A New Day In the New York Conference!
From Our Vision of a Beloved and Just Community,
Adopted by the New York Annual Conference, June 2014.
Formally endorsed by the Board of Ordained Ministry
of the New York Annual Conference on Saturday, February 20, 2016.
“All persons who seek to glorify God in word and deed and live under the Lordship of Jesus Christ are invited to discern and explore their call toward ordination or licensing in the New York Annual Conference. Sexual orientation and gender identity are not and will not be considered in the evaluation of candidates by the Board of Ordained Ministry… Quite simply, discriminating against married persons regardless of the gender of their spouse or against those who hope to be married is not the path we believe God is calling us to walk.”
The Rev. Dr. William B. Pfohl, BOOM Chair, NYAC, March 1, 2016
Methodists in New Directions (MIND), a New York Annual Conference organization working for full inclusion of LGBTQI people in the United Methodist Church, commended their local Board of Ordained Ministry this week for taking the historic action on February 20 of voting as a body to welcome LGBTQI candidates into the ordination process without fear of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.
Toward this end, the Board of Ministry of the New York Annual Conference:
- Declared that “LGBTQI candidates will be given equal consideration and protection in the candidacy process.”
- Informed the District Committees on Ordained Ministry who are amendable to the Board of Ministry of these affirmations and instructed them to abide by these guidelines.
MIND responded to the action, saying “It is exciting and deeply gratifying to know that the members of the Board of Ordained Ministry of the New York Conference heard these voices and responded graciously, prophetically, and bravely. MIND commends the NYAC Board of Ordained Ministry and its leaders for their vision and boldness. The action they have taken encourages us all to continue the witness, the dialogue, and the prophetic work that will one day bring about a transformation in the United Methodist Church.”
The full text of the Board of Ordained Ministry announcement is here.
“We are grateful to The New York Annual Conference Board of Ordained Ministry for taking this historic, momentous step to ensure equal treatment for LGBTQ candidates for ministry. I know I speak for many LGBTQI United Methodist pastors who are happy to know that those who come after us will not have to suffer in the silence of the church imposed closet nor will they have to redact the one they love from their autobiographical narratives.”
Rev. Sara Thompson Tweedy
Chairperson, Methodists In New Directions
“Finally, the New York Conference Board of Ordained Ministry will assess candidates on the primary basis of their gifts and graces for the ministry of Jesus Christ instead of making heterosexuality its primary, gate-keeping criteria. This decision by the board represents an embrace of Christian gospel values of love and justice over discriminatory practices and prejudice too prevalent elsewhere in our society that can foster bigotry and violence.”
Traci C. West
James W. Pearsall Professor of Christian Ethics and African American Studies
Drew Theological School
“I applaud the Board of Ordained Ministry for taking this prophetic step. The church is now truly welcoming all God’s beloved children and no longer letting the message be to our LGBTQI brothers and sisters that their relationships aren’t valid, that their call to minister is not of God, and that they cannot be ordained. It’s spiritually suffocating to live in the closet. I am thankful that I can now continue to follow God in faith as my full authentic self in the ordination process without having to be in the closet. This is a day of new beginnings.”
Bruce Lamb
Candidate for ordained ministry in the New York Annual Conference
“God has been using LGBTQI persons to bless the Church’s ministry, perhaps for longer than we can imagine. The New York Annual Conference Board of Ordained Ministry has opened the closet door for the work of God to flourish with honor. No more will, we, LGBTQI persons have to truncate our testimony, insult our relationships through occlusion, deprive ourselves of the fullness of our humanity in the presence of the people we serve, and be false in our witness. In this decision we have the beginnings of liberation. What a relief to know that this God-blessed constituency can candidate for ministry on equal, standard terms. Thank you NYAC Board of Ordained Ministry. May the wisdom of your decision be emulated within the UMC. Today, I am joyful and profoundly thankful.”
Althea Spencer Miller
Asst. Prof. of New Testament Studies, Drew Theological School
Steering Committee Member, Methodists in New Directions
The full text of the 2014 resolution of the New York Annual Conference:
Our Vision of a Beloved and Just Community:
Whereas, despite institutionalized discrimination in the United Methodist Church against LGBTQ persons and despite punitive actions and threats of further punitive actions by individuals and groups opposed to the full rights of LGBTQ persons in the United Methodist Church, LGBTQ people are finding welcoming communities in the United Methodist Church and in the New York Annual Conference; they are finding clergy, laity and congregations embracing them joyfully as members of the body of Christ, as United Methodists in good standing, and as gifted children of God entitled equally to all the ministries, ceremonies and sacraments of the church; and
Whereas, this welcoming spirit represents the future of the United Methodist Church and brings to life our conference’s decades-long commitment to inclusive ministry; and
Whereas, our ministry as an annual conference is set in a global context where, despite recent dramatic gains in LGBTQ rights in the United States, in many places LGBTQ persons face horrifying persecution, often encouraged by and sanctioned by Christian leaders from the U.S. LGBTQ persons face wide ranging social and legal discrimination. LGBTQ youth are at great risk for bullying, violence, homelessness, family ostracism, sexual abuse, suicide, and poverty. These dimensions of oppression disproportionately affect LGBTQ people of color, who are at the intersection of racial prejudice and prejudice against LGBTQ people; and
Whereas, the grave and continuing harm done to LGBTQ persons is an injustice which the church whose mission is to stand with “the least of these” must actively and passionately oppose; and
Whereas, the gift of an inclusive community is a gift of God to be embraced and celebrated; therefore
Be it resolved, that the New York Annual Conference declares itself to be the place where LGBTQ persons can find safe space, an arena for the expression of and celebration of their individual gifts in service and ministry, enjoy the blessings of family and marriage, and participate fully, openly, and equally in the full life of the church.
Contact:
Scott Summerville
914-980-7176
sumvil@aol.com