Hopefully, this blog will become a forum for
compassionate responses to the seemingly unending feud within the United
Methodist Church around the issues of homosexuality.
As life would have it, I now have a “front row
seat” to this strange, tragic drama.
On July 8, 2013 I received a registered letter
from my bishop.
He wrote that he had “received a written,
signed formal complaint” against me.
The complaint is based on a sentence I had
written in a previous letter, widely circulated, but addressed to Bishop Webb,
in which I state -
“I have officiated at several weddings
for brothers
and sisters
who are lesbian or gay.”
The bishop’s letter to me continued,
“Engaging in this practice is in contradiction
to the 2012 Book of Discipline
paragraph, 2702”
And so, this blog intends to share, report,
and reflect something of my own journey as I grapple with the structures of the
United Methodist Church. I hope it will be as helpful for those of you who log on here, as I expect it will be
cathartic for me to write here.
On August 1, 2013, I travel to Syracuse to
meet with Bishop Webb and the one who submitted a charge against me at 2:00 pm. The
purpose of our meeting will be to discover if a course of reconciliation can be
found.
If no
resolution can be found, Bishop Webb will either dismiss the charge or submit
the case to the next level of judicial authority.
I am as ready and prepared as I can be for our
initial meeting next week.
I will tell you (on this blog) what happens
then. As long as my case is relevant, I will continue to report about it with
as much transparency as possible.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
One more thing.
Some have suggested that my ventures with
Bishop Webb and the Rev. Richard Barton (who brought the complaint) are
reminiscent of the battle between David and Goliath.
I suppose they mean to cast me in the role of
David, the underdog.
(I don't think I have to tell you who gets
to play Goliath!)
I believe they are trying to say -
"Stay strong. Trust God. Don't be afraid.
Speak truth to power until the powerful
fall.
You never know what God can do, . . .
and so on"
I truly appreciate their support.
They mean well.
Yet, they miss the deeper truth.
My real adversary is not one of the others in
the room.
We are all on the same side - all of us
seeking justice,
all
of us seeking God's direction.
Our struggle is truly not with each other, but
rather with Goliath itself - those spiritual forces of
evil which rule over all of us, undermine the authority of God's Spirit, and
create havoc in our midst -
and
when it comes to understanding homosexuality,
those dark powers condemn
our beloved community
to a perpetual
state of duplicity,
helplessness,
and fear.
Regardless what happens with Webb, Barton, Heiss and
company, until we find a way to end Goliath's reign in our hearts and the
hearts of our beloved community, Goliath will continue to undo us.
