Tag Archives: Inclusive church

May I Become

19 Wednesday Aug 2015

Posted by in Justice, LGBTQ, pastoral integrity, Reflections

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Altar at First United Methodist Church, Santa Barbara, CA Adorned by Julie Hayward

Altar at First United Methodist Church, Santa Barbara, CA
Adorned by Julie Hayward

Our congregation has been engaging in learning and conversation about what the Bible and the Christian faith say about hospitality and welcome within the Body of Christ, specifically as these relate to LGBTQ persons. It has not been an easy process thus far. We have looked at the words of Scripture related to same-sex activity and tried to understand their cultural and historical context. I have led a teaching forum on the United Methodist Church and the LGBTQ community, specifically addressing how our denomination has characterized homosexuality as sin and yet many of us experience a deep tension between institutional loyalty and obedience to Jesus’ teachings in the gospels to love our neighbors. We have gathered in a worshipful setting to listen to the personal stories of what our experience and reason tell us about same-sex attraction. I have preached sermons on the necessity of changing the United Methodist stance on marriage equality, ordination, and the full inclusion of our LGBTQ neighbors, friends, and families in the life and ministry of the church.

After a time of Holy Conversation recently, in which over fifty people gathered prayerfully to listen to one another’s stories, I shared my heavy heart about a few matters. A day or two later, someone in the church sent me the following poem/prayer. It was an encouragement to me, so I share it now with you. The words below are not my words (though I wish they were). I hope you find them meaningful for whatever paths God is leading you on today.

May I become at all times, both now and forever,
A protector for those without protection
A guide for those who have lost their way
A ship for those with oceans to cross
A bridge for those with rivers to cross
A sanctuary for those in danger
A lamp for those without light
A place of refuge for those without shelter
And a servant to all in need.
~Anonymous

Jesus is the one who illumines my spiritual path. When others assign false motives to my leadership, I keep my eyes on Jesus. When they question my fidelity to the gospel of Christ, I keep my eyes on Jesus. I let the bigger picture of those who have been marginalized and excluded in church and society remain in my sight, and I remember the pain this has brought to their lives. I pray that in some small way I can give voice to Jesus’ command to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Words (c) 2015 Mark Lloyd Richardson

God’s Year to Act

21 Tuesday Oct 2014

Posted by in Justice, LGBTQ, Reflections

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Prayer Vigil for Pastor Frank Schaefer at First UMC, Santa Barbara, CA

Prayer Vigil for Pastor Frank Schaefer at First UMC, Santa Barbara, CA

Tomorrow morning in a makeshift courtroom in a Memphis hotel, the Judicial Council of the United Methodist Church will meet to hear the final appeal of Rev. Frank Schaefer who performed a same-sex marriage ceremony for his son Tim in 2007. Many prayers have been said for Pastor Frank and his wife Brigitte as they have traveled this difficult journey through a church trial and previous appeal process to arrive at this day. Many of us are deeply grateful to Frank for his prophetic witness to both church and society regarding the gospel imperative to offer grace and peace to all of God’s children, including our LGBTQ neighbors!

On this eve of Frank’s appearance before the Judicial Council, many people came together for a prayer vigil in the sanctuary of First United Methodist Church in Santa Barbara. During this vigil, we lifted up Frank and Brigitte, that they be surrounded by God’s comforting and empowering presence. We prayed for the team of people representing Frank and for the members of the council to exercise wisdom and compassion in their deliberations. We prayed for faith communities and followers of Christ everywhere that together we move forward in the ministry of Christ for the sake of the whole world, which is beloved of God.

At this critical time in the life of the church, I am claiming the inaugural sermon of Jesus found in Luke, chapter 4, for all of us. Here’s how Eugene Peterson’s The Message states these familiar words of Jesus to his hometown congregation:

“God’s Spirit is on me; he’s chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor, sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to set the burdened and battered free, to announce, ‘This is God’s year to act!’” (Luke 4:18-19)

At the close of our prayer vigil this evening we called Pastor Frank and Brigitte and through the wonders of speakerphone we prayed with and for them. We prayed that the church that seeks to follow Jesus fully embrace the ministry of Jesus that extends to all of God’s children. We prayed believing that in the end love will prevail, because it is a force stronger than fear or prejudice or discriminatory church law!

Words (c) 2014 Mark Lloyd Richardson

When the Church discriminates, who holds it accountable?

26 Sunday Jan 2014

Posted by in Justice, LGBTQ, Reflections

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DSCN0590I’ve returned to The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church lately in an effort to better understand what it means to be in covenant with my ordained colleagues, and indeed with all baptized members of the Church. While I think I have a reasonably good understanding of the meaning of covenant, I am increasingly aware of the vastly different approaches within the Church on this matter.

As human beings we cannot help but see covenant through the lenses of our own experience of God, faith, grace, and community. In other words, the very meaning of covenant is formed within the ongoing lived experience of faith communities composed of imperfect human beings working together for the common good.

The Book of Discipline says, “Ordained persons exercise their ministry in covenant with all Christians, especially with those whom they lead and serve in ministry” (para 303.3). This covenant is spoken of as one of “mutual care and accountability.” So there is a sense that in whatever ways the Church seeks the Reign of God, we need to purposefully exercise mutual care and accountability.

The Book of Discipline also says, “The effectiveness of the Church in mission depends on these covenantal commitments to the ministry of all Christians and the ordained ministry of the Church. Through ordination and through other offices of pastoral leadership, the Church provides for the continuation of Christ’s ministry, which has been committed to the church as a whole” (para. 303.4).

So there are covenantal commitments that we make to, with, and for one another, and these commitments are naturally tested over time. I have always understood these covenantal commitments primarily in terms of relationship – relationship with God, with my ministry partners, and with the whole Church. Throughout my thirty years of pastoral ministry in a variety of contexts these covenantal commitments have meant renegotiating relationships that continue to grow and change. I am not the same person I was when I entered ministry. My experience of God and of Church has changed. My theology has changed. The world has changed, as has the Church’s role in the world. In other words, covenantal commitments are not static, and those of us who seek to minister alongside one another must exercise grace and humility in our relationships with one another if we are to have any hope of faithfully dealing with the current discord within the Church over how we welcome LGBTQ neighbors into the Church’s life and ministry.

While I view covenantal commitments mainly in terms of relationship, I am aware of how many United Methodists view it mainly in terms of accountability. These are my sisters and brothers in Christ who see accountability as a matter of all parties agreeing to follow rules of conduct and belief as spelled out in the Book of Discipline. I admit this is true as far as it goes. We do have rules for a reason. However, no covenant relationship thrives on the basis of simply following rules. Any covenant relationship that holds the possibility of being life giving and spiritually enriching needs to be a dynamic interplay of diverse voices coming together to give glory to the One who invites all people into abundant life.

Accountability flows in more than one direction. There is a mutual accountability built into the covenant we have with one another. But do we ever hear anything about the accountability of the United Methodist Church for how it has demeaned and dismissed LGBTQ persons from openly participating in the life and ministry of the Church? Is anyone being held accountable for failing to truly recognize the sacred worth of LGBTQ persons? Is there any accountability of General Conference delegates over several decades for the discriminatory language written into church law? When the General Conference gets it wrong, are we to ignore the royal law of scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself?” (James 2:8) Such love requires mercy over judgment.

According to paragraph 306 in the Book of Discipline, an order of ministry like the one to which I belong along with other ordained Elders, is “a covenant community within the church to mutually support, care for, and hold accountable its members for the sake of the life and mission of the church.” I don’t believe that being a part of this order means surrendering my conscience and my integrity to an imperfect book that is revised by the General Conference every four years. Like all other United Methodist Christians, I seek to understand the witness of God’s grace in Scripture by means of my own experience of God, my reason’s ability to understand the many contextual voices of Scripture and to embrace new knowledge, and the historic tradition of the Church (which, for the record, includes John Wesley’s own rule-breaking for the sake of Christ’s work on earth).

I cannot with integrity simply bow to human law – for that is what the Book of Discipline is – when it violates the human dignity of LGBTQ persons. In challenging or disobeying church law I do not believe I am violating my covenant with others in my order. Indeed, I believe I am protecting covenant from the harm that is done whenever a person made in God’s image feels the sting of the Church’s rejection. I believe I am being true to my calling of continuing Christ’s ministry and welcoming to the table of grace all who seek God!

Words (c) 2014 Mark Lloyd Richardson

Biblical Obedience to an Inclusive God

01 Tuesday Oct 2013

Posted by in Peace with justice, Reflections

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gay-marriage-hands-and-rings

Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett, resident bishop of the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church, issued a press release yesterday that reads in part:

“A retired United Methodist bishop notified me that he plans to travel to North Alabama, the area for which I am responsible, with the intention of breaking church law. He plans in late October to officiate at the celebration of a ceremony of a same-sex couple who were recently married in Washington, D.C. Though the couple are members of a United Methodist Church in the North Alabama Conference, the celebration will not take place in a United Methodist Church. I urged the retired bishop to reconsider as his officiating at this ceremony would be in violation of United Methodist Church law. I am also concerned that it would encourage the public to only define The United Methodist Church in North Alabama by one matter and not by the rich range of ministries of North Alabama local churches such as feeding the hungry, ministry with the poor, offering hope for those in addiction, sharing the gospel with our neighbors and welcoming all people to worship together and celebrate the sacrament of holy communion….

“Our culture is divided around our understandings of relationships between same sex partners. Likewise there is much debate, pain and struggle among faithful Christians about interpretations of biblical teaching on same-sex relationships. Our United Methodist 2012 Book of Discipline affirms that all persons are of sacred worth and that God’s grace is available to all. Every person is welcome in our churches. The Discipline of our denomination also states that we consider the practice of homosexuality as incompatible with Christian teaching. Our ministers are not permitted to conduct ceremonies that celebrate homosexual unions or perform same sex wedding ceremonies.

“As a bishop of the United Methodist Church, I took a vow to abide by and uphold the Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church. I am also committed to continuing to focus those I lead on our mission, which is broader than any one issue. The mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. I appreciate prayers for all involved in this difficult and painful situation.”

 ♦♦♦♦

The bishop’s press release raises more questions for me than answers. She mentions several wonderful ministries of the local churches under her care, including feeding the hungry, ministry with the poor, and offering hope for those in addiction. If the denomination wrote into its rule book that local churches were no longer allowed to actively engage the hungry, the poor, or persons who suffer with addictions utilizing church ministries on church property, would she be okay with that since it is church law? Or might she challenge it as contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ?

Truth be told, there is a sizeable minority of United Methodist clergy and laypersons who have discerned a different biblical understanding of same-sex relationships and do not wish to have limits placed on our ministry with LGBT persons. We do not wish to say to LGBT persons that we are unable to celebrate with them their committed relationships because they violate church law. Since the denomination has not been of one mind on this matter for decades, a more charitable stance would be to allow faithful United Methodists to follow their conscience. This is what we do in relation to another controversial matter – war. Yet by narrow margins we again and again adopt unjust, uncompassionate rules of church law that exclude people in our midst from the acknowledgment that God accepts them as they are.

The bishop states that everyone is welcome in our churches. But what kind of welcome says to persons, “You are living in a way that is incompatible with what the church teaches?” Granted, in many of our churches, we have a time of confession in Sunday worship so as to acknowledge that we all live in ways that are incompatible with what the church teaches. We are all seduced by consumerism, militarism, and heterosexism. Yet we are still permitted to receive the church’s blessing of our marriages if we seek it. We are welcomed in spite of ourselves. Why would we offer only a conditional welcome to persons with a different sexual orientation?

Finally, it is true that the mission of the United Methodist Church is “broader than any one issue,” as the bishop suggests. However, this sentiment means very little in light of the matter of justice we are discussing. To refer to “the practice of homosexuality” as though it is uniform from person to person is as absurd as referring to “the practice of heterosexuality.” What does that even mean? Every heterosexual person on the face of the earth understands and practices his or her sexuality in an individual manner. Not only that, but society constructs gender identity and it is not simply a matter of being male or female. There is a continuum of gender identification on which we all exist.

There are so many questions surrounding this matter of same sex marriage, and yet the United Methodist Church is stuck in reverse, hoping to stem the tide of reason and new understanding by insisting that church law is the last word. Bishop Wallace-Padgett may be obliged to uphold the restrictive and oppressive language of the Book of Discipline on this matter, but the retired bishop she mentions, Bishop Melvin Talbert, is the one listening to the Spirit and attuned to the radically inclusive love revealed in Christ! The world needs more disciples willing to take risks that challenge the status quo and make transformation possible.

Words (c) 2013 Mark Lloyd Richardson

Look Who God Let In

09 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by in Reflections, Sermon portions

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The New Testament book of James reminds us that we do well if we fulfill scripture’s royal law, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (2:8). Our neighbor is not only the person next door, but the one we haven’t yet bothered to get to know, the one of a different socioeconomic class, the one of another religious or cultural perspective. Our neighbors are increasingly diverse. As Diana Eck reminds us in relation to our own Constitution, “We the people” in our religiously pluralistic society includes the Muslim, the Buddhist, and the Hindu.

“If you show partiality,” James warns, “you commit sin” (2:9). The command to love our neighbors challenges us at the core of who Christ calls us to be. It challenges us to be inclusive in our welcoming. It challenges us to widen the scope of the ones we call our neighbors. It challenges us to live the gospel values of hospitality, compassion and grace.

When it comes to the church and who is in and who is out I am always stunned by God’s graciousness.

People I cannot relate to, God lets in.

People I don’t understand, God lets in.

People whose life decisions I can’t embrace, God lets in.

People who are stubborn or opinionated or worse, God lets in.

People who are not like me – fine, upstanding sinner that I am – God lets in.

God lets in all kinds of people. It’s the church that sometimes closes the door in the face of the hurting, the addicted, the self-righteous, the poor, the sojourner, or the different.

I favor the full inclusion of gay and lesbian people in the life of the church.

I am constrained by the Gospel of Jesus Christ to accept those whom God accepts.

As a follower of Christ I believe in my heart that God accepts me and loves me as I am.

God’s grace is so unfathomable that you and I experience it even when the people around us know we don’t deserve it.

God’s love comes to us even when we know ourselves to be unlovable.

I have felt the assurance of God’s forgiveness and grace in my life. How can I deny it to other sinners?

The doors to God’s grace open wide to a vast array of imperfect people. How can I close a door that God opens?

As another pastor is quoted as saying, “I am so glad that God wants people who sin and struggle with sin to come to church, because as Pastor, I would hate to be excluded from the church I serve in.”

God’s kingdom is an alternative Realm where the least, the last, and the lost are God’s most urgent concern. How these neighbors are treated is a sign of how well the church understands God’s purposes.

A wonderfully inclusive welcome statement at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Community in Daytona Beach generated a lot of buzz on the Internet recently. It reads:

“We extend a special welcome to those who are single, married, divorced, gay, filthy rich, dirt poor, y no habla Ingles. We extend a special welcome to those who are crying new-borns, skinny as a rail, or could afford to lose a few pounds.

“We welcome you if you can sing like Andrea Bocelli or like our pastor who can’t carry a note in a bucket. You’re welcome here if you’re ‘just browsing,’ just woke up, or just got out of jail. We don’t care if you’re more Catholic than the Pope, or haven’t been in church since little Joey’s baptism.

“We extend a special welcome to those who are over 60 but not grown up yet, and to teenagers who are growing up too fast. We welcome soccer moms, NASCAR dads, starving artists, tree-huggers, latte-sippers, vegetarians, and junk-food eaters. We welcome those who are in recovery or still addicted. We welcome you if you’re having problems or you’re down in the dumps or if you don’t like ‘organized religion,’ we’ve been there too.

“If you blew all your offering money at the dog track, you’re welcome here. We offer a special welcome to those who think the earth is flat, work too hard, don’t work, can’t spell, or because grandma is in town and wanted to go to church.

“We welcome those who are inked, pierced or both. We offer a special welcome to those who could use a prayer right now, had religion shoved down your throat as a kid or got lost in traffic and wound up here by mistake. We welcome tourists, seekers and doubters, bleeding hearts … and you!”

Again I ask, if God opens a door to my neighbors, who am I to close it?

Words (c) 2012 Mark Lloyd Richardson