That's fabulous news John!! Congratulations!!! I am definitely going to share this post. I live in Anderson, Indiana. Headquarters of the Church of God and Anderson University where a fierce battle is being waged over this very subject and the entire community is deeply divided.
I am SO happy for you, your Church, all the Methodist Church communities, but most importantly the LGBTQ Christians who can practice their faith openly at last.
Please pray for our city and Churches as we fight for inclusion and LGBTQ rights. I believe it will happen eventually but in the meantime it's still a version of "Don't ask, don't tell." 💔😢
Thanks as always for your wonderful work and beautiful words. Your divine inspiration helps keep me going in these dark, troubled times. Much love. ❤️🙏🏻❤️
I'll echo that! I was the Episc. priest in Madison IN as the town became more and more deeply red; but our church, and several others, were supportive of the LGBTQ community in many ways, even to marriage and worship leadership. The local PFLAG group eventually headquartered in our building with the full joy of the parish. The fight is worth it, to open all the doors so the joy of the Lord in every person can grow and spread and thrive! I'm so very glad the UMC has made this choice, too.
As a United Methodist, I agree with you. The church kicked the can down the road for decades, trying to prevent the split that was inevitable. Now that the split is finished, they were able, finally, at General Conference, to affirm what we always claimed: Open hearts, open minds, open doors.
I wish they had come to this decision much sooner, so much damage has been done. I attended an open and affirming UMC in Indianapolis, it was truly wonderful but became frustrated because of this situation. I found a wonderful Episcopal church and that was home for me. I’ve moved to Vermont and continue to celebrate my faith in the local Episcopal church. I’m so happy for our siblings in UMC!!
Sometimes. The Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis is more open than the Diocese of Springfield (IL). The Diocese of Connecticut has a gay bishop, as do another dozen ir so. The Diocese of Vermont is very inclusive.
Individual churches may be more or less "comfortable" - and individuals in some churches may be the same.
Some congregations don't want to talk about it (so that doesn't seem welcoming at all).
If there's a pride flag on the grounds is a good sign. Look at their Facebook page. Look at the photos. Ask a friend.
I'm not sure how helpful this is. I feel the Ep Church is moving more and more towards full inclusivity in more and more parishes.
And you will probably find in any congregation people will support visitors and members in all aspects.
And... a lot depends on the bishop, and a lot depends on the priest.
Everybody in town knew we were inclusive, especially after I conducted two weddings in the church and oversaw a civil marriage, and one of our altar servers was trans. Kinda a give away, that. 😁
This is wonderful news indeed! But I have a question for the Episcopal and Methodist people commenting here, can one expect that any given E or M church is indeed open and affirming? I spend time in 3 parts of the country and am tired of visiting a church expecting one view and finding the opposite.
The actions taken by the UMC General Conference remove the discriminatory language and rules from the UMC Book of Discipline (aka "rule book"). This includes removing the declaration that "homosexuality is incompatible" with being Christian; allowing UMC pastors to be openly gay, and allowing UMC pastors and churches to marry same-sex couples. To Julie's point, it does not REQUIRE any UMC church to accept a gay pastor (UMC pastors are re-assigned every few years) or any UMC pastor or church to perform same-sex weddings. So, there will continue to be variation in how open and affirming individual congregations are.
This is why I finally gave up on the UMC several years ago when this discussion got hot & heavy. The little church I was a member of is full of people who fit the "love the sinner hate the "sin"" description and it made me sick. I wanted to get up and leave calling them all hypocrites on my way out the door but refrained. I shouldn't have. I'm still trying to sort out what I do and don't believe about religion now because of the unwelcoming attitude of supposed Jesus followers. It’s been painful because I grew up UMC and have many former pastors in my family. 🫤
AMEN!!! I grew up in the UMC, was ordained a deacon, but found their swing from social gospel to conservative untenable...so I became a pastor in the United Church of Christ. My congregation moved from that "uncomfortable" state to completely welcoming, and I'm proudly serving it again after a 17 year hiatus as "retired"! LGTBQ members are essential parts of our leadership and outreach. In fact, the Board was bitterly disappointed yesterday to learn that we weren't selected as the location of our local PRIDE festival (it's going to stay at the same place as last year.)
That's fabulous news John!! Congratulations!!! I am definitely going to share this post. I live in Anderson, Indiana. Headquarters of the Church of God and Anderson University where a fierce battle is being waged over this very subject and the entire community is deeply divided.
I am SO happy for you, your Church, all the Methodist Church communities, but most importantly the LGBTQ Christians who can practice their faith openly at last.
Please pray for our city and Churches as we fight for inclusion and LGBTQ rights. I believe it will happen eventually but in the meantime it's still a version of "Don't ask, don't tell." 💔😢
Thanks as always for your wonderful work and beautiful words. Your divine inspiration helps keep me going in these dark, troubled times. Much love. ❤️🙏🏻❤️
I'll echo that! I was the Episc. priest in Madison IN as the town became more and more deeply red; but our church, and several others, were supportive of the LGBTQ community in many ways, even to marriage and worship leadership. The local PFLAG group eventually headquartered in our building with the full joy of the parish. The fight is worth it, to open all the doors so the joy of the Lord in every person can grow and spread and thrive! I'm so very glad the UMC has made this choice, too.
That's great!! Congratulations to you too. ❤️🙏🏻❤️
As a United Methodist, I agree with you. The church kicked the can down the road for decades, trying to prevent the split that was inevitable. Now that the split is finished, they were able, finally, at General Conference, to affirm what we always claimed: Open hearts, open minds, open doors.
I wish they had come to this decision much sooner, so much damage has been done. I attended an open and affirming UMC in Indianapolis, it was truly wonderful but became frustrated because of this situation. I found a wonderful Episcopal church and that was home for me. I’ve moved to Vermont and continue to celebrate my faith in the local Episcopal church. I’m so happy for our siblings in UMC!!
Sometimes. The Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis is more open than the Diocese of Springfield (IL). The Diocese of Connecticut has a gay bishop, as do another dozen ir so. The Diocese of Vermont is very inclusive.
Individual churches may be more or less "comfortable" - and individuals in some churches may be the same.
Some congregations don't want to talk about it (so that doesn't seem welcoming at all).
If there's a pride flag on the grounds is a good sign. Look at their Facebook page. Look at the photos. Ask a friend.
I'm not sure how helpful this is. I feel the Ep Church is moving more and more towards full inclusivity in more and more parishes.
And you will probably find in any congregation people will support visitors and members in all aspects.
And... a lot depends on the bishop, and a lot depends on the priest.
Everybody in town knew we were inclusive, especially after I conducted two weddings in the church and oversaw a civil marriage, and one of our altar servers was trans. Kinda a give away, that. 😁
This is wonderful news indeed! But I have a question for the Episcopal and Methodist people commenting here, can one expect that any given E or M church is indeed open and affirming? I spend time in 3 parts of the country and am tired of visiting a church expecting one view and finding the opposite.
The actions taken by the UMC General Conference remove the discriminatory language and rules from the UMC Book of Discipline (aka "rule book"). This includes removing the declaration that "homosexuality is incompatible" with being Christian; allowing UMC pastors to be openly gay, and allowing UMC pastors and churches to marry same-sex couples. To Julie's point, it does not REQUIRE any UMC church to accept a gay pastor (UMC pastors are re-assigned every few years) or any UMC pastor or church to perform same-sex weddings. So, there will continue to be variation in how open and affirming individual congregations are.
And I'm truly sorry you've struggled to find the right home.
This is why I finally gave up on the UMC several years ago when this discussion got hot & heavy. The little church I was a member of is full of people who fit the "love the sinner hate the "sin"" description and it made me sick. I wanted to get up and leave calling them all hypocrites on my way out the door but refrained. I shouldn't have. I'm still trying to sort out what I do and don't believe about religion now because of the unwelcoming attitude of supposed Jesus followers. It’s been painful because I grew up UMC and have many former pastors in my family. 🫤
AMEN!!! I grew up in the UMC, was ordained a deacon, but found their swing from social gospel to conservative untenable...so I became a pastor in the United Church of Christ. My congregation moved from that "uncomfortable" state to completely welcoming, and I'm proudly serving it again after a 17 year hiatus as "retired"! LGTBQ members are essential parts of our leadership and outreach. In fact, the Board was bitterly disappointed yesterday to learn that we weren't selected as the location of our local PRIDE festival (it's going to stay at the same place as last year.)