Reconciling Ministries Network

Better yet, show them what hateful people the IRD (which is not a UM group) and Bad News are really.

It is clear evidence that the claims of those religious leaders that their rhetoric does not produce movements of hatred and violence are false. They are also evidence that the UM church has failed to spread the gospel of love in these countries but have taught them to make enemies--contrary to Jesus' teachings. Now tell me: Why should we continue to financially support this nonsense?

Well Sharon, I think that the article has made the point clear. To run afoul of the law they have to break the law first. They need to commit an act of violence. Demonstrating is not a violent act, in and of iteself. They brought condemnation on thier own heads.

Jesus accepts everyone on the basis of who he/she is. No strings, no expectations. Rather than trying to "transform" others, how about we just concentrate on just BEING- INCARNATING the one that we claim to serve.

AMEN!

It's difficult for me to avoid some grief over the fact that the separation took place along ethnic and socioeconomic lines as well as along ideological lines. We can continue to ignore the continuing appeal of fundamentalism to the disadvantaged - we have done so for at least half a century, as the sociological data have pointed clearly in that ... Read Moredirection for almost that long - but we do so at our peril, and theirs.

I do not enjoy seeing the separation between reconcilers and non-reconcilers follow these obvious cultural and socioeconomic lines. When it does, I suspect something much broader and deeper than homophobia is at work. That's what saddens me, along with our failure to recognize it for what it is. Fundamentalism seems to offer marginalized and uprooted people something compelling that most versions of progressive Christianity do not. I am not optimistic about the future of Enlightenment thought given its recent past, and unless we can offer people something more compelling as an alternative to fundamentalisms than we've been offering, I expect to see fundamentalisms become more and more powerful both in the UMC and in the larger global political arena.

This would be bad news for reconciling UMs, but also for a lot of other people.

No, it is sad and unfortunate. One side is asked to work with the other and does so willingly. The other will not. A more correct response from the DS would be that there had been no violation of the Discipline and to correct their misinterpretation. That is the reason these people are paid the big bucks.

Today, the Greenwich Time printed an editorial praising our stance! http://www.greenwichtime.com/editorial/ci_13731398

Great article!

I missed this earlier. Nice article. Enjoyed my time with the good people of St. Stephen's at the Estes Park meeting.

Well said, Joey. God created you as you are. So follow that call to minister to others. Thanks for sharing your writings with the rest of us.

Joey, I know exactly how you feel and I am glad you were able to share this with your friend. I am 40(something) - lol - and I had to learn how to be heterosexual in my teens, not something that came naturally for me - but many of us have had too. I also denied any relationship with God because I knew God knew what I was feeling - and everyone told me God was not excepting of this, so in order for me to be accepted I had to pretend to be like them.

This just makes me incredibly sad to think about this and know that there are many young people who are still doing this.

I have a friend, pastor, who taught me it is ok to have a relationship with God and be me. At the time she did not know who I really was, but all the same her care for me made sense and showed me that God loves me, i just had to learn to love God, myself and then be able to love others. FREEDOM !!! I still write this with tears in my eyes, looking back on the prison I had to live in and the joy I know now. ... Read More

Well, it has been a while now (or maybe not that long, it just seems like it)- I am divorced (and my ex-husband is now being loved for who he is, not loved out of some need to fit in and be accepted - can u tell, no guilt there...LOL... but I take solace in the fact that I was finally able to do the right thing, not always the easy way, but the right thing), I have two teenagers who are my pride and joy, I have a faithful, loving partner and I am finishing up my M.Div. I am going to be ready when the UMC will recognize me and look me in the eyes to tell me that I am compatible with Christian teaching and will be ordained. In the meantime I will continue to have conversations with people in our church to change their hearts and teach them a new, more loving Christianity. I will continue to hold our church accountable to loving everyone as Children of God. Loving others in their reality, not making them conform to who it is the institution believes they should be and then love them.

Some of the conversations I have been involved in most recently (this past week) has been on the UMNS facebook page. Check it out if you want - join in and help change peoples hearts, so that we can change their minds and the BOD. I think this is a good forum for conversation, in that there are many who are reading those threads of conversation who may not ordinarily expose themselves or have exposure to such conversations or come on to RMN and read our posts here. In that forum we are not only changing hearts but we are also letting people who are still afraid to come out that there are those willing to speak and working towards full acceptance.

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart bring honor and glory to God.

Peace to you and thank you for being so strong and brave !

Thanks Gilbert--excellent essay.

Love Gil Caldwell.

Troy is right. If one's issues with the denomination stopped with sexual orientation inclusiveness, it's worth it to soldier on with the denomination. Unfortunately, for some of us, the entire controversy over sexual orientation - like the earlier ones over race and gender - merely distract from the real issues, which are much, much larger.