Lesbian bishop!

This past week the five jurisdictions (multi-state regions) of the United Methodist Church in the United States held Jurisdictional Conferences. These always follow General Conference by a few months. The main task of a JC is to elect new bishops for the region and then assign which bishop goes to which Annual Conference (district). There is usually other business to attend to, such as approving a budget. This time the North Central Jurisdiction (Ohio to the Dakotas) affirmed the creation of a new Annual Conference covering the state of Michigan and transitioning from the current two Annual Conferences in the state.

This year the North Central Jurisdiction had four bishops retiring, thus elected four new bishops. This time (as frequently happens) no candidate got enough votes on the first ballot. As balloting proceeded, some candidates were elected, others didn't meet a minimum number of votes and were dropped from the next round, still other saw their prospects weren't good and withdraw, and the rest were included in the next round. Thirteen ballots were needed to elect the four new bishops.

I paid more attention this year because of the General Conference action that dumped the LGBT issue into the laps of the bishops. These bishops, including the newly elected ones, will appoint who serves on the commission that recommends a way forward.

The new bishops of the North Central Jurisdiction are:

Tracy Smith Malone, a black woman. A friend in the know says she is progressive and an advocate for us.

Frank Beard, a black man. This friend says he is quite conservative.

David Bard, a white man. He is another progressive and has been a strong advocate for LGBTs in the church. He has been assigned to Michigan.

Laurie Haller, a white woman currently serving in Birmingham, MI. She is also progressive.

From across the country...

The 2016 class of bishops included more women than any previous class for a total of seven. This is a gain because more women were elected than are retiring. Out of those seven female bishops four are black. That includes the first black woman elected bishop in the Southeastern Jurisdiction.

The most important news: Of those seven new female bishops, one is a lesbian. Karen Oliveto of San Francisco will become a bishop in the Western Jurisdiction (Colorado and west). This jurisdiction is the most progressive (even though it includes some pretty red states) and has been the most defiant of the rules against LGBT people in the church's Book of Discipline which describes how the denomination works.

When I heard Oliveto (and three gay candidates) were nominated I had an important question. If gay and lesbians in relationship (Oliveto is married) are banned from being pastors, how is it possible for them to be elected bishop? This means that certain conferences and jurisdictions have intentionally not been enforcing that rule for perhaps decades. While some pastors have been put on trial and removed for being gay, others clearly have not. Proof of that is the large number of LGBT clergy that came out during General Conference.

Many in the Western Jurisdiction and across the country are delighted with Oliveto's election to bishop and with what it means. Lynn Magnuson, a lay delegate, said, "We just blew the socks off the denomination."

Oliveto was elected on the 17th ballot and the Western Jurisdiction needed only one new bishop. Rev. Sisofina Hingano was one of those candidates who withdrew to make Oliveto's election more likely. He withdrew because of his son Wesley. The father said he withdrew so people like his son could walk through the doors to freedom in the church. The son said, "It is a beautiful day."

As expected, conservative voices declared this election a violation of church law and a significant step towards a schism. The move at General Conference to have a commission to determine a way forward has been damaged by the Western Jurisdiction intentionally pledging they won't conform and violating what the commission was to do.

As a local pastor Oliveto could be protected by her Annual Conference or Jurisdiction. They could decide (and have) to ignore complaints filed against lesbian and gay pastors, refusing to put them on trial or dismissing them. But Oliveto is becoming a bishop and anyone in the worldwide denomination could file a complaint. A marriage license would be enough evidence for conviction. It might be up to the Council of Bishops or, more likely, up to the Judicial Council (the denomination's supreme court) whether to put Oliveto on trial or demand her dismissal. This could be much more damaging to the denomination's reputation than the pastor trials that we've thankfully been avoiding lately.

Hmm. Rev. Gene Robinson was elected bishop in the Episcopal Church in 2003 – 13 years ago.

Oliveto has been assigned to the Annual Conferences that cover Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana.