United Methodist Heritage
United Methodists have a strong heritage of taking an active stance in society. Wesley's example was to combine personal and social piety. Many are proud of being United Methodists and want to honor and live up to that heritage by working for the full inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and their families and friends in the life of the church.
Overcoming Exclusion
Examining the history of the United Methodist Church reveals a number of instances of recognizing, addressing, and overcoming exclusionary practices. These experiences have become an important part of who we are as United Methodists. Although the way was not easy, our church has worked against creating second-class citizens.
Women now have full equality in the United Methodist Church by policy. They can be leaders, be ordained, and be bishops. This was not always the case, but United Methodists recognized this inequality and worked to overcome exclusionary practices. Work still needs to be done to completely eradicate sexism in our churches, but we're committed to continuing that important work.
African-American Methodists were once relegated to sitting in the balcony for worship; black congregations were "supervised" by white congregations and organized into separate conferences. United Methodists recognized and addressed these exclusionary practices. Work still needs to be done to eradicate racism in our churches, but we're committed to continuing that important work.
Today's challenge for overcoming exclusionary practices is LGBT people who are denied membership, baptism for their children, the blessing of relationships, leadership roles, openness, and caring support in the United Methodist Church. Our strong heritage calls us to take on these challenges.
"When two gay men in our congregation decided to adopt a child, some members weren't openly supportive. Once the child arrived, however, her sweet smile soon won over the skeptics—it's hard to be prejudiced against a child who's smiling at you! The Sunday she was baptized was a joyous occasion, and the sanctuary was filled to overflowing with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, as well as the many honorary godparents designated from the congregation. This little girl was indeed celebrated as a child of God!"
Think and Let Think
John Wesley, our founder, said, "Think and let think." As United Methodists, we strive to encourage freedom of opinion. Our heritage leads us to cherish the belief that we can worship together without agreeing on everything. In Wesley's words, "Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike?" Wesley challenges us to live out the love of Christ in our actions even though we don't agree on everything. Living up to Wesley's example calls us to work for the full inclusion of LGBT people in the United Methodist Church.
"For the third time this week, I have shared my story with friends or members of my congregation. Last evening I enjoyed a picnic dinner during which I shared my story with two more people. Each time I have risked this move into transparency, the results have been dramatic. Last night was another blessing as walls came down, pretense and facade fell away, and five individuals experienced genuine spiritual community together." —Transgender United Methodist clergyperson
Matching Our Actions to Our Beliefs
United Methodists value matching actions to beliefs. When our church says, "Open hearts. Open minds, Open doors" or "Re-think Church," we want the full, rich meaning of those statements to be modeled in the lives of our faith communities. It's painful to hear these mottos and then hear of faithful United Methodists being asked to leave their leadership positions or employment because they're gay, lesbian, or transgender. We want the actions and beliefs of United Methodists to be congruent. Many work for the full inclusion of LGBT people and their families as a matter of consistency with stated United Methodist values.
"As a seminary-trained layperson, I worked as a full-time Director of Christian Education in one congregation for 15 years. In that community of faith, I worked closely with many families, children, youth, and senior citizens. Because I was afraid of rejection, I kept silent about my sexual orientation-I'm a lesbian but thought no one knew it. Shortly after a new, conservative pastor came to the church, I was asked to resign. During the painful time that ensued, a small group of people from another United Methodist church reached out to me and became my friends and allies. They opened their hearts to me; they helped me strategize on the best steps to take; they cried with me; they asked my partner how she was holding up during all this turmoil. They were truly the church for us both."
