The United Methodist Reporter ~ The independent source for news, features, and commentary about the United Methodist Church ~ Friday, 25 October 2013
Council of Bishops Executive Committee urges Talbert to refrain from same-sex wedding by Jay Voorhees, Executive Editor
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Executive Committee of the United Methodist Council of Bishops issued a statement today urging Bishop Melvin G. Talbert to refrain from conducting a same-sex wedding service this Saturday in Alabama.
Talbert, a retired bishop and one of the architects of the “Biblical Obedience” movement of the Reconciling Ministries Network (an advocacy group promoting full inclusion of GLBT persons in the United Methodist Church), has announced that he will officiate at the ceremony in metro Birmingham for Joe Openshaw and Bobby Prince. While Alabama does not legally recognize same-sex marriage, the two men were legally married in Washington D.C. in September and are wanting a church ceremony with friends and family in their home state. Talbert announced several weeks ago that he would preside at that ceremony.
The Council of Bishops Executive Committee appealed to the teaching of the United Methodist Book of Discipline, which governs the practice of ministry for United Methodist clergy and bishops.
“The bishops of the church are bound together in a covenant and all ordained elders are committed to uphold the Book of Discipline,” the committee wrote. “‘Conducting ceremonies which celebrate homosexual unions; or performing same-sex wedding ceremonies’ are chargeable offenses in the United Methodist Church. (¶2702.1.b)”
The Executive Committee affirmed North Alabama Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett’s request to Talbert that he not come to the Birmingham Area to conduct the service, while also acknowledging Talbert’s long history of leadership in the United Methodist Church.
“We have taken this action with deep respect for Bishop Talbert’s intention to serve as a pastor for United Methodists who experience themselves as excluded because of decisions of the General Conference”, the committee wrote. ”We also know that Bishop Wallace-Padgett is the caring shepherd of all people in the congregations in the North Alabama Conference. We are united in believing in the sacred worth of all people.”
The Executive Committee urged all United Methodists to be in prayer for one another and for the world as this situation progresses.
The members of the Council of Bishops Executive Committee are: Rosemarie Wenner, Warner H. Brown Jr., Robert E. Hayes, Jr., Peter Weaver, Mary Ann Swenson, Larry M. Goodpaster, Bruce Ough, Michael Lowry, L. Jonathan Holston, Marcus Matthews, Michael McKee, David Yemba, Sudarshana Devadhar, Deborah Kiesey, Janice Riggle Huie, and Paul Leeland.
Click here to read the entire statement.
Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church
100 Maryland Ave. NE
Washington, D.C. 20002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 23, 2013
Executive Committee Issues Statement on Same Gender Ceremony Planned by Bishop Talbert
Washington, D.C.: (BACKGROUND: Retired United Methodist Bishop Melvin G. Talbert has announced
plans to conduct a same gender marriage ceremony on Saturday, October 26, 2013, in Birmingham,
Alabama. The Executive Committee of the United Methodist Council of Bishops has issued the following
statement.)
“The mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Local
churches provide the most significant arena through which disciple-making occurs.” (BOD – ¶ 120). This
is the core of our self-understanding as The United Methodist Church. We are called to be part of God’s
mission movement in all places of the world where our congregations happen to be located.
As a church that serves in four continents, in numerous languages and multiple cultures, we live with
different opinions in many issues including human sexuality. Yet we seek ways to walk together in
obedience to God’s call, united in Christ who heals the brokenness of the world and of the church. We are
committed to organizing our life by following the Book of Discipline which is discussed and decided every
four years at General Conference. As bishops, we are called to serve “in special covenant with all other
bishops” (¶ 422.1) in order to offer “the oversight of the spiritual and temporal affairs of the whole
church.”(¶ 422.3)
The bishops of the church are bound together in a covenant and all ordained elders are committed to
uphold the Book of Discipline. "Conducting ceremonies which celebrate homosexual unions; or
performing same-sex wedding ceremonies" are chargeable offenses in the United Methodist Church.
(¶2702.1.b) The Executive Committee of the Council of Bishops has urged Bishop Melvin Talbert not to
perform the same-gender marriage in Birmingham, Alabama. Furthermore, the Resident Bishop Debra
Wallace-Padgett has requested him not to come to the Birmingham Area for this purpose.
We have taken this action with deep respect for Bishop Talbert’s intention to serve as a pastor for United
Methodists who experience themselves as excluded because of decisions of the General Conference.
We also know that Bishop Wallace-Padgett is the caring shepherd of all people in the congregations in
the North Alabama Conference. We are united in believing in the sacred worth of all people.
We will continue to stay in honest and respectful conversation in the Council of Bishops on how to lead
the church to live out the call to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. We
commit ourselves to live in loving and respectful relationships with one another and with all United
Methodists and all people of faith. Through Christ, we are one in the Spirit even though we are not always
of one mind. We ask all United Methodists to pray for one another and for the world, trusting that God
who reconciled the world will enable us and all Christians to strive for peace and justice for all.
###
About the Council of Bishops
The Council of Bishops provides leadership and helps set the direction of the 12 million-member church
and its mission throughout the world. The bishops are the top clergy leaders of The United Methodist
Church, the second largest Protestant denomination in the U.S.
Contact: Diane Degnan ddegnan@umcom.org
(615) 742-5406 (office) (615) 483-1765 (cell)
The Rev. Jay Voorhees is the Executive Editor of The United Methodist Reporter and a managing partner of CircuitWriter Media LLC which operates this site and www.methoblog.com. In addition Jay is the pastor of the Old Hickory United Methodist Church located in Northeast Nashville.
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Bishop Talbert refuses Council of Bishops request
In a report at al.com, Bishop Melvin G. Talbert has announced that he will be not be following the request of the United Methodist Council of Bishops and Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett to refrain from conducting a same-sex marriage celebration this Saturday:
In response to requests from Wallace-Padgett and the executive committee of the United Methodist Council of Bishops not to do the service, Talbert has informed them he plans to go ahead with the service against their wishes.
“I’ve had to say to both I regret that I cannot honor their request,” Talbert said.
via First United Methodist bishop to preside at gay wedding defies Alabama bishop’s request | AL.com.
Talbert couched his refusal in terms of the church’s call to offer hospitality:
“We as the church have the privilege of inviting people to come to God’s table, but we do not say which ones can and which ones can’t,” Bishop Talbert told AL.com. “They are all created in the image of God. They all have a place at God’s table. They should not be excluded.”
The wedding service will be held this Saturday, October 26 at the Covenant Community Church (UCC) at 4:30 p.m. Talbert is also scheduled to speak at the Brownsville United Methodist Church at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, October 27.
Click here to read the full story at al.com.
First United Methodist bishop to preside at gay wedding defies Alabama bishop's request (Greg Garrison)
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Retired United Methodist Bishop Melvin Talbert said he will arrive in Birmingham on Friday to preside at a gay wedding on Saturday, Oct. 26. It will be the first public same-sex wedding presided over by a United Methodist bishop, he said.
"We as the church have the privilege of inviting people to come to God's table, but we do not say which ones can and which ones can't," Bishop Talbert told AL.com. "They are all created in the image of God. They all have a place at God's table. They should not be excluded."
Joe Openshaw, 59, and Bobby Prince, 54, were married Sept. 3 in Washington, D.C., where same-sex unions are legal. They aren't legal in Alabama, but the couple wanted a church ceremony that their friends and families could attend. "This is strictly a church ceremony," Talbert said. "It has nothing to do with the state. I am simply representing the church."
Talbert agreed to officiate the wedding despite a request from North Alabama Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett and other United Methodist bishops that he refrain from doing the ceremony, which is against United Methodist church law. The United Methodist Book of Discipline says that homosexuality is "incompatible with Christian teaching."
In response to requests from Wallace-Padgett and the executive committee of the United Methodist Council of Bishops not to do the service, Talbert has informed them he plans to go ahead with the service against their wishes.
"I've had to say to both I regret that I cannot honor their request," Talbert said.
The United Methodist Church has maintained a policy against ordaining active homosexuals and against blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples.
"The Book of Discipline was written by man," Openshaw said. "It has been changed over the years, with changing views on slavery and women in the church. This is another place where we feel it needs to be changed. There's too much harm being done to young people by the harmful words in the Book of Discipline."
The wedding ceremony will be held Saturday afternoon at Covenant Community Church in Center Point, which is affiliated with the United Church of Christ, a mainline Protestant denomination that blesses same-sex unions. The pastor there, the Rev. J.R. Finney, will help officiate. A prayer service will precede the ceremony.
"Even though this wedding is truly about Bobby's and my commitment, we hope to start a conversation," said Openshaw, a former chair of Equality Alabama. "We wanted to have a local ceremony our family and friends could attend, to show that we are a family to the broader community."
Openshaw and Prince are members of Discovery United Methodist Church in Hoover. Openshaw said they have been together as a couple for 12 years. "I grew up in the United Methodist Church," Openshaw said. "I did leave the church for awhile after coming out." But when they joined Discovery Church two years ago, they were welcomed, he said. "We joined as a couple," he said. "We got nothing but positive responses. We are not the only same-sex couple that has joined. Two other male couples are members, and a female couple are active. Discovery was founded 20 years ago to be a church for the unchurched, for people who felt they were rejected. Our acceptance there has upheld that tradition."
Openshaw and Prince started a book discussion group at the church that began with a 2011 book, "Adam's Gift: A Memoir of a Pastor’s Calling to Defy the Church’s Persecution of Lesbians and Gays," written by former Methodist minister Jimmy Creech. Creech was defrocked for officiating same-sex blessing ceremonies. The book study group has now become a hospitality group and reconciling ministry for the church, Openshaw said.
Talbert said that at the 2012 United Methodist General Conference, he stood up and announced his support for what he calls Biblical Obedience, quoting Micah 6:6-8 and Mark 12:28-31. The prophet Micah said God requires justice, mercy and to walk humbly with God.
Jesus in Mark 12 says that the greatest of all commandments is to love God with all your heart, soul and mind, and the second is to love your neighbor as yourself.
"I take those two passages and say all other laws that tend to restrict people in church are not supported by the Bible in Jesus' message of love and grace," Talbert said. He said he announced at the General Conference that he would be willing to conduct same-sex union ceremonies. "I called for biblical obedience," he said. "I said if the opportunity provided itself, I would do it."
Several United Methodist clergy have been charged with violating the Book of Discipline by officiating same-sex unions.
Talbert said he even knows of some bishops who have privately done same-sex unions in secret. Talbert said he will be the first to do it openly and he's willing to risk being charged with breaking church law. "I'm still accountable," Talbert said. "There's a process for filing complaints for any person who has a leadership role in the church. I expect that to happen. It's not something I take lightly. There's no prescribed penalty. The most serious one would be to get stripped of orders. I'm prepared to allow my peers to look at my life and ministry and decide what is best for the church."
Talbert said he was at the 1972 United Methodist General Conference in Atlanta that adopted the statement that homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. It has been debated at every General Conference, the denomination's policy-making body, every four years since then.
"The church has been struggling with it that long," Talbert said. Talbert became a bishop in 1980 and retired in 2000. He was a bishop in Seattle for eight years and San Francisco for 12 years. He was bishop of the California-Nevada Conference when 68 clergy performed a joint same-sex wedding ceremony in 1999.
"People are still doing it," Talbert said. "There are several trials across the church right now in process and I expect many more."
United Methodist clergy across the country do same-sex unions privately, Talbert said.
"The time has come for us to pull the cover off and be honest with ourselves," he said. "At every level of this church there are people serving in partnered relationships, but we don't talk about it. As long as we don't talk about it, it's okay. I find that to be hypocritical."
Those who are gay but want to become clergy have to hide their identities, Talbert said. "As long as they keep it quiet, they are being ordained," Talbert said. "It's happening. They are forced to stay in the closet. They are frightened, in fear, afraid somebody's going to out them."
The social change on acceptance of homosexuality has had to overcome outdated cultural norms promoted by the church, Talbert said.
"The church has said a lot of things down through the ages; the church has been on the wrong side of issues, such as the role and place of black people," he said. "The Methodist church split over the issue of slavery. The church was on the wrong side when it said it would not ordain women. It's just painful that generation after geneation, we have to find somebody to exclude to feel that we are important and significant. That's not who God is. Jesus lived on the margins. He invited all to come."
Talbert said he regrets that Saturday's ceremony cannot be held in a United Methodist church.
"It pains me deeply," Talbert said. "These are loyal United Methodist people. Their own church cannot afford them the courtesy they deserve."
Traditionally Christians have quoted two passages in Leviticus, 18:22 and 20:13-14, to say that homosexuality is an abomination against God. Leviticus says that if a man shall lie with a man, "they shall both be put to death." Paul's writings in the New Testament, Romans 1:26-27 on men lusting after men, and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, which refers to fornicators, are also cited to show biblical condemnation of homosexuality.
Theologians who argue for acceptance of homosexuality say those passages are taken out of context, and that the overarching message of the Bible is a welcoming love for all.
As society has shifted toward greater acceptance of homosexuality, with many states now allowing gay marriage, theology has shifted as well.
"The way society has changed has allowed us to do this," Openshaw said. "The church has just been misguided all along. People were wrong in the interpretation of those passages."
Openshaw said he's glad that a bishop of the church was willing to take this public stand. "It is a first," Openshaw said. "It's not going to be the last. I do feel others will follow this. We can be an inspiration to young people who are hoping for change, who have left church and want to come back to a church that includes them."
Recently Read
Recently Read posts are stories the editors of The United Methodist Reporter have found interesting from other sites and wanted to share with our readers. The editors do not necessarily endorse the opinions shared in these stories, and referral here should not imply endorsement of that content.
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Aging Well: Valuing seniors as a counter-cultural act of love(Missy Buchanan, UMR Columnist)
A few years ago I was having coffee and casual conversation with the marketing director of a large retirement community that has both independent and assisted living facilities on its well-manicured campus. She was a vivacious forty-something woman who was struggling to meet her quarterly sales quota. In a moment of frustration, she blurted out her concern about attracting active older adults to her community.
“I think the biggest obstacle for potential clients is the number of walkers and canes they see when they come for a visit. No one wants to be reminded that they might end up like that,” she complained. “I wish we didn’t have so many residents who use walkers. It’s such a turn-off,” she said matter-of-factly.
I gulped and felt my stomach do a flip-flop. I couldn’t help but think that her attitude has been birthed in our culture’s perception of aging— that growing older is something to be shunned.
Now don’t get me wrong. This young woman must have felt great pressure to market her senior living community to active older adults who imagine themselves ballroom dancing and taking cruises to the Caribbean, not shuffling along or stooping. But her comment and tone highlight the dilemma faced by many seniors— that they are somehow to blame for their own physical decline. That they should be hidden away so they don’t make others uncomfortable.
As I travel across the country to speak at retirement communities and churches, I see this conflict played out again and again. Many seniors tell me that they are tired of people trying to convince them that age is only a number and that growing old is all fun and games.
“We are not stupid,” one eighty-three year-old woman told me. “I wish people wouldn’t treat us as though we are so naïve as to believe we will never decline physically. Though none of us want that to happen, most of us are already experiencing it to some degree or another. What we really want is the assurance that we will still be valued no matter our circumstances.”
It got me thinking about something I read in the social media not long ago. An associate minister voiced his concern about the number of walkers in the narthex of his church on Sunday morning. It seemed the problem wasn’t a matter of space or storage. To him, the line of walkers was a big negative to young families who were visiting the church. He said the image gave the impression that it is an old and dying church.
So what’s a church to do?
I am concerned that the church may be falling prey to a culture that will do almost anything to deny the realities of aging. Shouldn’t the church, of all places, be a counter-cultural influence, demonstrating God’s perspective on aging? Instead of viewing that line of walkers as a symbol of decline and death, shouldn’t we be helping others recognize the perseverance and faithfulness of older generations? Shouldn’t we be showing visitors that a vibrant, healthy church embraces and values people of all ages?
One Sunday morning a few months ago, I got misty-eyed as I watched an acolyte retrieve an older woman’s walker from where it was stored in the narthex. Usually a church member or an usher roll it to her, but on this Sunday morning as we sang the last verse of the congregational hymn, the young acolyte carefully pushed it down the aisle to where older woman was sitting. I watched as she looked up at the youngster, smiled and gently patted his hand.
I am confident that my minister preached a great sermon that morning, but to be honest, I don’t recall the message. What I do remember is the grin on that acolyte’s face as he returned to the narthex.
Missy Buchanan is a sought-after speaker on topics of older adult ministry and spiritual creativity, she brings passion and humor to many events for churches, organizations, and women’s groups. She has appeared on Good Morning America with co-host Robin Roberts and is the author of books including Living with Purpose in a Worn-Out Body: Spiritual Encouragement for Older Adults, Talking with God in Old Age: Meditations and Psalms, and Don’t Write My Obituary Just Yet: Inspiring Faith Stories for Older Adults. She has written for many publications including Presbyterians Today, Mature Years, Christian Association Serving Adults Ministries, Entrepreneur, and The Dallas Morning News.
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Good News responds to plans for same-sex union by Pennsylvania 30 (Jay Voorhees, Executive Editor)
Good News, an evangelical/conservative advocacy group in the United Methodist Church (UMC), released a statement today responding to the announcement last week that 30 UMC clergy would be presiding over a same-sex union service as a sign of solidarity with the Rev. Frank Schaefer. Schaefer will be tried by a church court in November for his leadership in a same-sex wedding for his son.
The Rev. Tom Lambrecht, Vice-President and General Manager of Good News, said that they had release the statement in respond to what they see as “escalating pressure” for acceptance of same-sex marriage in both culture and the church. “I think that those who are promoting same-sex marriage are perceiving a cultural moment of acceptance,” Lambrecht said, “and it’s time for people of faith to respond.”
The full text of their statement can be found below:
The plan by more than 30 United Methodist clergy in Eastern Pennsylvania to jointly preside over a same-sex union service represents an escalation in the movement to disregard of our United Methodist Discipline, established from decades of holy conferencing. It is lamentable that an act of worship will once again be used as political theater in an effort to nullify the moral teaching of the church. It appears that covenant breaking and pressure tactics are replacing Scripture and holy conferencing to determine the church’s moral teaching.
We are seriously troubled by the appearance that The United Methodist Church is hopelessly divided on issues of doctrine and morality. It seems that the situation is spiraling swiftly out of control, with this proposed joint service following the first-ever public and flagrant disregard of the Discipline by a bishop. This approach is a slap in the face to all who uphold 2,000 years of Christian moral teaching. Such tactics call into question whether The United Methodist Church can remain together.
For more than 200 years, The United Methodist Church has been committed to a form of polity that preserves church unity and ensures that we remain faithfully engaged in discernment and holy conferencing on a host of contemporary issues, including a right understanding and practice in regard to sexuality and marriage. Such a right understanding and practice are crucial to the church’s mission of making disciples for the transformation of the world. We grieve the enormous loss of time and resources that will be expended dealing with the contemplated joint disobedience and the damage that will be done to the unity of the church.
Many United Methodists will not continue to support a church that is unable or unwilling to enforce its doctrinal and moral standards. We call upon the Council of Bishops to exert clear and consistent leadership in upholding both the process and the product of the church’s holy conferencing over the past 40 years. To allow widespread public schismatic actions to continue with impunity will only confuse our members and betray the church’s polity — signaling further division and compromise with a society that has abandoned biblical moral teaching.
The Rev. Jay Voorhees is the Executive Editor of The United Methodist Reporter and a managing partner of CircuitWriter Media LLC which operates this site and www.methoblog.com. In addition Jay is the pastor of the Old Hickory United Methodist Church located in Northeast Nashville.
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Birmingham couple responds to Council of Bishops’ statement (Jay Voorhees, Executive Editor)
Bobby Prince and Joe Openshaw , the same-sex couple whose celebration of marriage Bishop Melvin G. Talbert will officiate this Saturday, have released a statement in response to the Council of Bishops Executive Committee statement issued earlier this morning. The Executive Committee statement urged Bishop Talbert to refrain from presiding at the service.
Quoted in a story by Kathy Gilbert at at UMCConnections, Openshaw and Prince said that “…there have been lots of press releases, but only Bishop (Mary Ann) Swenson has reached out to us.”
Here is the full text of their statement:
To: The United Methodist Church Council of Bishops and Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett
Dear Bishop Rosemarie Wenner, Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett, and other Council bishops,
Our names are Joe Openshaw and Bobby Prince. We are faithful members of your church.
We read your statement condemning Bishop Talbert for saying “yes” to us after we shared with him our journey and asked him to officiate our wedding. It saddens us that our own pastor was not able to marry us in our church, like heterosexual couples are able to do—even couples who don’t attend our church. Through this whole ordeal, one thing has stood out to us… there have been lots of press releases, but only Bishop Swenson has reached out to us. We reached out to Bishop Wallace-Padgett, but not even our own bishop has wished our relationship and life together well. That brings us to point out hypocrisy in something you claim to hold dear: the importance of covenant.
The Discipline contains multiple covenants for clergy and bishops. The Discipline also contains unjust laws that force clergy to choose between covenants of the special relationship between each other and the covenant to be in ministry with and for all people, including gay people like us. Scripture contains stories of Jesus healing on the Sabbath because ministry with people is at the heart of the Gospel. Does the “special covenant” between bishops overrule our Wesleyan general rule to “do no harm?” Bishops have also been given the duty to serve as a “prophetic voice for justice in a suffering and conflicted world.” In your response to our wedding and Bishop Talbert, how are you and the Council of Bishops upholding your prophetic voice for justice? We believe that Scripture and the Book of Discipline, and the covenants they speak of, are best fulfilled and lived out when read as a whole, than through selected paragraphs.
In your statement you call on us to wait, saying that we should trust “that God who reconciled the world will enable us and all Christians to strive for peace and justice for all.” We do believe God is actively reconciling right now in the actions of Bishop Talbert. Calling on us to wait reminds us of another time when other Methodist bishops condemned someone who was being faithful in Birmingham. The words Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. penned 50 years ago in response to them still ring true today:
We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct action campaign that was “well timed” in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word “Wait!” It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This “Wait” has almost always meant “Never.” We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that “justice too long delayed is justice denied.”
In your statement, you refer to us as “United Methodists who experience themselves as excluded because of decisions of the General Conference.” Please do not try to wash your hands of your complicity in our exclusion. We feel excluded by you and your failure to lead our church. If you are serious about not breaking your covenant with your people, and even with your colleagues, you must proclaim God’s reign of justice here now, and not something voted on every four years. You have the power to change this wrong. You too, like Bishop Talbert, can stand on the side of justice.
Bishops Wenner, Brown, Hayes, Weaver, Goodpaster, other executive Council members, and Wallace-Padgett… we have one request of you. Stop writing about us and look at us. Talk to us. See the humanity and faces of two men who are deeply in love with one another and who are seeking to follow God’s calling to join together in marriage so we can go, therefore, and better show the world what God’s love for God’s people looks like.
Because once you see us, and our love for one another, we believe it will be impossible not to be by our side on our wedding day.
With the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Joe Openshaw and Bobby Prince
The Rev. Jay Voorhees is the Executive Editor of The United Methodist Reporter and a managing partner of CircuitWriter Media LLC which operates this site and www.methoblog.com. In addition Jay is the pastor of the Old Hickory United Methodist Church located in Northeast Nashville.
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Reconciling Ministries Network director responds to the Council of Bishops Executive Committee
In a statement released on RMNBlog (the blog site for the Reconciling Ministries Network(RMN)) Matt Barryman, RMN Executive Director expressed disappointment with the October 23 letter from the United Methodist Council of Bishops Executive Committee asking Bishop Melvin G. Talbert to refrain from performing a same-sex wedding ceremony this Saturday.
Berryman focused particularly on the bishops’ concerns regarding the breaking of the ministerial covenant by Bishop Talbert in disobeying the United Methodist Book of Discipline:
We are concerned that the covenant shared among the bishops does not allow room for critique and seems to require allegiance at the expense of the gospel for which it was created to support and embody. As expressed in the letter, the bishops’ covenant is structured in such a way that censures dissenting parties and silences the voice of the prophet. We cannot imagine how a covenant of this kind serves the church since the unity and peace it seeks to preserve is bereft of justice and therefore not true peace at all.
Click here to read the full text of Berryman’s statement.
RMN executive director responds to Council concerning Birmingham wedding
Dear Executive Committee of the Council of Bishops:
I write to you on behalf of the Reconciling Ministries Network to express our deep disappointment with the letter issued by the Executive Committee of the Council of Bishops on 23 October 2013.
In formally urging Bishop Melvin Talbert not to perform the wedding of Bobby Prince and Joe Openshaw, members of the North Alabama Conference of The United Methodist Church, the Committee rests its authority on the existence of a “special covenant with all other bishops.” While we can understand the benefit and necessity of such a covenant, we are suspicious when the covenant is not measured against its consistency with the Covenant of God’s love for the whole of creation expressed in Jesus Christ. We are concerned that the covenant shared among the bishops does not allow room for critique and seems to require allegiance at the expense of the gospel for which it was created to support and embody. As expressed in the letter, the bishops’ covenant is structured in such a way that censures dissenting parties and silences the voice of the prophet. We cannot imagine how a covenant of this kind serves the church since the unity and peace it seeks to preserve is bereft of justice and therefore not true peace at all.
It is clear that the Holy Spirit is active among her people in liberating them for acts of ministry for the sake of Biblical Obedience. While the church awaits prophetic leadership from among the Council of Bishops on matters pertaining to LGBTQ inclusion in The United Methodist Church, the Spirit has found a willing participant in Bishop Melvin Talbert whose recent announcements and acts of ministry are reflections of his allegiance to the Covenant which rises above all other covenants. We support him and honor his obedience to the Covenant he has made with God even where this obedience is neither acknowledged nor supported by the bishops or the Church.
You rightly acknowledge in your letter that we are not all of one mind and you also acknowledge that we are united in believing together in the sacred worth of all people. To that end, we call on all bishops in The United Methodist Church to lead us toward the creation of a church where the sacred worth of all people is fully realized in our communities and similarly, where all who are called to ministry in the church are equipped and enabled to fulfill their covenant with God in Christ.
In the peace of Christ,
Matt Berryman
Executive Director,
The Reconciling Ministries Network
Recently Read
Recently Read posts are stories the editors of The United Methodist Reporter have found interesting from other sites and wanted to share with our readers. The editors do not necessarily endorse the opinions shared in these stories, and referral here should not imply endorsement of that content.
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Christian Beard Wars
Ted Olsen at Christianity Today on The Wars Over Christian Beards.
Beards—especially among clergy—were once serious, symbolic matters. They separated East from West during the Great Schism, priests from laity during the Middle Ages, and Protestants from Catholics during the Reformation. Some church leaders required them; others banned them. To medieval theologians, they represented both holiness and sin.
The Wars Over Christian Beards
Church leaders have almost always faced off over pastors' shaving habits.
You're more likely to see a beard in the pulpit today than at any time since the 1800s. But beards—especially among clergy—were once serious, symbolic matters. They separated East from West during the Great Schism, priests from laity during the Middle Ages, and Protestants from Catholics during the Reformation. Some church leaders required them; others banned them. To medieval theologians, they represented both holiness and sin. But historian Giles Constable says that rules on beards sound more forceful than they really were. Clergy (especially powerful ones) were likely to follow fashion in their day, too.
c. 195
Clement of Alexandria calls the beard "the mark of a man" and says "it is therefore unholy to desecrate the symbol of manhood." Many other church fathers made similar remarks about beardly manliness. But most early church clergy were either beardless or had a closely trimmed beard.
361
Roman Emperor Julian sports a beard to show his break with the shaven Christian emperors before him, and to mark his connection to pagan Roman religion.
c. 411
Euthymius says only men with a beard can enter his Judean Desert monastery, not boys "with female faces."
c. 475
A rule is made that "no cleric should grow long hair or shave his beard." It's very out of step with its time, and several copyists simply changed it to "No cleric should grow long hair or [a long] beard." It seems to have been ignored in its day but became widely referenced in the 1100s and 1200s.
816
The Council of Aachen requires monks to shave every 15 days (24 times a year). Other monastic communities adopt similar rules, though some only require a shave six or seven times a year. But hermits and other ascetics don't have to follow such rules and become famous for their long beards.
867
Reflecting growing tension between East and West, Pope Nicholas I writes to French bishops that Eastern church leaders were critical that "among us, clerics do not refuse to shave their beards."
868
Eneas, bishop of Paris, writes Liber Adversus Graecos (Book Against the Greeks), and complains that Eastern leaders "accused the Latins and Romans because they shave their beards."
868
Ratramnus, a Frankish Benedictine monk who would later inspire several figures in the Protestant Reformation, defends priestly shaving against Eastern church leaders who required beards. He argued that these beards may violate Paul's rule against long hair. And besides, "if it is a sin, or a transgression against the divine law, to cut the beard let [the Greeks] say why the prophet [Ezekiel] shaved his beard at the order of the Lord (Ezek. 5:1), why the Nazarenes [Nazarites] followed this custom, why finally the apostles did not fear this custom."
Early 1000s
Full beards come briefly back into style, but fall out of style by mid-century. This leads some older mid-century church leaders, nostalgic for beards, to associate shaving with immodesty. As one abbot wrote in 1043, the empire in Germany was besieged by "the shameful custom of the vulgar French … in the cutting of beards, in the shortening and deforming of clothing, execrable to modest eyes, and many other novelties." Half a century later, writers associated immodesty with beards, not shaving. One English Benedictine monk wrote, "Now almost all our fellow countrymen are crazy and wear little beards, openly proclaiming by such a token that they revel in filthy lusts like stinking goats."
1005
In England, the Canons of Edgar say no priest should "retain his beard for any time." A similar law is made in Northumbria three years later.
1031
The Council of Bourges unequivocally mandates "a shaved beard" for "all who minister within the Holy Church."
July 16, 1054
In what would mark the split between Eastern and Western Christianity, a French cardinal delivers a papal bull excommunicating the Patriarch of Constantinople. The document's list of "heresies" ends by citing the churches' division over beards: "Because they grow the hair on their head and beards, they will not receive in communion those who tonsure their hair and shave their beards following the decreed practice of the Roman Church."
c. 1060
Benedictine monk Otloh of St. Emmeram tells the story of a man accused of stealing a horse. A priest called to prepare the man for confession points out another "sin": "Although you are a layman and should go about with your beard unshaven in the manner of laymen, you have nevertheless, in contempt of divine law, shaved your beard just like a cleric." Seeking absolution, the man promises, "Never again shall a razor touch my beard." But a short time later he shaved, noting that his promise applied only to razors, not to sharp knives. "Divine vengeance swiftly followed such presumption," wrote Otloh. "For soon afterwards, he was captured by his enemies and deprived of sight when his eyes were gouged out."
Oct. 5, 1080
Attempting to Romanize the formerly Greek church in Sardinia, Pope Gregory VII notes that he has forced the archbishop to shave his beard "as the clergy of the whole Western church have had the custom of shaving the beard from the very origins of the Christian faith." All local clergy were ordered to do likewise.
1096
The archbishop of Rouen threatens to excommunicate anyone with a beard (or with long hair), not just clerics.
c. 1160
Abbot Burchard of Bellavaux writes Apologia de Barbis, a treatise on the biblical, theological, moral, social, and allegorical implications of beards. As a clerical monk, Burchard had a shaved face. And in an earlier letter he had (mostly by accident) insulted the "lay brothers" who wore beards. He wrote his Apologia, he said, to make amends and to explain why their beards were so great. But the work itself suggests that he thought beards were appropriate for lay brothers but inferior to the shaved faces of clerical monks (just as he thought their vocations were inferior).
c. 1170
Pope Alexander III bars clerical beards. "Although the canonical rules prohibiting beards and requiring shaving remained in force, and were indeed reenacted throughout the Middle Ages, they were widely disregarded, especially by the higher clergy," Giles Constable wrote in his definitive history of medieval beards. "Even long beards seem to have been fashionable at the papal court at the time of the Reformation."
1531
Piero Valeriano Bolzani writes Pro Sacerdotum Barbis, a defense of priestly beards, after Pope Clement VII (who grew a beard to mourn the sack of Rome in 1527) threatened to renew calls for clerical shaving.
July 6, 1535
At his beheading, Sir Thomas More reportedly set his beard away from his neck on the chopping block. "My beard has not been guilty of treason," he said. "It would be an injustice to punish it."
1535
Henry VIII taxes beards.
1547
Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer begins to grow a beard, ostensibly to mark his mourning of the death of King Henry VIII, but also to signal a break with the (beardless) Catholic clergy.
1830
Pastor George Trask of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, preaches against the "vain" (and rare) beard of congregant Joseph Palmer, and demands that he shave it off. When Trask denies Palmer Communion, Palmer grabs the chalice and drinks it anyway, shouting, "I love my Jesus as well, and better than any of you!" After he was jailed for fighting off attackers who tried to cut off his beard, Palmer (and his beard) became a New England cause célèbre.
March 5, 1864
Punch runs a series of caricatures of the different kinds of Anglican clergy beards in the UK, noting that they're not found among Catholics or dissenting Christians (like Baptists and Congregationalists). "The Barbine Movement is altogether the property of the Establishment," the satirical paper wrote. "No Popish priest in this country has entrenched upon this prerogative. The Dissenters shave in gloomy silence, leaving this noble field of ecclesiastical adornment to the Clergy of the Establishment." (CT sister publication Out of Ur ran a similar, contemporary taxonomy of beards in February.)
1942
"We have now for many centuries triumphed over nature to the extent of making certain secondary characteristics of the male (such as the beard) disagreeable to nearly all the females—and there is more in that than you might suppose." —C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters.
c. 1970
Several Christian colleges bar beards, especially among faculty, over their association with protest movements.
July 21, 2013
Saddleback Church hosts a contest for "Most Magnificent Beard and Most Pathetic Beard" as Duck Dynasty's barbate Phil Robertson and his beardless son, Alan, preach.
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thoughtfulpastor: The General Rules as Interpreted by my Confirmation Class by Christy Thomas
Wesley’s General Rules provide wonderful basic guidelines to Christian living. The rules read this way:
First: By doing no harm, by avoiding evil of every kind, especially that which is most generally practiced, such as:
Secondly: By doing good; by being in every kind merciful after their power; as they have opportunity, doing good of every possible sort, and, as far as possible, to all men:
Thirdly: By attending upon all the ordinances of God; such as:
Notice that each general rule segues into a list of things that Wesley found particularly egregious in human conduct of the day. The expansion to those rules is at the end of this post, in case you are curious about these things.
I have been teaching the General Rules to the Confirmation Class. So far, we’ve only worked on the first two, and I thought it would be helpful if the youth themselves would expand them in order to cover the issues that these young people face day to day.
So, I gave each of them a stack of sticky notes and a pen and told them to write out their own and place them on the board every time they thought of a rule. Basic guideline: they could only write what they themselves were willing to be held accountable for and were willing to do—or not to do.
After the usual blank stares that such an assignment elicits in the vague and brain-mush world of the 12-15 year old, they set to work. The results are below. I just wish our governmental leaders had as much wisdom as do my confirmands.
I present to you proudly (and in no particular order), “The Wesleyan General Rules as interpreted by the 2013 Confirmation Class at Krum First United Methodist Church.”
Don’t steal.
Don’t do wrong.
No bullying!
Don’t pull out your eyelashes with sticky notes
Do not enable the wrong doings of others
Don’t be mean (like Vader)
Don’t text and drive (reiterated several times)
NO EVIL!
No cheating anyone out of money
No being rude to people.
Don’t be disrespectful of others.
No bullying. (this is a huge issue and was noted multiple times)
No killing.
No cursing.
No ISS (In School Suspension).
Be nice to people..
Do NOT kill or hurt. (This was another big one—they are very much against killing!)
Be a good friend.
Don’t be extremely wicked.
Don’t be EVIL.
Don’t use god’s name in vain (ex: Oh My God!)
Don’t steal from any one at any time.
Don’t have bad sportsmanship.
Don’t talk down to others.
Do not be a mean person.
Do not be mean to God.
No drug selling or smuggling.
Do not cause harm to other people, physically or mentally.
No burning of wildlife out of nowhere.
Do understand the situation of others.
Do not burn the Bible.
Do not cuss at anyone.
Be nice!
Do not rob.
It can wait!
Do not raise your voice.
Do not damage property.
Do not dislike anyone.
Share what you have.
No judging before getting to know someone, but try not to judge period.
No drunkenness, selling what is not yours
No fighting or quarrelling.
No gossip.
Use appropriate language.
Keep up with fashion!
Don’t hurt people’s feelings.
Love your pastor and follow their guidance. (My favorite, of course)
Lead others but don’t drive others.
Don’t get more detentions.
Don’t treat others poorly when you don’t want to be treated poorly.
Try to be loving to one another.
Do not harm others physically.
Be open to people of all races.
Love animals and don’t yell at them.
Do not smoke in God’s house. Actually, just don’t smoke.
Do not talk about others in a bad way.
Love people and forgive them.
Listen to Jesus in your heart.
Don’t judge people like bookcovers.
Do not harm animals.
Do not fight.
Do not speed in Krum.
Obey law enforcement.
No sex until marriage.
Do not be racist.
For comparison, here are the original expansions of the rules:
First: By doing no harm, by avoiding evil of every kind, especially that which is most generally practiced, such as:
The taking of the name of God in vain.
The profaning the day of the Lord, either by doing ordinary work therein or by buying or selling.
Drunkenness: buying or selling spirituous liquors, or
drinking them, unless in cases of extreme necessity.
Slaveholding; buying or selling slaves.
Fighting, quarreling, brawling, brother going to law with brother; returning evil for evil, or railing for railing; the using many words in buying or selling.
The buying or selling goods that have not paid the duty.
The giving or taking things on usury—i.e., unlawful interest.
Uncharitable or unprofitable conversation; particularly speaking evil of magistrates or of ministers.
Doing to others as we would not they should do unto us.
Doing what we know is not for the glory of God, as:
The putting on of gold and costly apparel.
The taking such diversions as cannot be used in the name of the Lord Jesus.
The singing those songs, or reading those books, which do not tend to the knowledge or love of God.
Softness and needless self-indulgence.
Laying up treasure upon earth.
Borrowing without a probability of paying; or
taking up goods without a probability of paying for them.
Secondly: By doing good; by being in every kind merciful after their power; as they have opportunity, doing good of every possible sort, and, as far as possible, to all men:
To their bodies, of the ability which God giveth, by giving food to the hungry, by clothing the naked, by visiting or helping them that are sick or in prison.
To their souls, by instructing, reproving, or exhorting all we have any intercourse with; trampling under foot that
enthusiastic doctrine that “we are not to do good unless our hearts be free to it.”
By doing good, especially to them that are of the household of faith or groaning so to be; employing them preferably to others; buying one of another, helping each other in business, and so much the more because the world will love its own and them only.
By all possible diligence and frugality, that the gospel be not blamed.
By running with patience the race which is set before them, denying themselves, and taking up their cross daily; submitting to bear the reproach of Christ, to be as the filth and offscouring of the world; and looking that men should say all manner of evil of them falsely, for the Lord’s sake.
Thirdly: By attending upon all the ordinances of God; such as:
The public worship of God.
The ministry of the Word, either read or expounded.
The Supper of the Lord.
Family and private prayer.
Searching the Scriptures.
Fasting or abstinence.
These are the General Rules of our societies; all of which we are taught of God to observe, even in his written Word, which is the only rule, and the sufficient rule, both of our faith and practice. And all these we know his Spirit writes on truly awakened hearts. If there be any among us who observe them not, who habitually break any of them, let it be known unto them who watch over that soul as they who must give an account.
We will admonish him of the error of his ways. We will bear with him for a season. But then, if he repent not, he hath no more place among us. We have delivered our own souls.
~~~
Coal Burned Lips: Steven Furtick and Pointing Fingers by JB
If you live in North Carolina, you may have heard Steven Furtick’s name in the news recently. Rev Furtick is the pastor of Elevation Church, a growing mega-church in the Charlotte area. Turns out, he’s building a house. Normally this wouldn’t be big news; people build houses all the time. But this house is pretty big. It’s probably pretty average for Charlotte suburb standards (I’m not a realtor nor do I know anything about real estate) but people get a bit antsy when a pastor builds a big house. Because pastors aren’t supposed to be in it for the money.
People are getting even more antsy because there are questions about the finances for the house. Not everything seems to add up right; boundaries may have been crossed. There appears to be a lack of accountability and neither the church nor Steven Furtick are saying much.
The story has been shared all over social media, especially among pastors. I found myself wanting to post as well. No, I don’t think this story reflects the kind of life Christians are called to live. Yes, I agree that this reflects poorly on clergy. And yes, I too am glad that I serve in a denomination with levels of accountability to prevent such problems.
And you know, it felt really good to point a finger at a pastor doing wrong. “Look at that pastor over there! Look at them handling money improperly! Look, look, look! Thank God I’m not like that pastor.”
Then I remembered the Gospel passage for this Sunday: Luke 18:9-14.T he parable of a Pharisee and a tax collector praying in the temple. And what does Jesus say? “for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 8:14)
And I remembered that while I may not look wealthy compared to some in America, I’m doing just fine. And compared to many, I’m living large.
So to Rev. Furtick and the leaders of Elevation Church, do consider the effect your building project is having on others. I’d appreciate avoiding another painful reminder of my own pride.
~~~
Kyrie Eleison: Opening Devotional Delivered at Kentucky Council of Churches Assembly by Sky McCracken
Acts 17:16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw the city full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who met him. 18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also‡ were conversing with him. Some said, “What does this babbler want to say?”
Others said, “He seems to be advocating foreign deities,” because he preached Yeshua and the resurrection.
19 They took hold of him, and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is, which is spoken by you? 20 For you bring certain strange things to our ears. We want to know therefore what these things mean.” 21 Now all the Athenians and the strangers living there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell or to hear some new thing.
22 Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus, and said, “You men of Athens, I perceive that you are very religious in all things. 23 For as I passed along, and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ What therefore you worship in ignorance, this I announce to you. 24 The God who made the world and all things in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands, 25 neither is he served by men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself gives to all life and breath, and all things. 26 He made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the surface of the earth, having determined appointed seasons, and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 that they should seek the Lord, if perhaps they might reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live, and move, and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring.’ 29 Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold, or silver, or stone, engraved by art and design of man. 30 The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked. But now he commands that all people everywhere should repent, 31 because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained; of which he has given assurance to all men, in that he has raised him from the dead.”
32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked; but others said, “We want to hear you again concerning this.”
33 Thus Paul went out from among them. 34 But certain men joined with him, and believed, among whom also was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.(Messianic WEB)
dialegomai - ("getting a conclusion across") occurs 13 times in the NT, usually of believers exercising "dialectical reasoning." This is the process of giving and receiving information with someone to reach deeper understanding – a "going back-and-forth" of thoughts and ideas so people can better know the Lord, His word, and His will.
Dialogue — defined as “the flow of meaning that requires people to listen respectfully, suspend judgment, offer a full hearing and seek common ground and mutual understanding — to a variety of interpersonal and public communication forums.” (Kim Phipps, president of Messiah College). She continues:
...common ground does not require individuals to surrender strongly held convictions or values, and it does not mean that we cannot engage in debate with people with whom we disagree. But it does mean that both the speaker and the listener commit to articulating their positions in a respectful and thoughtful manner as they earnestly seek to discover points of shared understanding.
In an age of contentious presidential debates, pundit panels and polarizing conversations taking place among state and federal government leaders, the process of citizens engaging in constructive listening, articulating carefully considered positions and determining appropriate actions should be at the very heart of who we are as a nation and a regional community.
My brothers and sisters - that is an ideal. But it is not the current reality. With MSNBC and Fox News, Democratic and Republican members of congress, and several other polar entities modeling debate and discussion in our society, civil dialogue is, pardon the phrase, taking a beating.
In my own life, I have two very strong convictions that come from my life in living with Christ. One is capital punishment - in 2000, I served as the pastor to Robert Glen Coe's family; Robert was the first person in Tennessee to be executed in 40 years, and I find our willingness to so easily embrace what is in essence a premeditated murder to be against all New Testament ethical understandings of justice and moral behavior in times of peace. It is a very strongly held conviction for me. Likewise, I also have a strong conviction about abortion - for the same exact ethical and moral reasons. While these public convictions pretty much assure me that I'll never hold public office in either political party, they have often put me into some interesting conversations.
How we choose to enter these conversations - and in what manner - requires those of faith to choose a more excellent way than the ways of our media, political pundits, and politicians. They require us to embrace the biblical understanding of dialogue/ διάλογος: maintaining our convictions, but articulating them in such a manner that we seek to understand at LEAST as well as we seek to be understood. I think it is instructive that when Paul was in Athens, he spoke gently, firmly, yet civily - as he was in a foreign country seeking to bring a foreign Faith to those who would hear.
My brothers and sisters - we who walk in Faith are foreigners in this country; if we are faithful, we will find ourselves as maladjusted as the prophets and as counter-cultural as Jesus. For us to “adjust” to the debate style that is prevalent in our society today is to give up our salt and light - and our unique message of a crucified and risen Christ.
As I good Methodist, I would be remiss if I didn’t quote John Wesley at least once – and in doing so, I would lift up the General Rules that John Wesley gave those small societies who sought to be more faithful: “Do no harm. Do good. Stay in love with God.”
Regardless of the issue.
If we bite and devour each other, we may find ourselves destroying each other - the antithesis of civil dialogue, as well as our prayer for "Thy Kingdom Come, Thy will be done."
Let us pray:
Almighty God - in the beginning was the Word. Your word. Your logos. As we meet during this week, may we seek more to understand than to be understood, to love more than we seek to be loved, and to find relationships with others - those that we know, and especially those that we don't. Bless those who speak this week, and bless us as we hear. May our prayers increase to where we listen more than we speak, and do more for others than ask for You to do for us. All in Your gracious name we pray. Amen.
Sky McCracken+
Opening Devotional - Kentucky Council of Churches
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The United Methodist Reporter
1300 Old Hickory Blvd
Nashville, TN 37138
Telephone: (615) 673-4236
Nashville, TN 37138
Telephone: (615) 673-4236
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