Growing Effort to Overturn Judicial Council Decision 1032

Friends,
A new website dedicated to overturning Judicial Council Decision 1032, this one cosponsored by the United Methodist Federation for Social Action, is called "Here We Stand". This joins the other excellent website that appeared earlier this week sponsored by an ad hoc group of individuals called "Welcome One Another". I encourage folks to support both efforts.

It is a sign of the growth of a genuine grassroots movement that many and varied organized efforts seem to be springing up spontaneously. Every supporter of LGBT equality in the United Methodist Church needs to take some personal initiative to make their voice heard. Sustained efforts aimed at making the "Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors" theme a reality in the United Methodist Church are needed. Heterosexism is a complicated issue requiring many creative approaches.

Our adversaries like to appeal to the Discipline--but they do not acknowledge that the Discipline cuts both ways. What part of "we implore . . . churches not to reject or condemn lesbian and gay members. . ." [see 2004 Discipline, para. 161G" Pastor Johnson, whose refusal to admit a baptized member of another Christian congregation to membership in the United Methodist Church, not only refused to accept his Bishop's direction to admit the man, he refused to accept the General Conference's expressed desire "not to reject" lesbian and gay persons from the Church. The Judicial Council in decision 1032 usurped the power of the General Conference to legislate for the Church, and threatens to reject all all lesbian and gay members from the Church.

Another aspect of this case that has not been addressed is the way the withholding of church membership is a clear form of "coercion." Our Discipline states, "Moreover we support efforts to stop violence and other forms of coercion against gays and lesbians" [para. 162H]. Pastor Johnson was telling this gay man that he had to become either heterosexual or celibate OR ELSE he could not be a member of the church. This is a clear example of the type of coercion that the major professional associations of psychologists and psychiatrists reject as unethical.