Decision 1032

The Judicial Council decision 1032 which backed up Ed Johnson in his refusal to allow a gay man to join South Hill United Methodist Church.

There are a lot of Methodists that do not want GLBT people to be clergy but do not have an issue with GLBT Christians being full members in the church. There are also plenty on both ends of the spectrum and those who generally don't concern themselves much with what happens beyond their local congregation.

The real change that I think 1032 has stirred is moving some of those folks that generally don't worry about the larger church and the ones that desire full lay member rights but not clergy rights for GLBT people have taken notice.

Several of the people that attended the Reconciling Ministries meetings in Central Arkansas a couple of weeks ago stated that it was decision 1032 that got them interested in the program. There has been a larger than usual number of new Reconciling Congregations & ministries since decision 1032. It appears that the Judicial Council not rehearing the case is spurring another round of groups into action.

I expect that General Conference will address the issue of membership in the church. I do not expect any major changes concerning clergy this coming GC, but I do expect that GC will likely allow lay membership for GLBT people.

Reconciling groups in Arkansas!

I had really wanted to blog about this a couple of weeks ago when a representative of
The Reconciling Ministries Network was in Little Rock. She spoke at 4 events at three different UMC churches.

The Methodist Federation for Social Action of Arkansas is already a Reconciling Community. I was quite surprised at how many churches were represented at the events. I know Quapaw Quarter United Methodist had already discussed becoming a Reconciling Congregation a couple of years ago but had chosen to wait and study before voting to become one. QQUMC may well vote to become an official Reconciling Congregation in at our next charge conference.

Other groups may be affiliated with the Reconciling Ministries Network such as Sunday School Classes. Arkansas may or may not gain any Reconciling Congregations this year but I have no doubt that there will be at least 4 Reconciling Sunday School classes before the end of the year.
(maybe 2 Sunday School classes and one Reconciling Congregation). There are 2 Sunday School classes at QQUMC that will be Reconciling classes if the entire church doesn't officially become reconciling. There are two vibrant Sunday School classes at other churches that are ready to make the move. One of the classes didn't surprise me because I know some of the people that attend the class and it is at the second largest UMC in Little Rock. I was quite surprised to discover that there is a class at a congregation that I had thought was rather conservative that wants to be first.

It appears that Central Arkansas Methodism is more progressive than I had realized. I know that the UMC in Central Arkansas has a long history of being socially active and mission oriented and is more liberal than most other denominations in the area but the amount of interest quite surprised me! I was also quite surprised to find as many people from surrounding smaller cities & towns in attendance at the meetings.

The Miracle of the Spiders

I was pastor of a two point charge in rural Arkansas. The circuit was about 60 miles from home and so much of my time was spent driving to and from home that I felt that I was not well rested for Sunday worship. As a part-time local pastor there was an added 2 hours of drive time involved in any church activity or visitation. I decided that it would be better if I could stay the weekends in the parish. I started looking for a camping trailer. One of the parishioners was selling one at a price that I could afford and another parishioner had spot where I would have well water, septic tank connections and electricity.

The camper was located next to a pasture and did not have air conditioning. Most evenings if I opened all the windows it would be comfortable even in hot weather. One night I was studying the Bible and some lectionary resources and there were lots of little gnats that were small enough to come in through the window screens. They were so annoying that I was unable to continue to study or leave the lights on. I got so frustrated that I slammed the Bible shut and said “Lord, send me some spiders”.

The following Friday my little 5 word prayer was answered in the most unique and unusual way. There were hundreds of tiny spiders in and out of my camper. They were such small spiders that they would not be able to eat anything bigger than a gnat and all of there small webs were attached only around the windows so that I would no longer be troubled by gnats.

Just a quick note for now. My computer at home crashed and I have been quite busy at work. The home PC is back up and running better than ever but work is still busy. I have had quite a lot happen recently to write about, but the funny thing is that when a lot is happening, I have less time to write.

Be back ASAP!