David Gura speaks wh Rev. Kimberly Stt about last week's meetg of the Uned Methodist Church's Council of Bishops and s impedg vote on whether to orda gay pastors.
Contents:
- UNED METHODIST NSERVATIV TAIL BREAKAWAY PLANS OVER GAY CLN
- OVER 6,000 UNED METHODIST NGREGATNS VOTED TO LEAVE THE NOMATN AS BE MORE FLEXIBLE WH GAY MARRIAGE AND LGBTQ+ MISTERS
- UNED METHODIST CHURCH ANNOUNC PROPOSAL TO SPL OVER GAY MARRIAGE
- METHODIST CHURCH VOT TO BAN GAY CLERGY AND SAME SEX MARRIAGE, EVOKG BATE AMONG MEMBERS
- METHODISTS STRENGTHEN STANCE AGAST GAY MARRIAGE AND OPENLY LGBT CLERGY
- IMPROPER VOTG DISVERED AT METHODIST VOTE ON GAY CLERGY
UNED METHODIST NSERVATIV TAIL BREAKAWAY PLANS OVER GAY CLN
* methodist vote on gays *
Kimberly Stt about last week's meetg of the Uned Methodist Church's Council of Bishops and s impedg vote on whether to orda gay pastors. The Uned Methodist nomatn has over 6 ln members the Uned Stat, and they're divid over the qutn of ordag gay misters.
She left the church for seven years and me back to be s first Black, female, openly gay pastor, and she jos now om Phoenix. KIMBERLY SCOTT: Thank you, So this bate over ordag gay clergy has been gog on for a while, sce the late '60s. And then the other part was always send-gusg myself - whether or not I was supposed to be open about my sexual orientatn, whether or not I was supposed to play the game of don't ask, don't Jt so that I'm clear, is the church's official stance on homosexualy today ambiguo or is pretty clearly fed and you'd like to see changed?
It clearly stat that you nnot be an openly-practicg homosexual and be ordaed the Uned Methodist Church. It also stat that although all human begs are of sacred worth, homosexualy is patible wh Christian teachg.
OVER 6,000 UNED METHODIST NGREGATNS VOTED TO LEAVE THE NOMATN AS BE MORE FLEXIBLE WH GAY MARRIAGE AND LGBTQ+ MISTERS
A vote Wednday by the Uned Methodist Church worldwi nference banned gay and lbian clerics and the officiatg of same-sex marriag. * methodist vote on gays *
S., church have gone beyond what the Book of Disciple says to make the church open and accsible to gay and lbian clergy like Do you know other pastors who aren't as open as you or haven't been able to be as open as you - have ma this choice to keep this important si of their liv quiet or secret om their ngregatns?
The bate around homosexualy is not somethg that most Ain and third-world untri are - really re about.
One-fifth of Uned Methodist ngregatns the Uned Stat have received permissn to leave the nomatn over disagreements over same-sex marriage and gay preachers. This year alone, 4, 172 ngregatns left, acrdg to an unofficial tally by Uned Methodist News the church forbids the marriage or ordatn of “self-avowed, practicg homosexuals, ” many church and nferenc fy those bans. Conservativ May 2022 officially lnched a new Global Methodist Church, where they plan to mata and enforce bans on thgs that clu gay misters and same-sex weddgs.
UNED METHODIST CHURCH ANNOUNC PROPOSAL TO SPL OVER GAY MARRIAGE
Recent shifts the church2019: A vote by a General Conference was the latt of several recent s that rerced the church’s ban on gay clergy and marriage. Many wh the nomatn are seekg to reverse bans on the ordatn of gay and lbian misters and officiatns of gay weddgs. LGBTQ+ rponseWhile some partg church allow LGBTQ+ members, ’s an unacceptable double standard when they let LGBTQ+ people attend their servic but refe to marry them, said Sonja Feist, print of the Topeka chapter of Parents, Fay and Friends of Lbians and told The Capal-Journal she didn't see how a church that bans same-sex marriage n claim to be welg to gay people.
A rabow gay pri flag fli below the U. S., 60% of Uned Methodist members say homosexualy should be accepted, acrdg to a 2014 survey by the Pew Rearch Center. Meredh is gay and has been married sce 2016.
" He says the plan don't acknowledge the historil legacy of homophobia the church, though he poted to the plan's allotment of $39 ln over four years to "support muni historilly margalized by the s of racism" as a step toward such an acknowledgement. The Church “implor fai and church not to reject or nmn lbian and gay members and iends.
METHODIST CHURCH VOT TO BAN GAY CLERGY AND SAME SEX MARRIAGE, EVOKG BATE AMONG MEMBERS
Homosexualy was first openly bated at General Conference 1972, four years after the formatn of The Uned Methodist Church, rultg the addn of first statement on homosexualy. While affirmg belief that persons of homosexual orientatn are persons of sacred worth who need the mistry and guidance of the church, the statement add that the church “do not ndone the practice of homosexualy and nsirs this practice patible wh Christian teachg.
Sce that time, the church has mataed the posn that “the practice of homosexualy is patible wh Christian teachg. Based on the posns about homosexual practice and marriage, the Church has also mataed rtrictns regardg clergy.
METHODISTS STRENGTHEN STANCE AGAST GAY MARRIAGE AND OPENLY LGBT CLERGY
Pastors may not be “self-avowed, practicg homosexuals” and may not nduct ceremoni that celebrate same-sex weddgs or unns.
Wh a body of over 12 ln members globally, Uned Methodists are not of one md about how to be mistry wh lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer people. Some members feel strongly that the church should uphold s current stanc regardg gay clergy and marriage.
IMPROPER VOTG DISVERED AT METHODIST VOTE ON GAY CLERGY
While the church has official statements regardg homosexualy, all members n disagree wh the church’s posns and n advote for change policy. In 2019, a special ssn of General Conference met specifilly to addrs ongog, unrolved divisns regardg homosexualy. Its cisns strengthened rtrictns on ordatn (broang the fn of "self-avowed, practicg homosexual" the footnote to ¶304.
One was to clare an abeyance (lay) on submtg or procsg plats related to homosexualy until after a procs for separatn had been approved and the nomatns that may rult om uld hold their first post-separatn General Conferenc.