Missionary Renegade: Reconciliation Ministries Network Western Jurisdiction - August Update with Reverend Doctor Israel Alvaran for Tuesday, 16 August 2016 "Hope and healing!"

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Reconciliation Ministries Network Western Jurisdiction - August Update with Reverend Doctor Israel Alvaran for Tuesday, 16 August 2016 "Hope and healing!"

Celebrate hope and pray for healing

Reconciliation Ministries Network Western Jurisdiction - August Update with Reverend Doctor Israel Alvaran for Tuesday, 16 August 2016 "Hope and healing!"

The last time I emailed you, we posed a challenge to delegates to the 2016 Western Jurisdictional Conference to support the election of a qualified LGBTQ candidate. Everyone wanted to elect the most qualified, and they elected Bishop Karen Oliveto unanimously on July 15th. She also happens to be our church's first openly lesbian bishop, married to Deaconess Robin Ridenour! They will serve in the Mountain Sky Episcopal Area (Yellowstone and Rocky Mountain Conferences) beginning September 1, 2016.
RMN executive director, Matt Berryman, issued a statement on this historic event, saying that Bishop Oliveto's election "carries queer people to the highest levels of church leadership" and celebrates our hope that "life cannot be defeated, that love cannot be overcome, and that justice is stronger than inequity." We have all contributed to this huge step in Biblical Obedience. You supported our LGBTQ clergy that came out at General Conference. You passed resolutions at annual and jurisdictional conference calling for new and radical ways to witness as the Body of Christ. You wrote letters to your jurisdictional delegates declaring that now is the time for the Spirit to raise a queer bishop, and she did. Thank you for your witness!
We have a lot of work ahead of us. We celebrate hope, but we also pray for healing. Bishop Oliveto, in a Letter to the Western Jurisdiction, shares words of wisdom and grace, acknowledging that there are those who lament her election as bishop: "Our task is to love deeply, which means standing before those who are angry, anxious, or fearful and be a witness to all they are feeling, and to remain in relationship through the power of Christ’s love. The best of our United Methodist tradition is when we can hold the tension of our differences for the sake of our mission: To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. God has called us for such a time as this."

May it be so.
Blessings,

Rev. Dr. Israel I. Alvaran
Western Jurisdiction Organizer
Phone: 510-717-4894
izzy@rmnetwork.org
Celebrating Hope!
Here are some events to celebrate the election of Bishop Karen Oliveto. If you are in the area, please join the festivities:
1. Installation Service, September 17 (Saturday), 1PM, Bozeman UMC (121 S. Willson Avenue, Bozeman MT). This event is hosted by the Yellowstone Conference.
2. Installation Service, September 24 (Saturday), 3PM, Arvada UMC (6750 Carr Street, Arvada CO). This event is hosted by the Rocky Mountain Conference.
We encourage our local Reconciling teams in the Mountain Sky Area to organize events to welcome Bishop Karen and Robin. We also ask that you initiate and support conversations organized by the churches and area cabinets to talk openly about Bishop Oliveto's election.

Deaconess Robin Ridenour (left) and Bishop Karen Oliveto
Praying for Healing
We have CalledOUT LGBTQ clergy who are experiencing the harmful effects of our church's discriminatory policies against LGBTQ persons. Let us pray for them and the whole church, seeking healing and wholeness.
The Rev. Cynthia Meyer (Great Plains Conference) recently reached resolution in charges filed against her after coming out as a partnered lesbian last January. Read the story and the resolution here. Cynthia is actively seeking possibilities for employment and I believe our jurisdiction will rise to the challenge to provide her sanctuary and embrace her in our community.
The Rev. Anna Blaedel (Iowa Conference) is facing a complaint for coming out as during her conference's annual session this past June. Here is Anna's story and an RMN article about her case. She is currently in just resolution negotiations with her conference and bishop.
Bishop Karen Oliveto's election is being questioned by the South Central Jurisdiction (SCJ). Immediately after she was elected, the SCJ passed a petition asking The UMC's highest court, the Judicial Council, for a declaratory ruling - to decide whether Bishop Oliveto's election is valid on account of her identity as a partnered lesbian clergy. The Council of Bishops' (COB) Executive Committee, meeting last month, also asked the Judicial Council to resolve the SCJ petition soonest. The Judicial Council will consider this case when it meets this coming October. Here is the COB statement on Bishop Oliveto's election.
Connect with your local Reconciling team