United Methodists and marriage equality in Michigan

Rev. Jeff Nelson of Redford Aldersgate UMC told me about this situation back in July. He kept me updated in short conversations. Yesterday, he emailed me to say it is time to expand the circle of support.

A while back a same-sex couple came to Rev. Ed Rowe of Central United Methodist Church in Detroit to ask him to perform their wedding. The couple are members of the Central congregation. They made the request knowing current denomination policies prevent Ed from officiating. As I understand it, the couple intentionally wanted to force the issue with Michigan Bishop Deborah Kiesey. Would she insist in punishing those who violate church law, perhaps even hold a church trial, or would she follow the lead of other bishops in saying those who perform same-sex ceremonies will honored and not punished?

I first encountered Bishop Kiesey during General Conference in 2012 in Tampa. That day the Conference had affirmed by over 60% the statement that homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. I was part of a protest of that vote I wrote about my experience here. That evening during the communion service Bishop Kiesey was the preacher. She did an admirable job of offering healing to all of us. She expanded on the scene after the Resurrection in which Jesus serves breakfast to the disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Three times Jesus commands Peter to "Feed my sheep." Bishop Kiesey expanded the phrase a bit: "Feed my sheep. All of my sheep." Many of us in Michigan were delighted when she was appointed as bishop of the Michigan Area just a couple months later.

In that email to me Jeff wrote:

In June Ed Rowe performed a same gender wedding for two members of the Central congregation. He did this will the full support of Central’s church council and leadership. He informed Bishop Kiesey and his District Superintendent of this pastoral act prior to performing the wedding.

The wedding was a joy-filled, healing and gospel centered event where the love of Christ was on full display and power of the inclusive community evident to all who attended.

In July Ed officially retired from the ministry.

As usually happens a complaint against Ed was filed by the Dean of the Cabinet and the Superintendent of the Detroit Renaissance District (essentially, Ed's boss). Ed was asked to describe what a just resolution would look like to him. I understand he wrote a letter spelling out his views. Ed selected former District Superintendent Tom Robinson to be his support person.

Last week, Ed and Tom met with Bishop Kiesey, her clergy assistant, and the two who filed the complaint to begin the just resolution process. During the meeting about 30 people from both Michigan Conferences met for prayer, support, dialogue, and worship.

A second conversation of the two teams is scheduled for Monday, September 29th at 1:30 pm to be held at the Michigan Area Office, 1011 Northcrest Rd. Lansing, MI 48906. Ed has requested that all willing people come to be part of a prayerful witness during this second dialogue. Jeff wrote:

We believe that our bishop wants to do the right thing and our prayerful presence has served to bolster her courage.

Please share this post with all your friends and fellow congregants. Ed needs our support.

Any news on this issue I will post to the Dedicated Reconciling United Methodists blog in the same manner as this post. Please check back for updates (and perhaps join some of the DRUM events described in the blog).
http://dedicatedrum.blogspot.com/

Jeff says that Ed closes his notes by writing:

Grace, Peace, Power and Pride

Upcoming Fall Events

For the First Sunday program on October 5th our guest will be Jerry Peterson, Executive Director of the Ruth Ellis Center. The Center provides a broad range of services for sexual minority youth, many of whom are homeless because of their orientation or identity. As part of his program Jerry will talk about how we can be involved and how important it is for the youth to see church people helping them. There is fellowship time at 7:00 and program at 7:30.

Our annual DRUM Fall Potluck and Program will be on November 2nd. The speaker will be Matt Berryman, Executive Director of Reconciling Ministries Network. He will talk about his personal journey and the progress of the Reconciling Movement within the United Methodist Church. RMN is a growing movement within United Methodism working for full inclusion and participation of all people within the denomination. Matt received his M.Div from Emory University and has served congregations in Jacksonville, Florida and the United Kingdom. We look forward to his message. The evening will begin with a potluck dinner at 6:00. Please bring your own table service and a dish to pass. The program and worship will be at 7:00.

The program on December 7th will feature Rev. Paul Melrose. There will be fellowship at 7:00 and program at 7:30.

All of these programs will be at Nardin Park United Methodist Church, 29887 W. Eleven Mile, Farmington Hills. This is just west of Middlebelt. Please use the west entrance.

First Sunday Program, September 7

The First Sunday program in September will have a little different format. We will do a very brief service of an opening hymn, prayer, scripture followed by communion liturgy and communion. Our principal speaker will be Rev. Sue Melrose of First Presbyterian in Farmington Hills. However, her message will not be a sermon. It will be a report of the processes Presbyterian Church USA went through recently at the General assembly held in Detroit in June to arrive at their totally open stance on marriage and ordination for our LGBT brothers and sisters. The discussion will follow the brief service.

Please plan to be there Sunday — bring friends and family to hear the good news of our sister church. This program will be in our usual location, the chapel of Nardin Park United Methodist Church, 29887 W. Eleven Mile Rd., Farmington Hills. That's just west of Middlebelt. We meet at 7:00 for fellowship and 7:30 for the service.

A call for unity

My dad sent me an article by two United Methodist pastors in North Carolina. They make a plea for unity because they don't want to see the denomination split over homosexuality. As part of that they call for everyone to follow the Book of Discipline the rule book of the church.

To our opponents they say that the issue will be at the forefront of General Conference for a while, so when it changes the Book for more equitable treatment of sexual minorities, you must follow that, in the same way you demand we follow what is there now.

To us they say in the same way we must follow what the Book says now (including bans on same-sex weddings) and work for it to be changed in an orderly way.

While I like the idea of telling our opponents who demand our compliance now that they must comply later, I don't buy the second point.

As I saw when I attended a General Conference two years ago in Tampa, the denomination has a very large African delegation and they're not going to allow change soon – not in 2016 and probably not in 2020. The American part of the denomination can't wait that long. Those growing up in the denomination now don't want a church that discriminates against their friends. Delaying a welcoming church will drive them away.

So how do we lessen Africa's influence? There are proposals being prepared for the 2016 General Conference to do just that. But without our open rebellion and defiance there won't be the urgency to pass such proposals. We will prove to American conservatives they have two choices – split from the Africans or split the denomination.

First Sunday Programs in July and August

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

Refrocked!

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

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

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

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

Talk of a denominational split

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

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

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

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

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

From the news article:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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