A Publication of the Reconciling Congregation Program at Trinity United Methodist Church
Volume 1, Number 1 - October 1999
A Publication of the Reconciling Congregation Program at Trinity United Methodist Church
Volume 1, Number 1 - October 1999
Blum & Weprin Associates, Inc. conducted this telephone poll of a random sample of 752 adults from all 50 states for The Odyssey Channel July 20-22, 1998.
Whatever Americans feel about the origins of homosexuality, a majority (55%) believes that if homosexuals cannot change how they feel, they should not live a heterosexual life. Only a quarter (25%), think that they should, with another 19% unsure.
Whatever their views on the morality of homosexuality, two-thirds of Americans (66%) do not believe that religious groups should attempt to change someone away from a homosexual orientation.
Americans claim to be comfortable working with and being related to homosexuals.
Americans believe that gays and lesbians should be allowed to teach Sunday school to children (52%). Another 39% are opposed, while 10% are not sure.
Although a majority of adults believe that homosexuality is morally wrong, nearly half (42%) do not believe that homosexuality is a sin. Of those 41% who do view it as a sin, more than two-thirds (70%), believe that it is more important to love the sinner than to hate the sin. Only 20% believe it is more important to hate the sin and 10% say it is equally important to love the sinner as to hate the sin.
Perhaps as an illustration of the very mixed feelings people have about homosexuality, Americans may not actually want to see the ordination of gay clergy, but would not necessarily stay away from a congregation with a gay clergy person (47% would worship/42% would not worship). Another 10% are not sure.
While acceptance as full participating members may be hit-or-miss, a majority (54%) of congregation members say that a gay couple would be welcome to worship in their church or synagogue. A third (30%) say they would not be welcome, while 17% are unsure.
In a similar vein, three-quarters (76%) of congregation members say that if a gay couple of their faith moved in next door, the fact that they are gay would not keep them from asking the gay couple to come worship in their church or synagogue. Only 16% would not ask them to worship, while 8% are not sure.
For more information on this survey, visit the story on the United Methodist Church's website.
There are times in our life when words fail us. I'm thinking of those times when we are trying to describe something so large, so primal to our being, ordinary words just don't seem to get at the essence of what we want to convey. Writing my story feels that way to me. So, I will begin with an image, and then attempt to put words to the image to help you understand something of who I am.
The image is the empty tomb. That incredible symbol in our Christian faith of darkness and mystery, of fear and rejection, of hope and life, of blessed gift. That large heavy structure of darkness sitting solid on the ground, a part of the very earth that God created, with all the world around it. For me, the empty tomb has many levels of meaning. It is a space of emptiness filled with the darkness of fear and pain, filled with many questions and containing much mystery. It is also an emptiness that represents what can not be held enclosed by human understanding and human experience. It is an emptiness that represents what incredible power the divine light has in the midst of all our darkness.
In my image of the tomb, there is light on the inside too. There is that speck of light that is the divine presence of Christ at the center of the darkness. Christ was in the tomb, but was not bound to the tomb. Christ's light could not be held in by the boundaries of fear and pain, questions and mystery. My light can not be held by the tomb either. Let me tell you about the light of Christ that is gift in my ...
God has called me to serve in ministry as a pastor. The United Methodist Church has recognized and affirmed my gifts with ordination as an elder. It is an awesome gift that I treasure each and every day. The honor and privilege of sharing in your sacred moments is most precious to me. We break bread together and touch each other with the passing of bread and wine. I hold your babies and touch them with sacred words and symbolic water. I bless the rings you place on another's hand and speak words of joy and commitment for your marriages. I laugh with you and share in the discoveries of our life lived in community. I pray with you. I share your pain through my own tears and sleepless nights. I try to live my life in a way that models the gospel message I proclaim when I preach in the pulpit. I love your children as if they were my own and teach them to discover the truth of God's love fulfilled in their own life and gifts. I love the United Methodist Church and understand myself to be a part of a connectional system knowing that, with that connection, comes give and take, responsibility and accountability. Like you, I strive to live out my life through kindness and compassion, following the example of Christ in the way I treat my brothers and sisters in the world.
God has called each of us to be in this work with gifts for relationship. We express our gifts differently bringing diversity and richness to the body of Christ. Our sexuality is also a precious gift from God; a gift that has expression in different ways for each of us. Our sexuality is a gift from God through the delight we feel in romantic attraction for another human being. Our sexuality is a gift of sacred love in the way we are called to live in a committed, monogamous relationship with another human being.
Some of us know God's call for attraction and commitment to be with a person of the opposite sex. Some of us are clear that God's call for attraction and commitment is to be with a person of the same sex. Some of us have the capacity to experience attraction for both sexes and yet are committed to a monogamous relationship with one partner. For those who express their love with person of the opposite sex, there is a place in the life of the church for you. But for me, this part of my life finds no expression or acceptance in the United Methodist Church. This part of my life remains in darkness and can not be shared with you in joy. Please understand me here! The darkness ISN'T the relationship I share in secret. Everything about that relationship is a gift of light that God has given me. The darkness is the rejection I live with every day knowing you do not accept me as God created me to be and the fear that you will take away my outlet for ministry.
I come out of the closet every day into the light, walk through the front doors of the church, and dare to continue to live God's call for me to be in ministry. Every day in darkness I think about leaving the United Methodist Church. Every day in darkness I guard my words in fear of the "truth" coming out and you stripping me of my orders. Every day in darkness I listen to you say hurtful things about others whose sexuality has a different expression than yours when you don't know you are talking about me. Every day in darkness, I'm afraid that everything I have done in ministry for all these years will be negated if I'm found out. Every day in darkness I watch in painful desperation and silence as gay and lesbian youth deny their own sexuality to fit into what the church tells them is "right" for their life.
Every day in God's light, I pray for my other closeted brothers and sisters in the clergy. Every day I pray for those who know of my sexual orientation and who not only love me, but celebrate with me through their affirming words and actions. Every day in God's light, I pray for wisdom, for words, for the strength to continue the dialogue. Every day in God's light, I pray for healing and change in the United Methodist Church so I can more fully reveal to you the person God created me to be and we can all live more fully in the body of Christ.
There are times in our life when human words fail us. As I struggle daily for words in the silence, I am reminded that there is a Word to be spoken greater than any silence I have to endure. I close with these words from John's gospel. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of the people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it."
The United Methodist General Conference, top legislative body of the denomination, will meet in Cleveland May 2-12, 2000. The 10-day event is held every four years and includes nearly 1,000 delegates -- half lay and half clergy -- from the United States, Africa, Europe and the Philippines. Following each General Conference, the church's Book of Discipline and Book of Resolutions are revised.
Additional information about the General Conference can be obtained through InfoServ by calling 1-800-251-8140, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. Central Time, Monday through Friday.
Members of the RCP are looking forward to many of the issues being considered at the General Conference. We hope you will too.
The Spark, vol. 1, no. 2
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The Spark, vol. 1, no. 5
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The Spark, vol. 2, no. 1
The Spark, vol. 2, no. 2
Reconciling Congregation Program Website
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Telephone: 512-459-5835
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email: mail@tumc.org
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This newsletter is an effort to bring to the public the stories of lesbian & gay Christians, their families & their allies. We look forward to a United Methodist Church that celebrates the full participation of all Christians in the Church.