With the exodus of many of its most conservative congregations, the United Methodist Church (UMC) has now fractured over the issue of LGBTQ+ inclusion, as did mainline Episcopal, Lutheran, and Presbyterian churches before them. The UMC fracture, however, occurred in reverse order: whereas conservative congregations departed the other denominations when they voted to ordain gays…
Category: United Methodist Church
Today’s Samaritans
Most of us think of Samaritans favorably. We know that word as part of the phrase “good Samaritan, ” as in laws that offer legal protection to people who have rendered aid to someone in trouble. The idea, of course, is from the parable in Luke 10:30-37, in which a man is robbed, beaten, and…
A National Epiphany
January 6 is the one-year anniversary of an armed assault on the U.S Capitol. It is also Epiphany in the Christian calendar. Meaning “revelation” or “manifestation,” Epiphany celebrates the revelation of Jesus to the Gentiles, symbolized by the magi who came from the East to honor him. January 6, 2021, was a revelation as well,…
New Neighbors
The UN Climate Summit known as COP26, which took place in Glasgow, Scotland, this month, was notable for the older, white men who dominated the official sessions and the much more diverse and younger crowds demonstrating outside. Less visible were representatives of religious groups from around the world, although many were there and some had…
Stuck
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is being drained of life by two things that have long been its strengths: theological diversity and institutional connection. Since its earliest days, Methodism has made decisions through delegated bodies, and the General Conference (GC) is the sole entity that can set policy and speak for the UMC. This process…
UMC Fracture
The last three posts have looked at the breakdown of society in this time of historic social change. They have focused on US politics, but I return now to The United Methodist Church (UMC), whose continued fracture over LGBTQ inclusion offers a perfect illustration of this moment of change. The UMC recently announced that its…
Fearful Times
Fear seems to fill the air these days. But that fear is seldom centered on the effects of climate change that have already begun ravaging our planet. Rather it is focused on the fact that our world and familiar institutions are now being shaped by people who are different than we are. When the World…
A Protocol Considered
The airwaves and blogosphere are full of reactions to the January 3 release of a Protocol of Reconciliation & Grace through Separation. The plan will be presented to the 2020 United Methodist General Conference (GC2020) in hopes of ending decades of painful arguments and standoffs over the full inclusion of LGBTQ persons. Following the 2019…
A Matrix of Proposals
In my music theory class, the professor announced one day that we would be creating a matrix. One student muttered, “Oh, I don’t think my mother would let me do that.” I, on the other hand, have always found matrices to be an excellent way to compare information. Now that the deadline has passed for…
Poking the Bear
For more than 45 years, conservative United Methodists have controlled the church’s policy on LGBTQ inclusion, but the actions of the 2019 General Conference (GC2019) may have gone too far. The purpose of that special General Conference was to find a way forward as one denomination, despite internal division over sexuality. Led by the Wesleyan…