United Methodists & a LGBTQ2 Divorce

American and LGBTQ2 Flags outside a United Methodist Church

 

As many of you as were baptized into Christ 

have clothed yourselves with Christ. 

 There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, 

there is no longer male and female; 

for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:27-28 (NRSV)

In the late 1980s the United Church of Canada made denomination-changing decisions about the inclusion of LGBTQ2 persons in its life and ministry during the national assembly called General Council. At that time we spoke of gays and lesbians, well before the bewildering alphabet soup which keeps on expanding. 

It was an important and courageous step for the UCC, although it was a mess in terms of how the information was shared with clergy in congregations and to members themselves. I recall being angry that I heard about the decision through the media, and wasn't really sure what had been decided. Yet I was the person who had to deal with the angry members at my door only months after I'd taken up duties in a new congregation. 

In the initial stages of this new reality some congregations chose to leave the United Church, as did their clergy. Classmates from seminary left, as did colleagues who were friends in presbyteries in which I was involved. The three clergy of the congregation I served in Halifax left the United Church more than a decade before I arrived, as did a significant number of those in leadership, and the aftershocks were still being felt. In fact, in every congregation I served after 1988 there were disaffected members and some departed the United Church when they realized that I supported the inclusion of LGBTQ2 staff and members. There were some tense and even rancorous congregational meetings and personal criticism I always felt sad about the departures, although on occasion, relieved. 

All this has come to mind as I hear that the United Methodist Church in the United States has issued notice of a formal split after years of attempting to find resolution to the controversy over this issue in the denomination. According to an NPR piece: 

The proposal, signed by 16 church leaders from around the world, will be voted on at the church's 2020 general conference in May. If passed, it would allow for a "traditionalist" denomination to separate from the United Methodist Church, the second largest Protestant denomination in the U.S., with more than 12 million members worldwide.Currently, ordained pastors are not allowed to perform same-sex marriages, risking disciplinary action if they do, and "practicing" LGBTQ people also cannot become ordained pastors, according to the church's book of discipline. 

I do wonder whether a clearly defined divorce such as this proposal makes more sense than a confusing and protracted separation with no hope of resolution. I certainly don't feel that the United Church of Canada can hold up what happened in terms of process over the past thirty years as a shining example of "agreeing to disagree', even though we have moved on with faltering steps.

I totally support the direction we chose as the UCC because it is consistent with the gospel of love, compassion, justice, and hospitality.  I'm grateful for the gifts of the LGBTQ2 members and co-workers in congregations where I have pastored, many of whom have helped me to be a better Christian. 

The UCC paid a price for going first, and there is still work to be done in our church. And we can pray for the United Methodists and all other denominations still on this road, including Anglicans and Presbyterians here in Canada. 

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