The Messenger - January 2019 - 1

The Messenger
January 2019

The Messenger
Making Gentle a Bruised World

Looking Forward to General Conference
By Rev. Dr. Darryl Stephens
The United Methodist Church's highest legislative assembly is
scheduled to meet in February to consider the future of this
denomination. Several plans for "a way forward" have been
proposed by a commission of that name and by other unofficial
caucuses. General Conference may adopt, amend, rewrite, or reject
these proposals. Each of the plans focuses on how to restructure
this denomination based on differing opinions about homosexuality.

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This article provides a very brief overview of how each plan might impact the ministry and affiliation of
Grandview and other Reconciling Congregations. Further "Resources on UMC Way Forward" can be
found on the Eastern PA Conference website.
Currently, the UMC officially declares "the practice of homosexuality" to be "incompatible with
Christian teaching" (see fifty-year timeline). As a result, the denomination forbids ordination of "selfavowed practicing homosexuals," celebration of same-sex marriages or unions, and the use of general
church funds to promote the acceptance of homosexuality. Violation of these laws can result in church
trials, as we've seen with Beth Stroud, Frank Schaefer, and others. Nevertheless, many congregations
and clergy who consider these laws discriminatory and harmful have openly protested and defied these
prohibitions.
Hostility and animosity got so bad at General Conference 2016 that the legislative assembly ground to
a halt. An exceptional appeal to the Council of Bishops prevented imminent schism. The bishops
responded by proposing a "Commission on a Way Forward" to prepare a report to a special session of
General Conference-the upcoming meeting in St. Louis, February 23-26, 2019. After a year of study
and prayer, the Commission could not arrive at a consensus and instead presented three separate
options for a way forward.
The One Church Plan, backed by a majority of the bishops, removes some (not all) of the discriminatory
language from the Discipline (in the US version) and allows individual pastors and congregations in the
US to follow their conscience regarding homosexuality. For Grandview, that means the congregation
could vote to allow same-sex marriages-or not. Pastor Andrea could choose to conduct a same-sex
marriage-or not. Ordination of LGBTQIA+ candidates would be up to the discretion of the Board of
Ordained Ministry and clergy session of annual conference. Under this plan, for example, Liz could be
refused ordination-or not. LGBTQIA+ candidates in discriminatory conferences could choose to
transfer to a more welcoming conference.
The Traditionalist Plan, supported by the Wesleyan Covenant Association and other conservative
caucuses, retains the discriminatory language in the Discipline and attempts to increase enforcement
and uniformity throughout the denomination.
Continued on Page 2

https://www.umnews.org/en/news/opinions-still-vary-on-the-way-forward https://www.rmnetwork.org/ https://www.epaumc.org/home-page/inform/2018/09/umc-commission-on-the-way-forward/ https://s3.amazonaws.com/Website_Properties/connectional-table/documents/Human-sexuality-and-united-methodist-church-timeline.pdf http://www.anactoflovefilm.com/about http://www.um-insight.net/perspectives/christian-ethics-in-troubled-times/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSemVhTQG8g http://s3.amazonaws.com/Website_Properties/council-of-bishops/news_and_statements/documents/Way_Forward_Report_-_Final_-_ENGLISH.pdf https://www.umnews.org/en/news/court-one-church-plan-largely-constitutional https://www.um-forward.org/our-stories/2018/12/9/consider-these-points https://www.wesleyancovenant.org/2018/08/15/the-traditional-plan/

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Messenger - January 2019