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All of the biggest Protestant Christian churches in the US are fighting it out about homosexuality being a sin or not, and additionally whether gay and lesbian people can be ordained as clergy in them. Three of the biggest ones are fighting so much about it that they each may split into different churches. These are the Episcopalians (Anglicans elsewhere in the world), Methodists, and Presbyterians. The conservative and fundamentalists are universally opposed (although there are small groups fighting from within each of them), and more "liberal" churches (such as the Unitarian/Universalists and the United Church of Christ --formerly the Congregationalists) have already said gay is good and no problem to be a gay clergyperson.
The Methodists have several times in church trials defrocked gay clergy that came out, and denied them their ministerial orders. The national legislature and Church "Supreme Court" have been becoming more conservative in the past 10 years, so everybody expected more of the same.
But recently another gay Methodist minister, a woman in Washington State, came out. Fundamentalist elements demanded she be thrown out, and she has won each battle...her own church upheld her as a good and successful pastor, her local clergy body refused to prosecute her (the Pacific Northwest is amongst the most liberal, thank goodness!). Finally the Judicial Council (the church supreme court) demanded that her local clergy brethren hold a church trial to decide the matter. That trial was this past week.
It was almost a foregone conclusion that she would be defrocked and kicked out. The Methodist rules are clear that no self-avowed and practicing gay can be an ordained clergy. The prosecution thought they had it in the bag.
But she based her entire defense on what should be the spirit of the law, and not just the law itself. There are loads of other places in the Methodist rule book that talk about not discriminating against anybody, as well as being inclusive and loving. Basically, her defense said to uphold the spirit of inclusiveness and let her get on with her very successful ministry despite technically being against one church law.
The jury of 13 clergy colleagues voted to acquit her and let her continue. They voted for inclusiveness and against the letter of the conservative methodist law. These conservatives are howling for blood, and may rebel at the every-four-years General Conference next month, where new church laws can be enacted. But there is no appeal against this one trial decision. It was a magnificent act of disobediance against the "legalists". I can't tell you all how happy I am about it.
The good guys have one a big one here, folks! Here's one local column if you feel like reading more about it:
Church trial is food for thought
By Julie Muhlstein
Herald Columnist
On my way to Bothell United Methodist Church, I thought I knew what I'd be writing. It was all so neat and tidy in my mind.
Before driving into the parking lot to find a bona fide media circus Tuesday, I had it figured out -- what I thought about gay marriage, the rules of churches, all of it.
This week, the church next to Bothell High School is ground zero in the battle for gay rights. The debate has heated up in the secular world with court rulings and decisions by governments from Portland, Ore., to San Francisco allowing same-sex marriage.
In the spiritual world, the church trial that began Tuesday in Bothell is expected to decide whether the Rev. Karen Dammann, pastor of a United Methodist church in Ellensburg, can keep her position despite her openly gay relationship with Meredith Savage. The couple have a 5-year-old son and were recently married in Portland.
Thirteen Methodist clergy members make up the jury that will decide the case based on their interpretation of the United Methodist Book of Discipline, the church law.
Do you want to know what I think? Or at least what I did think until I was persuaded to think a little harder.
I think many people miss the distinction between legal marriage and marriage recognized by a church.
Gay couples should have equal rights to legal marriage, all across this country, that's what I think. I don't mean some separate-but-equal, use-the-other-drinking-fountain version called civil union. I mean marriage, with all its legal ramifications, from Social Security benefits to federal income tax breaks.
That said, I also think every church has the right to its rules.
We don't have equal rights in churches. No one should try to force churches to change in ways that defy their core beliefs.
I can't become a Roman Catholic priest. If I don't like that, I can remain a Catholic and hope the church will evolve, or I can exercise religious freedom and find a church that allows ordination of women. The same goes for issues of divorce, reproduction, or allowing gay clergy or gay unions.
It's separation of church and state. I truly don't see how anyone's legal marriage has any effect on the sanctity of anyone else's marriage. Sanctity is a word that has to do with religion, holiness, a deity -- God.
Legal marriage has nothing to do with God. It has to do with government, which ought to treat all people as equal. But churches have their rules.
From what I've read, Dammann is clearly outside the rules of her church. Those rules say "the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching" and that self-avowed practicing homosexuals are not to be ordained as ministers in the United Methodist Church.
That's what I thought I was going to write.
Outside Bothell United Methodist Church, I met the Rev. Mark Williams. He is scheduled as a witness in the trial, in which Dammann could lose her ministry if nine jurors vote for conviction.
Williams, pastor at Woodland Park United Methodist Church in Seattle, said church rules change.
"Our prohibition against gay clergy only dates to 1972, when the church began to adopt statements on homosexuality. We change something about our church law every four years," he said. "That's not to turn its back on tradition, but the church does change with new social understanding."
Williams' church is among several United Methodist churches in the area known as a reconciling congregation. The grass-roots Reconciling Ministries Network works for full participation in the United Methodist Church by of people any sexual orientation or gender.
In what Williams called a "reforming" church, "people can form their own opinions and use what God gave us to discern matters of faith." Beyond Scripture, there is reason, tradition and experience.
"We're not a dogmatic church," he said. "Within our principles, we can disagree and be great Methodists."
Unlike protesters who tried to stop the trial, Williams doesn't see the process as negative. It was Dammann's wish that she be tried and that the trial be public.
"It sounds very Spanish Inquisition, but this is a sign the church is struggling and remaining relevant," Williams said.
I thought it was all so neat and tidy. Williams offered more to think about.
Thirsty after leaving the church, I stopped for a bottle of water. There was music playing in the Bothell minimart. I swear, it was Joan Osborne singing:
"What if God was one of us? Just a slob like one of us, just a stranger on the bus, trying to make his way home."
"Always forgive your enemies...nothing annoys them quite so much." Oscar Wilde
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Church Jury Acquits Gay Methodist Pastor
Sun Mar 21,10:14 AM ET
By ELIZABETH M. GILLESPIE, Associated Press Writer
BOTHELL, Wash. - A lesbian Methodist minister said she was relieved by her acquittal in a church trial over her sexual orientation — but so was the pastor who prosecuted her, and even the bishop who filed the complaint.
A jury of 13 pastors said it decided in favor of the Rev. Karen Dammann "after many hours of painful and prayerful deliberations, and listening for and to the word of God."
Dammann, 47, married her partner of nine years last month in Oregon, where officials have been allowing gay marriages. "It's been heart-stopping at times, too exciting at times," she said after the verdict.
Meredith Savage, Dammann's partner, said she called their 5-year-old son and shouted, "Mama won!"
While the verdict could alienate some conservatives within the Methodist church, Dammann's prosecution was painful for many in the Seattle area.
The United Methodist clergy of the Pacific Northwest Conference had voted to retain Dammann after she disclosed that she was in a homosexual relationship, but the denomination's Judicial Council reversed that decision last fall.
Church law prohibits the ordination of self-avowed, practicing homosexuals and the church's Book of Discipline declares homosexuality to be "incompatible to Christian teachings."
The Rev. James C. Finkbeiner, who prosecuted the case, said he believed the jury overstepped the bounds of church law. "And I don't feel bad about that. Our process is fair."
Then, with permission from Bishop Galvan, Finkbeiner spoke for himself, adding, "I'm glad I lost, on a personal basis."
If nine of the 13 clergy members on the jury had voted to convict her, Dammann could have lost her ministry. The church cannot appeal the verdict.
About 100 people attended a prayer service immediately after the verdict was announced. The Rev. Rody Rowe, pastor of Queen Anne United Methodist Church in Seattle, told the gathering they could pray silently or voice their thoughts.
After a long silence, one woman said, "I pray for our church, for those who will rejoice and for those who will gnash their teeth and wail."
Bishop Elias Galvan of Seattle acknowledged the verdict will upset some people.
"The church is not of one mind," Galvan said. "I expect this issue to continue to be raised until society comes to terms with it."
Dammann has been on leave as pastor of First United Methodist Church in Ellensburg, 95 miles east of Seattle. The ruling means she is in good standing with the church and available for new assignments.
Dammann said her immediate plans are to continue caring for her son, who has a respiratory illness, but she hopes one day to return to the Ellensburg church.
The trial is the first against a homosexual Methodist pastor since 1987, when the credentials of the Rev. Rose Mary Denman of New Hampshire were revoked.
The United Methodist Church, the nation's third-largest with 8.5 million U.S. members, has struggled publicly with the issue of homosexuality since 1972. In that year, the General Conference declared homosexuals "persons of sacred worth" but found homosexuality "incompatible with Christian teaching."
Still, the denomination's social principles support gay rights and liberties. Since the late 1980s, Pacific Northwest church leaders have petitioned to ease policies on homosexuality at each of the denomination's General Conferences, held every four years. During past international General Conferences, most attendees have opposed change.
Similar rifts have developed in other Christian denominations — most notably in the Episcopal Church, which confirmed an openly gay bishop last year. Since then, several conservative parishes have threatened to break ties with the denomination.
Dammann declared her sexual preference in February 2001, when she sought a new church appointment. After receiving her letter, Galvan, under church orders, filed a complaint against Dammann.
Galvan said the trial was painful for him because he respects and admires Dammann.
"I think the jury was looking for a way to be faithful to the Book of Discipline and I think they did that," Galvan said. "As soon as she's able to return to ministry, we'll welcome her and appoint her."
"Always forgive your enemies...nothing annoys them quite so much." Oscar Wilde
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e
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On fire! |
Location: currently So Cal
Registered: May 2002
Messages: 1179
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I saw this earlier today. One of the things about all the attention the religious right is giving to ban gays, gay marriages, etc is that it has created a huge backlash. Gays, and those who have no problems with us, are becoming quite supportive and active in their own defense. It seems that the more attion the religious right pours into the matter, the greater the backlash becomes. It is not unlike the civil rights movement where a few over-reactions by the bigots in power sparked an entire movement that snowballed in its public support. Perhaps the best thing the religious right could have done was to begin speaking out publically and loudly against us. The louder they speak, the more the general public sees them for the hate mongers that they really are and the more the general public reacts against them.
I also agree very much with Ms. Muhlstein's views on "legal Marriage" and that which is sanctified by the church. In no way does a state sanctioned marriage of homosexuals reflect in any way upon a church sanctioned marriage. I think you would be hard pressed to find a Catholic who believes that my marriage to my wife (state sanctioned) cheapens or reflects poorly on his/her church sanctioned marriage. You see, the Catholic church refused to marry us unless I converted to Catholicism. My wife is Catholic. In the same vane, I don't see how a homosexual marriage would reflect any differently. I also agree that just because the state may recognize a marriage, does not mean that the church needs to recognize it. Therefore there is no valid reason for religion to be involved in the debate at all.
Think good thoughts,
e
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