wfn.org | Individual bishops voice disappointment at verdict

["NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

March 26, 2004	News media contact: Linda Green7(615)742-54707Nashville,
Tenn. 7 E-mail: newsdesk@umcom.org 7 ALL-GLBT{132}

NOTE: Head-and-shoulders photographs of the bishops quoted in this story are
available at http://umns.umc.org.

A UMNS Feature
By Linda Green*

Bishops from around the United Methodist Church are stepping forward to
reaffirm their support for the denomination's book of laws following the
controversial acquittal of a lesbian pastor during a clergy trial.

In individual statements, many bishops are also emphasizing to church members
in their areas that the United Methodist positions on homosexuality have not
changed. The executive committee of the church's Council of Bishops is
expected to issue a more collective statement about the verdict March 26.

The Rev. Karen Dammann was found not guilty of "practices declared by the
United Methodist Church to be incompatible with Christian teachings" after a
March 17-20 trial in Bothell, Wash. A panel of 13 fellow clergy from the
church's Pacific Northwest Annual (regional) Conference cleared her, with 11
jurors voting not guilty and the remaining two undecided.

After the verdict was announced, U.S. bishops from coast to coast addressed
their parishioners who, like them, were experiencing a multitude of emotions:
anger, disappointment, betrayal, celebration, joy, denial and confusion. 

The verdict was the action of one group in one place at one specific time,
and it did not represent the position of the church as a whole, several
bishops wrote. 

General Conference, the only body that speaks officially for the United
Methodist Church, has addressed issues surrounding homosexuality for decades.
In the denomination's Book of Discipline, General Conference holds the
practice of homosexuality "incompatible with Christian teachings," though
affirming homosexuals as people of sacred worth.

"I believe it is essential that in the midst of such reactions, the United
Methodist Church must remain steadfast and faithful to is scriptural and
theological grounding," said Indiana Bishop Woodie White to the state's
United Methodists.  

In a statement to Alabama-West Florida United Methodists, Bishop Larry
Goodpaster noted that although a contingent in the denomination would like to
change some of the church's proscriptions against homosexuality, "that does
not mean that anyone can set the Discipline aside in favor of their own
preferences."

He said he would pray for God's guidance and "also continue to support and
uphold the Book of Discipline as I understand its clear direction concerning
these matters." He called upon United Methodists of the Alabama-West Florida
Annual Conference "to be fervent in prayer, gracious in conversation, and
committed to making a difference for the sale of Jesus Christ and the glory
of God."

White and Michigan Area Bishop Linda Lee said the verdict shows that United
Methodists are not of one mind in understanding the complexities surrounding
homosexuality and the theological grounding of the church.

The decision "sheds light on how different people understand the Discipline,"
Lee said.  "I believe that the most important thing we can do as Christians
and as United Methodists, is to hold fast to the truth that 'there is no
longer Jew or Greek.' ... The issue of homosexuality is an issue that the
members of the United Methodist Church may never come to agreement about. I
do not believe we are required to do so. But, we do need to agree that Jesus
Christ makes us one in his spirit," she said.

California-Pacific Bishop Mary Ann Swenson noted that the history of
Christian community has been marked by fear, and today is no different. The
verdict in the Dammann trial shows that "we fear the loss of certainty, of
clear gender roles; we fear different definitions of what it means to be
faithful, to be called, to be married," she said. "In all of these, we reveal
our fear of the future. In fear, we cling to our past - not the best of our
heritage, but rather those things which justify our fear, not our growth."

The trial and the verdict are not a cause for fear, celebration or division,
she told church members in her area. "They are the results of our struggling
to grow in faith, to move into God's future."

In a joint statement, Georgia Bishops Lindsay Davis and Mike Watson expressed
support for the Book of Discipline and disappointment in the acquittal.  

"It is a clear sign of rebellion when a group chooses to flagrantly ignore
the Discipline, substituting their own perspective for the corporate wisdom
of the General Conference," they said.	

North Carolina Bishop Marion Edwards agreed, saying he "finds it
incomprehensible that a clergy jury can place itself above the law of the
church."

The decision suggests that the trial court "may have been trying the position
of the church and not the pastor charged," said Central Pennsylvania Bishop
Neil Irons. He wrote that if his interpretation is accurate, the court failed
to abide by the Book of Discipline and the verdict represents "a serious
challenge to the order of the church, which every ordained United Methodist
pastor has agreed to uphold."

Davis, Watson, Virginia Bishop Joe Pennel and Tennessee Bishop William Morris
are calling upon the delegates to the 2004 General Conference to arrive in
Pittsburgh ready to discuss the verdict and consider a response supporting
the connectional covenant. The assembly, which gathers every four years, will
meet April 27-May 7.

"It is my persistent and fervent prayer that the lay and clergy delegates to
the upcoming General Conference will find a way to be redemptive while
holding steadfast to that which affirms the highest standards of sexual
expression," Pennel said. He also said he hopes General Conference finds a
way to "hold this jury accountable for its misinterpretation of our Book of
Discipline."

The verdict is testing the unity of the church in a new way, said Florida
Bishop Timothy Whitaker. A breach of the connectional covenant by one part of
the church does not destroy it for the entire church, but it could have
repercussions, he said. 

One violation of the covenant does not amount to schism in the church, nor
should schism be a serious danger at this time, he wrote. Nevertheless, the
breach "does create anxiety among United Methodists that in the future there
could be a breakdown of the order and discipline of the United Methodist
Church, which might result in a schism of the visible and physical unity of
the church."
 
Northwest Texas Bishop Max Whitfield said his initial reaction to the verdict
was a "less-than-complimentary" emotional explosion, but he also noted that
the United Methodist Church is still in place and he remains confident about
the church's future.

God's spirit will guide and direct those elected from around the world to
appropriately respond, Whitfield said. "Speculating on what that guidance and
response is does not advance the kingdom of God," he said. "However, I remain
confident God works in our lives and in the church. I wait with anticipation
for God's gift prepared for us at General Conference."	 

Pennel requests that United Methodists remember that those on both sides of
"this vexing issue" are God's children, and should be treated with respect
and reverence.

"This issue must not cause us to lose our central focus, which is to make
disciples," he wrote. "We must stay focused on worship, nurture, missions and
evangelism. To be distracted by this one verdict, rather than to be called by
our primary mission, is the greater evil."

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*Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville,
Tenn.

 
 

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United Methodist News Service
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