Creech and soon Schaefer are disciplinary means of control to evoke fear among our allies and us. While UMC’s ultimate objective is to reinforce ecclesiastical heterosexism, it also keeps the church itself trapped in its sins of both homophobia and inhospitality. This recent public act of religious intolerance by the church not only feeds into the existing climate of queer-bashing in this society, but it also has LGBTQs constantly questioning their self-worth and relationship with the church and with God.

That refers to Jimmy Creech who was the subject of a church trial back in 1998 for conducting a same-sex ceremony in Omaha. He was the first. That was beautifully documented in his book Adam's Gift.

At General Conference last year, once the vote to repeal the "incompatibility" clause (see above) went against us, retired Bishop Melvin Talbert declared it to be "wrong and evil… it no longer calls for our obedience." He called for Biblical obedience to the love of God to supersede the Book of Discipline's bans. He has now put actions behind his mouth. At the end of October, he officiated at a same-sex ceremony at the United Church of Christ in Center Point, Alabama. That's right, the ceremony was not in a United Methodist Church but was led by a United Methodist bishop.

The national Council of Bishops met for their fall meeting last week and got all worked up over this. They called for charging Talbert. Alas, the news article didn't say by what means the entire Council came by that call.

The whole matter now goes to the Western Jurisdiction, because that was where Talbert served. The bishops of the jurisdiction are the ones who actually bring the charge. And this could get interesting because it is the Western Jurisdiction that called for ignoring the key phrase in the Book of Discipline (see above).

The various bans related to gay people were very much on the minds of the bishops. There's the trial that starts tomorrow. In support of Shaeffer, 36 Methodist clergy and 9 more from other denominations presided over a same-sex ceremony. And UMC church in Cambridge, Mass. has invited gay couples to hold weddings there to be officiated by their pastor. These incidents are only the ones listed in the news article. There are a lot more that aren't reported because everyone involved is just fine with it.

Now back to that letter my dad sent me. Yesterday I was able to view the link he sent. Alas, today that link is "unavailable." So I searched for another source. This one includes commentary.

The letter was written by Rev. Thomas Frank from Missouri. He was asked to consult in Schaeffer's trial. Frank calls on the bishops to stop the trials. Yeah, our opposition will file complaints against pastors who disobey the Book of Discipline but it is up to the bishop to decide what to do with the complaint. It doesn't have to go to trial. In addition, the Bishops can act on their own (or as a group, I suppose) between sessions of the General Conference (which next meets in 2016) when there is peril to the denomination. And the immediate peril is a split in the denomination.

Frank lays out his reasons to not conduct more trials. They're expensive, divisive, and damage the church's image. Besides, we're a church, not an episode of "Law and Order." We're not discussing criminal acts.

This afternoon I attended "Faith and the LGBTQ community," a panel discussion held at First United Methodist Church of Ferndale. Alas, there were only five of us and not even the whole panel was there. A good deal of the problem was the various news sources had the drumbeat going about nasty storms and the possibility of tornadoes. Yeah, it stormed during the program and we probably extended our talking while waiting for the worst of it to blow over. But there were no alerts to seek shelter. As for the panel, there were last-minute conflicts, such as one of them starting a new job.

So the five of us served as the panel for each other. We told our stories of why we're interested in a discussion about the acceptance of gays in the church. Alas, it was like preaching to the converted. Even so, it was worthwhile and important.

One of the original panelists in attendance was Bob Schoenhals, the pastor of the church and very much on our side. He helps organize the First Sunday inclusive services.

The other original panelist caught my attention. His first name is Harry and I don't remember the rest. He is a Catholic priest, but is independent of the hierarchy headed by the pope. Because of that he conducts services in the chapel of First UMC Ferndale rather than in the big Roman Catholic church next door. He chose the independent route because he is gay, fell in love while in seminary, and is now married. The congregation of about 20 is half gay, half straight and all seeking inclusion other than what the RC hierarchy approves.

Harry said about 80% of his seminary class was gay. I asked him about that. He replied that for many of them becoming a priest was a way for them to be accepted and to hide. Parents stopped asking why there were no girlfriends. Priests were expected to be nurturing instead of macho. Harry added that we might finally see progress on the acceptance of gays in the church now that the current pope doesn't feel he needs to compensate for his orientation the way the previous two did. Yup, he went there.

Correction to upcoming programs

I must make a correction to the times of the World AIDS Day service and dinner which I mentioned in the previous post. I had gotten conflicting information and it took a while to sort out. The service is at 4:00 and the dinner is at 5:00.

A reminder, the dinner is free, but a reservation is required. You can do that by sending an email to Fallintothered@gmail.com or by calling the church at (248) 545-4467. The church is at 22331 Woodward Ave. Ferndale.

Upcoming programs

Note the corrections with the time!

Ferndale First United Methodist Church is hosting two programs of interest. Both are part of their Fall into the Red series.

Faith and the LGBTQ Community will be a panel discussion on where we have been and where we are now. It will be at the church on Sunday, November 17 at 4:00 pm.

World AIDS Day will be observed on Sunday, December 1. The service is at 5:00 4:00 with a dinner celebration at 6:00 5:00. The dinner is free but you must RSVP by contacting the church. Note: This program is instead of our usual First Sunday program at Nardin Park UMC.

The church is at 22331 Woodward Ave. Ferndale. The phone is (248) 545-4467.

First Sunday Worship, November 3

The schedule of First Sunday programs has changed. Gathering time is now 7:00 and worship at 7:30. The change was made because of new programs at our host church, Nardin Park United Methodist Church, 29887 W. Eleven Mile Rd., Farmington Hills. That's just west of Middlebelt.

Rev. Bob Schoenhals will be leading our worship service on November 3 with a message that has an All Saints Day memorial emphasis.

Serving a meal at the Ruth Ellis Center

For many months a team from First United Methodist Church of Birmingham has been serving a once-a-month supper at the Ruth Ellis Center. Other congregations have noticed and are beginning to ask how they might do the same.

The Ruth Ellis Center is a place dear to me. I've been a kitchen volunteer there on most Wednesdays for five years. The Center is a place for runaway, homeless, and at-risk sexual minority youth. It is a place where they might receive a wide variety of services from an evening meal (where I help), free clothes, a place to shower and do laundry, a variety of counseling and mental health services, computer and internet access, job search training, a safe place to hang out with their friends (you should watch them dance!), and whatever else they might need to make it unto adulthood. The associated Ruth's House provides living space and guidance for homeless youth. When I heard about the Ruth Ellis Center I knew it was a place that filled a great need and I knew I had to help make it happen.

1st UMC Birmingham has a team that has committed to showing up once a month. If you are interested in providing a meal you might try it once before choosing a regular schedule. Supper is served on Monday and Wednesday evenings starting about 5:15.

You may contact me (Paul Kinney) at

if you have questions about serving at the center. You may also leave a comment to this blog post.

You may contact Rich Teets, a leader of the Birmingham team, at

if you have questions about how to create a team and what they do to prepare, deliver, and serve food.

You may contact Henry Walker, program director at the center, at

to schedule a date (we wouldn't want two fine meals to show up on the same evening). Henry would be glad to tell you what other materials (such as clothing) and supplies (such as dish soap) you might donate to the Center. He would also be delighted with monetary donations.

If you come on a Wednesday I'll be delighted to welcome you into my kitchen.

Fall Potluck and Program this Sunday

The Fall Potluck and Program is an annual event put on by Dedicated Reconciling United Methodists. It is this weekend, Sunday, October 20th at 6:00 pm. The evening will begin with the potluck dinner. Please bring a dish to pass and your own table service. The program and worship will begin at 7:00. The program portion will begin at 7:00, featuring Rev. Dr. William Ritter. He will talk on "Homosexuality and the UMC -- Past, Present, and Future." The event will be at Nardin Park United Methodist Church, 29887 W. Eleven Mile Rd., west of Middlebelt. Please use the west entrance.

First Sunday Program, October 6

This month we won't be having a worship service. Instead, Paul Kinney (that's me!) will be discussing his experiences at the recent Reconciling Ministries Convo. Come learn what Convo was all about. There is fellowship time with refreshments at 6:00 and worship at 6:30. We meet at Nardin Park United Methodist Church, 29887 W. Eleven Mile Rd., Farmington Hills. That's just west of Middlebelt.

The First Sunday Program will be changing soon. Please check back here for details.

Reconciling Ministries Network Convo

This is my report of my experience in Convo, held just outside Washington, DC this past weekend.

Friday, August 30
The Reconciling Ministries Convo “ChurchQuake” started today. I attended a day-long workshop on how to be a reconciling process coach. So, I know the basics of how to help a church become more welcoming. And I'm ready to be put to work... The materials for the workshop are much more comprehensive than I had gotten in previous such workshop. The guidance is much more step-by-step. The back cover of the booklet shows it was developed in conjunction with several other denominations.

We listened to Alton Pollard talk about what he learned from his mentor Howard Thurman. He suggested Thurman's book Jesus and the Disinherited. Some of the comments that caught my attention: Live the Village! There are no divisions in humanity even though we keep constructing new ones. Celebrate the rainbow. The church must be forever built, destroyed, and renewed. We think the destroy part means we've failed and avoid it. Playing is safe is destroying us. Be at home within yourself. Know who you are, know your home, then open your door and knock on another door. There are examples of communities without walls: those campaigning for the Dream Act, the Moral Monday movement in North Carolina, the Marriage Equality movement, and the March on Washington a few days ago. There is a problem in our language. “Diverse” is a noun, we need a verb.

Convo officially opened in the evening with a worship service. Rev. Vicki Flippin of Church of the Village in New York City gave the sermon. The Scripture was Acts 16:23-34 (though you might start a few verses before). Paul and Silas are beaten and thrown into prison. An earthquake opens the doors and breaks their chains. The jailer is afraid they had escaped and moves to kill himself. Paul says “We're still here.” The jailer becomes a follower.

Rev. Flippin (saying it much better than I could) proposed a new interpretation: The jail is the church that has become rigid, trusting rules more than love. The jailer believes he must support the church or chaos will result. Paul and Silas represent the gay people who have been chained by church doctrine. But when they break free they don't flee quietly into the night. Instead, they boldly proclaim we are still here, ready to build a new church out of the old one, a church with a foundation of love.

Peterson Toscano is our Bible study leader this weekend He talked about the sexual minorities in the Bible. In the Old Testament there were three sexes – male, female, and eunuch. Many times when the Bible mentions “official” or “government official” the Hebrew word was the equivalent of “eunuch.” So consider a story form Jeremiah (chapter 38). The prophet had upset the people in power (which is what prophets do). He was kidnapped and dumped down a well where it was expected he would die. But it was a eunuch who planned and carried out a rescue operation. One of our people.

Saturday, August 31
The morning worship service featured the story of Esther. Preacher Karen Oliveto expanded on the story. Her main point was: Perhaps you are where you are for such a time as this.

Peterson Toscano was back with a couple more stories about gender minorities in the Bible. This time he acted out the role. In the first story he took the part of the head eunuch in the court of Xerxes at the time Esther became queen. He played the character as really gay. His point was there are huge numbers of eunuchs in the story. Without them the story would fall apart.

In the second story he took the role of the manly Esau telling us about his nephew Joseph. Even though scholars say they don't know the proper definition of the Hebrew word translated as “coat of many colors” the word is used in the Bible one other place and there it clearly is described as “princess dress.” Yes, that implies Joseph was transgender. In addition, when the brothers find Joseph in Egypt Joseph rejects what all the other men in the family tend to do which is retaliate. Instead, he forgives.

The morning plenary session was a roundtable on the state of the movement. A few of the comments: Matt Berryman, new executive director of RMN, called on us to be Biblically obedient (as in the message of love) because we know how the story ends. The theme of Biblical obedience returned several times.

Randall Miller said this movement is greater than changing a few paragraphs in the Book of Discipline. It is also larger than gay issues. RMN should be larger too. We are not alone in this struggle. But we face problems. The United Methodist Church is aging, its population centers (thus more votes at General Conference) are in the South and in Africa, and the American church policy is based on a world vote.

Kristian Clauser is a transgender man. He said that when we get involved in trans issues, we will do such things as get involved in challenging voter ID laws, which will get us involved in issues of the homeless, the blind, the elderly, and immigrants. We're all connected.

Our afternoon was spent on a field trip. My group of a dozen went to the Sewall-Belmont House. It is across the street from the Supreme Court, though the Court was elsewhere when the house was built and used for its memorable purpose. That purpose was to serve as headquarters for the Suffrage movement of the turn of the last century. It is now a museum of that cause. Our tour guide told us of some of the events and described some of the interesting characters.

One of the women, with Vanderbilt in her name somewhere, hosted parties and at each one talked incessantly about a woman's right to vote. Finally, many of her friends said that unless she stopped talking about it they wouldn't come to any more parties. She agreed to be quiet. At the next party she displayed new china and every piece had the words “Votes for Women.” Of course, copies are on sale in the gift shop.

Another interesting character was cartoonist Nina Allender. Her job was to explain the movement to the country as concisely as she could. She always portrayed the women with dignity. This one is my favorite. Uncle Sam says:

American women. You are our inspiration. You give us our soldiers. You conserve our food. You work in our munition factories. You serve our sick and wounded. Accept this bouquet!

Her bindings say:

Unequal political rights. Equal work, unequal wages. Kindly omit flowers.

In spite of the cuteness of those two stories these women sometimes faced severe trials. That included a protest march that turned into a riot, sending 100 women to the hospital. Another march resulted in arrests ("obstructing traffic") and harsh treatments, including forced feedings. They asked to be labeled as political prisoners so their conditions would approve. The slipped notes of their treatment to the press, resulting in more converts to their cause.

The amendment granting the vote to women was approved by Congress on June 8, 1919. Two days later Wisconsin and Michigan ratified it. Enough states ratified it by August of 1920, only 14 months. Those that didn't ratify it (or didn't need to because there were already enough states that did) are mostly in the South. Alaska and Hawaii weren't states yet, though Hawaii did ratify it in the 1960s.

That evening Rev. Sam Offer led a plenary session on Embracing Connectedness. We each have a variety of identities, such as white, male, straight, middle class, well educated, Christian, etc. All these identities speak with one voice. They can't be separated. They influence how I relate to others who are not like me. We show up as an individual, but are frequently seen first as a member of a group which hides our individuality. Because of that we need to understand what the culture is saying about each of the groups in our identities.

A panel session featured people from organizations related to RMN – the youth MOSAIC group, the transgender group, and United Methodists of Color for a Fully Inclusive Church. They were asked how they felt about the denomination and what they bring to the discussion.

MOSAIC feels they are being silenced and ignored by the church. They feel dismissed as the “future” but they're ready to work for justice now! The people of color feel between worlds. Because of their stance on gay issues they feel shut out of their old world, but not quite embraced by the new. Yet, they know discrimination and want to end discrimination towards gay people as much as they want to end discrimination based on race. We need to create safe spaces to hear other voices. Trans people prompt discussions of gender and gender oppression.

How do we avoid tokenization? Are we talking to a person to check off a box or are we interested in their voice? The solution is to get to know more than one of us.

Sunday, September 1
The sermon in the morning worship was given by Marcus Briggs-Cloud of the Muskogee Nation. He gave the native view of America and Christianity and it wasn't always pretty. In native culture is the celebration of people described as one who stands between genders. They were integral to society and were assumed to have entered the world that way. This is a sharp contrast to the homophobia taught by the church. Though the Muskogee had men's work and women's work they didn't have a word for gender. Which means perhaps some of their stories are mistranslated. That includes the one about the spirit animal that liked to look up dresses. Europeans will say that animal is male. But maybe it was lesbian. Much of Western Society is built around oppression and that includes oppression of the Earth. If there is no Earth there is no life. Listen to the wind and rain.

Here is the altar and backdrop of our worship space.

Peterson Toscano was back with another story. This one was about Jesus instructing his disciples to prepare the Passover meal that would be the Last Supper. He tells them to go into the city and talk to a man carrying a water jug – but that was women's work! Peterson proposes this was a transgender person. Just before the Last Supper it is possible a transgender person played a key part of the story.

My first workshop was on Will Africa Always be Anti-gay ? It was an important topic because the African vote was a seen as a big reason why the gay affirming vote failed last year at General Conference. What do we do about that so we can avoid the same result in 2016? The discussion was lively. Some of the comments and questions: Should we be imposing our culture on another country? How do we share without exporting Western values? Perhaps we should break all ties? What do Africans think about possible separation? Would they feel free of our culture or miss the money we give them? What happens to our relationships when the size of our donations shrink? How can we be a worldwide church with a single nomenclature when differing cultures would seem to prevent that? Didn't our missionaries create this mess? How do we clean it up? Do we take the blame? If the only thing that seems to be part of the worldwide denomination is our social principles (even though they feel free to ignore the parts that don't fit their culture) what happens when that document is no longer world-wide?

Alas, a lot of our perceptions of Africa are negative and most of them appear to be wrong. Issues of literalism, sexuality, and polygamy aren't as black-and-white as they are frequently made out to be. The denomination has seen huge growth in Africa and Philippines. But in Europe and America we are shrinking. How is the relationship faring now? Even so, there are stories of hope. What should we do now? Talk.

The second workshop was about mercy and justice. The leaders asked us to define both terms. Then we were led an exercise. What do congregations do to help those in poverty? We came up with a long list. Then we were asked to name causes of poverty. That list was even longer. Then the discussion got interesting.

Why don't we church people work to eliminate poverty? That was a long list: The things we do to alleviate the basic needs of poverty are easy and allow us to feel good. We are sometimes given awards for it. But work to reduce poverty requires risk and sacrifice. It can lead to arrest. It might alienate us from friends. It is seen as too radical and too political. It requires building relationships with the poor, which we don't have. We fear the other. Some people feel the poor deserve their plight. It takes too long to see results. We might get compassion fatigue. We have no way to measure success. We don't know what to do when they ask for more.

When might we work towards elimination of poverty? When it is someone with whom we have a relationship. We want change that lasts for the people we love.

Charity work, or mercy, is never enough. It leaves the root cause in place and allows us to feel we've done enough. We can step up to self-help projects, such as community gardens. We can educate ourselves for transformation. We can step up to advocacy. Best of all is when we organize to advocate together. As a team we can name a specific change and create a strategy. We work up from one person to a team a district, a conference, and a nation.

How do we start? With a buddy. Share each other's story. My story includes the people and experiences that shaped me, my understanding of oppression, my vision, dream for change, and my hope. We look for points of connection and talk about who else cares and what's next. As we invite more people to the cause we share stories again, then develop a plan. Systemic problems are caused by real people and real people can be challenged.

Back at General Conference Bishop Melvin Talbert called for Biblical obedience over church laws. If we weren't able to change an unjust law, it was time to start ignoring it. Talbert was with us to renew that call. Oppression is a opportunity for all of us to practice what we preach. He and Bishop Mary Ann Swenson talked about how they came to support Biblical obedience. A panel told their own stories. One of them explained that no matter how much he checks the labels on clothing he can't eliminate foreign sweatshops. We as individuals cannot live ethically, the powers will make us complicit in their oppression. We can only end injustice together.

We had an evening service at one of the several Reconciling churches in Washington. The choir was a combined group from all such churches. Bishop Talbert was the preacher. The general theme was a celebration of how far we've come in marriage equality, including a recognition of the gay couples in attendance.

Monday, September 2
After a gathering by jurisdiction (USA is covered by 5 of them) to share a few ideas and meet our RMN jurisdiction coordinator, we had one more story from Peterson Toscano. He told the story of the Ethiopian eunuch recorded in Acts 8, which includes a discussion of Isaiah 56. This passage in Acts is usually seen as evangelism or as describing the atonement of Jesus. Perhaps, as Peterson told it, it is about an outcast seeing himself in the text of Isaiah and knowing he is welcome, that we are all welcome.

I talked to Peterson a bit after lunch. His catalog of sexual minorities in the Bible was much longer than he could share with us. He's done some serious scholarship here. You can find a few of his stories on YouTube. They're about 5 minutes each. He is writing a book as well, though I didn't hear a date for publication.

The closing worship featured a rousing Evangelical-style sermon by Rev. Joseph Tolton. He used the theme of the service "Recreating Resolve." It was an enthusiastic ending to the whole event.

Many of the plenary sessions and worship services were live-streamed. Videos will probably be posted on the RMN website soon (though you may have to pay for them).

First Sunday Worship, September 1

The Worship Service on Sunday, Sept. 1 will include a discussion of "God's Spirit -- Part and parcel of who we are." We will meet at Nardin Park United Methodist Church, 29887 W. Eleven Mile Rd., Farmington Hills. There is fellowship time with refreshments at 6:00 and worship at 6:30. Please join us!

Fall Potluck and Program features Bill Ritter

Dedicated Reconciling United Methodists (DRUM) are hosting a Fall Potluck and Program on Sunday, October 20. The evening will begin at 6:00 pm with a potluck dinner. Please bring a dish to pass and your own table service. The program and worship will begin at 7:00. The featured speaker will be Rev. Dr. William Ritter. He will talk on "Homosexuality and the UMC -- Past, Present, and Future." The event will be at Nardin Park United Methodist Church, 29887 W. Eleven Mile Rd., west of Middlebelt. Please use the west entrance.

If you have questions please contact Karen Roth at karensmiles18@hotmail.com or Linda Walker at rainbowcross@comcast.net.

First Sunday Worship, August 4

The next First Sunday Worship will be on August 4th at our usual place at Nardin Park United Methodist Church. Our speaker will be Mike Cadotte, a Certified Lay Speaker and the Lay Leader of Ferndale FUMC. He'll be well worth hearing, since his sexual orientation directly affects how he is able to answer God's call to ministry, with all of it's attending frustrations. In spite of all that he remains upbeat and committed and is actively in ministry in many ways. Please join us for fellowship at 6:00 and worship at 6:30.

False choice between the Bible and gays

A few years ago I read the book I'm OK, You're Not by John Shore. In it he humorously explains that Christianity's focus on the Great Commission (bring all nations to Christ) means we make a mess of the Great Commandment (love one another). I recommend it, though you can't borrow my copy, I've given it away.

I've found Shore's blog and one of his entries is Taking God at His Word: The Bible and Homosexuality. This is the opening essay of his book UNFAIR: Christians and the LGBT Question. He explains why Christianity is wrong to condemn gay people and he does it in a way that is different and harsher (on Christians) than I've seen before.I recommend reading his essay. Read it here.

First Sunday Worship, July 7

Please join us for fellowship at 6:00 and worship at 6:30 at Nardin Park United Methodist Church in Farmington Hills. The service will feature a time to share our joys, concerns, and our spiritual journeys.

First Sunday Worship, June 2

For the First Sunday Worship in June, our speaker will be Joey Lopez. He is an area organizer for RMN, and a director of Young Adult Ministries at Detroit Central UMC. He is involved in a bunch of creative young adult ministries in the Detroit area, including "Theology on Tap," God-talk for young adults that meets in various bars (you can "like" TOT on Facebook) in the Detroit area. This will be a more non-traditional service. Please join us at Nardin Park United Methodist Church. There will be fellowship time at 6:00 and service at 6:30.

Newburg United Methodist Church declares itself inclusive

A friend passed this statement to me, saying the congregation approved it this week. It will now appear in each Sunday's bulletin.

Newburg United Methodist seeks to be a community of faith, healing, hope and hospitality. We are called to recognize Christ in everyone. Our doors are open to all persons without prejudice relating to age, race, ethnicity, culture, citizenship, language, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, economic condition, physical or mental ability, or any other status or condition. We believe that God challenges the Christian community to lead by example and to strive to reflect God's unconditional love. In following the ministry of Jesus Christ we invite all people to join in the journey of faith toward greater love, acceptance and mutual understanding.

First Sunday Worship May 5

The First Sunday Worship on May 5th will feature a message by Rev. Tonya Arneson from Dixboro UMC. Please join us for fellowship at 6:00 and the service at 6:30.

First Sunday Worship, April 7

The First Sunday Worship in April will be on the 7th. We begin at 6:00 for fellowship and gathering time. The service will be at 6:30. We will be led by Rev. Michael Mayo-Moyle. The title of his message will be "The Conversation Matters" and text will be Luke 24:13-49. We hope to see you there.

General Conference Video

My father sent me a United Methodist News page. He indicated I should take a look at a video created by KQED. So I did. It is a half hour video of the homosexual issues before General Conference last May. Even though I was there for part of the Conference this video includes scenes I hadn't witnessed as well as many I did. The video also provides context for those of you who weren't there. It is very well done, but painful for me to watch.

First Sunday Worship, March 3

First Sunday worship on March 3rd. will be led by Rev. Peggy Garrigues from Clawson UMC. Please join us for fellowship at 6:00 and worship at 6:30 at Nardin Park United Methodist Church in Farmington Hills.

Registration for Convo now open

The Reconciling Ministries Convo website is now open and full of information. The Convo is always an uplifting event with wonderful worship services, bible studies, evening entertainment, and workshops all on the theme of ChurchQuake, of opening doors and unfastening chains (Acts 16:19).

This year Convo will be Friday, August 30 through lunch on Monday, September 2 (Labor Day). It will be held at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Housing is on site and in area hotels.

The bible studies will be led by Peterson Toscano. He is described as a "theatrical performance activist using comedy and storytelling to address social justice concerns." I've heard a lot about Peterson, all of it good. This is a big reason for me to attend (though Convo itself is enough of a reason).

A new feature of Convo will be Unbuntu experiences. Unbuntu means "interrelatedness of all life." We will leave the Convo site in small groups to visit one of maybe 25 justice agencies, museums, or congregations nearby to show "how advocacy for LGBTQ equality intersects with other human rights movements."

Early registration ends April 1. I strongly encourage you to attend.

First Sunday Service, February 3

The First Sunday Service on February 3rd will be an informal time of devotion on the theme of Love. There will be readings, prayer, and singing, and without communion. It will be led by Karen Roth and Doris Hildebrand. Our usual fellowship time will be at 6:00 with the service at 6:30.

On March 3rd, the message will be brought by Rev. Peggy Garrigues.

Upcoming Event

The DRUM Fall Program and Potluck will be Sunday evening, October 20 at Nardin Park UMC. After the meal, the service will be led by Rev. Bill Ritter. It should be a marvelous time.

First Sunday Service, January 6

Join us for for our inclusive service this evening. Fellowship time begins at 6:00 with a worship service at 6:30. Our speaker this evening will be Rev. Bea Fraser-Soots. This is a great way to start a new year!