General Conference – bishops respond

I mentioned yesterday that the bishops were asked to lead, to provide a way forward from the apparent deadlock on human sexuality issues. Today the bishops released a statement. It is 3 pages, so I won't quote it all. The statement affirms the goal of unity and calls the church to prayer. They suggest 1-2 hours of plenary time for the remaining days be shifted from legislation to prayer.

I quote from the statement:

NEXT STEPS We recommend that the General Conference
defer all votes on human sexuality and refer this entire subject
to a special Commission, named by the Council of Bishops, to
develop a complete examination and possible revision of every
paragraph in our Book of Discipline regarding human
sexuality. We continue to hear from many people on the
debate over sexuality that our current Discipline contains
language which is contradictory, unnecessarily hurtful, and
inadequate for the variety of local, regional and global
contexts. We will name such a Commission to include persons
from every region of our UMC, and will include representation
from differing perspectives on the debate. We commit to
maintain an on-going dialogue with this Commission as they do
their work, including clear objectives and outcomes. Should
they complete their work in time for a called General
Conference, then we will call a two- to three-day gathering
before the 2020 General Conference. (We will consult with
GCFA regarding cost-effective ways to hold that gathering.)

That called General Conference might take place in 2018 or 2019.

One result of this move, if GC approves, means there will be no improvement of LGBT issues in 2016. There also won't be more penalties and restrictions.

A link to the full text can be found here.



The Love Your Neighbor Coalition held a shower of stoles demonstration. Each stole is displayed from a cross, signifying a pastor who has been "crucified" trhough denominational policies. I've seen shower of stoles displays at Reconciling Ministires Convo. Each stole is from a pastor who has been prevented from being ordained, or who was forced from his/her job because of being LGBT.