O General Secretary Erin Hawkins, of the UM Church’s Commission on Religion and Race, said the General Conference’s support of the Traditional Plan was proof of the church’s “ comfort with sanctioned discrimination and exclusion.” Without offering any evidence, she also claimed there were “forces that corrupted the work of the General Conference.” The plan adopted by a slim majority is punitive, contrary to our Wesleyan heritage, and in clear violation of the mandate given to us in 1 Corinthians 12.” Susan Henry-Crowe, General Secretary of the UM Church’s General Board of Church and Society, recently wrote, “The 2019 General Conference chose to further deepen the divide in The United Methodist Church. O In an open letter, New England Annual Conference Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar and his nine cabinet members wrote, “We are heartbroken by, and repent of, the harm caused by the recent Special Session of the General Conference and years of discrimination in the United Methodist Church to LGBTQIA friends, neighbors, and family members….” Devadhar and his cabinet also said they stood by the conference board of ordained ministry’s decision to ignore the Book of Discipline regarding a full examination of candidates for ministry. We can no longer abide by the restrictions the Book of Discipline has placed on inclusion of LGBTQIA people in the full life of the UMC.” Their defiance contributes to the sense of a church that is slowly, but surely slipping into chaos. We, therefore, refuse to accept the United Methodist stance that homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. O Over 250 pastors in the Michigan Annual Conference have signed a statement declaring, “The General Conference, as an institution, is broken. In addition to episcopal critique and defiance, some pastors, general church leaders, and church affiliated organizations have registered their dissent as well. Her remarks here and in other spheres leave many in her annual conference unsure about her role as bishop of those who support the Book of Discipline and the decision of the General Conference.Ġ The Western Jurisdiction bishops accused the General Conference of being “incapable of making space for ALL of God’s children,” and lauded the jurisdiction’s willingness to defy to the UM Church by electing “the first out gay bishop.” Mark UM Church in Atlanta on Sunday, March 3, Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson, of the North Georgia Annual Conference, said, “When I answered ‘yes’ to the vow, ‘will you renounce, evil, injustice and oppression wherever you see it – and boy have I seen it!” it was obvious to all in attendance she was referring to the work of the delegates at the special General Conference who passed the Traditional Plan. O After he lamented the present state of the general church in an open letter, Bishop John Schol said, “We are a One Church Conference where churches hold different beliefs and understandings and engage in different ministries with gays and lesbians.” Not surprisingly, many orthodox evangelical pastors and lay people interpreted his remarks as a tacit admission that he would lead the conference as if the One Church Plan passed. O Bishop Julius Trimble, of the Indiana Annual Conference, unfairly mischaracterized the work of the delegates when he wrote, “The United Methodist Church cannot be held hostage by votes at a General Conference or the wide chasm between those who read the Bible and see condemnation and others who read the Bible and see grace.” Orthodox evangelicals now justifiably wonder if their episcopal leader will fairly and faithfully execute the duties of his office. Unfortunately, since the close of the special General Conference a number of bishops have acted or spoken in direct opposition to the work of General Conference. When our bishops – our chief executive officers, authorized to guard the faith, order, liturgy and doctrine set forth by General Conference – defy or call into question the work of the General Conference, they engender a constitutional crisis that undermines the good order and unity of the church. Our time-honored polity is designed to handle such transgressions by balancing justice and grace as we seek reconciliation and restoration. When individual UM members choose to act contrary to the decisions of General Conference, whether of a theological or ethical nature, it is regretful. It sets the faith, order, liturgy, doctrine, and discipline of the church, and its decisions represent the global connection as it discerns God’s will for the whole church. General Conference is the only body empowered to speak officially on behalf of the whole denomination.
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