This weekend I went with Greta to Estes Park, Colorado for Reconciling Ministries Network Convocation.
Reconciling Ministries Network (RMN) is a growing movement within the United Methodist Church that is working toward the full participation of all people in the Methodist Church, specifically, RMN seeks the full inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer persons in the Church.
At Convocation we celebrated 25 years of work that RMN has done in order to create safe sanctuaries for GLBTQ (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer) persons. RMN has ardently campaigned for the removal of the "incompatibility clause" from the UM Book of Discipline that states "homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching." They work to support same-sex marriage. They believe the day will come when United Methodists who are called to ordained ministry will not have to choose between lying about who they are in order to be ordained or, the equally painful alternative, being honest about who they are and being denied ordination.
The theme of the weekend was "Justice and Joy." We had the privilege of participating in dynamic worship where the message of God's radical and inclusive love was clear. We took communion, served communion, were anointed, anointed others, sang amazing songs and heard amazing preachers.
One of my favorite songs, "For Everyone Born," goes like this:
For everyone born
A place at the table,
for everyone born,
clean water and bread;
a shelter, a space, a safe place for growing,
for everyone born,
a star overhead.
And God will delight
when we are creators of
justice and joy,
compassion and peace:
yes, God will delight
when we are creators of justice;
justice and joy.
For woman and man,
a place at the table,
revising the roles,
deciding the share;
with wisdom and grace
dividing the power,
for woman and man,
a system that's fair.
For young and for old,
a place at the table,
a voice to be heard,
a part in the song,
the hands of a child
in hands that are wrinkled,
for young and for old,
the right to belong.
For gay and for straight,
a place at the table,
transgender and queer,
in one single tree,
engaging each gift
and blessing each covenant,
for gay and for straight,
a new way to be.
For everyone born,
a place at the table,
to live without fear,
and simply to be,
to work, to speak out
to witness and worship,
for everyone born,
the right to be free.
And God will delight
when we are creators
of justice and joy,
compassion and peace;
yes, God will delight
when we are creators of justice,
justice and joy.
RMN is launching a new campaign called "Believe Out Loud." Based on a recent survey of United Methodist clergy, 67% said they believe GLBTQ persons should be fully included in the body and polity of the church, however, only 7% had ever stated this belief explicitly. The idea behind "Believe Out Loud" is that United Methodists who consider themselves inclusive need to get serious about sharing this belief with others. In order to "get serious," we must start telling our stories. Telling stories changes lives.
My story goes something like this: I am an ally for GLBTQ persons. I am constantly learning what it means to be a "good" ally. It requires the ability to listen, think openly, and the courage to expose myself to potential ridicule.
I am an ally because I love many, many people who have been excluded and hurt by the church. They are my dear, dear friends. They are brilliant, kind, funny, and wonderful people. They have comforted me in times of deep pain. They have helped me to have courage in times when I felt afraid.
And I have witnessed the pain they bear at the hands of the Church. I have felt with them, to some degree, what it feels like to be deemed "incompatible" and outside the love of Christ. I have absorbed the tears they cry as they discern how to be faithful to their call to ministry and simultaneously maintain some sense of integrity. I have witnessed their courage in the ways they speak prophetically to the Church saying, "We love you, but you are NOT being the Church!"
And I am an ally because someday I will have children of my own. I do not know if they will grow up to be gay or straight, but I know that I want them to be part of a better Church. I believe that the United Methodist Church will be a better Church someday. Throughout history, the Church has gotten many things wrong: they were wrong about slavery, wrong about women, and I believe they are wrong about this. Martin Luther King Jr said that "Injustice is unsustainable" and I believe the United Methodist Church cannot forever exclude persons from the love of Christ and participation in the Body. Years from now I want my children to look at me and say that I was on the right side of history.
