Reflections on homosexuality in my church

Jody Cross-Hansen

My grown children, who still find their mom and dad an embarrassment in so many ways, literally groan when I wax about how much I loved divinity school and tell them we actually enjoyed denominational jokes. Only their mother, a nerd and a religious one on top of it, could get her chuckles out of a denominational joke. How many Methodists does it take to screw in a light bulb?  Answer: At least ten. One black, one white, one Hispanic, one male, one female, one handicapped, one old, one young…  The joke takes off on a very real aspect of our church – that we bend over backwards to make sure that everyone is included, that no  one is left out or left behind.  We learn it as children singing “Jesus Loves the Little Children”; we learn it growing up when we have district or conference get-togethers and see all the different colors and cultures that make us up.  We see it in denominational events that celebrate cultural heritages and cultural diversity.  Our founder John Wesley was a pastor for all people, black and white and poor as well as rich. When nobody else was there for everybody, John Wesley was there for everybody, and since I was a child I was taught that being a Methodist is about worshipping together and including everybody.  Now we’re including everybody except gay people and I’m not sure who we are anymore.