As the dog days of summer wound down, MIND and MFSA officials prepared their legal brief for the Judicial Council case on MIND’s “Ministry to the Marginalized” resolution. The resolution, which was passed by the legislative section of the annual conference in June and then ruled out of order on the plenary floor by Bishop Park, calls on the conference to take out advertisements in LGBT publications to express the conference’s “heartfelt regret for the harm inflicted on LGBT people through the UMC’s homophobia and discrimination, and…share in these advertisements that NYAC has long been opposed to UMC policy on homosexuality and welcome and invite LGBT people to worship in NYAC churches.”
The bishop’s ruling was challenged on the conference floor, a move that set in motion of process that now puts the case before the UMC’s highest judicial body. The MIND-MFSA brief, which was officially filed on August 24, argues that the bishop’s ruling was improperly made and that the resolution itself is within the bounds of the UMC Book of Discipline. “We cannot be silent about the work and Word of God among us, and annual conferences have the right and responsibility to advertise their principled dissent,” it states.
The case will be one of several LGBT-related cases decided by the Judicial Council at its October 27-30 meeting in New Orleans. MIND is working with the national Reconciling Ministries Network (RMN) and others to make a vocal and visible witness during this meeting. The text of the resolution, the Judicial Council brief, the bishop’s ruling and background on the case are all here.