Verdict sets stage for homosexuality debate at assembly
Verdict sets stage for homosexuality debate at assembly
April 8, 2004
A UMNS Report By Amy Green*
UMNS file photo by Paul Jeffrey
Leaders
of a protest against the United Methodist Church's policies against
homosexuals block the entrance to the Cleveland Convention Center.
Leaders
of a protest against the United Methodist Church's policies against
homosexuals block the entrance to the Cleveland Convention Center, site
of the denomination's 2000 General Conference, in an act of civil
disobedience. A UMNS file photo by Paul Jeffrey Photo number 04-152,
Accompanies UMNS #168, 4/8/04
The
recent decision of a group of United Methodist clergy to acquit a
lesbian pastor of charges related to her relationship with another woman
did little to resolve the struggle over homosexuality that has gripped
the denomination since 1972.
The
March 20 acquittal of the Rev. Karen Dammann came a month before
General Conference, the 10 million-member church's largest legislative
assembly. Nearly 1,000 delegates gather every four years to make laws
for the denomination and conduct other business. When the delegates
arrive in Pittsburgh for their April 27-May 7 meeting, they can expect
an emotional backlash from all sides over the outcome of the Dammann
trial.
Dammann,
a Seattle-area pastor, faced a single charge of "practices declared by
the United Methodist Church to be incompatible with Christian
teachings." A jury of 13 of her peers found her innocent, a
controversial verdict in a church that forbids the ordination of
"self-avowed practicing homosexuals" in its law book.
The
United Methodist Church, the second-largest U.S. Protestant
denomination, has historically welcomed diversity. However, the church
has struggled with homosexuality for decades. During its 2000 General
Conference, more than 200 protesters, including two bishops, were
arrested over the issue. Even so, the delegates to that assembly
maintained the church's positions on homosexuality by roughly 2-to-1
margins.
The
upcoming General Conference will process an estimated 70 petitions
related to homosexuality, out of a total of more than 1,600 pieces of
legislation. While the Dammann verdict will have no official impact on
the assembly, it is expected to spur a passionate effort by critics to
fill what they consider a loophole in church law.
"If
there's any action taken, it will likely be an action that is more
restrictive or punitive toward gay and lesbian people than is currently
in the (Book of) Discipline," said the Rev. David F. McAllister-Wilson, president of United Methodist-related Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington.
The
denomination is sending too many mixed signals, said the Rev. James V.
Heidinger II, president and publisher of Good News, an unofficial
evangelical caucus within the church.
"We
tend to be waffling on this, and I find that to be an embarrassment to
our church," said Heidinger, whose organization will send 50 members to
General Conference to lobby delegates. "It's clear our General
Conference has got to do something because what we have here is an
egregious ignoring of the Book of Discipline."
UMNS file photo by John C. Goodwin
United
Methodist Bishop Arthur Kulah of Liberia tells delegates to the
denomination's 2000 General Conference homosexuality is incompatible
with Christian teaching.
United
Methodist Bishop Arthur Kulah of Liberia tells delegates to the
denomination's 2000 General Conference it must pay heed to the fact that
homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. A UMNS file
photo by John C. Goodwin, Photo number 04-151, Accompanies UMNS #168,
4/8/04
Issues
related to homosexuality have dominated headlines since last fall, with
the Episcopal Church's consecration of a gay bishop, the performance of
gay marriages in San Francisco and elsewhere, and President Bush's
endorsement of a constitutional ban on gay marriage. Bush, a United
Methodist, has been invited with first lady Laura Bush to address
General Conference. The White House has not officially responded to the
invitation.
General
Conference action on issues related to homosexuality will be watched,
said the Rev. William B. Lawrence, dean of United Methodist-related
Perkins School of Theology in Dallas. "I'm sure that wise politicians
will take note of actions at General Conference."
Those
who celebrate the Dammann verdict consider it a breakthrough worth
rallying around. Laura Montgomery Rutt, a United Methodist and
spokesperson for Soulforce, an ecumenical organization targeting
religious persecution of homosexuals, said she hopes the decision will
become "a beacon that is a light for the rest of the church to follow."
As it did in 2000, the group plans protests at General Conference that
include civil disobedience should delegates take a more conservative
stance, she said.
In
2000, delegates in Cleveland retained the denomination's statement that
the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching.
They also affirmed the church's stand against self-avowed practicing
homosexuals being ordained or appointed as clergy, and the prohibition
of same-sex union ceremonies by United Methodist ministers and in the
church's sanctuaries.
At
the same gathering, delegates also affirmed that homosexuals are people
of sacred worth, and they ordered the church's General Commission on
Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns to launch a series of
dialogues on homosexuality. The talks turned up passionate but mixed
feelings among church members across the United States.
"There
is no consensus," said the Rev. Mary Ann Moman, staff executive at the
church's Board of Higher Education and Ministry, which offers pastoral
training. "We have historically over the last several General
Conferences maintained the language that we are to be in ministry (with
homosexuals), but there is the prohibition against in terms of
ordination."
A
petition submitted by the denomination's social justice arm, the Board
of Church and Society, is meant to reflect this diversity, said Linda
Bales, a program director on the board. The petition calls for more
moderate language in the church's Social Principles, which are
considered guidelines but not law by the church, with the addition of a
phrase noting that "faithful Christians disagree on the compatibility of
homosexual practice with Christian teaching."
Some
consider the ongoing debates over homosexuality a distraction from
other General Conference business that could advance the church.
Pointing to the church's lagging membership, McAllister-Wilson worries
that contention over homosexuality is yet another symptom of the
denomination's lack of focus and leadership. Even if delegates could
agree on the issue, he said, that would not give the denomination the
direction it needs to move forward.
"The majority of delegates feel this issue is a distraction," he said, "especially because there's not going to be a solution."
*Green is a freelance journalist based in Nashville, Tenn. News media can contact Tim Tanton at (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.