Bishop John R. Schol's statement about Foundry United Methodist Church
Here is Bishop Schol's full statement to UMNS regarding Foundry United Methodist Church:
"Foundry Church is a congregation that enthusiastically and
faithfully supports the mission and ministry of The United Methodist
Church. It is a congregation involved in many ministries serving
the homeless, the poor, and the vulnerable both locally and globally.
Located in the Dupont Circle community of Washington D.C., it is
a congregation which is diverse and reflective of its
community, including a significant presence of gay and lesbian
Christians. It is a church that is doing an unusually good job of
reaching young adults with many new members who are under 35 and many
families with young children.
Neither the church nor Rev. Snyder asked my permission or advice
about the worship services that they are offering their gay
members. So far as I can tell, they did not
seek publicity about this and have not attempted to make
it an issue for our denomination. I have recognized that they face a
difficult question of how in the name of Jesus Christ to minister
to all of their members given our denominational policies about
homosexuality, and I have no question about the sincerity of
their desire to honor their covenant with the larger church. I also
have sympathy for those who worry that our unity may be
weakened as a result of the disagreements we have. I believe they are
also sincere in their concerns.
Here in our conference, small groups of people with differing
opinions have been meeting to discuss homosexuality. I hope these
conversations continue and that we can seek to know and care for each
other even when our views and convictions differ. Our primary
focus as a conference, and my greatest passion as a bishop, is
making disciples for Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world
and growing Acts 2 congregations. I would like us to discuss all
the controversial issues in our denomination in light of
our calling to make disciples and grow Acts 2 churches."
–March 7, 2008 |