First Sunday Programs in July and August

There will be no First Sunday programs in July and August. In previous years the attendance was too low to be worthwhile. See you in September!

Refrocked!

Frank Schaefer, the United Methodist pastor who was defrocked last fall, has been reinstated. That action was taken by a Committee on Appeals for the Northeast region. Schaefer and his defense team had asked for the appeal. The appeals committee did not say anything about the guilty verdict, but said the punishment – defrocking – was too severe because it was based on what Schaefer might do (perform another same-sex wedding) not on what he had done. The proper punishment was a 30 day suspension, which the committee declared has already been served. He is now owed back-pay.

Bishop Peggy Johnson of Eastern Pennsylvania will return Schaefer to a church in her area. She probably cannot return him to his previous church. Schaefer also has an offer to work under a bishop in California.

This case could be appealed to the denomination's Judicial Council. So far, no one has said such an appeal will happen.

Conservatives are annoyed and say this strengthens the call for a denominational split.

Talk of a denominational split

The United Methodist News Service has a couple articles of interest posted to the news section of the denomination's website. The first is about the book Finding Our Way, Love and Law in The United Methodist Church edited by Neil Alexander and retired Bishop Rueben Job. The book is about what the denomination should do with the issue of homosexuality and the "incompatible with Christian teaching" phrase in the Book of Discipline. The editors handed out related topics to a diverse group of eight active and retired bishops across the world, including Bishop Melvin Talbert, who performed a same-sex marriage back in October, and Bishop John Yambasu of Sierra Leone in Africa. The good news: none of the eight bishops is calling for the denomination to split.

However, beyond that the opinions vary widely. For example, Yambasu wrote:

Just as God instructed the Israelites to pass on the Ten Commandments from one generation to another, so the church in Africa has passed on this teaching from generation to generation. For us now to be told by the church in the United States that what we were taught in the Bible is not true could be traumatizing to African Christians.

Alas, keeping the current teachings is traumatic to gay Africans. I'm well aware, however, this speaks to a view of the Bible as unchangeable, that teachings are (and supposed to be) the same through history because God doesn't change.

Yambasu continues, denouncing "any attempt by the church or by individuals to perpetuate any form of discrimination or hate against homosexual or heterosexual brothers and sisters."

From the news article:

Fort Worth (Texas) Area Bishop J. Michael Lowry writes that those who disobey church law on homosexuality are practicing a form of “unintended colonialism,” overruling the represented convictions of United Methodists outside the United States.

I'm not quite sure what he means by that. I think he means we in America are trying to impose our view of sexual minorities on Africans, and that is not a good thing. Alas, to me it comes across as branding progressives with colonialism while conservatives want to keep doing the same to us.

Lowry doesn't want a split, but he does call for a reorganization.

Perhaps the form will be more of confederation than a connection. Perhaps our order admits and permits regional differences in doctrine. Perhaps we have no option other than to "trust God" even as we struggle.

Bishop Talbert wrote that the Bible should not be used "to dehumanize or demonize anyone." He added:

The Bible is our book, too. Through the Bible we experience the liberating and redeeming love and grace of God, which embraces all humanity and creation — excluding none from the distribution of God’s grace.

Even with these calls to avoid a split, editors Job and Alexander acknowledge a split remains a possibility.

The second article examines all of the things that have happened recently that have fueled talk of a split and elevated stress levels.

On May 7 a group of more than 50 United Methodist pastors from the San Antonio area called for a split. On May 22 a group of 80 pastors from "traditionalist" churches (Texas? nationwide?) also called for a split. While they say the issue of homosexuality is the deciding factor, the need for the split goes much deeper and reaches into many areas of theology, such as whether the Bible is the infallible word of God.

In April, Good News the unofficial conservative group within the denomination said the "widespread disregard" for the Book of Discipline and the lack of enforcement (lack of trials) makes the denomination "untenable."

Talbert's disregard for church law happened last October and a complaint was filed, but nothing appears to have happened since.

Rev. Thomas Ogletree officiated at his gay son's wedding and instead of punishment there was "just resolution." Bishop Martin McLee, presiding over Ogletree, called for no more trials. McLee also dismissed charges against Rev. Sara Thompson Tweedy. She is in a lesbian relationship, which is banned by current church rules. Pastors in Washington state received only a 24-hour suspension for officiating at same-sex weddings.

In contrast, Bishop Scott Jones of the Great Plains Area declared that if 100 of his pastors perform same-sex unions there will be 100 trials.

Frank Schaefer was defrocked, and while he waits for his appeal to be heard, he is traveling the country declaring support for changing church law.

More than 15 conferences (regions), such as California-Nevada Conference, the Western Jurisdiction (covering the western states), and individual churches have passed declarations saying they cannot follow current church law. First United Methodist Church of Oneonta, NY announced it will withhold apportionments (payments to the conference) until discriminatory language is removed from the Book of Discipline. The group Love Prevails has called for members to give their offering to LGBT advocacy groups rather than local churches.

At the end of the book mentioned at the top of this post, Bishop Job has three recommendations for what to do between now and the next General Conference in 2016. One of them is to have a moratorium on both same-sex unions and church trials. I profoundly disagree with that suggestion and see it as both unjust and as handing a win to conservatives. I'm also confident in saying such a moratorium ain't gonna happen.