United Methodists to hold special session on LGBTQ inclusion in 2019

[guillaumeb]

From the article:

(RNS) The United Methodist Church will hold a special session of its General Conference to settle questions of LGBTQ inclusion that have vexed the global denomination for years.

For more:

http://religionnews.com/2017/04/25/united-methodists-to-hold-special-session-on-lgbtq-inclusion-in-2019/

One hopes that a message of inclusion and love consistent with the admonition to "do unto others..." will inspire the attendees to vote for diversity and basic human rights.

[AtheistCrusader]

1. So... in two years... they'll consider it?

Holy shit, I'm impressed. Way to lead the charge people.

This is another example of what Hitchens was talking about when he said Religion didn't make people 'better'. This is a no-brainer and a simple issue to address. Instead, they're going to put it on the calendar two years into the future to even talk about it.


I suppose you saw this as a good thing when you posted it, but really, it's just a sad afterthought.


We don't get our morals from religion.

[trotsky]

2. What you said. n/t

[bekkilyn]

4. The UMC is a global organization that

includes super conservative countries such as Liberia who also have voting rights within the conference. The conference is normally every 4 years and 2016 was the date of the last one, so the next session wouldn't be until 2020. I have a feeling that if the vote took place right now, there would be no chance of more LGBTQ inclusion, even if most of the U.S. was on board. 2019 may provide more opportunity to get others on board while still having the session take place earlier than the normal date. I know it's slow and frustrating, but that's what tends to happen in an organization that includes so many different cultures.

It is much easier for U.S.-based and independent churches to make changes.

There will certainly be a lot of talking about it within the UMC before 2019 though. There's already a lot of discussion now.

[AtheistCrusader]

5. Why is it hard?

It's a top-down authoritarian organization. They claim the right to define morals and mores. Then do it.

There's really no reason they can't move faster. I'm not impressed.

[bekkilyn]

6. It's representative, not authoritarian

There's no one person who makes decisions for everyone. Decisions are made by a very large group of representatives from many different countries and regions who vote on whatever changes are requested, and that opportunity traditionally happens every four years. Methodists in general are very diverse, similar in a sense to the Democratic party, so in some ways with some issues, it's a matter of attempting to herd cats in getting everyone to agree.

Florida Bishop Ken Carter has written an overview in a blog post pertaining to the issue. In particular:

4. Because of our impasse on definitions and practices related to LGBTQ identity and implications for the unity of the church, the General Conference in Portland called for a special General Conference to focus exclusively on this matter. This was seen as a more faithful and helpful alternative than the more efficient (but also harmful) practice of taking up these questions in a few minutes, when the outcomes are of such great concern to so many. This called special General Conference included provision for a group to prepare the church for this work. The group is the Commission on a Way Forward, 32 persons who come from across the globe in approximate proportion to our membership and diversity. This Commission will meet nine times, and its purpose is to prepare the larger church for decision-making that will help us to find a way forward, beyond our present impasses. I am honored and humbled to serve as one of three moderators of this Commission.

5. As the Commission does its work, life in the church goes on, in all of its diversity, confusion and disagreement. One aspect of this is the Judicial Council’s decision regarding the contested election of a bishop in the Western Jurisdiction. The decision of the Judicial Council is a legal response to the questions of both LGBTQ marriage and ordination in the church. It is distinct from the processes of both the Commission on a Way Forward and the General Conference. At the same time protest and renewal movements continue to do their work. The media (social and otherwise) often exacerbate the divisions and ignore the much greater reality of a common ground.

6. For some the present denominational work is a distraction. For others it is for the purpose of clarifying who we are as United Methodists. Some see a future for our church only through a definition of orthodoxy that includes traditional understandings of marriage and ordination. Others see a future for our church that is fully inclusive of persons in same-gender marriage and open to the gifts of LGBTQ persons in ordained ministry. And yet others hope for a future United Methodist Church that can include both traditional and progressive practices.

7. The decision of the Judicial Council, the report of the Commission on a Way Forward and the actions of the called General Conference will provide a blueprint for the future of United Methodism. The decision of the Judicial Council will respond to a very specific question and is significant in the short term. The General Conference’s decisions in 2019 and 2020 will shape the church in a more substantive way and will define our capacity to find a way forward.

I would encourage those who love The United Methodist Church and seek a future with hope to:

consider the complexity of a much more diverse tradition in our past and a much more diverse and global reality in our future;
not be quick to assume the worst about denominational leaders and advocates for renewal and protest; many of them are United Methodist Christians to their core. Here the distinctions in The Anatomy of Peace between a heart at war and a heart at peace are helpful;
recognize that there are LGBTQ persons in virtually every local United Methodist congregation and their gifts are a great blessing to the church and the world;
place ourselves with humility under the Lordship of Jesus Christ as we seek to become more holy, and
to take life, and the life of our denomination, one day at a time, to trust in the work of God and to seek God’s will through a process that, yes, does take a very long time.

http://www.flumc.org/blogdetail/how-we-got-to-where-we-are-a-brief-overview-of-united-methodism-in-2017-8094928

[Volstagg]

3. For the most part, religion is trying to keep up with secular progress.

Seems like the Methodists are ahead of the Catholic in this regard, but still, seems the pressures of secular advances are what creates a lot of this religious progress.