May 8th, 2008
Jay Bakker, the son of Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Bakker Messner and the star of his own TV documentary series on Sundance called “One Punk Under God” is in Houston joining Soulforce’s outreach to evangelical megachurches to engage them in discussions on inclusion of the LGBTQI communities. The goal this week is to engage TV preacher Joel Osteen–pastor of Lakewood Church. So far they have been unsucessful in being able to speak directly with Joel Osteen. They are, however, going to throw a picnic on Saturday May 10th to which will welcome Lakewood attendees in hopes of starting discussions with them.
Jay Bakker, pastor and founder of the Revolution Church in New York (he also founded the two other Revolution Churches in Atlanta and Charlotte) in his first season on The Sundance Channel met with a trans group and decided that they needed to open their ministry to all LGBTQI, and since have published a number of sermons available as podcasts on their website.
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May 8th, 2008
The newest Reconciling Congregation in the Pacific Northwest Conference, Hoquiam United Methodist Church just announced they are now reconciling, with the Hoquiam UMC homepage now displaying the RMN and PNW-RMN logos. Hoquiam has been coming to PNW-RMN meetings for some time now, and we have been praying that they would finally be able to cross that line into being a reconciling congregation, and on April 20th it finally happened!
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May 1st, 2008
It appears this year that the United Methodist General Conference in an effort to retain unity decided to reject everything! Anti, Pro, all petitions equally went down in flames. But in all that, there are snipets of hope and good news. The best news is of course that things didn’t get worse. Unfortunately, they didn’t get better either.
After the jump, I will have the text of two good petitions passed as well as excerpts from folks on the floor.
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April 25th, 2008
or What Really Happened at Mt. Si High School on 4-25-2008
For those of you who haven’t been following the news about Mt Si High School, I encourage you to go read what was said two days ago about (and links to the Antioch Baptist website) what Pastor Hutcherson planned to do.
http://www.goodasyou.org/good_as_you/2008/04/what-bullying-w.html
Now here is what actually happened. I know because I was there.
It was partly cloudy with grey clouds wrapping the summit of Mt. Si and sending tendrils of fog down the snow capped sides. A chill mountain wind near freezing greeted the early gatherers numbering between 80 and 100 as they unpacked supportive, positive messages on posterboard and unrolled rainbow flags in front of Mt. Si High School. Lucinda Hauser and Jane Storrs, both parents of children at Mt. Si High School passed out premade signs with messages of support and multicolored armbands. I carried a rainbow flag on a pole and wore my rainbow hat (my flag is in the first photo after the jump, but I’m not since I am taking the picture). We had TV cameras out filming us and more TV helicopters than an accident on I-5 during morning rush hour.
The morning rally organized by Lucinda and Jane was explicitly to show support to the students–GSA and otherwise–participating in the Day of Silence at Mt. Si High School, and in recognition of their silence, we conducted the rally in silence from 7am to 8am. About 6 out of every 10 cars that went by were honking and waving. We cheerily waved back, despite the cold chewing at our bare fingers. Only an exceptional few cars (I saw only 3 all morning) did a thumbs down gesture to our waves.
More after the jump
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April 23rd, 2008
In analyzing the legislation submitted to the
United
Methodist
Church(hereafter UMC) General Conference (hereafter GC) the natural concern from a LGBT inclusive viewpoint is are things going to get worse from an LBG perspective.
Not likely, as most of the damage has already been done to the Book of Discipline (the codified laws of the UMC) insofar as discriminatory language.
One key oversight that the social conservatives had missed was highlighted to their attention this year by the transition of Drew Phoenix from female to male in
Baltimore.
Since there was nothing in the Book of Discipline addressing transgender, the Judicial Council (the Supreme Court of the UMC) ruled that there was no basis to remove him from his church, particularly since the Bishop of the Baltimore-Washington Conference had supported him, and his congregation was fully supportive.
This has not gone unnoticed, which makes the whole issue of Transgender in the UMC the ubiquitous gauge this year to see which way the wind is blowing, the veritable “Canary in the Coalmine” if you will.
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April 22nd, 2008
A new friend in the MCC and Soulforce posted this one to a forum we are both on today. Published in the “Dallas Voice,” the article describes one of our Lesbian clergy pushed out of the UMC and now holding a Lay Staff position at an RMN church.
And considering that GC starts tomorrow, this post officially kicks off my daily blogging through the General Conference. Expect much, much more, and something new every day.
Shannon
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April 22nd, 2008
This entry actually comes from a somewhat obscure new-ish blog(not that much newer that us!) called “The Two Auntees” (thanks to Rev. Allyson Robinson at “Crossing the T” where I found out about it), done by a transgender woman and her partner who are both active Episcopalians. Her account of what happened when she transitioned at her church is hearbreaking, but her stoicism is worth the read. Many in the LGBT Christian community will sympathize with her plight to just be who she is, but her church’s reaction to it is so over-the-top it may suprise some who have only dealt with the LGB issues previously.
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April 22nd, 2008
The Rev. Paul Turner of the Gentle Spirit Christian Church in Atlanta declined HRC’s invitation to their fund raising banquet because of their treatment of gender variant and transgender protections. He wrote an open letter reproduced here along with the link after the jump.
The reason I am posting his letter here is that he presents a very coherent argument based on the immediate need for social justice for the gender variant (not just trans) in our society.
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April 8th, 2008
As a somtimes commenter on a number of LGBT blogs in cyberspace, I decided to start posting some commentary on Pam’s where I have had some discussions in the past about being both LGBT and Christian. What I think I am going to do, besides blogging here on PNW-RMN through General Conf, is put some commentary from inside the UMC up on Pam’s through GC as well. Media reports are likely to be heavily skewed towards the conservative side, and I think the Reconciling Ministries side needs a voice as well, particularly in the LGBT community where the stand of the UMC and who is out there on the floor is more likely to be misunderstood. If you follow the link to the posting on Pam’s, it would be nice to see a few friendly comments, as I figure to attract a few unfriendly ones as a matter of course.
So without further ado, here is the posting:
Why you should pay attention to what is going on in Ft. Worth at the end of April (+)
http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=5016
The text of the posting after the jump.
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April 6th, 2008
Well, one of the two things about which I am going to talk actually happened last night. Peterson Toscano gave his presentation of “Transfigurations–Transgressing Gender in the Bible,” and it was magnificent. The second is one of the most moving films I have seen in a long time titled “Naming Jennifer.”
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April 4th, 2008
The conference actually started last night with a concert of song by Jenn Burleton and Uncommon Women. It was a wonderful time on an absolutely beautiful day in Portland, OR. But the first full day was today that included worship services, workshops, movies, and a few fireworks in a discussion with the HRC.
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March 29th, 2008
A video called Renewal or Ruin has been released by Steven D. Martin on the IRD’s (Institute on Religion and Democracy) attack on the United Methodist Church and other mainline denominations. The link below will take you to the video.
http://www.vimeo.com/824488
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March 29th, 2008
I ran across this and decided I had to share it here. I read a number of blogs daily (an understatement) and found this one today. This is from a blog by Gordon Atkinson, the pastor of Covenant Baptist Church in San Antonio. He says he ”started Real Live Preacher as an anonymous blog back in December of 2002. My only goal was to write honestly and well.” So without further introduction: Grit and Gravel by Gordon Atkinson.
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March 19th, 2008
Friends,
With General Conference less than 6 weeks away, I have had requests for a repeat of GC 101 sent last summer. I also have had good comments on my Ponderings and will continue with #3 & #4 tonight. I have 5.5 to continue with comments, but may skip Fianancial Administration and General Administration. I will work on those later as I have time. These Ponderings are similar to what I have done for previous GCs for my own edification. They do take time, but make following the petitions easier at GC. I suggest, that if you find them useful and are attending GC, you print out copies to have at the Conference.
General Conference 101
a repeat
Friends,
I am sending on a posting from UMC News service that will introduce you to General Conference. Whether or not you plan to attend any part or all of it, or just read the postings I intend to send from Fort Worth, this will help in your understanding of the Conference.
Winifred
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
General Conference 101: All you ever wanted to know
Jul. 6, 2007
NOTE: Photographs are available at http://umns.umc.org.
A UMNS Report
By J. Richard Peck*
The United Methodist Church’s top legislative assembly, the General Conference, will meet in 2008 to set direction for the denomination for the following four years. This guide provides an overview of the gathering, how it works and its significance in the life of the church.
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March 19th, 2008
Friends,
First and maybe the most important is the need to publicize the celebration of the Hilton Award at a luncheon April 23, 2008, at 11:30 AM at The First Christian Church, 616 Throckmorton, Fort Worth, Texas. This is the first day of General Conference. This is the gathering of the Parents’ Reconciling Network to honor someone special (we have to attend to learn who) and gather together to celebrate their families and our churches that are welcoming to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, questioning folk (LGBTQ). I would urge you to let any one you know who is interested in helping our church become inclusive and is attending the Conference to attend this lunch. The Parents group is a very special group who support our work for an inclusive church.
<><><><><><><><>
A very special group of petitions has been presented to General Conference.
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March 19th, 2008
Friends,
The following is a copy of the report called the Okaama/Robbins report as a response to the one presented by the Task Force. That report in found on the internet at www.worldwideumc.org. I will try to locate it and send it on to you. It appears to be in 24 parts that may be scattered through the DCA. The importance of this document is that the first three pages are the explanation for the single page that appears at the end and in the DCA p.481.
Editorial note: I cannot do indented paragraphs in the e-mail so I am using right side justification. It looks a bit odd and if you copy the document you can convert that to an indented paragraph. Of course if I were to get really modern I would put this all in an Adobe Acrobat .pdf file. I recently down-loaded software to make that conversion. Maybe by 2012!!!
The Reconciling Methodist Network recommends that this petition be passed.
Winifred
Renewal of the Ministry and Structure of The United Methodist Church
A Response to the Report and Petitions from the Task Group on the Global Nature of the Church Including Alternative Legislative Recommendations
By Elizabeth Okayama and Bruce W. Robbins
December 2007 Read the rest of this entry »
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March 19th, 2008
Summaries of areas of concern
In this document I attempt to find all the locations for petitions addressing certain issues of interest. It is “where to look for …”Legislative Groups number, code, Ponderings #
Church and Society 1 1 C1 1, 3
Church and Society 2 2 C2 1, 3
Conferences 3 CO 1, 3
Discipleship 4 DI 3
Faith and Order 5 FO 4
Financial Administration 6 FA 9
General Administration 7 GA 9
Global Ministries 8 GM 5
Independent Commissions 9 IC 6
Judicial Administration 10 JA 6
Local Church 11 LC 7
Ministry and Higher Educ 12 MH 2, 8
Superintendency 13 SU 2, 8
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March 19th, 2008
Ponderings- Doctrinal Standards I am preparing this “Pondering” for those who do not have access to The Book of Discipline. For those with access, you need to go to the book and read all of ¶101, ¶102, and ¶103 to learn what is referred to by those petitions wanting UM folk to abide by ¶103.The question of just what will be followed in teaching and living the “Doctrinal Standards” is appropriate. They are mentioned as being ¶103 in The Book of Discipline titled OUR DOCTRINAL STANDARDS AND GENERAL RULES. This paragraph follows ¶101 and ¶102 which introduce these rules. The rules here are reprinted from the Discipline of 1808 (when the first Restrictive Rule took effect).
The Restrictive Rules are ¶23 section III of the constitution of the United Methodist Church. The first rule states that the General Conference shall not revoke, alter, or change our Articles of Religion or establish any new standards or rules of doctrine contrary to our present existing and established standards of doctrine.
¶103 has three parts. They are the Articles of Religion of the Methodist Church, The Confession of Faith of the Evangelical United Brethren Church, and The General Rules of the Methodist Church. I shall attempt to give an idea of what in contained in these statements without copying everything.
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March 19th, 2008
Ponderings # 9Legislative Group #6 Financial Administration
and
Legislative Group #7 General Administration
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March 19th, 2008
Ponderings # 8Legislative Committee #12 Ministry and Higher Education
Some of this section were mentioned in Ponderings #1. As I have worked with these petitions, I have found a better way of presenting the petitions with page number, ¶, and petition number at the beginning of each item. I will copy or edit the material from Ponderings #1 relating to this committee.
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March 19th, 2008
Ponderings # 7Legislative group 11 Local Church
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March 19th, 2008
Ponderings # 6
Legislative Group # 9 Independent Commissions.
Legislative group 10 Judicial Administration
When listing petitions in these documents, I list both petitions that are good and those that are not good. I don’t always comment on the reason for the alert given by inclusion.
Central Conference Commission Pages 1161-1171 are to be handling all petitions relating to Central Conferences and autonomous groups.
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March 19th, 2008
Ponderings # 5Legislative group # 8 Global Ministries
Women’s Division (United Methodist Women) is under General Board of Global Ministries. In the distant past attempts were made to have their ministries moved to the general church, but the women did a better job and their activities have been separate. In the local church the UMW funds are separate from the rest of the funds of the church. Watch for petitions that would change this historic relationship. Many of the 224 pages covering Global Ministries (which could be overwhelming) are 11 various reports. They cover topics such as Asian American Language Minisry Study, Korean American National, Plan Native American Comprehensive Plan, Communities of Shalom, Humanitarian Crisis in Sudan.
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March 19th, 2008
Friends,
This section deals with only Faith and Order. Rejoyce in a short piece.
WinifredPONDERINGS #4
Volume 2 Section 2.
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March 19th, 2008
Frends, I have received good comments on my sharing with you my thoughts of GC Legislation. Thanks for reading.
WinifredPonderings #3
More specifics on items mentioned in Ponderings #1
Generally speaking, any legislation or resolution from the GBCS or GBGM or other General Board are acceptable. I have skipped over most of the Resolutions. You can study them yourself if you have the advance DCA. Remember any petition is subject to amendments.
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