Here We Stand
Calling the United Methodist Church to
Embody God’s Love and Justice

. . . neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things
to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will
be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39 (NRSV)

Preamble

We, the undersigned church leaders, have come together to take a stand in response to recent decisions by the United Methodist Judicial Council. We are United Methodists committed to following Jesus Christ as we embody God’s love and justice through The United Methodist Church. We share a mutual love for the United Methodist tradition, a common passion for justice, and an unshakable conviction that the Gospel of Jesus Christ, mediated through our church, is for all persons. We strongly affirm the assertion in our Book of Discipline that “inclusiveness denies every semblance of discrimination.” (par. 138) We are ashamed for those times that the law of our church has codified discriminatory language and practices, whether in relation to women, ethnic minority persons or any other person or group.

Especially grievous to us at this time in history is the discrimination created by the statement in the Social Principles that holds that the practice of homosexuality is not condoned and is considered incompatible with Christian teaching. This statement contradicts in the same paragraph the affirmation that homosexual persons are individuals of sacred worth and our commitment to be in ministry for and with all persons (par. 161 G). We are drawn to follow Jesus, who is the living Word of God for our lives. So centered in God’s unconditional love and justice was Jesus that he offered an inclusive embrace of all people. As he empowered those marginalized and excluded by the dominating social barriers and practices of his time, he made visible the Reign of God. Jesus calls us and our church to do the same through personal and social reconciliation and transformation. In Jesus’ call, we ground our challenge to United Methodism to embody God’s love and justice.

Judicial Council Decision 1032

Bishop Charlene P. Kammerer ruled, in June of 2005, that a pastor could not prohibit a baptized gay man who is in a covenant relationship with another man, from becoming a professing member in the United Methodist Church. In reversing that ruling in October 2005, the Judicial Council held in Decision 1032 that the pastor in charge “is solely responsible for making the determination of a person’s readiness to receive the vows of membership.”

This judgment is fatally flawed. The phrases, “is solely responsible for” or “readiness to receive the vows” do not occur in our Book of Discipline. Nowhere in the Book of Discipline is the pastor given “sole” discretion to make membership decisions. The Judicial Council has made a flagrant, harmful mistake by making up rules not established by General Conference legislation.

In addition, our Book of Discipline does not authorize a pastor to bar homosexual persons from membership. Being a self-avowed, practicing homosexual is not a chargeable offense that can be applied to laity. Nor does the Discipline authorize a pastor to question the validity of a person’s baptism on any basis. In fact, paragraph 340.2 (3) indicates that it is the responsibility of the pastor “To encourage people baptized in infancy or early childhood to make their profession of faith, after instruction, so that they might become professing members of the church.”

We, therefore, categorically reject the understanding of our tradition, our polity and the Gospel reflected in Judicial Council Decision 1032.

The Implications

Decision 1032 cannot be viewed in isolation from the recent history of our church. Numerous warnings have been sounded that the decision to enshrine discriminatory policies in our Book of Discipline would lead us down a slippery slope, ultimately threatening much of what we cherish in our Methodist heritage. Until now, this discrimination has been largely directed at clergy, depriving countless gifted servants of God from pursuing their call to ordained ministry. Such is the case of the removal of ordination credentials from Rev. Irene Elizabeth (Beth) Stroud in the recent Judicial Council Decision 1027, a decision made solely on the discriminatory policy of not allowing ordination for non-celibate homosexuals. In Decision 1032, we see both a continuation and an alarming acceleration of this discrimination. This decision authorizes pastors to discriminate against laity without any accountability to the Bishop and/or District Superintendent.

Judicial Council Decision 1032:

  • Removes the Constitutional guarantee of open membership.
  • Undermines the authority of the episcopacy and district superintendency.
  • Diminishes our connectional covenant.
  • Deprives lay persons of their rights.
  • Puts minorities in the church at risk of further discrimination and exclusion.
  • Usurps the role of the General Conference as the legislative body in the church and seeks to invest that authority in the Judicial Council.

Our Pledge

We will:

  • Inform our church about the dangers of Decision 1032 and the continuing discrimination of Decision 1027.
  • Interpret to our particular constituencies the likely effects these far-reaching decisions will have upon them as United Methodists.
  • Work together for legislative reform to prevent such misuses of judicial authority in the future.
  • Re-commit ourselves to the traditional United Methodist values of fully inclusive membership, connectional polity and accountable ministry.

Our Challenge

We challenge the United Methodist Church to embody God’s love and justice, as we call upon:

  • The Judicial Council to reconsider and reverse Decision 1032 forthwith.
  • The Council of Bishops to advocate forcefully and continuously for a fully inclusive church.
  • The General Conference to remove all discriminatory language from the Book of Discipline at its 2008 session.

Signed:

Joe Agne and Marilyn Outslay
Co-Presidents
Methodist Federation for Social Action

Gil Caldwell and Traci West
Co-Conveners
United Methodists of Color for a Fully Inclusive Church

John A. Carr, Executive Director
Association of Physically Challenged Ministers

Inday Day, Executive Director
National Federation of Asian American United Methodists

Peggy Gaylord and Kenneth Rowe
Co-Spokespersons
Affirmation: United Methodists for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns

Kathryn Johnson, Executive Director
Methodist Federation for Social Action

Jerry Longwell, Facilitator
Parents Reconciling Network

Mark Nakagawa, Chair
National Federation of Asian American United Methodists

Troy Plummer, Executive Director
Reconciling Ministries Network

Chett Pritchett and Robbie Gill
MOSAIC: Methodist Students for an All Inclusive Church

Jeffrey Spelman, Chair
Reconciling Ministries Network

Christina Wright and Jayson Dobney
Co-Chairs
On Fire

Cathy Knight, Executive Director
Church Within A Church Movement

David Meredith, Convener
Reconciling Ministries Clergy

Metodistas Associados Representando la Causa de Hispano-Americanos (MARCHA) assembly in Puerto Rico, 11/19/05
Howard W. Hallman, Chair
Methodists United for Peace with Justice

Cheri Holdridge
Church Within A Church Move

Organizational Affiliations listed with individual names are for information purposes.

For information links and an opportunity to join the list of signers, see Here We Stand at http://www.HereWeStandUMC.org

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See Why Judicial Council Decision 1032 Must Be Reversed or Overturned: An Open Letter to the Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church by Rex D. Matthews, ThD.

See United Methodism@Risk:A Wake-Up Call by Leon Howell, © 2003; MFSA Plumbline 2004: Judicial Council Elections available @ www.mfsaweb.org; “Opinion: Restoring Integrity to the UMC’s Supreme Court”, Donald E. Messer, Zion’s Herald, Jan/Feb 2004.

See the dissenting opinion to 1032 by Judicial Council member, Jon Gray.

December 1, 2005

 

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