Posted on 05/10/2016 3:24:21 PM PDT by xzins
By Heather Hahn
May 9, 2016 | PORTLAND, Ore. (UMNS) On the eve of the 2016 General Conference, more than 100 United Methodist clergy and clergy candidates have come out as LGBTQ religious leaders.
“We are here because God has called us to serve in this denomination, and our souls are fed by the theology in which we’ve been raised,” the 111 United Methodists write in what they call “A Love Letter to Our Church.” The signers come from across the United States, and one signer is from the Philippines. They identify themselves as “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer/Questioning, and Intersex” in the letter.
Their letter comes a week after 15 clergy and clergy candidates in the New York Conference took a similar step of coming out together. It also comes just two days after the Rev. David Meredith, a United Methodist pastor in the West Ohio Conference, married Jim Schlachter, his boyfriend of 28 years.
These actions could put these clergy at risk of losing their credentials under church law, just as 864 delegates from around the globe are embarking on a 10-day legislative meeting that will determine church rules for the coming four years. Some of the May 9 letter signers are among the delegates.
However, the letter also indicates that many United Methodists are moving forward regardless of what General Conference decides, said Matt Berryman.
He is the executive director of Reconciling Ministries Network, an unofficial United Methodist group that advocates for the church to be more inclusive. The network has coordinated publicity of this and other challenges to church law as part of the group’s “It’s Time” campaign.
“Since 2012, we’ve decided we would be the church no matter what,” Berryman told United Methodist News Service. The majority of delegates at the 2012 General Conference voted against a proposal to say United Methodists disagree whether homosexuality is against God’s will.
To read the entire UMNS story by Heather Hahn, click HERE.
Too bad. They’re really lousy at making money. :?)
“Too bad. They’re really lousy at making money. :?)”
The church organization, alone, not counting the individual locations, makes over $50 million per year.
And they’ve got about 9 million people. 6 bucks a head won’t get you into a movie.
>>To say otherwise means you have to toss out some Scripture
No. You just have to understand it in context, both the immediate context and also in the larger context of the works of God as found from Genesis to Revelation.
I said earlier, it’s all about the pensions. The clergy are afraid of losing them. It’s the Three Monkeys—See no Evil, Hear no evil, speak no evil”—
The pensions are doomed anyway when they boycotted Israel.
Nice edit.
Using Peter's writings to clarify Paul's??
Sounds like using Hillary's statements to understand Trump's.
>>Using Peter’s writings to clarify Paul’s??
No. Using the words given by the Holy Spirit to clarify other words given by the Holy Spirit. You point out one of the reasons I left the UMC. They (the educated clergy, not necessarily the laity) do not believe in the inerrancy or infallibility of scripture. Like most humanists, they believe that scripture was written by men inspired by a philosophy and that the meaning changes with each new generation.
Who teaches them this stuff?
>>Who teaches them this stuff?
Liberal seminaries teach it. Progressive Bishops and District Superintendents arrange the clergy to help the liberal ones succeed and the conservative ones fail. After that, its just a matter of waiting.
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