Reconciling Ministries Network Convocation

I attended the RMN Convo October 13-15, 2023. Here are my notes of the worship services, plenary sessions, and workshops I attended. This was my 8th convo. I’ve attended each one since 2007. This one was held at First United Methodist Church of Charlotte, North Carolina. This is the 40th anniversary year – RMN began in 1984. The worship services, plenary sessions, and some of the workshops were livestreamed and recorded. The videos will be on the RMN YouTube channel. The first session on Friday morning was a bible study by Rev. Juan Carlos Heuertas, of First-Plymouth Congregational Church in Lincoln, NE. He said we need to develop a new relationship with scripture. We should not idolize scripture, something people do a lot. We also domesticate and silence the text. We should engage in the text. It is sacred because through our engagement we find life, we learn how to be better, and be a more loving and just family. Jesus, in his first time in Nazareth as an adult (Luke 4:18-19), described what we should be doing. That text says: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news too the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” But this is always a problem for the church. To do what Jesus is asking means asking and listening to what the community needs. Gathering as a whole body allows us to care for others outside. One year their neighbors said their greatest need was relief from medical debt. So they raised money for that. The next year the community said the greatest need was mental health. So they concentrated on that. During the morning worship the preacher was Rev. Angie Cox, an out queer clergy at Livingston United Methodist Church in Columbus, OH. Her next step in ordination has been deferred several times. While growing up and because she is lesbian she heard a message of conditional love from a vengeful god who insisted in perfection. Since then she has learned to let go of the harm and replace it with love and grace, that God loved even her. She reminded us that we, each of us, are enough. Welcoming LGBTQ people is only part of the story. There are other welcomes we need to extend – to all those people we are taught not to love. Heuertas led a workshop on decolonizing the church. We must decolonize because ignoring the effects of colonialism inhibits liberation. Colonial actions are violent. They are done to subdue. The past fights to remain the same. Marginalized communities are split into segments and each one is convinced the other segments are its enemy. Much of the effort to colonize comes from the instruction that humans are to have “dominion” over creation. But the Hebrew word had a different meaning. Constantine, Caesar in Rome, made his personal religion into the state religion. Which means after that when the Roman army went out it did its conquering in the name of Jesus. We call the time after Columbus the Age of Discovery. That includes the Pope. In his Doctrine of Discovery, he used othering language to give permission to enslave those who were not Christian. Then there is the Protestant work ethic that laments land that isn’t being used enough. Today’s youth think that with a foundation like that the church can’t be redeemed. Heuertas listed the three parts of colonization. First is supremacy, primarily of race and gender. Supremacy created structures so that it remains supreme and shapes future colonizers. Second is displacement, including literal, and includes genocide. This goes all the way back to the Israelites and the Promised Land. In modern times the displacement is marketed as a way to “make communities better.” There are also much more subtle messages such as “affordable” housing that isn’t. The third part is commodification, or making creation into a commodity to be bought and sold to maximize profits. An early commodity was land, which we buy and sell, but indigenous people understood to belong to all of them. We’re at the point where we’ve commodified education and health care. All three parts of colonization are still deeply at work. Decolonization will take lots of work and the unity of marginalized people. Some more thoughts: Supremacy is the default. So don’t buy into it. Do we confirm or denigrate another person’s dignity? Think about power structures – who is in the room? Listen to the members and the neighbors. We are called to repair the effects of colonization. Yes, that is hard. And note “repair” is a part of the word “reparations.” We must resist the urge to displace neighbors. Heuertas said his church needs more parking. But getting more land for parking means displacing those in adjacent properties. Also, what does the right to shelter look like? Housing is a commodified version of shelter. We need a new way to think about shelter and perhaps we can be a hub of discussion about it. We have made capitalism sacrosanct. So let’s discuss it. How are we a part of the problem? Yes, we should educate our young to not be colonizers. Alas, they will have different prejudices. How can we be better at keeping the Sabbath, to have an actual pause in our labors? While we’re at it we must recognize keeping a Sabbath is a privileged practice because the poor cannot. Some suggestions for resources: • MFSA put out a series of videos titled “Stealing the Earth.” • Read the text of that Doctrine of Discovery to see how Christianity was turned into a colonizer. • Don’t read anything written by white dudes for a year. Read books and stories written by women, queer people, people of color, and people of other cultures. Rev. Steve Harper led another workshop in which he talked about his transformation from a religion professor at a conservative college to an LGBTQ ally. His website is oboedire.com where he has a great number of resources for the journey towards becoming an LGBTQ ally. Two of them are his notes for this session. And his general list of LGBTQ related resources. He told us he is here to witness to his own change of mind, not to argue. He ordered his presentation through an outline based on the book Falling Upward by Richard Rohr. Many things in life follow order – disorder – reorder. This is similar to 2 Corinthians 5:17 that says the old passes away, the new shall come. Order is what works. It is maintained as long as it keeps working. His earliest memories are of the church. It was basic to forming who he is and he was surrounded by others like himself. He went to seminary, then taught at a seminary. He followed the principle of the time and that place that towards LGBTQ people he should be “welcoming, but not affirming.” And for 66 years that worked just fine. Then it didn’t. He was pushed into disorder. What had worked stopped working and he reached a system failure. This was during Lent of 2014. He was using the Book of Common Prayer as his guide through the season. One passage was “Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions.” That prompted him to apply the Biblical process of “Ask, seek, knock.” He invested in relationships with LGBTQ people, one gay man in particular. He also studied a lot – see his resources. In particular a large part of his resources follow the Wesleyan Quadrilateral, the four major ways John Wesley said we are to understand our faith. These ways are Scripture, Tradition, Reason (both theology and science), and Experience. This came from the Anglican trilateral of Scripture, Tradition, Reason. Wesley added the Experience component after his experience at Aldersgate where he said he heart was “strangely warmed.” That led him to reorder, a new understanding. Yes, many in his seminary and conservative friends backed away. He now has new friends in the reconciling movement. Harper added two thoughts about the current church situation. The big issue in the church is over biblical interpretation. How we interpret the Bible guides how we treat it and each other. As for the big round of congregation disaffiliation he believes the effort is led by clergy. If the laity were making the decision disaffiliation wouldn’t be happening. [I’ve since seen a story of significant numbers of lay members leaving when a disaffiliation vote fails.] I attended a session where several of the people who started the reconciling movement in 1984 or were involved in the early years shared their stories. I didn’t record them. A plenary session introduced us to some of the caucuses that are a part of our broad coalition. This was done through a panel that introduced us to some of the leaders. They represented caucuses for Black, Hispanic, Native, Puerto Rican, and Asian people. Six caucuses were represented in this session though there are many more. Some of them have been around for quite a while. They began to be recognized by the denomination in the mid 1990s. We are in coalition with these groups because we all want the same thing – the removal of harmful language from the Book of Discipline. We also want the removal of the actual harm, recognizing the harm probably won’t end when the language is removed. Each person on stage introduced themselves and said a bit of what their caucus does and who it is for. With them was the director of the General Committee on Religion and Race who, for the first time, is a gay man. The general message of these leaders is the denomination isn’t informed enough of ethnic issues before General Conference. Multicultural is too often assimilation, and it loses context. The Native leader used her time to talk about the residential boarding schools that tried to assimilate Native children. The effect was these children had love ripped from them. When they became adults they didn’t know how to love their children. She advocated returning the remains of their children, the ones who didn’t survive the boarding schools, so they can heal. Rev. Luther Young spoke at the evening plenary session. He is a minister in the Disciples of Christ Church and serves as a moderator of the Disciples LGBRQ+ Alliance. He talked about what the Black church has in common with LGBTQ+ Christians. During the years of slavery Black people created their own religious spaces that didn’t need to conform to the dominant culture. An example is the AME Zion church. They created their own traditions, taking traditions from many other denominations. They wanted tradition, not stagnation. They wanted a Christianity that allowed them their freedom. But what they took was still wrapped up in patriarchy. Women were not satisfied with the status quo. They took hold of their own power. There were LGBT people through the Black church, but were never named. There was an issue of being both queer and black. None of the Black denominations have queer ministries. Queer members of Black churches saw themselves as Black before queer. They were not interested in a queer church because most of those are white. Such a church might affirm their queerness but not their blackness. Yes, there are churches that are both Black and queer, but they’re only in big cities. The struggles of the Black church and queer church are connected. Both have a goal of inclusion of all, a diversity in the community. But the goal isn’t simply diversity. A church must face the questions: Why would I want to come to your church? Why is diversity good? Who benefits? Does it just make the white people feel good? The goal isn’t just to make other people (Black, queer, other ethnic groups) welcome. The goal is to be ready for when they show up. Be the church people want to come to. Do we already have a gender neutral bathroom? Are the power structures already inclusive and has patriarchy and colonization been rooted out? We want to get to the place of not needing to bless the poor because we would have dismantled the system that keeps people poor. We want to be willing to risk our privilege to help others. We should be about people, not laws. So get to work, this convocation is only a pit stop. The first session on Saturday was a Bible study led by Steve Harper and Bishop Karen Oliveto, also known as the Asbury Professor and the Lesbian Bishop. Asbury is a very conservative seminary. They talked about what to do when you’re down to ten members – which is where the disciples were after the death of Judas and while Thomas was AWOL. First recognize the grief, loss, and trauma of what we thought the church was. Care for the casualties. The “nones” (those that answer “None” to the question What Religion?”) are telling us what is wrong with the church. They are also grieving the loss. But this is a chance to show Jesus in a new light, something many of us have spent a long time waiting for. This time (between many disaffiliations and another General Conference) is a time of active waiting, to be present for what is to come. It is a combination of what is and what is to be. We can’t go back and seems we aren’t moving forward. At this time we claim Acts 2: 42-47, when the disciples, now apostles, attended to the business of maintaining the community. We can talk about love, the means of grace, and the means to deliver both. We should talk about how to treat each other. But we have much infighting. Our joy is their Kryptonite. Oliveto mentioned she saw people around a Brony convention. Brony culture takes its name from “Bro” and “pony” – as in the My Little Pony toys and TV series. The “Bro” part means they are indeed men and boys who are fans of the show. Oliveto said she was struck how kindly and respectfully the men treated each other and the boys around them. There are, of course, online articles about Bronies. In the morning worship service the sermon was by Rev. Dr. Pamela Lightsey, a professor of Constructive Theology. It was a rousing sermon, but I didn’t take notes. I was quite delighted with the lyrics of the song after communion. The song is “Crowded Table” by The Highwomen and the words bring a chill when I read them again. Here is a sample: The door is always open Your picture's on my wall Everyone's a little broken And everyone belongs Yeah everyone belongs I want a house with a crowded table And a place by the fire for everyone Let us take on the world while we're young and able And bring us back together when the day is done And bring us back together when the day is done A false prophet will flatter and proclaim their demons. A true prophet will be persecuted. If God is for us the church can’t continue to be against us. The following plenary session discussed RMN and General Conference. There will be three GCs in the next five years, ‘24, ‘26, and ‘28. The changes we want to see happen at GC in 2024 are not a foregone conclusion. The current delegates are much more inclusive, but with so many disaffiliations there will be fewer of them representing the US. That means a higher proportion of conservative African delegates. RMN, with limited resources, will concentrate on three major priorities. The first is to remove the harmful language from the Book of Discipline. The second is to approve regional structures. The third is to approve revised social principles. We are aware that getting rid of the harmful language will not get rid of the harm. There is still a lot of work to change the church. But we are a movement that doesn’t wait for permission. For example, we now have a gay married man as pastor in the Southeast Jurisdiction. Many who worked against us have left, but there is still louts of work to do. We (RMN) must keep applying pressure. We must talk to the GC delegates and work in the coalition. Because the regionalization proposal requires a constitution change, which requires Annual Conference approval, we must also talk to our own church delegates. And that means local churches need to be a part of the reconciling movement. We are a part of an organization. Doing the work together is better than doing it as isolated churches. We need to keep gathering and investing in the organization and doing its work. Does my local church know that I’m in RMN? I may need to change hearts in my own church. I attended a workshop discussing the revised Social Principles put on by Neal Christie. These revisions were ready in 2019 for the 2020 General Conference that didn’t happen. Christie is a co-convener of the Love Your Neighbor Coalition (LYNC) a group of fourteen national caucuses. He is also a US team member of the Chrismas Covenant. The Social Principles are a tradition in the denomination to speak to the issues of the day. They began in 1908 as a Social Creed. The first version was mostly about labor as in opposition to child labor and sweatshop labor. The Creed has been updated only twice. Some congregations display parts of the Creed. Starting in 2004 there was an effort to update the Social Creed. This was driven by UM churches outside the US. The new creed was adopted in 2016. It was also adopted by the Council of Churches. In 1968, when the denomination was formed, Social Principles were proposed. This was shortly before Martin Luther King was assassinated. They were adopted by General Conference in 1972. In 2012 an effort to revise the Social Principles was begun. Again, the effort was driven by churches outside the US. The SP were considered too US centric. In addition to making them world wide there was also an effort to make them more succinct and give them a theological foundation and global relevance. In 2016 the team began writing. The process was global from the start. There were listening session around the world. Conservatives also observed and participated in the listening session. Many sections are new – there hadn’t been a section on human trafficking. The revised Social Principles were ready for adoption in 2020. The new document is teachable from the pulpit and in small group studies. They are to be used in personal and pastoral care. The text is online and in several languages. While regions of the church can’t revise the Social Principles they can add their own supplemental material and context. A couple of the changes: War is no longer incompatible with Christian teaching. There is a section on polygamy with the intent of reducing harm (in some cultures the children of second and third wives don’t have rights). I attended a workshop on creating a narrative for inclusion in the UMC. It was led by Rev. David Meredith, a gay pastor, and Rev. Molly Vetter, a pastor at Westwood UMC in Los Angeles, and a LGBTQ ally. We were given time to create and share our own narrative. Such a narrative is a testimony of deep conviction that we must include others. It confronts the unknown. A narrative consists of a story of self, a story of us, and a story of now. It is to draw others into deeper relationship for work towards liberation. We should have these stories in our pockets to share with the people around us. The story of now is important because we as a denomination have done harm, in contrast to John Wesley’s simple rule of “Do no harm.” The theme of this convo is Onward to Perfection and that means always expanding our understanding of love. We have the possibility of a new start after disaffiliation. We have been reading scripture wrong. It is a story of liberation and love. We have allowed faulty interpretation of seven verses to become a stumbling block to the Gospel. Here is a draft of what I might say in my own narrative. As I was growing up and well into my 40s the United Methodist churches I attended did not mention homosexuality. The topic was not discussed and if there were LGBTQ people around I did not know it. My own homosexuality stayed hidden. Then I attended my first RMN Convocation in 2007. What had been hidden was out front and celebrated. The feeling was overwhelming and I saw what hiding did to me. That prompted me to try to get my own congregation to be more welcoming and part of a wider movement. That didn’t go well and I left that church ten years ago. We must act now in our own congregation and in the denomination at the next General Conference because the society thinks we’re backward. That was proclaimed publicly after the 2019 GC that affirmed and added to the harms against LGBTQ people. The harm that is directed to our LGBTQ children drives our youth away. There is harm to the denomination in the denial of pastoral talent. We can be part of combating the rising tide of homophobia. The Saturday afternoon plenary session discussed RMN’s regionalization priority at General Conference. In the early years RMN had to support delegates under the radar. Now we can do it openly. We need all three priorities. They don’t compete. They do allow the denomination to maintain the global connection. In the other areas of the world the United Methodist Church can adapt the Book of Discipline to its specific needs. The denomination in the US cannot. The constitution was set up so the US could colonize Africa. But now Africa can enforce their ideas on us, colonizing in reverse. Currently, this leads to strange things like the worldwide church voting on US pension rules. It also means the worldwide church also has control of US ordination standards and how the US churches treat LGBTQ pastors and members. The proposal to create regionalization is in response to the 2019 GC. It is part of the effort to decolonize the church. It is a set of eight amendments to the denomination constitution. It was to be voted on in 2020 and is ready for the 2024 GC. If it passes it will go to the various Annual Conferences for ratification. Two-thirds must ratify. The proposal is called the Christmas Covenant and a detailed description is here. The webpage (on legislation) describes the covenant’s vision, guiding principles, and values. The guiding principles include that we are all children of God. To that is added the African concept of Ubuntu, based on interdependence and community of life, and the Filipino concept of Bayanihan, the idea of community spirit and cooperation to achieve community goals and help those in need. There is also an emphasis on human dignity and human rights. The values include respect for contextual ministry (not doing so is colonialism), connectional relationships rooted in mission, and legislative equality in regions of the church. Nothing in this proposal is specifically LGBTQ. It does give regions a way to set their own policies on LGBTQ members and pastors. If this does not pass, we could face more reverse colonialism. The US membership is shrinking. I heard people talking about the percent of churches disaffiliating in various Annual Conferences. So many have left in Texas that its five ACs may be consolidated into two. The UMC in the Congo region in Africa has about three million members, about the size of two US jurisdictions. So though we might eliminate harmful language in the Book of Discipline in the 2024 General Conference it could be reimposed by Africa in a future GC. After the plenary session was a service to honor Bishop Melvin Talbert. He had died on August 3 of this year and had done a lot for LGBTQ equality within the denomination. He often told the story of sharing a jail cell with Martin Luther King. He spoke out for LGBTQ includsion at both the 2008 and 2012 GCs and in 2012 called the denomination to biblical obedience when the Bible was in conflict with the rules of the Book of Discipline. He called on fellow bishops to ignore church law and officiate at same-gender weddings. In 2013 he did just that and complaints were brought against him, though later dropped. He also served on the RMN board. In the evening was a concert by the Gay Men’s Chorus and the Women’s Chorus, both of Charlotte. The Sunday morning was held with the congregation of First United Methodist of Charlotte. Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth gave the sermon. He is the second gay bishop in the denomination. It was a great sermon, though I took few notes. A couple things I wrote down: Why be a star when we can be a constellation? Live the faith, not the debate. Orthodoxy is not God. Liberalism is not God. I attended a workshop on how to talk across the political spectrum hosted by Nick Mundwiller, who is nonbinary. Conservatives are good at organizing and training each other. Progressives aren’t nearly as good. Each of us has some power and can talk to someone with just a bit more power than we do. As for tactics: Get up from a table that is no longer loving. The ban on “talking politics,” such as after saying a Fox News talking point, is politics, especially if the other person isn’t allowed to respond. Beware of the inauthentic question, seeming to ask for information. Beware of diversion tactics. Debate is not a loving style of talking. Debate is political and is about wining. Dialogue is good, it’s about learning, and maybe redirecting the relationship. Work to connect to the true issue – for example, a gun advocate is worried about safety and so is a person working for gun bans. An internal bias is not conscious and is learned. An example is a woman holding her purse more tightly when a Black man passes. One can reply, “I think you might have a bias. Don’t make this about classification.” When external this is a prejudice, such as a store clerk following a Black man through the store. There are also systemic biases, the –isms. These are held up by the power of the institution. When talking to others only use it when discussing power. More tactics: Rephrase what you hear, perhaps with a brutal phrasing. Ask to understand, not to frame a response. Lead by example – if you get frustrated they will too. Hold yourself accountable to your statements and ideals and admit when wrong. Share what has shifted in yourself. Be honest about the goals of the conversation. Explain why you’re uncomfortable. If you believe it, live it. Keep empathy in mind. No one is a villain. We’re all trying to do our best. Part of systemic bias is the political party’s related issues. Suggest a next step, such as media or book by a marginalized author or about a marginalized community. When things go bad… Acknowledge it – I see you’re upset. Reframe the moment by perhaps saying I’m also upset. Move on. Show concern by repeating why we are talking. If there is yelling, stop. If the language has turned into an attack, stop. If the other person looks like they are about to be physically aggressive, stop. If your heart is being hurt, stop. If you feel you are becoming riled up, stop. Know your limits and maintain them. Your feelings are valid as are theirs, though you are not responsible for their feelings. Take care of yourself. Separating is OK. My last workshop was building a reconciling community in your hometown, put on by Jennifer Von Essen. Many communities affiliated with RMN are churches, where the congregation as a whole votes to be part of the movement. There are also communities (perhaps a Bible study or Sunday School class) within a church when the whole congregation isn’t ready. There are also communities outside the church. Jennifer created the last type and did it in Gwinnett County, Georgia, northeast of Atlanta. Since it started with the RMN connection there was no vote to join. One doesn’t need a certain number of people to begin. Or seasoned leaders. Or have planned programs. Or funding. One does need a safe space. It is always the right time to begin. Their most popular events were social gatherings at restaurants. They asked each restaurant to be a safe space such as honoring their pronouns and to stop disrespectful behavior from other patrons. They gave these places a decal to display. They also met at a library (many have meeting rooms that residents can use) and a park. They worked with reconciling churches of other denominations to hold a clothes closet for transgender kids, so they could avoid going into gendered stores. The went to both pride and regular events and were told just being there was a comfort. They went to PFLAG and said we’re not competing. They had a website, a Facebook page, and Instagram presence to be a comfort to young people. They sometimes watched movies. One was the movie “1946, The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture” about the making of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible. This was the first translation that used the word “homosexuality.” Later, translators realized that word was not correct. But by then their phrase had been copied many times, to the detriment of LGBTQ people. I checked online and saw the movie is still in the festival circuit (no Detroit dates listed) and not available to stream. I also saw the title of an article that says the movie declaring a mistranslation makes no difference. They also talked about books, such as “UnClobber, Rethinking our misuse of the Bible on Homosexuality” by Colby Martin. Because money is involved they were sponsored by a church to use their non profit status. That way they didn’t need to go through the hassle of getting non profit approval. But beyond money they didn’t need church backing. There was a final plenary session that announced the livestreams of the worship service, plenary sessions, and some workshops will be posted online. Leaders also encouraged us to share the experience of Convo (what I’m doing with this report) and to engage with the people around me.

RMN withdraws support for the separation protocol

There hasn't been anything to write about for this blog during the pandemic. No local Dedicated Reconciling United Methodist meetings. No national Reconciling Ministries events. No International General Conference with momentous news. There is a bit of news now. I received an email this morning that RMN had withdrawn its support for the separation protocol. The reason is that the Global Methodist Church has been created anyway and congregations are switching their allegiance anyway. I wrote more about it in my brother blog, in the first portion of this post (though I hope you find the whole post worthwhile).

Reconciling Ministries Connection

A week ago I attended the Reconciling Ministries Connection in Nashville put on by the Reconciling Ministries Network. The primary reason for the event was to allow progressives to gather before General Conference in May. Here are my notes of the various sessions. The whole thing was less than 48 hours long. Previous gatherings were labeled Convocations and were a day or so longer.

Though the event happened a week ago I didn’t post earlier because I spent the intervening week with family in Louisville, where I also attended a handbell festival.

The opening worship service included photos of maybe half of the congregations or groups that declared themselves to be reconciling since the General Conference in February 2019 approved the Traditionalist Plan. Even with just half it was a long slide show! Membership jumped about 20% in the last year.

Rev. Grace Imathiu presented the Bible study. She started by saying she had been asked by a Muslim friend whether there were any verses in the Christian Bible that incited violence. It was the same question Imathiu had asked the friend about the Koran five years before. That question prompted this study.

Imathiu compared Luke 14:16-24 to Matthew 22:1-14. In the Luke story Jesus tells a parable of a person who gave a great dinner. The original guests made excuses and didn't come. So the host sent servants into the streets and lanes of the house to bring in the poor, blind, and lame until the house was filled. This story is frequently seen as God offering his bounty on everyone. If the intended people don't want it he'll give it to those who will accept it. The hero of the story is the host.

But the Matthew story, though following the pattern, is quite different. It isn't some person hosting a dinner. It is the king hosting a banquet for the wedding of his son. We know what kings are like. It may look like an invitation, but it is an order to attend.

And when the invitees offered excuses the king was enraged and declared war, killing all of them. The poor were brought in as substitute guests. The guests were given a garment to wear. The king saw one person not wearing the prescribed garment and threw him out.

Imathiu reminds us of several things. In the manner of kings the banquet hosts is an authoritarian. He demands total agreement. Is this God in the story? He can't be! He is wielding power, not love. The replacement guests would have been terrified!

And here is a guest who refuses to conform, who is resisting. He was forced to the banquet, but refused to conform to the demands of the king that all must conform to his wishes. Yeah, he was thrown into “outer darkness” but that's where he came from, that was his home, those were the circumstances he knew. It is also where God is.

So who is the hero of this story? Not the violent king. It is the person who refused the garment, who resisted the king's authority. Imathiu urges us to cast off the garment of supremacy.

In the hands of supremacists, which the church frequently is, this passage will highlight the king and his demand for obedience, rather than the one who resists.

Rev. Kennedy Mwita told the history of the Moheto United Methodist Church in Kenya where he is senior pastor. This is the first reconciling church in Africa. The church was founded in 1998. It became a safe space for girls facing genital mutilation. They advocate for the end of gender violence.

This culture rejects intersex. The church provided shelter for a mother and intersex child and worked to reconcile them with family. Intersex was Mwita's entry into studying LGBTQIA.

In the African part of the church bishops have been removed with they start mentioning LGBTQ. So Mwita was afraid because he was district superintendent and does LGBTQ training with his churches. He was disappointed with the actions taken by GC2019.

Imathiu (who is from Africa) helped the Moheto church become reconciling. Some people left the church, new people joined. Mwita was relieved of his job as DS.

Mwita says that his earlier views of LGBTQ people were based on no information. He reminds us that Africa is not all the same.

We divided into two parts to allow better conversation. I was in the part with Rev. David Meredith, who was part of the mediation team that came up with the protocols of separation, legislation for splitting up the United Methodist Church to be acted on during GC in May. He talked about how the team was assembled and what they came up with.

Meredith started by saying General Conference is set up as win/lose. There is a vote. One side is in the majority. The other side isn’t.

But mediation is different. Compromise is a part of mediation.

There were five competing interests at the table: traditionalists, centrists, progressives, central conferences (those outside the US), and the US bishops. A miracle: every groups got some of what they fought for and gave up some as well.

Starting after GC19 several groups proposed legislation on how to split the denomination. By July some had noticed that these proposals had no input from those outside the US, which is 40% of the membership.

When the group was assembled all they did was refight the battles of GC19. After a couple rounds of this they did two things: asked for a mediator and changed the membership of the group. This time they added LGBT people, which is how David Meredith was asked to join. Also in the group was Jan Lawrence, director of RMN.

Each person in the group had a support group with whom they tested positions being discussed. Some of these were people from the first group membership.

By the time they were done all aspects of the protocol received unanimous agreement.

Some of the major points of agreement: The United Methodist Church would continue as a denomination with new Methodist denominations having freedom to separate. This was an important point because some conservatives wanted to dissolve the denomination entirely. In addition, churches would not be forced to decide (though they recognize the situation of a progressive congregation would have to decide to leave a traditionalist annual conference). There would be no forced sale of denomination properties, which left $120 million of liquid assets available for negotiation.

The progressives in West Ohio Conference called for a vote of separation. Yes, progressives. They did it so they could control the schedule. They specified there must be a time of study, I think six months, rather than holding a vote to withdraw the next day. Bishops recommend that churches don't take action for six months.

Meredith said that probably only 3-4 annual conferences will split from the new progressive denomination.

The Wesleyan Covenant Association is setting itself up as the body to receive the traditionalist congregations that vote to leave. But their rules may convince small churches to stay in the progressive denomination. WCA may have a plan, and are trying to convince people theirs is the only plan, but traditionalist bishops are proposing other plans. Much of this is because the WCA theology is not Methodist, but Baptist!

There are congregations who think the post separation church won't be liberal enough. They are considering another new denomination, which is allowed under the protocol.

The protocol was announced after the deadline for individuals to submit legislation to be considered for General Conference. It is not too late for annual conferences to submit legislation. So an annual conference in the Philippines approved and forwarded this protocol of separation. The Michigan Annual Conference is about to do the same. The Sierra Leone Annual Conference will also soon vote. (Both the Michigan and Sierra Leone votes have now happened. Michigan approved forwarding the protocol to GC by a vote of 927 to 92. The vote taken in Michigan was to forward the protocol, but did not include language saying they also endorsed it).

As I attended various breakout sessions there were other sessions for RMN members who are GC delegates to explain the protocol of separation and its various pieces in greater detail.

After lunch I attended a breakout session led by the Connectional Table. Rachel (didn't catch the last name) represented the CT. Izzy Alvarez represented the overseas church.

The CT is a group of 64 people from all parts of the international church and from all the boards and agencies. The CT has been working on a revision to the international structure since just after the 2012 General Conference.

The current structure is different for the US and for other areas of the world. I could get into a lot of detail, but won't. It essentially means other parts of the world have a say in US issues and the structure has aspects of colonialism. Revising the structure to a regional designation improves equality in the various parts of the world and means the non US parts don't have to wade through the half of the GC legislation that is US only (such as pensions or hymnals).

Shortly after the CT completed their restructuring plan the areas outside the US copied most of it, added their own points and presented it as the Christmas Covenant (named for when it was announced and echoing the Christmas Conference that established the Methodist Church in America in 1784). The CT said, sure, go for it.

The protocol of separation calls for this regional equality, but doesn't specify legislation to accomplish it. Both the CT plan and the Christmas Covenant provide this legislation. Both will go before GC in May (there wasn't time to withdraw the CT proposal). Rachel of CT says this is good because it allows two chances to get it passed. The consensus seems to favor the Christmas Covenant.

The second breakout session I attended was titled “Vision of the United Methodist Church in the 21st Century. It was a panel discussion of five young leaders. Dan is a pastor in Atlanta and also in seminary and is transgender. Henry is the youth pastor in Birmingham, Alabama and is genderqueer. Ashley is a licensed local pastor of three small churches in rural Montana and is lesbian. Scott is an associate pastor in Dallas. Bridget is the director of the Methodist Federation for Social Action, living in Detroit, and is lesbian. They were asked a series of questions, some by the moderator, some by the audience. I may indicate who said what by using their initial.

What is the role of the clergy? It will vary by setting. The laity will have to do a lot of the work. Since churches will likely be smaller pastors may not be able to get a full salary from the church and may need to be bivocational. A: my town is too small for me to get a second job and three churches take up more than half time anyway. Pastors need to make a clear break between church hours and home hours. Churches should not demand extra time.

How to become an anti-discriminatory church? Pastors need to recognize their privilege, help others recognize their own, use privilege to lift up marginalized voices, protect minority leaders, and on occasion keep quiet so minority voices can be heard. Be aware that Christianity has been used for oppression. Challenge power structures. Build relationships. Talk about what it means to be diverse, don't settle to just look it.

What does risk taking leadership look like? A: my appointment is a risk! I've gotten hate mail, but also lots of God moments. B: coming out. D: coming out to the congregation. Even though they had a lesbian pastor his coming out made LGBTQ issues more real to the congregation. H: be authentic and that can be risky. When they came out their congregation rejected them. However, they ended up assigned to a reconciling congregation and says this appointment is great.

What are your thoughts on the current system that appoints pastors? A: a guaranteed appointment doesn't mean the situation will be healthy and safe for the pastor. B: this system doesn't handle ineffective clergy. H: I benefited from having a guaranteed appointment, but an ineffective pastor can kill a struggling congregation. D: Some conferences are becoming more transparent in their appointments, some even allow a pastor to apply for an open position.

What are your thoughts on house churches, small congregations that meet in someone's house? The denomination will have to plant new churches because the coming split will leave voids that need to be filled. The “church in a bar” model is growing. The church structure can be revised – not every congregation needs its own group to run finance, art, communications, and other things. These can be pooled among congregations. Buildings can be too. Not having a trustee committee frees people up for other work.

But don't give up on church buildings! Large buildings can offer a wider range of programs. Some people need a church building. The building is a hub from which to work in the community. It is an anchor, which is both good and bad. A facility is a privilege, know when to let it go.

How healthy do you see your church? How do you avoid a culture of oppression? D: be authentic. Find those who are toxic and help them with whatever is causing them to be toxic. Know who in the laity are on your side. H told the story of a trans woman in a male prison. She heard they was out and contacted them for support. This is what can happen when one is out and open. A: learn the history of the town. In many cases parents and grandparents were also in this town. Learning from them makes them more willing to learn from you. S: the church can call for and lead in diversity.

Bishop Karen Oliveto preached in the late afternoon service. She is lesbian and her conference includes all or parts of Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana. She made an important point. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, was a strong supporter of Thomas Blair, who was convicted of sodomy in 1732. Blair is mentioned several times in Wesley's writings n favorable terms. So the LGBTQ community has been a part of Methodism since the beginning.

The evening session was a discussion of reimagining the United Methodist Church. The first speaker was Lonnie Shafin. He said loving the UMC means reform. There is a commission for the church in the 21st Century. It is looking at such things as how does the constitution need to change, how to right size the boards and agencies after the separation, and how General Conference change from being a scolding finger to a partner in ministry. The commission is not behind closed doors, but is out talking to the members.

Ginger and Junius (I didn't catch last names) spoke next, Together they had written an article for Ministry Matters about the next generation of the church. Some of the things they talked about: We must address systematic oppression and become anti-racist and anti-colonial. We must examine how the current structure support oppression. The commission must have broad inclusion. Too many times we reach for an aspirational goal but allow church protocols to halt our reach. How is this attempt at change going to be different? We shouldn't focus so much on structure that we don't see the people. We should decide what is mission critical and make agencies reflect that. Previously we had just cut budgets without making hard decisions on what is important and what is not.

The discussion was opened to the audience for people to offer suggestions. Here are some of them: There will be tremendous cultural change in the denomination. We should have discussions on what it means to be LGBTQ. What does global equity mean? How do we avoid patriarchy? How can we put a focus on the environment? All agencies and committees need LGBTQ members.

A local church should move beyond the clothes closet and food pantry in their support of the homeless. The best support for homeless is housing first, not shelters. How do we make that happen? This may mean more involvement in local and state government. How might we put homeless into vacant buildings? Many congregations are doing one or more of these things. How do we make them a part of the whole denomination?

The Saturday morning preacher was Rev. Emily Bagwell, who is the RMN Georgia outreach lead. I don't have notes from her message.

The first Saturday breakout session was by US jurisdictions. I attended the North Central meeting. The session was led by Jan Lawrence. We have only two months until GC! What can local churches do to prepare? How can RMN prepare for the May 16 (the day after GC ends) no matter the outcome?

The North Central Jurisdiction (Ohio to the Dakotas) is second only to the West Jurisdiction in progressiveness. Bishops are to be elected this summer and all candidates have already pledged to do no harm. Even so, we should tell our delegates what we want – that we want them to vote for all parts of the protocol of separation.

There will likely be a Liberation Methodist denomination, more liberal than the post separation UMC. Many of these people are members of RMN. There will be RMN communities in new conservative conferences and churches. How can RMN serve them too?

The protocol does not have a way for a church to leave and be independent. Churches should wait for new denominations to form.

No matter how conservative the pastor and church are, if they know the couple they will be asked whether to perform the wedding. If this is a same-sex couple there is currently an excuse. But what happens without that excuse?

RMN and the group Resist Harm have been talking to bishops, including those in the South. They are asking them to suspend trials before GC. They are also asking senior bishops to mentor new bishops in how to handle complaints. New bishops will be elected this summer.

The last breakout session was for progressives in progressive areas. There was a separate meeting of progressives in conservative areas. This was a chance to share ideas in getting local congregations ready for a post separation church.

Blacks see RMN as a white group, only working on the gay issue. So we need to do more on intersection – also talking about the progressive view on immigration and climate.

Be aware that the words that make up the LGBTQ acronym don't translate well to other languages.

Ask what barriers have our churches unconsciously put up against full inclusion and leadership of people of color and others who are marginalized?

Things we can do locally: Host a service of belonging. Perhaps do this before GC. Definitely do this afterward, no matter the vote.

Support delegates and those attending as witnesses through messages.

Support LGBTQ members within the congregation who might harmed by the news. Tell youth (some may not be out!) about the Trevor Project. Give them agency and voice.

See and support lyncoalition.com. Donate to help witnesses with travel expenses. Airline points are much appreciated.

Talk to the congregation about the stakes of this GC and possible outcomes.

Other denominations are reaching out to us as we come up to our important vote. A historical note: When the Lutherans and Presbyterians voted for full inclusion they did so the in Minneapolis Convention Center, where GC20 is to be held!

A sign I spotted in the church talking about the Good Samaritan story: “One day we must come to see that the whole Jericho Road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed as they make their way on life's highway.” Martin Luther King, April 4, 1967.

The Connection ended with a worship service. After GC19, with its vote of the traditionalist plan, there was a Great Unsilencing. We saw a long series of pictures of churches with signs and symbols of welcome of LGBTQ people and defiance of GC19. Most of the images showed some sort of rainbow flag or banner. One church displayed the message: “This UMC is not that UMC.”

Can we display more flags and banners leading up to GC20?

Heading for a Methodist divorce

Yesterday my pastor began his sermon by saying there are stories in the news that the United Methodist Church will go through a divorce. I’m sure he did this because people asked about it. He didn’t go into much detail.

So I went to one of my favorite blogs on United Methodist news. It isn’t the denomination’s own news service. It’s the UM section of Hacking Christianity, written by Rev. Jeremy Smith, a United Methodist pastor. Yes, he wrote, there is a negotiated Plan of Separation. Bishop Yambasu of Sierra Leone got representatives from both sides together with a professional mediator to come up with a deal. Smith provides links to a press release, denomination news article, FAQ, and the full document of the agreement.

I read through the FAQ, which is posted on the Council of Bishops website. It explains how the mediation process got started, who was involved, how they chose the mediator, and the major points of the Plan of Separation.

I’ll summarize the endgame that Smith lays out:

* A smaller United Methodist Church will remove anti-LGBT language from its policies. Progressives keep that name.

* The Wesleyan Covenant Association (conservatives) will become a new denomination and invite areas (known as Annual Conferences; Michigan makes up one) and local congregations to affiliate with them. There is no penalty for leaving, but they have no more claim on common property, such as church agencies.

* Annual Conferences and local churches who feel the United Methodist Church without conservatives isn’t progressive enough can create their own denomination.

* An Annual Conference can vote to join a successor denomination. If there is no vote the AC remains in the UMC. A local church can vote to do something different than its Annual Conference. If there is no vote the local church belongs to whatever denomination its AC belongs to.

Between now and the General Conference in May the bishops agreed to not act on any complaints against LGBTQ clergy, in spite of the Traditional Plan that went into effect a few days ago. Signatories of the plan agree to support this plan and not support any other plan.

One commenter said this looks a lot the Simple Plan that was not approved at the General Conference a year ago. That plan was essentially the first point in the summary, which would have prompted the second. Why approve it now when it didn’t fly then? Because over the summer many Annual Conferences elected delegations much more progressive than in 2019 – the conservatives won the battle and lost the war. They recognize it is time to exit gracefully.

Smith says the endgame is clear but getting there is bonkers (his word).

General Conference is scheduled for May 5-15 in Minneapolis. However…

At the earliest time possible, perhaps on the first day, the delegates will be asked to vote on the Plan of Separation. If that passes, then that General Conference is done.

As the bishops declare General Conference done, they will call a special one for the next day. Starting on the second day the conservative leaders and delegates will meet separately. Those that remain will consider two proposals:

* Should the remaining UMC be reorganized by regions? Currently, regions (called Central Conferences) in Africa and elsewhere can determine what policies of the global church are not appropriate for their region. But churches in America can’t do that – they must abide by policy set by the global denomination. That gives conservative African churches a great deal of influence on American policy. This proposal creates an American region and redefines how regions relate to the whole.

* Should a new Global Social Principles be adopted? The United Methodist Church was different from many other denominations in our Social Principles that outline views on various social issues, such as poverty, war, and abortion (“There are times when life conflicts with life.” as I remember it). The social principles have now been updated for a global context. I have a copy, but haven’t read very much yet.

And when that’s done, the bishops are expected to close the Special General Conference and call for regional conferences to begin the next day and go through the remaining time allotted. This is when the American delegation can remove the anti-LGBT language.

Yeah, there are a couple problems with this schedule:

* Something as big as the Plan of Separation should be approved by the various Annual Conferences before it officially goes into effect. So the Special General Conference shouldn’t meet until after the ACs vote, not the next day.

* These Annual Conferences voted for delegates to the General Conference, not for Regional Conferences.

* Some progressives have been calling to build a new Methodist denomination from the ground up to eliminate any hint of colonialism in the foundation of the existing denomination. That won’t happen this time. That will have to come as reforms during future General Conferences.

Rev. Smith says he will add more commentary about the Plan for Separation on his website, which is here.

Annual Conferences rebuke General Conference

I talked to my pastor after the Michigan Annual Conference held at the beginning of June. I also heard from a couple friends who attended. The pastor and the friends said what the Annual Conference did could be described as a progressive sweep, a repudiation to the disastrous anti-LGBTQ General Conference in February. Three weeks have passed since the conference ended, so I’m relying on the report from the United Methodist News Service.

The actions in response to GC:

* Approved an aspirational statement “to live into an expression of Methodism that includes LGBTQIA people in full life and membership of the UMC.”

* Took a straw poll of conference members to guide Michigan leadership: 69% favor policies to allow but do not require clergy to officiate at same-gender weddings and allow ordination regardless of sexual orientation. This is 69% who disagree with the current Book of Discipline and with the actions taken at GC.

* Of those commissioned for church leadership were two openly LGBTQ persons, one of them in a same-gender marriage.

* Delegates elected to go to next year’s General Conference were all progressives. The group is also much younger than previous delegations. The delegates for next year’s Jurisdictional Conference are likewise all progressives.

For my non-Methodist readers, an annual conference is a small region, a state or part of a state, though in the West it might be two states. It’s called an annual conference because there is a big meeting every year of all the clergy and delegates from all the congregations. A Jurisdictional Conference covers a multi-state area. There are five of them in the US. They hold meetings every four years, just a few months after General Conference. And GC is the primary rule making body and has delegates from around the world.

Not all annual conferences have happened yet. For those that have I’m not interested in wading through dozens of reports on UMNS to pull out the GC related nuggets – especially if someone else is doing it. That someone is Rev. Jeremy Smith, who writes the blog Hacking Christianity.

Smith lists numbers from David Livingston of Kansas about the South Central Jurisdiction (Nebraska to Texas, New Mexico to Arkansas): 69% of the delegates being sent to GC 2020 from SCJ oppose the Traditional Plan passed in GC2019. 28% of those delegates support the Traditional Plan. This is important news from the American South.

Those on the Wesleyan Covenant Association (conservative) delegate slates in annual conferences across the country barely topped 30% of the vote. Many of the WCA leadership lost their bids to be delegates. It seems to be a rout.

On the progressive side there was an intention to make sure the delegates were younger and include more people of color and more who are LGBTQ. This will be the most diverse US delegation. The entire delegation from Oregon-Idaho, clergy and laity, is queer. The entire New England clergy delegation is queer. There are even some queer delegates from the Old South. For the first time since 1988 progressives will lead all five US jurisdictions.

Does a youthful delegation mean “inexperienced,” as some have claimed, and unable to meet the needs of GC or should we rejoice that “a whole bunch of young, diverse UMs just said they cared enough about the future of the denomination to be elected to General Conference?”

In violation of the Book of Discipline (GC2019 didn’t change the rules, only made punishment more severe) five other conferences also ordained LGBTQ clergy – including one in the South!. All of this is a strong rebuke of what GC2019 did.

Smith crunches some numbers and says that with the more progressive delegates from the SCJ and elsewhere GC2020 comes very close to being able to overturn the Traditional Plan. But it may not be enough. Conservatives need only 100 out of 482 American votes to combine with delegates from other conservative countries to prevail – by probably less than 2%.

So, now what? Do we try to overturn the Traditional Plan? Or is it better to use this enhanced progressive presence to negotiate a more equitable separation rather than expulsion? Is it worth keeping the existing UMC – along with its many structural problems – around? Or do we concentrate on something new?

I mentioned the Michigan Conference also elected a progressive slate to next year’s Jurisdictional Conference. So did most other jurisdictions. While it doesn’t matter to what happens at GC2020 it does matter to the future of the denomination. Jurisdictions elect bishops and there will likely be at least a dozen new progressive bishops. Various denomination boards and agencies will receive an influx of progressive members, people who are suspicious of the straight white power structure.

The Judicial Council ruled on the Traditional Plan

I was reminded this week that many members of the United Methodist Church don’t know about denomination structure. Most of the time they don’t need to. They may hear the big news items, such as the way the General Conference voted in February. But they don’t hear about the smaller yet important items. It is only people like me who know the structure because we need to.

So, a bit of refresher. The United Methodist Church constitution lays out governance similar to the United States Constitution. GC takes the role of Congress in making church laws and updating the *Book of Discipline*. The Judicial Council acts as the Supreme Court in verifying that what the GC does aligns with the constitution and handle disputes within the denomination. The Council of Bishops act as the President, carrying out what the GC approves.

GC approved the Traditional Plan at their special meeting in February. Also at that meeting the Traditional Plan was referred to the Judicial Council for review – just as the plan was referred to review right after it was announced as an option last summer. It didn’t pass then.

The JC has now met and handed down its ruling. The Traditional Plan is made up of 17 pieces and some of them were ruled unconstitutional. Some were ruled as valid. The JC did not say that because parts of the plan are unconstitutional, then all of it is. It ruled on each piece separately.

Some of the parts declared illegal (my summary):
* Bishops can be forced out for ordaining LGBT pastors.
* Local boards of ordained ministry have to certify adherence to the entire Book of Discipline. They must decline candidates to ministry who do not meet the standards of sexuality.
* Annual (regional) Conferences must certify nominees or face financial penalties.

Some of the parts declared legal:
* A marriage certificate for a same-sex marriage is evidence of being a “self-avowed practicing homosexual.”
* Bishops are prohibited from ordaining homosexuals, boards of ordained ministry are prohibited from approving homosexual candidates. Bishops cannot elevate a homosexual to bishop.
* A bishop cannot dismiss a complaint against a pastor’s action unless there is no basis in law or fact. The complainant must be a part of the complaint’s resolution.

And a separate piece declared legal:
* There are certain circumstances in which a congregation can leave the denomination and retain local church property.

This last one isn’t a part of the Traditional Plan, but is important because the Plan passed. This is the first step in allowing a denomination split.

There are, of course, reactions to the ruling from both conservatives and progressives.



This is the season when youth join the church. In much of the United Methodist tradition a child is baptized as an infant and usually as a teenager confirms as their own what was said at their baptism. This is seen as a rite of passage to adulthood. The youth is given full membership. My own congregation welcomed five youth last Sunday.

The confirmation class of First United Methodist Church of Omaha, Nebraska was a bit different. The eight youth did not go through with the confirmation service. They wanted to wait to see how their local church responds to GC and its LGBT prohibitions. This was done in a congregation where the pastor supports LGBT equality. In their delay the youth have the support of the pastor and the congregation. If we don’t deal with this more youth will decline to join.

Here’s a video of their statement to the congregation. From comments it looks like the video shut off just before a standing ovation.

Three views on splitting

Rev. Jeremy Smith is a pastor in the United Methodist Church. He writes the blog Hacking Christianity and has had several posts leading up to and after the February General Conference. Smith has posted two essays by guest writers, one urging a split and another discussing the harsh consequences of a split. Smith wrote a third – how progressives can stay and fight.

On the split side is O. Wesley Allen, Jr. of the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. He lays out his reasons why a split is both inevitable and necessary. Some of his reasons:

Neither side can win this battle. Because of the way the denomination is shrinking in America and growing elsewhere in the world progressives will never have enough votes to change the denomination’s stance on homosexuality. But conservatives don’t have enough votes to change the denomination’s constitution to get the kinds of accountability and penalties they want. They can’t force the Western Jurisdiction to get rid of a lesbian bishop, stop the ordination of gay clergy, or punish clergy who preside over same-sex weddings. We’re at a stalemate with each side demonizing the other and moderates trying to distance themselves from both the left and right.

There is a theological divide. Allen says there are three relationships that need healing – between human and God, between one human and another, and between a human and himself or herself.

Conservatives emphasize the human – God relationship and see personal purity and obedience to God as most important. Being LGBT is seen as a moral failing, violating both personal purity and obedience to God.

Progressives emphasize the human – human relationship and see it as an expression of the human – God relationship. They see this as the foundation of social ethics. We are to be just, inclusive, and loving of all people. Being LGBT is as natural and of God as being straight. So they consider the ethics of same-sex relations in the same way they look at straight relations.

Allen says these two views of LGBT people are irreconcilable. We must split.

Allen suggests we shouldn’t look at this as a divorce. This is more like siblings dealing with the death of a parent. Even while in grief and while not getting along there are tasks to complete, such as how to divide up the inheritance and how to live when the parent is no longer there.

Most of the 61 comments agree with Allen. David brought up an important point – what will a split do to a local congregation? There are related questions: What happens when the only Methodist church in town takes the direction you don’t like? What happens when a congregation is divided?

Rev. Rebecca L. Holland reminds us of what we lose if we split. In her view we would lose too much.

We might lose the guaranteed appointment system. All elders (ordained pastors) will be assigned to a church, no matter their gender, skin color, or abilities. This appointment system means a bishop can make cross-racial and cross-cultural appointments, which fosters diversity. This system protects women, people of color, and people with disabilities. Holland is all three.

A split could cause her to lose vital health insurance. It is especially vital to her because of her disability. She wonders if a Progressive Methodist Church would offer health insurance. I wonder of a Progressive Methodist Church would have enough institutional resources to provide heath insurance.

Holland got through seminary through extensive aid. Would a smaller denomination be able to afford supporting seminarians, especially those of minority groups? We could lose the diversity of our new pastors.

A split could damage global missions. One example is UMCOR, the United Methodist Committee on Relief, which often gets to disaster scenes before the Red Cross. One can donate by designating a bit extra in their offering. A few years ago United Methodists donated significantly to reduce malaria and the work brought more than a 50% reduction in malaria deaths. A church that isn’t global and connected as ours is wouldn’t have been as effective.

There were a dozen comments to Holland’s post. Sarah wrote the first:

These issues are why we should make the split happen in a conscious, intentional way rather than smaller groups splitting off here and there. The splitting is happening [and] the question before us is how to do it well.

Mike’s comment started with a quote from James Baldwin, which sums up my feelings of Holland’s post:

We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist.

Yes, diversity in appointments, health insurance, and UMCOR are all vital issues But LGBT people are the targets of institutional violence. If there is no split we’re the ones who will bear the damage and would want a realistic plan for ending the damage.

In Smith’s essay he suggests we can all stay in the same denomination and, like seat belts reduce the harm of fatalities in auto accidents, we progressives can reduce the harm of the Traditionalist Plan. In the same manner that the Western Jurisdiction has said they will ignore the Traditionalist Plan, the North Central and Northeastern Jurisdictions can do the same. This would require the bishops in those areas to issue written commitments that they would not enforce the Plan.

Since neither side has the 2/3 majority to change the denomination constitution the South Central and Southeastern Jurisdictions won’t be able to meddle in the ways the Western Jurisdiction defies the Traditionalist Plan. In this way progressives can keep church unity – or prompt conservatives to leave.

Smith admits a big problem with this idea – there would be no harm reduction for LGBT people in the South Central and Southeastern Jurisdictions.

Smith says this mass Biblical Obedience (a better name for Book of Discipline disobedience) depends on a question: Is preserving the current United Methodist denomination worth it? Is a split worth risking the hospitals, seminaries, and 35,000 churches? Is it worth risking the highly effective United Methodist Women, the ethnic ministry, the joint effort we can accomplish with our apportionments (what the local congregation gives to the national and global church), our ordination of women, and the 47% that see a shared future with LGBT people?

Commenters shared three main responses: (1) We need to resolve the issue, not keep battling. Both sides no longer want a church with the other side in it. The only resolution is a split. (2) I don’t have the energy for such a prolonged fight. (3) LGBT youth still see their worth still up for debate.