Posted on 01/25/2015 3:13:56 PM PST by Morgana
Bill Mefford, Director of Civil and Human Rights at the UMC’s Washington office, used the March for Life last week to mock the event with a sign, and picture he posted on Twitter, saying “I march for sandwiches.” Many are upset a church leader used a solemn event to liken an unborn baby to a sandwich.
The next day, UMC Rev. Dr. Susan Henry-Crowe General Secretary General Board of Church & Society, issued a statement about Mefford’s “march”:
“Affirming human dignity is central to the witness of Jesus Christ. Christians are called to watch over with care the lives of all persons and creation. We must strive to lead by example through our words and actions. We seek Christian compassion when we fall short in our actions with one another.
“A recent action involving a staff member of GBCS did not reflect our culture of respect, openness and hospitality. Appropriate conversations and action have been taken. We at GBCS recognize the special responsibility we have to cultivate respect, trust and hospitality among those who hold a variety of opinions on social issues.”
However, Henry-Crowe is speaking out of both sides of her mouth when she insists the UMC affirms human dignity while likewise having a culture of “openness.” It’s so open, in fact, that it is open to abortion.
The UMC is a longstanding member of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC), which is, put simply, is Planned Parenthood with a twist of God. rcrc.orgPhoto via rcrc.org
The UMC General Board of Church and Society, Henry-Crowe’s office, is the very branch of the UMC that participates on the frontlines with the RCRC. Her statement neglects to note that they give money to and support the RCRC which vocally and blatantly advocates for abortion right and Roe V. Wade being upheld.
Lest anyone believe that’s just a fringe belief of a few in the UMC, it only takes a look at the official church document, to see the advocacy of abortion is clear. The UMC’s Book of Discipline actually says that life and death are in our hands, and abortion is permitted. The same document is copied to the UMC page where it lists its stance on various social issues:
“The beginning of life and the ending of life are the God-given boundaries of human existence. While individuals have always had some degree of control over when they would die, they now have the awesome power to determine when and even whether new individuals will be born.
“But we are equally bound to respect the sacredness of the life and well-being of the mother and the unborn child.
“We recognize tragic conflicts of life with life that may justify abortion, and in such cases we support the legal option of abortion under proper medical procedures by certified medical providers.”
No words of regret for abortion can be counteracted by statements that say we are able to decide life and death. The UMC has never pretended to be pro-life. In fact, in Texas, “the healthcare group affiliated with the UMC, the Methodist Healthcare Ministries gave Planned Parenthood $443.000.
Thus, to see a leader in the denomination making a joke of death, hosting a sarcastic sign and pretending it was all in good fun, is not really a surprise.
It is, however, a shame. As one story notes:
“A great proportion of the pro-life marchers are young people. They are volunteers, unpaid and untrained. Mefford, on the other hand, is a grown man, one whose actual job is to represent Christians in the public square. How is it, then, that if we compare Mefford and the young marchers, the adolescents are the ones who come out looking like adults?”
Mefford apologized and insisted it was a joke and part of his sense of humor, that he meant no harm. But one reader , David Fischer, responded:
“Ask yourself this: how would you have responded if the marchers in Ferguson or New York this past fall had been met with mockery? I suspect you would not have appreciated it. Even if one disagreed with them, the seriousness of the situation demanded respect. Same with the March for Life.”
Rod Derher adds:
“If he had mocked the marchers at either of those places, Mefford probably would have been fired.”
But he wasn’t because his organization stands with him. Mefford may have deleted his Twitter account, but this isn’t the cause of one random joke gone bad. It was a statement of the UMC on the issue of abortion, which only allows for the rights of the woman, but not the child.
RevMom is correct. The only body that can speak for the UMC is the General Conference. People have a hard time understanding the governance of the UMC, because one would think that someone has a grip on these people, but the truth is that they don’t. They can be a loose cannon if that’s the way they’re inclined.
People who are not from an organized denomination don’t understand the history of our abortion position, so I’ve pretty much given up attempting to explain it. Suffice it to say that the current statement was intended by conservative Christians to boil choice down only to the “life of mother” position.
If you had seen what the statement was in the early 70’s, you would see that it has been chipped away at for decades now. When your governing body only meets one time every 4 years and that only for 2 weeks, then you get some idea how hard change is.
To be honest, just about the only denomination back then with an awareness of abortion was the Catholic Church, the most insightful of positions that they’ve held long before other denomination even got around to thinking about it.
Like I said, though, most aren’t interested in the history of how things develop the way they do.
ping to number 41.
Oh he doesn’t speak for the church, eh? why then for many years was the head of NARAL an ordained elder in the godforsaken UMC?
Oh he doesn’t speak for the church, eh? why then for many years was the head of NARAL an ordained elder in the godforsaken UMC?
I didn’t mean to post that twice, but since FR in its infinite wisdom elected to do so SO MOTE IT BE!! UMC - only denomination to recognize wiccan ceremonies.
IIRC it is the UMC churches in the rest of the world that’s holding the more liberal views of the American UMC churches in check at the Quadrennial meetings.
Sounds like it was a good time period and culture to live in.
WHO was the U.M. clergy that was head of NARAL???
Nancy Keenan, formerly the Montana state Superintendent of Schools, became President of NARAL Pro-Choice America and served until February 2013. Ilyse Hogue Ilyse is an expert in both electoral and advocacy campaigns who has worked with a variety of nonprofit organizations, including Friends of Democracy, Media Matters for America and MoveOn.org.
The UMC does NOT recognize wiccan ceremonies.
December 6, 1999 charges against Webb and Kraus for practicing a spirituality contrary to the teaching of the Methodist church: croning ritual was just a birthday party and therefore should not be subject to public scrutiny.
She did not take part in Wiccan rituals as a practice.
Much of the media attention about goddess worship in churches first focused on an event held in Minneapolis in 1993 called the Reimagining Conference. Most mainline churches, except the United Church of Christ, have withdrawn their funding of the continuing Reimagining conferences.
Neither are UM ordained clergy.. at least NOT according to their bios.
Your comment is not reasonable.
I know the office doctrine written doctrine of the Methodist church regarding Homersexuality. But they WILL NOT DISCIPLINE on the issue. If you tolerate them, that is your real position..........................
This is the same disconnect we see here regarding the RC. What they say and do are not the same.
And it is the same disconnect in us as individuals thus there is a lot of repenting needing to be done. Getting back to the first love as described in Revelation.
Now note I am discussing the institutions here. During the reformation there was a discussion of what were the minimum requirements of a church:
1) Preached the Gospel. This excludes some groups like Mormons, Muslims and Jehovah’s witnesses. Note the focus is the Gospel, not the traditions, or old testament although they there to guide but subject to the Gospel. etc. There is a lot of freedom here, but also a lot of responsibility. This was a new covenant. God rent the curtain from the top and destroyed the old temple. Yet we want the old system because it was familiar.
2) Administer the sacraments - again, guided by the gospels, not tradition and history
3) Discipline - this is probably the most lacking in ALL denominations today because of the insertion of the world view of toleration. But is has the most potential for abuse but if none, we go too far off the path.
Neither are UM ordained clergy.. at least NOT according to their bios.
I do not know his name, but I do remember ca. 1987-90 that he was listed in the Kansas East Conference Journal as an Ordained Elder appointed to the outside position. The Journals are not online, and this is way before consolidation of the conferences into the Great Plains conference. Work that would have led to excommunication in the Roman Catholic Church was essentially condoned by the UMC.
Re: “The UMC does NOT recognize wiccan ceremonies.” please see http://ucmpage.org/articles/wicca_story7.html.
You are right, OFFICIALLY the UMC doesn’t endorse paganism or wicca. Just like homosexuality, they discipline mildly or not at all. Tolerance breeds assent.
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