Posted on 06/08/2017 5:38:10 PM PDT by bkopto
The Northern Illinois Conference on the evening of June 4 commissioned an openly transgender individual as a provisional deacon.
The United Methodist Church has ordained transgender clergy before. However, the Rev. M Barclay is the first openly “non-binary trans person” to become a United Methodist deacon, according to Reconciling Ministries Network. Non-binary means Barclay identifies as neither male nor female but as gender neutral.
Barclay — who uses singular they pronouns — serves as director of communications at Reconciling Ministries Network. The unofficial United Methodist group, based in Chicago, advocates for full inclusion of LGBTQ people in all aspects of church life.
“For so long, I’ve longed to be a pastoral presence in the world — and certainly you can do that without a collar — but we have ordination for a reason, and part of that is that I can publicly identify as a pastor now,” Barclay said.
“I know it’s not particularly common in The United Methodist Church, but I intend to wear a collar every single day because for a person like me to navigate society in a collar provides some profound and urgently needed pastoral opportunities, particularly for queer and trans people.”
(Excerpt) Read more at umc.org ...
Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
God is certainly on his way.
I imagine he’s pretty pissed.
Martin Luther’s fault
Good old Methodists. Used to be you had to bring a covered dish to get into Heaven. Now just bring your transgender card.
Slippery Slope Alert!
And THIS is why I no longer go to the Methodist Chruch.
The photo speaks volumes.
Ichabod.
It is a staircase with each step deliberately taken.
Love the necklace and t-shirt.
United Methodist Church
This and all the other reasons is why I left. Not grandma’s church anymore.
what'd they do... put an ad in the paper???
For what it’s worth, United Methodist leadership has long seemed like neuters.
“They,” is maybe mentally ill.
Certainly un-grammatical.
This person is genderless, sexless, does not identify as either male or female??? What the heck???
Was this individual born female but wants to have a mannish appearance?? Or was this person born male but wants to have some feminine touches ??? This person has me completely confused........
Not as confused that it is.
Rent free.
24/7
The protestants continue to make their own rules....PATHETIC
Doesn’t anybody read the plain language in I Timothy 3 any more? And, as another FReeper noted, it’s certainly not the country church I went to when visiting aunts and uncles in the small town where my dad grew up. One of my aunts was my Sunday School teacher when I went to visit as a young tyke. My uncle served on the church board and was the local butcher. He could always be counted on to donate the sausage for the February “Ground Hog Day” pancake supper fundraiser. When he passed away 40 years later, I was actually not too surprised to find that he had made no bequest to the church in his will. Their deep-dive into “social gospel” with women as preachers had worn him down.
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