By Pam Brokaw
May 19, 2016 | Portland, Oregon
How will local churches respond as the Council of Bishops prepares a two-year process to discuss a path to include LGBTQI people in all areas of the church?
As an international commission is formed to consider revisions to the Book of Discipline as well as a path to inclusion, how might churches back home engage in conversation on this topic that has long divided the church?
In the Pacific Northwest, Vancouver District Superintendent David Nieda will be meeting with district pastors in Southwest Washington next week to discuss General Conference outcomes. Rev. Nieda believes the church is at a “tipping point” around issues of sexuality and that this is an opportunity for local churches to engage in conversation to understand one another as the commission moves forward amidst a church at odds.
Rev. Nieda, who supports inclusion, sees this as a time to not only tolerate but also celebrate our many differences.
There is no doubt that there are differing views in local churches where some congregations are comfortable supporting LGBTQ inclusion, some speak openly against it, and some generally refrain from the conversation. This can be challenging for pastors who also share varying views. The actions of the Council of Bishops perhaps open a door for all United Methodists to speak openly and in grace-filled ways to one another about their understanding of sexuality and faith.
The continued union of the church is in the balance as pastors and churches have conversations in the weeks and months following this historical General Conference. How will they do this?
“There is a tension between being prophetic and being pastoral; each pastor needs to navigate this within their church context,” Rev. Nieda said. The question is whether churches, as well as the General Conference, can come to agree they are unified as a church and able to celebrate differences. Conversation, he said, is important as communities watch what their churches and leaders will say.
Rev. Nieda said the meeting next week with Vancouver District pastors will focus on what pastors want to talk about, what happened around the issues at General Conference and the tenor of the worldwide gathering. From his perspective, the tenor has changed and The United Methodist Church faces a decision on whether to be a loving family welcoming all its members, including the ones they don’t quite understand or agree with. Or, will the family refuse to be welcoming to all?
Most certainly, reaction to the Bishops’ groundbreaking recommendations to seek an inclusive way is mixed among General Conference attendees.
Shortly after the vote to approve formation of the commission, Rev. Lyda Pierce, of Wesley UMC, in Yakima, Wa., sat outside the conference floor texting in Spanish to congregation members in Eastern Washington. She underscored the varying perspectives in churches and how different communities will read the Bishops’ actions. The action is significant, she said, and represents an opportunity to patiently listen to the stories of others.
Mustering patience is a weary endeavor for some who have long sought a more welcoming church. Young people and pastors in training also question what the church is talking about. Jodi Cartwright, a seminary student at Garrett Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, leaves General Conference wondering why there seem to be so many “non-negotiables.”
“It seems hard to get something done. I thought I’d come and get some answers,” Cartwright said. Discouraged, she will be returning to have a conversation with her 17-year-old son who continues to ask his mother how she can be a part of the church so focused on excluding people.
Local pastor and provisional elder Emma Donohew remembers how she felt at the conclusion of the 2012 General Conference when there did not seem to be a path to inclusion.
This time it’s different, she said. Her words reflected what she saw, even before the vote on the Bishops’ proposal.
“I feel profoundly hopeful,” said Pastor Donohew of Greenlake UMC in Seattle. “I have always understood God’s call in the United Methodist Church. There is a place for me and all God’s people in this. Our denomination has a powerful witness for life in this world.”
With the next General Conference scheduled for 2020, significant work remains for the Council of Bishops to create a commission comprised of diverse views and representative of the worldwide church. The Bishops’ goal is to convene a two- to three-day gathering before the conference in 2020.
In the meantime, how will local churches and United Methodists throughout the world act? What will the conversations look like?
Rev. Nieda believes people faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ have diverse views on how to proceed. Those on all sides find themselves on the same bumpy road, he said. It is time to decide which way to go.
Pam Brokaw serves as pastor at the Castle Rock and Winlock United Methodist Churches in Washington. She is a member of the PNW Media team serving at General Conference 2016.
