Our Vision of a Beloved and Just Community

Resolution for the 2014 New York Annual Conference

Whereas, despite institutionalized discrimination in the United Methodist Church against GLBTQ persons and despite punitive actions and threats of further punitive actions by individuals and groups opposed to the full rights of GLBTQ persons in the United Methodist Church, GLBTQ people are finding welcoming places 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 GLBTQ rights in the United States, in many places GLBTQ persons face horrifying persecution, often encouraged by and sanctioned by Christian leaders from the U.S. Meanwhile, in our own country GLBTQ persons still face wide-ranging social and legal discrimination. GLBTQ youth are at great risk for bullying, violence, homelessness, family ostracism, sexual abuse, and poverty. These dimensions of oppression disproportionately affect GLBTQ people of color, who are at the intersection of racial prejudice and prejudice against GLBTQ people; and

Whereas, the grave and continuing harm done to GLBTQ 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 GLBTQ 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.

As amended and passed June 6, 2014