A letter from our Pastor
Last week in this column, I reflected on one of my experiences while attending the General Conference of the United Methodist Church. Just for review, the General Conference is the body of delegates, people like you and me, from across our denomination that meet every four years to make decisions for the church. The General Conference is the only body that speaks officially for the United Methodist Church.
One of the issues that seems to be constantly on the forefront are concerns surrounding homosexuality. The culture, the courts and legislatures, and more personally, families have been grappling with this for years. The church has been no different. Once again, our United Methodist Church voted to maintain the stance we have held ever since we began to hold a stance on it, that is, to say that “all persons are individuals of sacred worth…the UMC does not condone the practice of homosexuality and consider this practice incompatible with Christian teaching. We affirm that God’s grace is available to all.”
I have become aware that lately some news reports and radio broadcasts have misrepresented the stances of the church on this issue. Some of you have shared with me what you have read and heard. We continue to learn that with all things, we must do our own research and fact-checking from reliable sources to determine the truth about something. It is one thing for a radio station or a newspaper columnist to openly profess political or religious opinions, for some that is their job, and of course we all have opinions. It is quite another thing for media outlets to irresponsibly isolate anecdotes from an overall story and use them as news headlines or radio sound bites. This kind of reporting is sometimes malicious but more times just lazy journalism. It knowingly or unknowingly skews a topic for the general public. I know that at some point, one has to choose to trust one source or another. The good thing about United Methodists is that we do have the General Conference, which speaks officially for us. It is the only group that does, and their decisions are printed for all to see in our Book of Discipline. I’ll be glad to share it with you. On this particular issue, the following are the facts as decided last week. You can share these facts with others who inquire.
We do not ordain practicing gay people as pastors. We do not perform same-sex unions. Finally, we maintain our belief statement about homosexuality as I quoted above. These stances continue to reflect what a strong majority of our church believes. At the same time, we respect the dignity of all people as children of God. The church is called to be in ministry with and for all people. Always remember, this is not just an “issue,” it touches families; indeed it touches some of your families. Above all else, what matters most in the lives of people is what happens at the local church. In other words, more than language and statements and news headlines, what happens with Woodville UMC is what will impact lives the most for Christ.
See you Sunday,
Tommy