PNW-RMN: Pacific Northwest Reconciling Ministries Network
Online Resources

To Plead the Cause

"To Plead the Cause" is a 32-page (in 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" format) theological study paper which was published by the Pacific Northwest Reconciling Ministries Network (PNW-RMN) in 2001. Researched and written by the Rev. Paul Beeman, a retired United Methodist pastor and former national president of PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), "To Plead the Cause" was adopted by the PNW-RMN in part as a response to very recent dramatic events within the denomination and within our annual conference. At General Conference 2000, there was intense debate on issues of inclusion, culminating in the arrest of 29 United Methodists who protested the continuation of policies of exclusion. The year 200l in the PNW Annual Conference was marked by the public 'coming out' of the Rev.'s Karen Dammann and Mark E. Williams.

At the annual conference's closing appointment service, when the bishop announced his refusal to appoint both, an overwhelming majority of the clergy joined in a respectful demonstration of support for both Dammann and Williams. All of this took place before TV cameras and was broadcast throughout the region. With all that swirling about us, the PNW-RMN embraced this statement as its theolocical grounding for its continued work toward the inclusive church.

At the 2001 Convocation, the national RMN recognized the PNW-RMN as a recipient of its Cup of Justice Award for its adoption and publication of "To Plead The Cause". To download in a 17-page, 8 1/2" x 11" format, click on TO PLEAD. To order in the smaller booklet format, email: to_plead@pnw-rmn.org or mail: PNW-RMN, P.O. Box 51, Freeland, WA, 98249. A donation of $3 per booklet is suggested to cover printing and mailing costs.