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By Heather Hahn*
4:00 P.M. EDT June 24, 2011 | KAUKAUNA, Wis. (UMNS)
Supporter Rebecca Neal Niese (right) congratulates the Rev. Amy DeLong
at the conclusion of DeLong’s church trial. UMNS photos by Mike DuBose.
View in Photo Gallery
For the first time in 20 years, a conviction for performing a same-sex
union has not resulted in a United Methodist elder's defrocking or
indefinite suspension.
Instead, after seven hours of deliberations, a jury of 13 United
Methodist clergy voted 9-4 to suspend the Rev. Amy DeLong from her
ministerial functions for 20 days beginning July 1.
The jury, which is called a trial court, also sentenced DeLong to a more
detailed process for a year after her suspension to "restore the broken
clergy covenant relationship." At least seven votes from the trial
court of five women and eight men were required to approve a penalty.
"I hope this signals to folks around the country and around the world
that the United Methodists in Wisconsin aren't going to throw their gay
children out," said a smiling DeLong, sitting beside her partner of 16
years, Val Zellmer.
"I hope that this is the dawning of a new day that can include openness for all people," she added.
The church trial, which began June 21 and ended June 23, was in the
basement fellowship hall of Peace United Methodist Church in this small
factory town in northeastern Wisconsin. DeLong was charged with
violating The United Methodist Church’s ban on non-celibate, gay clergy
and the prohibition against clergy officiating at same-sex unions.
The trial court acquitted her of being a "self-avowed practicing
homosexual" by a vote of 12-1. The same panel unanimously found her
guilty of violating the prohibition against conducting ceremonies
celebrating same-gender unions.
DeLong, 44, who has been a clergy member of the Wisconsin Annual
(regional) Conference for 14 years and serves as director of an
education and advocacy group, did not deny that she is a lesbian. Her
counsel, the Rev. Scott Campbell, argued successfully that church
authorities had not proven she engaged in prohibited sexual activities.
DeLong also acknowledged she officiated at the union of Carrie Johnson
and Carolyn Larson on Sept. 19, 2009, in Menominee, Wis. Both women
testified on DeLong's behalf.
Larson told reporters she thinks the penalty provides "an opportunity for Amy to help the church make some sweeping changes."
Detailed penalty
The Book of Discipline,
the denomination's law book, says all people are of sacred worth but
states that "the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with
Christian teaching."
The book bans "self-avowed practicing homosexuals" from being ordained
or appointed to serve in The United Methodist Church. It also says that
marriage is to be between a man and a woman and forbids United Methodist
clergy from officiating at same-sex unions.
The Rev. Thomas Lambrecht, the church's counsel in the case, had urged
the jury to suspend DeLong indefinitely until she agreed in writing not
to perform any more same-sex unions or the denomination's law banning
such unions is changed.
The Rev. Greg Dell, now retired, faced a similar indefinite suspension
in 1999 unless he agreed not to officiate at such unions. Dell refused,
but the North Central Jurisdiction committee on appeals later amended
the penalty to a one-year suspension.
DeLong, in her testimony during the trial's penalty phase, said she
would not make such a pledge. Even as the trial court was deliberating
on the possible indefinite suspension, she remained unbowed.
Carrie Johnson (left) and Carolyn Larson speak to reporters at a press
conference after the Rev. Amy DeLong's church trial. DeLong performed a
holy union ceremony for the couple in 2009. UMNS photos by Mike DuBose.
View in Photo Gallery
"Performing the holy union for the couple was one of the great joys of
my ministry," DeLong told reporters. "To sign such a document would say
to the couple I married ‘Your marriage is not valid.’ "
The trial court did not explicitly require DeLong to decline future
requests to officiate at same-sex unions, but it did instruct that she
use her 20-day suspension as a period of spiritual discernment in
preparation for a process of restoration.
The restoration process includes:
- "Open and collaborative communication" among DeLong; Wisconsin Area
Bishop Linda Lee; the Rev. Jorge Luis Mayorga Solis, the district
superintendent who supervises DeLong, and the complainant in the case;
the Rev. Richard Strait, chair of the Wisconsin Conference board of
ordained ministry; and a Wisconsin United Methodist elder of DeLong's
choosing.
- A written document initiated by DeLong that will outline
procedures for clergy in order to help resolve issues that "harm the
clergy covenant, create an adversarial spirit or lead to future clergy
trials." The document, the jury wrote, must be informed by the Bible,
the 2008 Book of Discipline, Judicial Council rulings and other relevant
materials.
- The first draft by DeLong in collaboration with the individuals
named earlier is to be presented to the board of ordained ministry by
Jan. 1, 2012.
- After review and editing by DeLong and the other designated
church leaders, the final document is to be voted on in the clergy
session of the 2012 Wisconsin Annual Conference.
The trial court added that failure to comply with their requirements
will result in DeLong’s suspension from her ministerial functions for
one year beginning June 3, 2012.
Lambrecht called the jury's penalty "very creative."
"It recognizes that there was a violation, in terms of offering
suspension," he said. "It creates a process that allows Rev. DeLong to
reflect on this whole experience and to share some of what she has
learned with the rest of the annual conference."
The penalty, he added, "recognizes that there was harm done to the
clergy covenant and that an adversarial spirit was created, and it asks
her to reflect on ways to move forward that won't lead to more church
trials down the road."
Like DeLong, Lambrecht expressed hope that the penalty portends "a positive thing for the future."
Passionate dispute
The trial was the latest development in a longtime dispute within The
United Methodist Church. Only General Conference, the denomination's top
lawmaking assembly, can change The Book of Discipline.
The subject of homosexuality has sparked discussion at every session of
the quadrennial General Conference since 1972. Delegates consistently
have voted to keep the restrictions.
The church's division on the issue was evident during jury selection on June 21.
The presiding officer, retired Bishop Clay Foster Lee Jr., asked all
potential jurors whether any prejudice, bias or opinion would prevent
them from fairly applying the law in this case.
"I don't know how one fairly applies an unfair law," one said. Another
announced strong support for the denomination's stand on homosexuality.
Fifteen of 23 prospective jurors expressed reservations. Lee dismissed
anyone who expressed strong opinions one way or the other.
Neither Lambrecht nor DeLong's counsel, Campbell, could say what the unusual penalty means for the 2012 General Conference.
Bishop Clay Foster Lee Jr.speaks to reporters at a news conference
during the Rev. Amy DeLong's church trial. Lee was presiding officer for
the trial.
View in Photo Gallery
Lambrecht expressed confidence that the church's laws on homosexuality
would be upheld. He noted that the next General Conference will include
more delegates from outside the United States – particularly from
Africa, where delegates tend to be more conservative overall than are
their U.S. counterparts.
Campbell speculated that the verdict and penalty could affect General Conference discussions in various ways.
"There may be some who move to tighten laws," he said. "There may be
others who recognize that the time has come for us to stop trying to
deal legalistically with matters of the heart, the spirit and the soul."
DeLong is known across the United States for advocating for greater
inclusion of gays and lesbians within the church. In 2000, she co-edited
"The Loyal Opposition: Struggling with the Church on Homosexuality," a
collection of essays that argue for a more inclusive policy.
Singing with one voice
Her trial drew more than 100 supporters, including some from as far away
as Massachusetts and Oregon. Each signed a pledge of nonviolence
modeled on what the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. required civil rights
demonstrators to sign. They began and ended each day with prayer and
singing.
While the jury deliberated on the penalty, the crowd of mostly DeLong
supporters and a handful of those who support maintaining the church’s
stance on homosexuality sang hymns and folk songs together. The
presiding officer joined in some of the hymns.
The Rev. Ethan Larson, pastor of two United Methodist churches near
Viroqua, Wis., said before the penalty was announced that he thought
DeLong should be under suspension "until she is willing to abide by The
Book of Discipline."
The Rev. Janet Wolf (left) and Mark Bromley look up a passage in the
United Methodist Book of Discipline while waiting outside the church
trial of the Rev. Amy DeLong. Wolf teaches at American Baptist College
in Nashville, Tenn., and Bromley is assistant counsel representing
DeLong in the trial.
Larson is the president of the Wisconsin Association of Confessing
United Methodists, an unofficial evangelical group in the denomination
that advocates keeping the current stance on homosexuality. He said that
he did not know DeLong well but the two usually spoke to each other at
gatherings.
Larson said the split verdict "came down the way it should," given the
limited information the church's counsel was able to present in making
the case. Still, he said, he found the arguments by DeLong's defense
team frustrating.
"To me, it felt as if verbal games were being played," he said. "It was like ‘tag you're it,’ but I wasn't 'it' to begin with."
The Rev. Rob Renfroe, president and publisher of Good News magazine, was
not at the trial but followed it from afar. In a phone interview on
June 22, he expressed disappointment in the verdict.
"In no other organization would a person be able to willfully break the
organization's policies and expect to keep working," Renfroe said. "An
organization's response would be to thank the person for his service,
let him pack his things and usher him out the door."
Lambrecht
is a board member of Good News, an unofficial United Methodist
evangelical renewal caucus, and will begin working for the group in
July.
Wisconsin's Bishop Linda Lee said in a statement after the penalty that a trial is a heart-wrenching and painful process.
"Yet, we have hope because of our common faith in Jesus Christ, and trust that some growth and good can come from this," she said.
"There continue to be difficult questions with no ready answers as we
face the months between now and General Conference in 2012. My prayer is
that, as Christians, and as United Methodists, we will use this
experience as a gateway to reconciliation, healing and restoration of
our relationship with one another and with Christ."
*Hahn is a multimedia news reporter for United Methodist News Service.
News media contact: Heather Hahn, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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