Numbers (updated June, 2015)

9 million - number of gay people in the USA.

8 million - number of United Methodists in the USA.

56% - percent of people in our country who support gay marriage.

78% - percent of people between the age of 18 and 30 who support gay marriage.

63% - percent of the Upper New York United Methodist Conference who voted to support gay marriage at the last conference

4 - the statistical number of gay teenagers who commit suicide, for every "non-gay" teen who commits suicide.

0 - number of the top 6 medical and mental health associations who believe it is possible to change a person's sexual orientation.  

6 - number of those top 6 which believe that trying to become straight instead of gay will be emotionally or medically harmful.

6 - number of Bible references teaching homosexuality is wrong.

6 - number of Bible references teaching that Galileo's astronomy is wrong.

20 - minimum number of Bible references supporting polygamy.

60 - minimum number of Bible references supporting slavery.

140 - minimum number of Bible references supporting the subordination of women.

2000 - fewest possible Bible references teaching that God desires mercy, not judgment; forgiveness, not self-righteousness; and grace, wastefully and freely given, especially to the most vulnerable among us.

358 - number of years after Galileo's death before the Roman Catholic Church apologized for its role against him.

389 - number of years after slavery began in this country until the year when the UMC apologized for our role in supporting racism.

2,700 - approximate number of years from when the first misogynous words in Scripture were recorded by scribes, until the current era.

44- the least number of years for which the United Methodist Church will eventually need to  apologize for adding the words "homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching" to our Discipline.

613 - number of commandments in the Old Testament.

10 -  number of commandments in Moses' summary.

3 - number of teachings in John Wesley's summary -

            (do no harm, do good, love God)

2 - number of teachings in Jesus' summary -

            (love God, love your neighbor)

1 - number of people it takes to love enough to make a difference.

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The 6 Professional Associations referenced above -

American Academy of Pediatrics

American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy

American Medical Association

American Psychiatric Association

American Psychoanalytic Association

National Association of Social Workers

Welcome!

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.