Courier-Journal
Peter Smith

MAY 4 - Measures on homosexuality considered

The United Methodist Church's highest judicial body and its main legislative branch are slated to take up separate measures related to controversies over homosexuality at the denomination's national meeting in Pittsburgh today.

The nine-member Judicial Council went behind closed doors yesterday to deliberate whether to take legal action against an openly lesbian minister from Washington state.

Meanwhile, nearly 1,000 legislative delegates to the church's General Conference were preparing to vote on legislation that preserves the denomination's ban on ordaining noncelibate gays and lesbians. But in a change of tone, the new proposal would include language acknowledging "that Christians disagree" on the matter.

Controversies over homosexuality have been prominent at the General Conference session. On Saturday, the conference voted 551-345 to ask the Judicial Council to review the case of the Rev. Karen Dammann. A lower church court acquitted her in March of charges that she violated church law by being in a lesbian sexual relationship.

Maxie Dunnam, president of Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky, made the motion to call for the review.

His call came after the Judicial Council ruled last week that engaging in homosexuality is a chargeable offense under United Methodist law.

The Judicial Council is now deliberating what steps, if any, it can take in the Dammann case, according to Stephen Drachler, director of public information for United Methodist Communications.

The delegates yesterday dealt mainly with procedural issues, but the homosexuality issue has been prominent. Many delegates and observers wore rainbow-colored stoles (liturgical scarves) to symbolize a call for ordaining gays and lesbians, and one pro-gay-ordination group has said it may engage in civil disobedience later this week.

Meanwhile, about 200 people attended a lecture by Robert Gagnon, a Pittsburgh Theological Seminary professor who wrote a book stating that the Bible clearly prohibits homosexuality.

MAY 5 - Church backs opposition to homosexuality

But Methodist court can't alter ruling on lesbian

The United Methodist Church yesterday reaffirmed its opposition to homosexuality and its ban on ordaining noncelibate gays and lesbians.

But the denomination's highest court ruled that it can do nothing to reverse a decision by a lower church court that acquitted a lesbian minister in Washington state of violating church law.

The General Conference of the nation's third-largest denomination also rejected pleas by some delegates — as well as demonstrators wearing rainbow-colored liturgical scarves and standing in silent vigil — to approve language that acknowledged that "Christians disagree" about homosexuality.

"This is an urgent matter," said delegate H. Eddie Fox of Tennessee, in opposing such a clause. He said the church would "send a confusing message" if it passed a law that opposed homosexuality yet said members disagree.

But Tom Wilson of Washington state compared the votes to the United Methodist Church's past discrimination against African Americans. He said the denomination's response to gays and lesbians is to "slam the front doors of our churches on them because of who they love."

The conference voted 674-262 to put stronger emphasis on its ban on ordaining "self-avowed practicing homosexuals," which it has repeatedly upheld since 1972. The changes were technical, such as turning what had been a subordinate clause into a declarative sentence: "The practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching."

"I've never doubted the church's position, but obviously some folks felt we were not clear," said Kentucky delegate Maxie Dunnam, president of Asbury Theological Seminary and a leader in efforts to strengthen the ban.

HE WAS REFERRING to a March trial in the church's Pacific Northwest conference, in which a jury acquitted the Rev. Karen Dammann, who is openly gay. The jury said it could find no "declarative statements" in church law that barred the ordination of gays and lesbians.

In its announcement, the denomination's Judicial Council ruled it had no authority to review the Dammann decision but made clear that no bishop may appoint a "self-avowed, practicing homosexual." The council issued its ruling after the convention approved a motion by Dunnam on Saturday asking it to consider what options it might have in the Dammann case.

Dunnam said in an interview that Dammann herself probably doesn't face a new trial but that Dammann's bishop would be subject to disciplinary proceedings if he appointed her to a new post. Dammann is currently on family leave.

The General Conference of the United Methodist Church, which meets every four years, is the only body that can make law for the nation's 8.3million United Methodists. Like some other Protestant denominations, the United Methodist Church has debated homosexuality for years.

But this year conservative delegates pushed to clarify language of the church's opposition to homosexuality and its ban on ordaining noncelibate gay ministers.

THE PROPOSAL by some liberals to include wording that Christians disagree on homosexuality was rejected in a 579-376 vote in favor of language saying: "we will seek to live together in Christian unity."

Mark A. Miller, an openly gay delegate and the music director at Drew Theological Seminary in Madison, N.J., said that for the good of the church he could accept language saying homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. But he said he would like to have seen acceptance of "just one sentence" acknowledging that he and many other Methodists disagree.

Other delegates held a different view, however.

"It isn't that we do not love people," said Joy Nye from Ohio. "We love everyone that is here. ... But we do have to stand for something. ... This sin is no different than other sins, and every one of us are sinners, but Christ died for our sins. And we can be redeemed."

SEVERAL AFRICAN delegates spoke strongly against any concessions to gays and lesbians. They said that Western missionaries taught African converts to turn from polygamy to monogamy and the church should similarly reject homosexuality. "I don't think the United Methodist Church can license people to go to hell," said delegate Samuel J. Quire Jr. from Liberia.

Kentucky delegate Rhoda Peters said afterward that while the conference rejected the language on Christians disagreeing, the church's legislative process itself showed the members have a right to dissent.

"The dialogue does reflect that there are sincere differences among us," said Peters, of Louisville. "And I think the action taken reflects the majority opinion still of the conference and of the Kentucky delegation."

The debate carried over into another measure. The conference rejected a proposal by a 630-311 vote that would have strengthened the denomination's support for the civil rights of homosexuals. It stated that the denomination's existing support for civil rights is sufficient.

MAY 6 - Activists call for gay rights at Methodist conference

Supporters pledge continued advocacy to gain acceptance

Even though they lost vote after vote on Tuesday at the United Methodist Church's General Conference, gay-rights activists returned yesterday morning to greet delegates with quiet hymns and prayer vigils.

They said their response to the defeats symbolizes their refusal to give up their fight to be accepted by the nation's third-largest religious denomination.

"We're not leaving," said the Rev. Tiffany Steinwert, pastor of the Cambridge Welcoming United Methodist Church in Massachusetts, which includes many gay and lesbian members. "We're United Methodists at our core. There's nothing the General Conference can do to change that."

And though they interpret it differently, conservatives agreed with liberals on that point.

"Because we refuse to affirm the practice (of homosexuality) doesn't mean we deny the person," said Maxie Dunnam, a Kentucky delegate and president of Asbury Theological Seminary.

"Because we say they can't be ordained doesn't mean we deny them full participation in the life of the church. We want them to be full participants in the life of the church."

The General Conference — the main legislative body of the United Methodist Church — took a series of votes on Tuesday that reinforced the church's views that homosexuality is sinful and that homosexuals cannot be ordained. The conference also rejected language recognizing that "Christians disagree" on the matter.

The Rev. Troy Plummer, executive director of the Reconciling Ministries Network, a caucus of Methodist liberals, said the church should follow the example of ancient Christians who expanded their church to those previously considered outcasts. He said he would keep trying.

"We trust that God can still affect the United Methodist Church," he said. "God can help the church come back to its roots to be an inclusive church."

Though the main votes on homosexuality took place on Tuesday, the issue is expected to remain alive outside the official agenda as the General Conference wraps up tomorrow.

Soulforce, a group calling for gay inclusion in all denominations, has said it may take some civil disobedience actions at the conference today or tomorrow.

Soulforce members — who come from a variety of denominations — have been arrested for blocking entrances at previous religious conventions.

In a dramatic demonstration in 2000, some Methodist protesters were arrested for disrupting that year's General Conference.

Although bishops do not vote at the General Conference — the delegates are made up of ministers and lay people — Bishop James King of the church's Louisville Area said the denomination should still be home to gays, lesbians and their supporters.

He said the church's governing process gives them the right to continue to be heard in conferences such as the current one.

And King added that church law, while opposing homosexuality, also includes a statement affirming the "sacred worth of every human being."

The Rev. Thomas Grieb, a delegate and pastor of St. Paul United Methodist Church in Louisville, said that while he supported his church's position on homosexuality, "I want to be in ministry with all persons. I'm not into shutting the door on anyone."

He lamented that many of the church's actions — such as providing clean-water projects, medical aid and other help to developing countries — barely gain attention.

"There are a lot of things to celebrate," Grieb said.

But "the other (issue) seems to captivate us. We just can't seem to shake it at this level."

MAY 8 - Methodists approve unity message

Church vows it will not split over different views on gay-rights issue

United Methodist Church delegates sought to live up to their name yesterday, overwhelmingly approving a resolution that called for church unity in the face of conservative proposals for an amicable split over the issue of homosexuality.

"Some of us began to get calls from people at home (asking), `Are we going to split?'" said the Rev. John Schol, a delegate from Pennsylvania who proposed the resolution. "It was very important to send a clear message that this General Conference was not splitting, that we are unified, that we are a United Methodist Church."

Wrapping up their 11-day General Conference, or legislative session, the delegates voted 869-41 to state that they "remain in covenant with one another, even in the midst of disagreement."

The vote occurred in response to calls Thursday by some leading conservative organizers to peacefully divide the nation's third-largest denomination to resolve decades of rancor over homosexuality.

News of the proposed split, while not brought to the conference floor, quickly spread throughout the conference and the nation.

Some conservative leaders maintained yesterday they would work over the next four years before the next General Conference to spread the proposal for a separation, saying they believed the ideological split between conservatives and liberals is already irreconcilable.

"I don't think that gap can be bridged," said the Rev. Bill Hinson, president of the Confessing Movement within the United Methodist Church, one of several related conservative caucuses in the church.

Hinson made his call for separation at a gathering Thursday held by Good News, a conservative group based in Wilmore, Ky.

Although conservatives won virtually every vote that reaffirmed the church's traditional creeds and its opposition to homosexuality, Hinson said the emotional standoff with gay-rights activists is not benefiting anyone.

But another influential conservative leader disagreed on the issue of a split.

"There has to be ongoing conversation," said Maxie Dunnam, president of Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore and a member of the board of Hinson's organization.

"... I don't want us to talk about separation. That's not where our energy needs to be focused."

Liberal activists also opposed a split and called for dialogue.

"Any talk of divorce is premature," said Kathryn Johnson, executive director of the Methodist Federation for Social Action. "We haven't gone through counseling to see if we can save the marriage."

MAY 10 - Methodist centrists may be key

Moderates' role uncertain as church ponders split

The Rev. William McAlilly doesn't identify with either of the loud factions in the United Methodist Church.

Not with the well-funded conservative groups that played host to hundreds of people at daily strategy breakfasts last week during the church's legislative General Conference.

Not with the hundreds of vocal gay-rights supporters who paraded through the convention hall in rainbow colors, banging drums and singing the hymn "We Are the Church."

Instead, McAlilly says he belongs to "the Methodist middle" — a large, moderate center that is loath to consider splitting the 8.3million-member denomination, as some leading conservative organizers suggested last week.

McAlilly said moderates are gripped by "fear that we are incapable of preventing our church from being pulled apart at the seams."

Although the United Methodist Church has conducted no surveys to measure the strength and numbers of its moderate members, experts who study the denomination say Methodists' voting trends and historic stances show they are an understated force within the church. Comments claiming the middle ground by moderate speakers such as McAlilly drew loud applause at the conference.

Moderates "are not organized," McAlilly, pastor of First Methodist Church in Tupelo, Miss., told delegates last week. "We have no other agenda save offering Christ to a hurting world. ... We teach Sunday schools; we serve in food pantries and clothes swaps; we build Habitat houses."

The reaction of McAlilly and many other Methodists illustrates the hurdle conservative organizers face with their proposal, launched last week, to split the denomination and end decades of rancor over divisions concerning homosexuality and theology. The split would involve everything from friendships to billions of dollars in pensions, property and other assets.

"Often there is not as much accounting for the great middle of the Methodist church, because they tend not to be the shrill voices," said Dianne Reistroffer, director of Methodist studies at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. "I don't think there's going to be a big groundswell" for separation.

A groundswell for unity, in fact, came Friday, the final day of the denomination's quadrennial General Conference, when delegates voted 869-41 for a resolution affirming "our covenant with one another, even in the midst of disagreement."

Some conservative organizers said they would work toward bringing a proposal for separation to the next conference in four years.

The differences in the United Methodist Church reflect ongoing debates in American society on issues such as same-sex marriage, Reistroffer said. The delegates' 579-376 vote last week to affirm the church's opposition to homosexuality likely would have been much closer if not for the overwhelming support for the measure from nearly 200 delegates from other countries, all sides agree.

With at least one congregation in almost every county in the nation, the United Methodist Church and its members span the ideological spectrum — from President Bush to Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. Methodists are the third-largest denomination in the United States and Kentucky, behind Roman Catholics and Southern Baptists. In Indiana, only Catholics outnumber Methodists.

"It's often said the United Methodist Church is the most American of denominations," Reistroffer said. "What we're seeing played out in the General Conference is what we're seeing play out in the statehouses and in Congress."

Last week, a leading conservative organizer in the denomination, the Rev. Bill Hinson, proposed an "amicable separation" of the church.

Although conservatives won virtually every vote that reaffirmed the church's traditional creeds and its opposition to homosexuality, Hinson, retired pastor of the 14,000-member First United Methodist Church of Houston, said the emotional, 30-year standoff with gay-rights activists is not benefiting anyone.

"Why do we go on hurting each other?" said Hinson, president of the Confessing Movement within the United Methodist Church, which is one of several interlocking conservative groups in the denomination.

Conservatives acknowledge that many Methodists view separation as too radical to discuss.

"From looking at church history, when you start talking about this thing, it's far messier and more unpleasant than anyone can imagine, and none of us long for that," said the Rev. James Heidinger, president of Good News, which is based in Wilmore, Ky., and is a leading conservative group in the church.

"But we've got to find some kind of remedy to what we're doing every four years, coming together with our fighting and the painful battles."

Presbyterians meet next month in Richmond, Va., for their legislative general assembly, where they are expected to resume their nearly annual debate over homosexuality. Like Methodists, Presbyterians ban the ordination and marriage of noncelibate gays and lesbians.

A 2002 survey found that 44 percent of Presbyterians consider themselves moderate, 38 percent conservative and 18 percent liberal, according to the denomination's Research Services.

While Presbyterians and Methodists don't ordain noncelibate homosexuals, the liberal-dominated Episcopal Church has ordained gay priests, and last year it ordained a gay bishop. That stirred protests from many African and Asian counterparts in the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Conservative Episcopalians in the United States have formed their own network within the church, with some suggesting a strategy of gaining recognition from foreign Anglican churches.

But people have suggested "so many scenarios that I don't think anybody wants to say what's going to happen," said Cynthia Brust, spokeswoman for the conservative American Anglican Council.

Kathryn Johnson, executive director of the liberal Methodist Federation for Social Action, said she believed many Methodists voted against homosexuality to keep church unity in the face of a strong showing by conservatives.

She noted that delegates voted for several liberal causes such as workers' rights and curbing the death penalty.

But important differences exist between the populations of different denominations. The Episcopal Church and the United Church of Christ — which also ordains homosexuals — are concentrated in more liberal East Coast states.

Presbyterians and Methodists are more evenly distributed, but they also reflect broader national divides, with more liberals on the coasts and more conservatives in the South and lower Midwest. A higher proportion of Methodist delegates from the more conservative jurisdictions in the South and overseas attended this year's general convention.

But Andrew Weaver, a commentator in the liberal Zion's Herald, a Maine-based publication that covers Methodism, said he didn't believe people's beliefs can be predicted by geography. Weaver, a native Texan, cited his own experience growing up during the civil-rights movement.

"There were strong Methodist pastors and congregations that stood up against segregation," he said. "That is still there."

Weaver also said more than demographics are at work.

Both sides have well-organized interest groups. Liberal groups staged media-friendly protests last week in favor of ordaining gays and lesbians.

Even many conservative delegates said they opposed splitting.

"It's not something that any thinking person wants to see happen," said Melvin Bowdan of Nicholasville, Ky., a retired military officer and retired political science professor at Asbury College in Wilmore. "It could be so devastating."

The Rev. Darren Cushman-Wood of Indianapolis said he was "deeply disturbed" by talk of a split, saying he wouldn't feel at home in either a left- or right-leaning denomination.

"Doctrinally, I am as conservative as they come, but in my ethics I am as liberal as you are," he told a liberal Methodist bishop Friday during the conference. "Maybe I need to have an adjustment in my heart between my doctrines and my ethics, but that kind of surgery needs to done by the Great Physician (Jesus). I do not trust the surgeons who are in this room to perform that surgery."