Report of Reconciling Ministries Convocation

A report on what I did and saw and learned from the Reconciling Ministries Convocation held at a hotel near the St. Louis airport. The city was chosen because it is where the special General Conference will be next February.

Thursday, July 26

Convo opened in the evening. One of the first announcements was that there would be a police presence during the whole event because some people had received threats. The announcer said that the organizers are very aware that for some people a police presence is a threat and not a reassurance. We are to be mindful of the white supremacy that creates that tension.

Attendance at this Convo is about 300. This is lower than the 6-700 in the past. Part of the reason is this one was a lot more hurriedly organized.

We opened with a worship service of welcome. Then came a bible study led by Rev. Dr. Tyler Schwaller, a white gay man, and Rev. Tonya Parker, a black woman, both of Wesleyan College in Macon, Ga. The overall theme of their several studies they said would have a feminist intersectional frame. Each talked for a few minutes before turning the topic over to the other. We got two perspectives on the scripture. In my notes I didn't record who said what.

The opening statement: A church that proclaims liberation but is obsessed with persecution is dead. Though the denomination is dead, the overall church is not.

The first text was Philippians 2:1-11. I won't repeat it here. A lot of this text refutes the ranking, the social hierarchy, I've talked about many times in my blogs. He opening verses say that while Jesus has the nature of God and could exploit that, he doesn't. The next verse (in some translations) say Jesus took on the nature of a slave. We don't like to use that word because it is embarrassing and we have to deal with acceptability politics. But what the verse is saying is Jesus took the position of the lowest member of society – so low that slaves were considered animals and not human. We were reminded that the life of a Roman slave was just as brutal as was the life of a slave in the American South.

Friday, July 27

The preacher for the morning worship service was Rev. David Meredith. He was charged with being a practicing homosexual (he married his partner). The charges were dropped. Then the case was reopened (I don't know the details) and he was convicted. He was betrayed by the fine print.

He played a clip from the movie Lincoln showing a bit of the debate over the 13th Amendment. The speaker said black people didn't need to be equal in all things, they just need to be equal before the law. This is equality with exceptions. We – and the Gospel – are betrayed. Meredith told the story of Philemon, a really short book in the bible. The story centers on the marginalized, in particular on a slave. Writer Paul tells the owner the one who was a slave is now a brother. He is to have full rights in all spheres of public life equal to those of the former owner. We are to strive for equality. Inclusion requires permission of the powerful. Equality does not.

Another bible study session. The team looked again at the passage from Philippians, this time focusing on a Greek word that they say is often mistranslated. The correct translation should be something like “rape and rob.” The Roman gods of the day were depicted as violent. They could rape and rob as they pleased. These gods supported the social hierarchy. Paul was making the point that Jesus is a god who is not violent, who does not rape and rob. Alas, Paul blows it by saying to Jesus every knee shall bow. That's an action that an imperialist demands. Paul had just told us that Jesus was not imperialist.

Four members of the Commission For a Way Forward shared their experiences. Two of them were two of the three LGBT members (yeah, the Commission was deciding gay issues with little gay presence). They said the whole process went very well – except that it was rigged from the start. And when they challenged the other members on this point the response was bafflement. When the process is rigged it can only take us so far.

Rev. Amy DeLong, who has gone through a church trial, commented that a flawed system has produced a flawed result and we must resist it.

The panel reviewed the proposals before General Conference 2019.

* The One Church Plan – The incompatibility clause is removed, current prohibitions are removed, and each Annual Conference or perhaps each congregation decides how to treat LGBT people, whether with equality or with discrimination.

* The Connectional Plan – The church creates three parallel structures for progressive, moderate, and conservative views and Annual Conferences and local churches choose which one to join. This one is highly complicated, requires several amendments to the denomination's constitution, and may take ten years to implement. Very few are treating is seriously.

* The Traditional Plan – This is the existing harm “on steroids.” Even worse, it is structured so that conservative churches can toss a lit match into the denomination as they sneak out the back door.

A fourth plan is being proposed:

* The Simple Plan – Remove the incompatibility clause, remove the LGBT restrictions and change nothing else.

Some people are suggesting another outcome: none of the proposals may pass. GC 2019 leaves us where we are now. Fresh proposals can be made for GC 2020.

The panel said that if any of the original three proposals pass there will still be harm to LGBT people. Even more, there may be harm where there was none before. While the One Church plan seems to be the best of the original three one black woman described it as moving from slavery to Jim Crow. The actual denomination wide prohibitions may be gone, but areas of the denomination can institute their own prohibitions.

A workshop titled Hope Floats, led by Sue Laurie. She was a longtime leader in the Reconciling Ministries organization. At time I thought this session was unfocused, but she did say some important things.

She started by saying, “Homosexuality is not a sin. Those who teach that need to be stopped.” The bishops know that homosexuality is not a sin. Yet, they continue to do nothing about those who keep teaching that it is.

People commented on the panel that had just met. The three gay members would say something and then “the machine kicked in to protect itself.” And nobody would name this self-preservation of power.

Sue said: “I could not despise the One Church Plan more.” It continues the harm. It says discrimination is still acceptable. Areas of the church will be free to write harmful rules, which will last a long time. We'll want out of an abusive relationship.

“Unity is the golden calf.” Too many people are refusing to act because, as they tell Sue, “We're with you, but we don't want to split the church.”

Sue hears people say if we just told our story... Sue responds, it's been done. She points to a pile of books spread out on the floor, each one telling part of the story. She even helped write at least one. So, she has to remind herself it's not her fault if we lose. We can educate all we want but there is an aspect of bigotry that education doesn't touch.

If the One Church Plan passes the Western Jurisdiction may pat itself on the back. Its congregations will be open and affirming. But a congregation in West Pennsylvania (Sue mentions this locale because she is from there and can't find a church home) will see the ship of affirmation sail away. So, is the One Church Plan better than what we have now? For many congregations, a resounding no.

Mittie Quinn did a workshop on The Long March: Are We There Yet? She reviewed the denomination's history of splits and reunitings. We split over slavery. We came back together but institutionalized racism. She then covered every step in the way the denomination treats LGBT people. Mittie says this type of presentation is able to talk about the issue without talking about human sexuality.

Our evening session was an address “Ain't I a Christian, Too?” given by Rev. Dr. Jay Williams. The United Methodist Book of Discipline has the phrase that homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. Williams said that if that phrase is true than LGBT people are not true Christians. We may be a child of God, but that's not the same as being Christian. This is an idea we must challenge.

And we challenge it by queering the church. The word “queer” includes the meanings interconnected, unique, and odd. And the church should be those things too. Some say we should move beyond the discussion of homosexuality – we've discussed it long enough. But homosexuality should be a defining matter for the church because justice is a defining matter for the church.

Williams also rejects the One Church Plan. Nobody has the freedom to put me in chains. This plan sanctions discrimination. It is theologically flawed and morally bankrupt.

Williams recognizes the issue is about social dominance. We must reject the church's pathological obsession with policing the queer body. The UMC is a police state. Queer people aren't safe in church. This is the same logic as white supremacy. It is a power that repeatedly kills.

The denomination has used the phrase “for the transformation of the world.” That can't happen until we have a transformation of the church.

Our ethics should not be based on rules but on holistic living. We should show our solidarity with other oppressed people.

Saturday, July 28

The morning preacher was Rev. Starsky Wilson. All of us have unfinished business, a list of things that need to be done. Some of these things never get done. But there are some things we can't leave unfinished.

We must have responsible agency. There are a lot of things in this world that cry out for us to do something. We can feel overwhelmed. So do the things we can do. Don't wait.

We must have a resurrected identity. Many groups try to deny that Jesus had a body, that he was fully human. But a lot of the Christian story falls apart of Jesus doesn't have a body. Now we're that body. If someone on the outside looks in do they see us as a resurrected body? Or do they see a dead body?

We must be reconciling. Wilson discussed the scene after the resurrection in which Jesus hosts a fish fry for the disciples and asks Peter, “Do you love me?” A previous scene with Peter was at the trial of Jesus when Peter denies him three times. So after the fish fry Jesus reconciles with Peter. This is a critically necessary scene. If Jesus did not do this he would have contradicted all of his prior ministry and the Christian church would not exist.

Williams worked up a litany beginning with, “If there is no Bayard Rustin there is no Civil Rights movement.” He listed perhaps ten names this way, most I didn't recognize. I am familiar with Bayard Rustin, a critical organizer within the movement and also gay. Williams told us that all of the people he mentioned are gay or lesbian.

The service ended after we were each anointed with oil.

The next bible study was about two stories of healing. The first is recorded in both Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10. It is the Centurion asking Jesus to heal his slave. The second is Mark 7:25-30 and Matthew 15:21-28 and is about the gentile woman who argues with Jesus about healing her daughter and uses the line even the dogs eat the crumbs under the table.

In that first story there are some interesting features. First, the person to be healed. Luke uses the word for slave (and if the word was translated as servant, cross it out and write in slave – it was a person who was dehumanized). But Matthew uses a different word that can mean youth or even boy-love, yes, implying a same-sex lover.

Second, the Centurion, a person of power, recognizes the power in Jesus. This is a story about the Centurion. Jesus never meets the one he heals. The Centurion is likely thinking in terms of a patron-client relationship with Jesus as the patron. In that time the patron might steal a lover, so the Centurion wants to avoid contact.

Third, this is healing for one. Healing and liberation for one is good, but much better if it is for everyone.

In the second story the gentile woman absorbs the insult of being called a dog, but won't let that stop her from getting the healing for her daughter she know Jesus can provide. The figurative dogs being described are not wild, but pets in the house.

It seems this woman is telling Jesus is mission is not just to the Jews. An audience member notes this is the one time Jesus takes correction and it is from a woman. Without her we would not be Christians.

Another important point: The Centurion said he wanted healing for his slave/lover but he was not worthy of the attention from Jesus. The gentile woman said she is worthy and pesters Jesus until she gets what she wants.

The gentile woman settles for crumbs. What if we got only crumbs? But we're tired of crumbs, not just us, but everyone. We can learn from the boldness of the gentile woman.

On both Friday and Saturday the worship services took a lot longer than had planned, so adjustments were made to the schedule. On Saturday that meant our meetings by jurisdiction were only half as long as originally planned.

Alex Shanks is the coordinator for the North-Central Jurisdiction (Ohio to the Dakotas). He started only last October and is working part time for Reconciling Ministries. So contact with him may be slow. Because time was short he went directly to eight things we can do before the General Conference in February.

1. Engage the issue at district and Annual Conference meetings.

2. If conversations aren’t happening bring it to the attention of the bishop or district superintendent.

3. Ask the local pastor if such a discussion has been scheduled or ask why not. The bishops say each congregation is supposed to engage with the issue. Is yours?

4. Host your own conversation in your home or as part of a Sunday School class.

5. Contact the delegates to GC from your area. Thank them for their work and support. Share some stories to indicate why we fell strongly. If a delegate is undecided, tell Alex.

6. Get involved in Reconciling Ministries leadership in your Annual Conference.

7. Continue to encourage local churches to go through the reconciling process.

8. Be a part of the Reconciling Ministries video project.

The Reconciling Ministries Network’s official view is all three of the proposals from the Commission For a Way Forward do not provide justice. They support the Simple Plan. However, they are aware that the One Church Plan is more likely – at least it gets rid of the incompatibility clause. A reminder the Simple Plan does that too and without the baggage of allowing conservative churches to continue to discriminate.

Those in the room were concerned that official view sounded like we’ve already set our default support for the One Church Plan. What we want is full support for the Simple Plan as our starting position and the One Church Plan as a possible, though less desirable, negotiated compromise.

Rev. Dr. Traci West spoke on valuing bodies. She said a lot about what I’ve said in my discussions of ranking, but in ways not easy for me to understand. However, I agree with her main point: We are classified at birth by our bodies, by its gender and skin color. Those of us in lower positions in the social hierarchy experience violence against our bodies. We experience that violence because violence is the quickest and most sure way to enforce the hierarchy.

After lunch we listened to Bishop Karen Oliveto answer questions and tell stories of her first two years as the denomination’s first lesbian bishop. Her territory is Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana. In some areas of the country there is a United Methodist Church every 2-3 (or 20-30) miles. In this area there is a church every 200-300 miles. Many are small, but are the only progressive Protestant voice in town. Oliveto says that instead of a Bishop’s residence (in Denver) she should have a Bishop’s RV. She has vowed to visit every church in her area and has visited over 300 of the over 400 churches. Some have told her that a bishop has never visited before.

Oliveto has received several boxes of letters of support. Many of them say thanks for being there. Your presence in that job gives hope. Letters in opposition: 50. Parents of gay kids have been reluctant to ask their congregations for support. She tells them look at the way your congregation has supported a lesbian bishop. Alas, she has also heard, “Well, you broke the rules, so I can …”

As for General Conference in 2019 she says we need to lay down our arms. We’ve been using the Book of Discipline as a weapon. But no matter how GC goes most members look to the local congregation and not to the global institution. To those at the top of the social hierarchy she says we can use our privilege to make space for others and to declare our passion for diversity.

Oliveto says one of her favorite bible verses is Deuteronomy 30:19 – “I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life.”

On to a third workshop. This one was Sacred Resistance, led by Rev. Ben Roberts, the Director of Social Justice Ministries at Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, DC, and Ed Crump, a lay leader in many of those ministries. After the 2016 elections their members participated in resistance actions (usually protests) about once a week for a year. That was leading to burnout, so they are working to develop a new strategy.

The first step in resistance work: show up. That includes the church as well as individual members.

What makes resistance sacred is such things as live in peace and justice (even while protesting), actively respond to an issue, work toward the common good, focus on the needs of others, advocate the vulnerable, attempt to love everyone, avoid the binary choice, resist self-protection, resist retaliation, resist the “win,” emphasize community, remember the goal is justice for all. A guiding phrase is from Martin Luther King: “Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”

Ed described one action in which he went with DACA recipients to talk to several senators. When the group walked in the door the senator looked to Ed, the white male, as the presumed leader. Ed could do what Bishop Oliveto described. “Hello Senator, I’d like you to meet some of my friends.” He used his privilege to make space for others and let them speak for themselves. With Ed there the senator could not say they’re not voters, I don’t care about them. One of the senators talked about his support for compromise legislation. A DACA youth said, “You’re talking about my mother.”

Ed suggested ways of making all this happen while avoiding burnout. Study the ways in which Jesus supported and lived in community. Break feelings of isolation. Don’t act for someone, act with. Ask those affected what they want the solution to be. Immerse yourself in love (scripture and books on loving resistance), which may need to be done frequently, perhaps daily. There are songs of resistance – learn them and teach them to the participants (which means having a training session before the protest begins).

Explain your resistance to the rest of the congregation, preferably during worship services. Resistance isn’t just protest. Foundry Church has found lots of ways to help those at the low end of the social hierarchy. That help includes advocacy.

After our evening banquet several people talked about our movement’s history by decade. Affirmation for Lesbians and Gays began in 1974. In 1984 they started the Reconciling Church movement and soon released it into a separate organization. The last presenter Jarell Wilson, a seminary student, talked about his hope for the future. He said he and his colleagues will be the first generation to come to the pulpit already out.

Sunday, July 29

The morning events were an invitation to be a witness to General Conference 2019, a bible study, and a concluding communion service. Reading through my notes I don’t have much more to add. Only this:

Working through the process to become a Reconciling Church is a great way to grow the congregation with a side benefit of getting them interested in social justice issues.