If there are other events in communities within or closer to SE Indiana, I am not aware of them. If you are aware of another event closer to home, feel free to use the comments to publicize these events.
In recognition of these events, I am re-publishing a column I wrote for the local paper in early March after the conclusion of the United Methodist Church's General Conference, where the majority of the gathered assembly voted to keep and reinforce bans against LGBTQ+ marriages and ordinations as well as increase the punishments levied against clergy who participate in these events. I know that some people will read this column and criticize it for not going far enough. I know that others will read this column and criticize it for going too far; in fact, the paper published four different responses to my column, all of which opposed what I wrote. One responder accused me of blasphemy. Another responder tried to define the Church as something that did not include me because of my column.
But there are LGBTQ+ people in my community who need to hear that the Church includes them. There are LGBTQ+ people in my community who need to hear that Jesus loves them as they are right now. And there are LGBTQ+ people in my community, as well as their family members, friends, and supporters, who long to find a place within the Church where they feel like they are welcomed, where they feel like they belong. All of these people and more need to hear statements like this after so many messages from others who have proclaimed that God hates them and that God will not love them until they swear off their sexuality.
So, in the attempt to demonstrate that there is at least one place where LGBTQ+ people in SE Indiana can attempt to trust the Church again, I republish my column from early March:
"On Tuesday, February 26, the specially-called General Assembly of the United Methodist Church (or UMC) voted to keep and reinforce its rules banning LGBTQ+ people from being ordained as pastors and banning UMC pastors from presiding over LGBTQ+ marriages. Some people are celebrating this decision. Others are lamenting this decision, with some pledging to leave the denomination and others pledging to disobey the decision. Many expect the UMC to break apart in the next couple of years.
My own denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (or ELCA), has walked this road before. We are nearly 10 years removed from our 2009 Churchwide Assembly’s vote to keep a big tent, opening the door for LGBTQ+ ordinations and marriages while also welcoming individuals and congregations that would not agree to calling LGBTQ+ pastors or blessing LGBTQ+ marriages. Even so, many individuals and congregations left the denomination over this decision.
From this experience, I say these things:
To my LGBTQ+ siblings in Christ: I am sorry. I apologize for a branch of the Church once again telling you that you are welcome only to turn around and proclaim that you are not equal to straight people. You deserve to be fully embraced by the Church.
To my UMC siblings in Christ: I continue to pray for you as you work through the fallout from this decision. I know the pain of disagreement over this very issue both personally and professionally. I and my ELCA colleagues will continue to walk with you as full communion partners.
To those who have UMC friends grieving this decision: give them time to process what has happened. Offer your support, but refrain from inviting them away from their church unless they tell you they are ready to leave. A faith home is not easily abandoned.
To my siblings in Christ who are celebrating, claiming they are 'standing for the Gospel' or 'standing for the truth' with this decision: I respectfully disagree. The 'Gospel' is the good news of Christ Jesus: his birth, his death, his resurrection, and what he has done for us through these things. This debate was a debate over the Law, not the Gospel. The Law cannot save; it can only condemn us for our sins. The faith we share depends on salvation through the Gospel, not the Law. Will we fight to keep the Gospel that saves or the Law that condemns?
As we respond to this decision, remember to treat one another as siblings in Christ. If we cannot do this, then we have truly lost."
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