May 28, 2012 issue
Discerning locally
Congregations, pastors need freedom of conscience
In three Mennonite Church USA area conferences there are signs of allowing diversity in congregational and pastoral responses to gays and lesbians.
In Central District Conference, the Ministerial Committee recently decided not to discipline Megan Ramer, pastor of Chicago Community Mennonite Church, for officiating three covenant ceremonies for same-sex couples last year. The committee affirmed her ministry while acknowledging her actions violate the denomination’s Membership Guidelines.
The issue is similar, but the outcome uncertain, in Western District Conference, where Joanna Harader, pastor of Peace Mennonite Church in Lawrence, Kan., officiated a same-sex ceremony in 2010. Like its CDC counterpart, the WDC Leadership Commission decided not to impose discipline. But a congregation is bringing a motion to overrule the commission and suspend Harader’s credentials. Delegates will consider the resolution July 6-8 in Oklahoma City.
The next steps are unclear in Allegheny Conference, which stripped Hyattsville (Md.) Mennonite Church of voting rights in 2005 for openly welcoming gays. To its credit, Allegheny did not break fellowship with Hyattsville. This spring the Leadership Council announced its intent to begin a process of reconciliation.
In a denomination that respects both individual conscience and community discernment, decisions on such an emotionally charged issue are not easy. In each of these conferences, a leadership group has set a good example of permitting the freedom of congregational discernment that a denomination ought to allow. It is not possible, or even desirable, for every member, church or conference to think and act alike. Diversity is inevitable and should not threaten unity.
At the same time, community discernment is important. MC USA’s Membership Guidelines make clear the denomination’s disapproval of a pastor who performs a same-sex ceremony. Discipline, while not required, can be considered. A pastor who flouts the guidelines must be prepared to accept the possibility of consequences.
But a conference that chooses tolerance takes the better path. The decisions by the WDC and CDC Ministerial Committees stand in the tradition of congregational autonomy that many in MC USA have long upheld. Decisions about how to minister to an individual or couple, whether gay or straight, belong at the pastoral and congregational level. This is where each of us is known as a real person. It is where we can do what CDC Ministerial Committee member Joel Miller said he experienced with Chicago Community Mennonite Church: “deep listening to one another, searching for biblical wisdom and openness to the leading of the Spirit.”
A pastor who performs a same-sex ceremony, or a congregation that welcomes and affirms gays and lesbians, is following a deep conviction about how to show love and affirm equality. For this there should be freedom of conscience without punishment.
Comments
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Amen. As someone who joined the MCUSA in my early 30s (about 5 years ago), I've been confused by the way in which these conversations continue without attentiveness to polity. I've come to learn that there are differences of opinion (and tradition) regarding local church autonomy and the proper context for "binding and loosing." It seems to me that we need more clarification on polity before we have any hope of unity.
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Thank you, Paul!
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Paul, your words are wise and courageous. Thank you. I pray that we (MCUSA) will soon realize that "diversity is inevitable and should not threaten unity".
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Thank you Paul Schrag for your brave and well framed words. As I read for the first time, in a language I learned, the story of the struggle of the early Christians to accept persons who did not follow "the law of Moses", I am struck with the simplicity of loving and accepting others who joyfully come to accept the Good News. May the "Jersusalem Conference" instruct MC USA hearing conferences affirm their welcome. May the conferences be affirmed, and taken seriously, as they seek to be discern the wind of the Spirit in the local bodies!
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Well said. It is my conviction that privileging local discernment and maintaining a receptive vulnerability to diverse theological and ethical perspectives will prove to be a more fruitful, life-giving path than the alternatives.
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Thanks, Paul, for these good words.
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Thank you, Paul, for your affirmation of the role of conscience and grace in the lives of these pastors and congregations. I would note that while it is certainly to its credit that Allegheny Conference did not break fellowship with Hyattsville, it is also to Hyattsville's credit that it continued to support the conference, show up at events and remain open to dialogue and relationship despite punitive conference actions. It is my hope that the process of reconciliation being considered there will prove helpful to other congregations and individuals who wrestle with the meaning of reconciliation and healing within the context of harshness and harm that has characterized conference actions. Thank you to Megan, Cynthia and Joanna who model courage, compassion and hope for MCUSA.
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Thank you, Paul!!
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It seems to me that local discernment is a wise direction and in congruence with Anabaptist historical practice. To be a confessional church, in constrast to a credal church, ought to move us to discern at the congregational / community level, in situational context. Haitian congregations in Miami may come to a very different place on a particular issue than a diverse urban congregation in Chicago or a small-town congregation in a Kansas farming community. This is not to suggest that we shouldn't seek a broader dialogue, however, within the larger denomination.
Also, as a progressive, I need to be careful that I don't advocate for local discernment on the issue of same sex marriage and then turn around and seek denomination-wide uniformity on other issues, such as congregational posture toward nationalism. I applaud the article, Paul - thank you. And thanks to Megan Ramer. I mentioned you (not by name) in my sermon last week for your courageous act of faithfulness.
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With all due respect how can tolerance of someone condoning sin be viewed as a good thing?
It seems that we have been pressured by society into believing that tolerance and diversity are always good things. Jesus did not tolerate sinful behavior and neither should we.
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Jesus In A Nutshell: "Don't react violently to violent people." (Matt. 5:39-40/Luke 6:29); "Be generous! Give to everyone." (Matt. 5:42/Luke 6:30); "God's love extends to all, good & bad, repentant & unrepentant." (Matt. 5:45b/Luke 6:35d); "Be merciful & compassionate! In imitation of God's mercy & compassion." (Matt. 5:48/Luke 6:36); "Forgive others! In the way you want to be forgiven." (Matt. 6:14-15/Luke 6:37); "Don't become attached to things! The material world is illusory." (Matt. 6:19-21/Luke 12:33-34); "Don't fret about life! You're in God's hands." (Matt. 6:25-30/Luke 12:22-28); "Don't judge others." (Matt. 7:3-5/Luke 6:41-42); "God cares for you like a parent cares for her children." (Matt. 7:9-11/Luke 11:11-13). (Taken from "The Universe Loves You! And thinks you're wonderful just the way you are!", a publication of the Marginal Mennonite Tract & Propaganda Department.)
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I appreciate these wise words. When it comes to individual membership issues, I believe the discernment and decisions of local congregations must be respected. When the issue is difficult or potentially divisive,there should be serious consultation and discussion with conference leadership, but utlimately the congregation must be free to make their wisest spiritual decision without the threat of sanctions.
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Thank you Paul for this excellent editorial. These are wise words for our community of faith.
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I find it interesting that we as a denomination have come to a complete stalemate on many fronts on the same-sex issue.
One person uses the authority of scripture to argue for same-sex unions while the next person holds the biblical conviction that same-sex relationships are sinful and not in line with God's will.
One person uses Article 19 to say we've made the decision already, while others contend the articles are essentially works in progress.
Some argue nature and say "I was made this way," while others say "No, you were not, it's because of the way you were nurtured and you can change."
Some ask for the gathered body to listen to the Spirit in order to receive new revelation, while others say we've already received it.
On all these fronts, and others, we've come to a place where we can effectively cancel each other out. We've perfected our arguments and sit unmovable in our stalemate.
Scriptural authority, the Spirit, group discernment & prayer have not brought us to truth. It often feels hopeless, from both points of view.
But I think there's something that gives light and truth to the issue. It's glaringly obvious yet is never talked about. The insight is that of creation...of anatomy.
Somebody please answer me this question: If each of us is a divinely created child of God, made in the image of God, doesn't the specific anatomical features of our bodies speak something? Doesn't our anatomy speak something of what human sexuality is supposed to look like?!
The sexual union of one man to another man is unnatural. It goes against the way God has divinely created us. The same goes for a sexual union between two females. It's unnatural! It goes against God's creation.
We can argue and complain and fight about all these, what have become subjective talking points, but the topic of anatomy is anything but subjective.
Except for rare circumstances we are created either male or female. There is a certain way our bodies fit together in sexual union that should give us a clue that we're on the right track.
Doesn't this play into the issue somewhere??? I know relationships are not just about sex, but it should tell us something, right?!
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In my opinion, Pastor Harader's decision to act in a way that was contrary to a written position of the Western District Conference and MCUSA, including performing a ministerial function that would be/is controverial, places her in the category of pastoral misconduct. If I wanted it to be legal to take someone else's property without permission, surely stealing wouldn't be the best way to make it ok. It's much easier to pet a snake if you don't smack it with a stick first. When we want to change the way people believe or what they accept as scriptually sound, we must do it in a way that doesn't cause negative reactions. I am a member of the congregation that is in disagreement with Pastor Harader's officiating a same-sex marriage ceremony. For me, this is simply an issue of pastoral misconduct; doing something that isn't supported by your conference. Also, sadly, it is a current hot button for many in the conference. While she has stated that she feels singled out personally in the motion to be discussed at the upcoming Western District Conference gathering, well, it was her decision to place herself in this position. If it was stated that all pastors must wear a necktie, then those who willfully chose not to comply should expect some negative consequences. Like many, I hope to move forward in wholesome study of the scriptures and discernment together, but I am growing tired of the time the church has spent wrestling with the topic of sexuality.
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Paul, in your editorial, you are promoting the same type of religious thinking that got the Israelites in trouble with God i.e., doing what is right in their own eyes. The Bible states that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked therefore doing what is right in our own eyes, as you suggest, is wrong as it was for the Israelites
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In essentials, unity
In non-essentials, liberty
In all things, love
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We often hear the statement that "we have been pressured by society" into accepting gay people into the church. Yet, many gay people have grown up faithfully in the church. The change is coming from within, not without.
Those opposing gay equality in the church and society also often equate gayness with sin and insist that changing a person's sexual orientation is possible. Groups such as EXODUS encourage the notion, often quoting the work of psychiatry giant Dr. Robert Spitzer as evidence.
Saying he had done a grave disservice to gays and lesbians, Spitzer recently clarified the results of his published work and refuted the limited findings of his own study. EXODUS and other organizations should remove references to his study in their publications.
If attempts to change sexual orientation are destructive if not impossible, what would those who deny gay people equality have happen? One pastor recently suggested concentration camps, but an imposed, kind-spoken exile is no less wrong.
Sex is but one part of a person's being, behavior, and natural attraction, gay and non-gay alike. If the discussion would focus on people, rather than their (presumed, often incorrectly) sexual behaviors, perhaps the road to equality would become less rocky.
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Some day perhaps all people will have the power in their imaginations to realize that their gay friends and relatives, open and concealed, have no more say in their being gay than they would have about their handedness, or the color of their hair, or their height, etc., etc.
In the meantime, what a sorrowful thing it is to see even a "more-Christian-than-average" church such as the Mennonite church get bogged down in this issue.
How many portions of Leviticus do we all blithely disobey? Even the Amish don't follow everything that is in Leviticus.
I hope that even the older generation can soon learn from their gay friends and relatives, and come to appreciate them for exactly who they are, and stop encouraging them to tell lies about themselves.
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What an excellent discussion, and how profound that we are willing to exchange ideas so freely. I am priviledged to see such growth in the church of my origin, and encourage everyone to discern with their spiritual brothers and sisters what shall come next.
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Oh Jeremy Patterson, we were born naked, should we not wear clothes? Some of us are born with poor eyesight, perhaps it is our fate to stumble around the world blindly, never driving or watching TV or even walking down the street normally.
If "nature" trumps all - then what do you say to the same-sex behavior found in animals?
Could it be that perhaps we are more than our genitalia?
You reduce the scope of humanity and sexuality to the shape and size of what's between our legs -- what of women born with deformities or those who have ambiguous genitalia? Or the intersex? God made them that way, did he not? Those people -- no less people -- should be condemned to what they are born with?
You clearly see things in black and white but the world is many glorious colors and shades of gray.
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With all due respect, this article cannot be any farther off from SOUND BIBLICAL doctrine and Truth.
We all agree that we should love one another and treat each individual as Christ has treated us, but just like the woman who was found in adultery, forgiven, and told she must repent, so is the case here. Throughout ALL of scripture, ALL forms and instances of homosexuality are defined as a perversion of the human sexual relationship and against what God the Father has ordained as right sexual union (or sin). And furthermore the Bible makes it CLEAR (if the reader is willing to take the Bible for what it says) that the covenant of marriage BEFORE GOD is between ONE MAN AND ONE WOMAN for life. Now I am not condemning any person who is gay or lesbian, all are welcome... as those who need the trans-formative love and power of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ came to call sinners to repentance, He never condemned them or sent them away because of the life they lived BUT He did tell them to leave their life of sin. If we are to BE disciples of Jesus Christ we must let go of sin, and homosexuality is just that. Now, should I allow something that IS sin to continue in my congregation or God forbid encourage that very thing? Remember "A little leaven leavens the whole dough." And Paul in II Corinthians makes it clear that Light and Dark have nothing in common. Is it "wise" then for us to allow those who call themselves brothers and sisters in Christ but persist in living openly in sin to continue to do so undisciplined? For all of you who like to quote Jesus' words in Matt. 18 he gives us a clear guideline as how to treat a brother or sister who persists in sin and disobedience, and if he or she refuses to repent they are to be treated as a prostitute or publican... a pagan who is no less worthy or in need of Christ's love and redemptive power but cannot be a member of the Body of Christ until they repent. Now all who condone lifestyles of sin INSIDE the Church of Jesus Christ will have to answer to HIM for allowing such practices to continue in His body, and I for one will have no part with those who condone it. It pains me to say such things, but this is a serious issue, and the reality of eternity and the cost to enter are far to great for me to take any other view. We find many situations in this world that are "gray areas" this however is not one of them, and those issues which are black and white demand a particular response- black or white/ hot or cold, there can be no middle ground, you must be on one side of the fence or the other. The Bible, God's Holy Word written to us His creation has made it clear which side we are to be on. With much love in Jesus Christ, A very concerned Brother. -
2 Timothy 4:3-5 "For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage —with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry."
Let’s keep looking at scripture here and not fool ourselves by our own intellectual understandings. Remember wisdom comes from Christ not from ourselves. And our faith is to be worked out with fear and trembling. I think this discussion needs a healthy FEAR of God to wash over us all. I imagine standing at the foot of Mt. Sinai when the presence of the Lord overwhelms the mountain…the people can’t handle it. It’s too much. In the presence of the Lord one sees all the ugliness, sinfulness, and pride that is within. It’s not a pretty picture. If I were to stand before my Lord today and say that I have led an entire denomination to believe that it is ok that our brothers and sisters perform same-sex marriages…I think I would tremble with anguish. It’s not like I actually performed the ceremony but essentially I said it was ok because they made their own decision. But what if the Lord says to me…yes but they looked to you and I appointed you as a leader for a specific purpose and calling and you did not fulfill that call because of your fear of man…
Church please wake up. This is not a call to belittle, hate, insult or do away with gays/lesbians. It is a call to bring us to our knees before a Holy God whether you are gay, lesbian, heterosexual, a sinner or a saint, a drunk, prostitute, adulterer, hypocrite, rich, poor, intellectual, republican, democrat, and all the other labels that we love to use. I worry that division is coming to the Mennonite church and I worry that the name of Christ is going to be dragged through the mud. But most of all I worry about the mass of confused people caught in the middle who are quite possibly being led astray. Lord have mercy on your church.
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With people like Jacob and Elizabeth (and others defending Biblical truth here) my faith in the Mennonite church could be restored. Because truth matters. And yes, we should love one another as Christ loves us, having open doors and open hearts... But not open minds so open that we think our opinions matter more than God's truth. With love and concern...
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I just wanted to voice my support for a polity that recognizes conscience and the power of an individual local congregation to discern the truth.
I also hope and pray that there will come a day when our denomination would no longer practice the sin of excluding our LGBT brothers and sisters from all aspects of the life of our church.
James M. Branum Minister of Peace & Justice Joy Mennonite Church Oklahoma City, OK
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