One step forward, two steps back

The recent vote by members of the United Methodist Church to abide by a traditional policy banning gay clergy and same-sex marriages is seen by some as a heartbreaking turnabout in a church that has been known for its inclusiveness.

Former Idaho legislator Liz Chavez of Lewiston, a lifelong Methodist, said the vote to exclude people based on their sexual orientation is contradictory to the church she grew up in.

“My parents chose the Methodist Church for our family because there was such a warmth, such a welcoming environment,” Chavez said. When the family moved in her early years from Hagerman to Lewiston, “the place that we felt welcome and that we felt accepted and nourished was at the Methodist Church. I think there was a real sense of the Methodist motto of: ‘Open minds, open doors, open hearts.’

“Well, something has changed. … Now, if the global conference is going to take this position, then we can’t really have that motto anymore, because that is not true.”

Gregg Sealey of Spokane, the district superintendent of the United Methodist Church for eastern Washington and northern Idaho, was a nonvoting observer at the special session of the General Conference, held Feb. 23 through 26 in St. Louis, Mo. The purpose of the meeting was to act on a report concerning human sexuality and to explore options to strengthen church unity.

After days of emotional debate, delegates to the conference passed what is known as the Traditional Plan over the One Church Plan by 438 to 384.

The Traditional Plan affirms the church’s current bans on ordaining LGBTQ clergy and officiating at same-sex marriages or allowing such marriages in their churches. It also boosts penalties and accountability for transgressions of those bans.

“It’s been a 40-plus year argument or debate in the United Methodist Church, and the hope was that, coming out of it, we would have some clarity one way or the other,” Sealey said. “I don’t know that that actually happened.”

For a number of years, some congregations have been in civil disobedience with the actual rules of the church — especially in the Western Conference, which includes Washington and Idaho.

“Our conference is one of those that has been fairly open in its policies and procedures,” he said. “At first it was more like ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell,’ but more recently, we’ve been pretty open. Our conference has been fairly affirming and some of the legislation (at the special session) was in reaction to that. … We have not been of one mind on this in our whole existence.”

Openly gay and lesbian clergy and at least one openly gay bishop have been ordained in the Western Conference in the past several years.

The problem is, Sealey said, that the United Methodist Church is a global organization, and churches in other parts of the world don’t see things the way some U.S. congregations do.

Churches in Africa and the Philippines, which are some of the more conservative branches, have been growing, while the United Methodist Church in the U.S. has been shrinking, as have many other mainline churches in the U.S. and Europe.

The final word on the subject is not likely to be decided until next year’s General Conference, which is scheduled for May 5 through 15 in Minneapolis, Minn.

Although more than 53 percent of the special session delegates approved the Traditional Plan, how much of it will take effect is unknown.

“I think it’s still in process for everybody,” Sealey said. “What I’m hearing … largely is a little bit of surprise or shock that the traditional plan passed instead of the One Church Plan. But some people are elated, and some people are devastated. There’s a lot of confusion right now.”

Cody Stauffer, pastor of the Clarkston United Methodist Church and the Lewiston First United Methodist Church said many of the people in his congregations are bewildered by the news of the special session.

“I have folks in both congregations who are impacted by this,” Stauffer said. “Some are LGBTQ or have family members who are, and for them, it caught them kind of off guard.

“In our congregations in the Pacific Northwest, it’s kind of been a settled issue for awhile. We are inclusive … and we didn’t realize that globally it’s not so settled.”

Some people’s reaction has been to say: “ ‘What in the world? This doesn’t seem like the same UMC we’ve been going to,’ even though I thought we’ve done a pretty good job as clergy letting them know what was going on. It wasn’t on the front burner for them.”

Since the vote was announced, Stauffer said he has been in touch with several people trying to reassure them that nothing is going to change, at least in the immediate future.

“This is not a defining vote,” he said. “There’s still a lot of work going on in the background.”

Kaylissa Beale, a member of the Clarkston United Methodist Church, is studying to become a Methodist pastor through the Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary based in Evanston, Ill.

“Through my studies I’ve been meeting a lot of people who are studying with me and a lot of them are LGBTQ,” Beale said. “It’s difficult for all of our classmates to have this handed down from the General Conference, because it’s basically a judgment of people who we know and love and who are equal to all the rest of us.

“So there’s just been a lot of hurt throughout the years, but especially in this decision.”

Stauffer said there has been talk that some of the churches will eventually split from the main body, but nothing has happened yet.

“The western jurisdiction has made a statement that it’s not going anywhere and we are, by far, the most progressive. They said: ‘This is what we do (ordain gay clergy and perform same sex marriages) and we’re going to continue,’ ” and no punitive actions toward congregations that are inclusive are planned.

“I suppose that stance will lead to something,” he said. “I do suspect there will be some splintering.”

Stephen Kingsley, pastor of the United Methodist Church at Lapwai, said the issue has not been a major concern in his congregation with most people taking a “wait and see” attitude.

“The water is still pretty muddy, and it’s going to take a bit of time to work itself out,” Kingsley said.

Eventually, Kingsley said, he suspects there will be some churches leaving the United Methodist Church and striking out on their own, although he has not heard that any of the local churches were planning an exodus.

In his own congregation, “I do think that there are a number that seem to be more conservative” and would not approve the One Church plan.

“It’s something that we didn’t talk a lot about,” Kingsley said. “It’s almost like, ‘Let’s see what happens and then carry on.’ ”

Hedberg may be contacted at kathyhedberg@gmail.com or (208) 983-2326.