New Methodist bishop seeks to bridge gaps

From Pittsburgh-

Her first job as a student pastor was at a small United Methodist church in East Baltimore, Md., founded long ago by an ethnic German community in what had become a mostly African-American neighborhood.

“They were struggling to find their new identity, to make connections with the new community around them,” recalled Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi, the new spiritual leader of United Methodists in Western Pennsylvania.

One way they made connections was to hold a Bible study for the neighborhood youth — not in the sanctuary but on a nearby front stoop.

“That’s what the kids in the neighborhood did — sit on the stoop,” Bishop Moore-Koikoi recalled. The church needed to take its ministry outdoors because, she said, the neighbors were nervous about entering a building where they don’t see “people like me going.”

More here-

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2016/10/16/New-Methodist-bishop-seeks-to-bridge-gaps/stories/201610160108

Evangelicals form new group within United Methodist Church over homosexuality

From Christian Today-

A new evangelical grouping is set to form within the United Methodist Church. The group – the Wesleyan Covenant Association – is being formed in response to the ongoing debate within the denomination about sexuality.

The UMC is one of the biggest mainline denominations in America, with around 7 million members, and 4 million more worldwide. A special commission of the UMC is working on the issue of homosexuality at the moment. It is expected to report back soon and may recommend some changes to church rules on same sex marriage and gay clergy.

The Wesleyan Covenant Association says that it is forming at a time of "great uncertainty about the future of The United Methodist Church, the Wesleyan Covenant Association stands together as an alliance to advance vibrant, scriptural Christianity within Methodism."

The group's website answers reports which have claimed that it is looking to found a new denomination – especially in response to the appointment of a lesbian Bishop. It says, "That is not the association's intent. The WCA hopes the UM Church can remain united. We pray we can all find ways to live as Jesus' joyful and obedient disciples in covenant with one another."
More here-

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/evangelicals.form.new.group.within.united.methodist.church.over.homosexuality/92860.htm

Married Lesbian Ordained as Methodist Bishop, 'Led by the Holy Spirit'

From Charisma News-

The Western Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church consecrated a married lesbian bishop in a move that could split the denomination. 

Greater Northwest Episcopal Area Bishop Grant Hagiya claims the Holy Spirit led the move that the church bylaws expressly forbid. 

"We understand there may be some political implications, but in our mind this was the best person. It was not a question of (sexual) orientation, it was a question of who was the best spiritual leader. The body spoke and said 'Yes, this is the one.' " Hagiya said.

Yet the denomination's Book of Discipline cites "self-avowed practicing homosexuals are not to be certified as candidates, ordained as ministers, or appointed to serve in The United Methodist Church." 

More here-

http://www.charismanews.com/us/58669-married-lesbian-ordained-as-methodist-bishop-led-by-the-holy-spirit

United Methodist Church Elects First Openly Gay Bishop, In Defiance Of Church Rules

From NPR-

Representatives of the United Methodist Church have elected their first openly gay bishop, in defiance of church prohibitions on homosexuality.

Rev. Karen Oliveto, senior pastor of Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco, was elected bishop of the church's Western Division at a conference Friday night in Scottsdale, Arizona.

"I think at this moment I have a glimpse of the realm of God," 58-year-old Oliveto said after her election, according to a news story from the church. "Today we took a step closer to embody beloved community and while we may be moving there, we are not there yet. We are moving on to perfection."

More here-

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/07/16/486300173/united-methodist-church-elects-first-openly-gay-bishop-in-defiance-of-church-rul

Methodism’s founder spent some time in Georgia

From Georgia-

Wesley and his brother, Charles, came to the state when the British were establishing the colony. At the time, the Wesley brothers’ sojourn was seen in a less than positive light by many.

John Wesley was an Anglican cleric. He was not always popular with his parishioners. He courted a young woman, Sophia Hopkey. After she broke off their courtship and married someone else, Wesley refused to allow her to take communion.

Charles Wesley, who came to Georgia as secretary to James Edward Oglethorpe, the colony's founder, also served as chaplain at Ft. Frederica on St. Simons. His overly strict religious views brought him into conflict with colonists, and he remained in Georgia only about a year.

More here-

http://times-herald.com/news/2016/06/methodisms-founder-spent-some-time-in-georgia

Churches partner to offer widows' retreat

From Western NC-

Members at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and Linville United Methodist Church are partnering to offer a special outreach event to those who are widows.

Registration is now open for a widows’ retreat that will be held on Thursday, Aug. 18 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.

The churches are sponsoring storyteller and certified grief recovery specialist Donna Marie Todd to present her “A Widow’s Tale” program to minister to area widows.

There is a $20 fee per person to attend, which is to defray the cost of food for the breakfast, lunch and celebratory dinner that will be offered at the retreat. The churches also received a grant from the Episcopal Church Women of the Diocese of western North Carolina to help pay for the food.

More here-

http://www.morganton.com/community/churches-partner-to-offer-widows-retreat/article_0c5859ee-34b4-11e6-84b6-171ed713ff55.html

Bishops issue post-General Conference letter to the church

From The United Methodist Reporter-

Reviving a tradition that is more than a century old, the United Methodist Council of Bishops sent this letter today to the people of The United Methodist Church following the 2016 General Conference, held in Portland, Oregon, May 10-20. The letter reads as follows:

“To the people of The United Methodist Church:

The Council of Bishops brings you greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who has called us to be servant leaders of the church. In 1812, Bishop Francis Asbury, Bishop William McKendree and General Conference Secretary Daniel Hitt sent the first letter to churches following General Conference. This letter seeks to revive that tradition. Many bishops will also be communicating individually in their own areas.

Hundreds of lay and clergy delegates from around the world gathered in Portland, Oregon, along with bishops and pastors, church members and staff, volunteers and visitors, to engage in Christian conferencing, to make decisions for our church’s future, to affirm our global connection, to worship and to celebrate God’s faithfulness.

More here-

http://unitedmethodistreporter.com/2016/05/23/bishops-issue-post-general-conference-letter-to-the-church/

‘The Church Might Divide’: Nation’s Third Largest Faith Group Makes Key Decision in Bitter Battle Over Gay Marriage

From The Blaze-

As the United Method Church meets for its General Conference in Portland, Oregon — an event that is held once every four years — church leaders continue to deal with a contentious issue that threatens to splinter the denomination: homosexuality.

In a narrow vote of 428-405 on Wednesday, the Council of Bishops — the top policy arm of the nation’s third largest faith group — voted to assess and review current church law on sexuality, the Associated Press reported.

The United Methodist Church’s Book of Discipline, which outlines church regulations, is explicit in noting that marriage is confined to one man and one woman. The official church rules on matrimony read, “We affirm the sanctity of the marriage covenant that is expressed in love, mutual support, personal commitment, and shared fidelity between a man and a woman,” with pastors falling under strict guidelines.

More here-

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2016/05/19/the-church-might-divide-nations-third-largest-faith-group-makes-key-decision-in-bitter-battle-over-gay-marriage/

Episcopal clergy support Methodists working for full inclusion of LGBTQ members

From Oregon-

Currently, and through May 20, the General Conference of The United Methodist Church is meeting at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland. They are currently and will be struggling with the same issues of inclusion for LGBTQ persons that we in The Episcopal Church have struggled with. For this we offer a statement of support:

Statement of Support for The United Methodist General Conference

Clergy and members of the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Oregon welcome our brothers and sisters in The United Methodist Church as you gather in Portland for your 2016 General Conference. As your denomination gathers to celebrate and discern God’s will for you, particularly around questions of human sexuality, we will be holding you in prayer. Episcopalians in Oregon are eager to share our experience of extending a full and unequivocal welcome to those who experience gender and sexual diversity. Our conversations around gender and sexuality – like yours – have not been without much pain and struggle, but we believe that the Spirit of God has brought us to a holy place in which the gifts of all people are being utilized by the church in creative and exciting ways.

More here-

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/05/prweb13421849.htm

Top United Methodist bishop disputes reports of a split in church

From Pittsburgh-

A top United Methodist bishop Tuesday acknowledged the denomination’s severe divisions over the role of gays and lesbians, as well as despair over the church’s falling American membership — but he refuted reports that the denomination’s leadership was preparing a proposal to split the church and its assets.

Bishop Bruce Ough, president of the Council of Bishops for the United Methodist Church, speaking to delegates at the church’s legislative gathering in Portland, Ore., did acknowledge high-level meetings at which church leaders across the theological spectrum have “risked exploring what many would consider radical new ideas to organize the United Methodist Church.”

But, he added, the council is “committed to maintain the unity of the United Methodist Church, not a superficial unity to serve as a veneer over our disunity, but an authentic unity born of the Holy Spirit.”

More here-

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2016/05/17/Top-United-Methodist-Bishop-Bruce-Ough-disputes-rumors-of-a-split/stories/201605170184

Methodists not alone facing LGBT split

From Columbus-

In a divide over LGBT issues that’s been called painful and destructive, some have started to lose hope that a Protestant denomination that claims “united” in its very name will remain that way.

Across the United Methodist Church, there’s a lack of faith that common ground will be found, and it comes from both sides of the aisle — from those who advocate for same-sex marriage and the ordination of openly gay clergy, and from those who are adamant that such actions fly in the face of the Scripture.

The United Methodist Church will continue its decades-old debate at its General Conference in Portland, Oregon, this week, but it’s far from the first group to struggle to navigate this massive chasm.
More here-

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/05/15/lgbt-issues-have-divided-other-churches-besides-united-methodist.html

Of Polarization, Patriarchy and the United Methodist Church

From Huffington-

The RNS headline reads “The Methodists Gather to Argue About Gay People Again.” Written by noted Christian Ethicist David Gushee, the opinion piece goes on to say:

It’s a titanic clash, epic, truly tragic, unresolvable, filled with conflict and pain. To me, by now, the arguments are stale and circular. What I mainly hear is the howl of pain of a small minority of Christians (and many traumatized ex-Christians) crushed under the wheel of a 2000-year-old religious tradition that cannot quite figure out how to account for their existence. It’s all so very, very sad.

It is indeed very, very sad. It is also sadly representative of the concerted effort to marginalize that same minority of Americans - LGBT Americans - in order to polarize our political process. In the case of the Methodists, it is an effort fed, watered and fertilized by the Institute for Religion and Democracy (IRD) ... an organization committed to “returning mainline churches to biblical orthodoxy“ [their words] or destroying them in the process [mine]. They took their best shot at the Episcopal Church - ultimately failing yet inflicting significant collateral damage along the way. And now they’re driving the schism threat in the UMC.

More here-

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-susan-russell/of-polarization-patriarch_b_9935516.html

Bishop Palmer pulls no punches in the Episcopal address

From The United Methodist Reporter- (General Conference opening)

“We are here not for a pity party or to lick our wounds,” he said, “but to discern the next faithful steps in the mission and ministry of The United Methodist Church.”

Palmer described the people of the UMC as prisoners of hope, and highlighted several ministries of the church, including a successful campaign to help eliminate malaria in much of the world.
“I refuse to see discouragement and despair as the new normal,” the bishop said.

Nonetheless, he said that the church suffers from fightings within and fears without. He suggested that our relationships with one another are so superficial that we won’t risk saying the truths that later we might have to apologize for.

He posed a question: “Do our relationships lack depth that engender great growth and transformation?”

More here-

http://www.unitedmethodistreporter.com/2016/05/11/bishop-palmer-pulls-no-punches-in-the-episcopal-address/

6 things to watch at the Methodist General Conference — from LGBT issues to guns

From Salt Lake City-

The United Methodist Church General Conference convenes once every four years to make policy decisions and set the direction for the denomination.

Beginning Tuesday, 864 delegates, half of them clergy, will converge on the Oregon Convention Center in Portland for 11 days for the General Conference. More than 40 percent of those delegates will come from outside the U.S.

They'll consider 1,043 proposals listed in the conference's legislation tracking system.

Here are six of the most talked-about issues:

1. LGBT inclusion

The United Methodist News Service tallied up more than 100 petitions alone on sexuality.

Several plans have been proposed to streamline all that legislation, including "The Simple Plan" supported by the Reconciling Ministries Network. That plan would change six paragraphs in the denomination's Book of Discipline that forbid clergy from marrying same-sex couples and regional conferences from ordaining LGBT clergy. The denomination's Book of Discipline calls the practice of homosexuality "incompatible with Christian teaching."

More here-

http://www.sltrib.com/home/3871505-155/6-things-to-watch-at-the

Defying church ban, dozens of Methodist clergy come out as gay and lesbian

From CNN-

Dozens of United Methodist clergy members came out as lesbian, gay or bisexual on Monday, defying their church's ban on "self-avowed practicing homosexuals" serving in ministry and essentially daring their supervisors to discipline them.

In a public letter posted online, 111 pastors, deacons, elders and candidates for ministry said church rules require "that we not bring our full selves to ministry, that we hide from view our sexual orientations and gender identities."

"While some of us have been lucky to serve in places where we could serve honestly and openly, there are others in places far more hostile, who continue to serve faithfully even at tremendous cost to themselves, their families, and yes, even the communities they serve, who do not receive the fullness of their pastor's gifts because a core part must remain hidden," the letter continues.

More here-

http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/09/living/methodist-clergy-lgbt/index.html

A Methodist moment: Denomination wrestles with division, decline

From Pittsburgh-


The Monday evening light was fading behind the stained-glass depictions of Bible stories in the simple sanctuary of Unionville United Methodist Church. About a hundred people sang guitar-led praise songs in a regional Methodist gathering at the small congregation in Rochester, Beaver County, which has worked to revitalize itself through everything from a children’s program to a food pantry.

Small-town congregants, simple worship, earnest social service — are all common images of the United Methodist Church, the second-largest Protestant body in the nation and the region.

But the denomination, which is headed for a high-stakes 10-day legislative gathering starting Tuesday in Portland, Ore., is far more diverse  — and divided — than its traditional Main Street image.

That diversity can be seen in a vast, unadorned North Fayette sanctuary, where a high-octane praise song brings hundreds of worshipers to their feet at one of numerous weekend worship services hosted by Crossroads United Methodist Church.

More here-

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/west/2016/05/08/Diversity-decline-and-division-in-Unionville-United-Methodist-Church/stories/201605080034

           

Episcopal–Methodist Communiqué

From The Living Church-

The Episcopal Church–United Methodist Dialogue Committee has issued this communiqué:

Episcopalians and United Methodists met in Charlotte, North Carolina, for the third session of their Dialogue on Full Communion (April 25-27). The ten committee members, along with staff from each church, shared in conversation, meals, prayer, and a celebration of the Eucharist. It was a time for building relationships between representatives of two sibling churches that have long desired to grow closer in common witness to the gospel of Christ and in mission for the healing of God’s world.

The dialogue session made substantive progress towards a proposal for full communion between the Episcopal Church and the United Methodist Church. Committee members continued to learn about the history, beliefs, practices, and ways of living as church that are found in each tradition. Many are shared in common by both traditions. Dialogue participants also discussed and appreciated our distinctiveness. Among these are the ways our churches have shaped their institutions and approaches to ministry appropriate to their particular missional contexts.

More here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/episcopal–methodist-communique

15 Methodist leaders just came out together to protest church's LGBT policy

From Oregon-

In an open letter to The United Methodist Church, 15 clergy members and clergy candidates came out Sunday as gay, lesbian, bisexual and queer -- a bold act of defiance against a church that defrocks clergy for marrying same-sex couples or coming out.

"We are compelled now to speak out and tell the whole truth of who we are to the wider church," they said in the letter. "Ministry requires honesty, courage, integrity."

The letter comes just one week before The United Methodist Church, the second-largest Protestant denomination in the United States, holds its General Conference in Portland, where representatives will consider new rules allowing clergy to be openly-gay and perform same-sex weddings.

More here-

http://www.oregonlive.com/faith/2016/05/15_methodist_leaders_just_came.html

Charlotte gay wedding defies United Methodist Church rules

From North Carolina-

They knew it could mean a reprimand or even a church trial that might end their careers.

Still, the pastor of Charlotte’s First United Methodist Church and a retired bishop who once did jail time with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. decided to go ahead over the weekend and preside at the wedding of John Romano and Jim Wilborne.

The two Charlotte men became the first same-sex couple in North Carolina to get married – at least publicly – in a United Methodist church.

But the mainline denomination’s Book of Discipline sanctions only marriage between a man and a woman. So there could be consequences for the Rev. Val Rosenquist and Bishop Melvin Talbert – the clergy who performed the wedding – if any complaints are filed with Bishop Larry Goodpaster, who leads the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church.
Read more here:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/living/religion/article73685782.html#storylink=cpy

This Pastor Is Sleeping Outside Until His Church Accepts LGBT People

From Michigan-

A Methodist minister has cast himself out into the cold to show his support LGBT people, vowing to sleep in a tent outside his Michigan home for 175 days to protest his church’s opposition to same-sex marriage and the ordination of LGBT members.

Rev. Michael Tupper, pastor of Parchment United Methodist Church in Parchment, Michigan, first engaged with LGBT issues six years ago when his daughter Sarah came out to him as a lesbian. But his entry into outright pro-LGBT activism began last year, when Sarah asked him to officiate her wedding to another woman she met while attending Wheaton College, a hardline conservative evangelical Christian school.

Pastors are prohibited from officiating same-sex weddings in Tupper’s denomination, the United Methodist Church (UMC), and those that do are often put on trial within the church. But Tupper did it anyway, explaining to ThinkProgress that he simply couldn’t tell his daughter no.

More here-

http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2016/02/23/3752353/pastor-sleeps-outside-for-lgbt-inclusion/

Background link-

http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2015/07/nine_michigan_pastors_face_dis.html