Worldwide Nature of the Church Study Committee, November 2009, Lake Junaluska

Thank you for the invitation to present to you today.

I am Troy Plummer the Executive Director for Reconciling Ministries Network.  I am a life-long United Methodist, baptized and confirmed, experienced in UMYF, choir, retreats, a variety of church committees, and also have had the privilege to serve on pastoral staff of Bering Memorial United Methodist Church in Houston, Texas for 13 years as an openly partnered gay man.  I am a member of Holy Covenant United Methodist Church in Chicago-a vibrant congregation where I, as a 50 year old, get to bring diversity by raising the average age of members.  

I am the Rev. Dr. Gayle Felton from Durham, North Carolina. I am a longtime member of the RMN working for the full inclusion of gay and lesbian people in the life of the church. I taught at Duke Divinity School for many years, then worked with the General Board of Discipleship especially in writing the sacramental documents of the church. I currently serve a local church as Minister of Christian Formation.

Reconciling Ministries Network mobilizes United Methodists of all sexual orientations and gender identities to transform our church and world into the full expression of Christ's inclusive love.  We are faithful United Methodists that organize United Methodists who testify to the faithfulness of our gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender United Methodist sisters and brothers.  Having witnessed God at work blessing our families and churches through the ministry of lay and clergy gay and lesbian United Methodists, we seek to follow the model of the early Christian movement following the Spirit's lead.

Our church's policies currently discriminate against gay and lesbian United Methodists.  These policies violate the first rule, "Do no harm."  Indeed, they do great harm - to the persons who are labeled as sinners and to the witness of the church to the inclusive love of God. They deny the promptings of the Holy Spirit, the message of the Scripture, and the integrity of the church.

The early church was faced with the challenge of choosing between deep set emotionally held traditions and following the Holy Spirit.  These traditions discriminated against persons who were labeled unclean or impure because of family pedigree, physical characteristics, or lifestyle.  The Samaritans, the Eunuchs, the Gentiles were to be avoided in the world and were denied access to the Temple.  

In the book of Acts, each excluded class in its turn received the Holy Spirit and was included in this new movement. 

Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them: they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. - Acts 8: 14-17, NRSV

"Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?" He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more and went on his way rejoicing.   - Acts 8: 38-39, NRSV

The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, "Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" So Peter ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.   - Acts 10: 45-48, NRSV

Presented with the powerful events the disciples experienced the Holy Spirit dwelling in what was taboo, the early Christian movement had to rethink church.  They had to rethink church based upon  Peter's account of his vision and the experience of mission encounters with marginalized persons in whom the Spirit was pleased to dwell.

As this designated body deliberates how to faithfully be a worldwide Church, it is good to consider this Biblical model for encountering the diversity of the world and God's ever extending Spirit.  

Early in the Christian movement, the decision had to be made of how wide to draw the circle of God's people-to continue deeply held taboos or to embrace inclusiveness as part of God's plan.  They decided to draw the circle wide.  In so doing they acknowledged a variety of ways, once thought unclean, to not determine faithfulness as disciples of Jesus Christ.  Food laws were important and had been lived with for generations; circumcision was important and had been lived with for generations; purity codes for priests were important and had been lived with for generations.

In following the Spirit, the early Christian movement let go of these particulars drawing the circle wide.  The Samaritans, eunuchs, and Gentiles were still Samaritans, eunuchs and Gentiles now understood to be full participants of the family of faith.  

For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to impose on you no further burden than these essentials:  that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication.  If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.  Farewell.  -Acts 15: 24-29, NRSV

They kept the essentials of Do No Harm, Do Good, and Love God by drawing the circle to avoid culturally prevalent idolatry in food, sacrifice, and sex.  When challenged by the movement of the Holy Spirit, the early church moved too.  

With this Biblical model in mind, RMN continues to support the efforts of this Study Committee and the Church to find a more equitable structure which celebrates the diversity of a worldwide church and frees itself from ongoing practices of colonialism.  We fully support the principles in the Okayama-Robbins Proposal that went to General Conference 2008 in Fort Worth (www.umglobalstructure.org).  We find that these principles both maintain the essential identity of who we are as United Methodists and draw the circle wide enough to be a worldwide church allowing for regional accountability and discernment in the nonessentials.  This is good for all God's people known as United Methodists.

United Methodism has been engaged for the last half century in an effort to recover our sacramental heritage. The fruit of this work has been the production and approval of official interpretive documents on the sacraments -By Water and the Spirit:  United Methodist Understanding of Baptism  (approved in 1992) and This Holy Mystery: A United Methodist Understanding of Holy Communion (approved 2004). Both these documents make clear the availability of the sacraments to all persons. By Water and the Spirit says, "There are no conditions of human life which exclude a person from baptism." People become members of our church through baptism. The claim of God on their lives and their admission to the body of Christ are acts of God and must not be violated by the church. Further, ordained ministry is rooted and grounded in the call and commissioning to ministry that is an aspect of baptism.  Persons whose call and competence has been proven cannot rightly be denied the ordination that is authorized in their baptism.  Our sacraments draw the circle very wide.

We have two concerns.  First, we believe this Study Committee should continue to explore the options to ensure a change in the dominance of the US church if we are to be an equitable worldwide church.  We do not see how this is addressed by one regional US conference.   Second, we believe that the Social Principles were created and continue to be US centric and are concerned about critical discernment of what within them are considered to be "global or universal ethics."  In the Biblical model, drawing the circle wide includes reassessing what were cultural norms what were ethics and required for all (universal).

Your efforts are essential to the future of our church.  In hoping the best for the whole church, RMN stays at the table specifically addressing the inequity of the Church's treatment of its lesbian and gay members and calls this Study Committee and our Church to incarnate Acts Ch. 15 discernment and faith again in our life of covenant together.

God continues to challenge faithful Christians with preparatory visions and personal Holy Spirit encounters with persons placed outside the circle by church policy.  

Today, many faithful United Methodists give testimony of the Holy Spirit's blessing of lesbian and gay Christians.  This testimony comes from around the world.  This testimony comes from our young adults.  This testimony comes from bishops, pastors, parents, friends, and North American denominations, and lesbian and gay persons themselves all who have been converted by the Holy Bible and the Holy Spirit to draw the circle wide.  Following Christ, we must weigh this faithful testimony of followers of Jesus Christ in this time and this place.

The testimony of young adults and teens:  The 2007 Global Young People's Convocation in Johannesburg, South Africa, by 2/3rds vote, spoke to our church on behalf of our gay and lesbian members for equal access to membership (Petition 81513), equal access to ordination (Petition 80130), and against the funding prohibition (Petition 80020).  The 2006 United Methodist Student Forum in Adrian, Michigan, by 2/3rds vote, spoke to the church on behalf of our gay and lesbian members for equality (Petitions 4, 5, 6; GBHEM).  This testimony matches research finding that 91% of young persons age 16-29 in the US describe the church negatively as anti-homosexual (unchristian, Barna Group, 2007).  What is evangelism to this generation?  What does this mean as we rethink church and what way we draw the circle?  Fully 75% of pastors and 80% of laypersons shared concern for attracting young people to the United Methodist Church (State of the Church 2007).

Similarly in as study of 5,819 church active teenagers, 72% state that homosexuality is not a sin and is acceptable.  Between 11-14% of these church active teenagers identify as gay, lesbian or uncertain and this group is twice as likely as their heterosexual counterparts to commit suicide (Faith Matters, 2001).  How do we do no harm?

The testimony of clergy:  Another voice emerges from clergy for protection of gay families.  In US centric research of 1511 protestant clergy, 93% support laws that protect civil rights for gay persons and 62% support civil unions for gay persons (Silent and Undecided Friends, 2007).  This is confirmed by another research project of 2,658 mainline Protestant clergy showing 65% supporting some legal recognition for same-sex couples with a level of 51% support specifically from United Methodist clergy (Clergy Voices, 2009).  

The testimony of North American denominations: North American mainline protestant denominations are giving stronger witness for equality.  The United Church of Christ, the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, and the Presbyterian Church USA have all removed anti-gay "incompatibility" language from their policies.  The United Church of Christ, the Episcopal Church, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America have further changed policies to affirm the ministry of gay and lesbian clergy in partnered relationships and allow clergy to bless same-gender couples.  Though behind the others, The United Methodist Church in the US reflects this movement as well (estimated 51% support US Annual Conferences-ratification Amendment I).

The testimony of worldwide voices:  The Holy Spirit lifts voices for inclusion from around the world including our Jurisdictional and Central Conferences in North America, in the Philippines, in Africa, and in Europe.  Bishop Daniel Arichea of the Philippines regularly speaks for equality for lesbian and gay United Methodists which includes his own son (Justice and Joy DVD 2009).  Rev. Dr. Eunice Musa Iliya, General Conference delegate from Nigeria, stands to support lesbian and gay inclusion at General Conferences and preaches justice in the US and Nigeria (Justice and Joy DVD, 2009).  Individual testimonies of faithful lesbian and gay Africans are spotlighted on The Voices of Witness Africa DVD and study guide (2009).  

While these voices continue to emerge and grow, harm continues.  Often these worldwide personal testimonies include the violence of family exclusion, harassment, beatings, rape, torture, and imprisonment not only of lesbian and gay persons but of advocates as well.  Currently, The Anti Homosexuality Bill No. 18 which legalizes the death penalty for lesbian and gay people is under consideration in Uganda (Uganda Gazette No. 47 Volume CII, September 2009).  

What does it mean to have a statement in the Social Principles for Equality Regardless of Sexual Orientation and be United Methodist in Uganda with Bill #18 pending?  What does it meant to be part of a worldwide church?  What does it mean that whatever the concern is war, poverty, hunger, healthcare, sexism, racism that the most vulnerable to first attack are the marginalized lesbian and gay persons?  I want you to clearly hear that for every focus of ministry in every part of the world you will have lesbian and gay people who are among the first to suffer in either a Jurisdictional or Central Conference.

Therefore, we must seriously pay attention to Okayama-Robbins.  Reconciling Ministries Network stays committed to transforming our church and world into the full expression of Christ's inclusive love.  RMN is also committed to live out the connectionalism of a worldwide church with the clergy, laity and LGBT groups of the Central conferences through communication and relationship building, identifying both unique needs and common causes.  RMN will organize to accomplish this mission within The United Methodist Church in whatever the structure of the UMC is.  Our great hope is that this Study Committee addresses issues of equity in our worldwide church according to the principles presented in the Okayama-Robbins Proposal (www.umglobalstructure.org).  

We encourage you to draw the circle wide and engage the possibilities opened by adapting our structure towards equity and balance that includes all in fairness.  In particular we concur with O-R Principle 3, and we encourage you to acknowledge the Social Principles (para. 160-166) to be the product primarily of a US-centric United Methodist Church with minimal input from our worldwide connection.  There is evidence of this in the actions of various central conferences to modify the Social Principles so that they better apply to their own situations. The Social Principles are probably the most culturally-conditioned part of the Discipline. To deny this is to be insensitive to varied contexts and disrespectful of particular cultures.  As the early Jesus movement of Acts Ch. 15 did, we hope you will rethink church in a way allows all of God's children known as United Methodists to stay at the table.  We believe this will be challenging and that it will be impossible without empowering the regional conferences to adopt Social Principles appropriate to the region.  

Too often, this discussion has created a false polarity between the United States Church and our Central Conferences.  Or more clearly, America or Africa, seems to be the refrain.  How can we draw the circle so that both the church in Africa and the church in America both flourish and grow?  This can best be accomplished by not imposing a rigid uniformity in situations which are so diverse.

Heeding a Biblical model listening to the ever extending Holy Spirit, and Sacramental life shaping our identity as inclusive, along with the diverse testimonies of our worldwide church, RMN will continue to organize to draw the circle wide enough for all God's children to experience the fullness of the Christian faith.  We anticipate the outcome of your work, and look forward to participating in the process of rethinking church as noncolonial, equitable, diverse, regional, inclusive, and universal.  
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