MFSA News
July 27, 2001

UMC Called to Account on “Igniting Ministries” Campaign
An Open Letter to the UMC

July 27, 2001

“I believe when you truly embrace diversity, you embrace God.”
- Text from UMC “Igniting Ministries” advertising campaign

In light of the United Methodist Church’s “Igniting Ministries” initiative (www.ignitingministry.org), its national $20 million advertising campaign, we call the UMC to accountability. The campaign’s theme “Open hearts, open minds and open doors,” is exactly the reality the constituents of the Reconciling Ministries Network strive to embody. We wholeheartedly endorse this message and yet recognize, particularly for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) church members, that the UMC denies them welcome and equal participation, specifically in terms of ordination and same-sex unions.

This struggle for full inclusion within the UMC is not new, nor limited to LGBT people. The UMC has historically negated and continues to discriminate against People of Color and women. Rather than reflecting a richly differentiated body, the UMC’s membership falls short in reflecting the same diversity that is found in the population of the United States.

As a diverse community gathered from July 26-29, 2001, in Tacoma, Washington, for the 7th Biennial Reconciling Ministries Network National Convocation, we affirm the core message of the campaign: to be a Church that welcomes all people, actively and joyfully and with purpose. We dedicate ourselves today and in the future, as we have since our founding in 1984, to strive to truly fulfill the assertion of the UMC’s campaign. We hereby affirm to:

• Work diligently to create a Church without barriers, in which all people, because of their many identities, are welcomed into full participation;
• To offer ourselves as a resource for individuals and congregations that want to genuinely welcome all people, including LGBT persons to Christian community;
• To join with others in the struggle for inclusion and social equality.

We applaud the message of the United Methodist Church’s advertising initiative and the many members who are working to make our Church one with open hearts, minds and doors. We challenge the Church to make real this message not because marketing research has deemed this relevant, but because it is a reality that accurately recognizes the God given worth of every individual. We celebrate the gifts of the gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, race, and other identities with which God has imbued every person and invite others to join us in creating a fully inclusive Church.

Signed,

• United Methodists of Color for A Fully Inclusive Church
• Clergy Alliance
• Parents Reconciling Network
• MOSAIC—Methodist Students for a Fully Inclusive church
• Affirmation: United Methodists for LGBT Concerns
• Methodist Federation for Social Action
• Reconciling Ministries Network
  
  

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