"Tantalizingly Close!"

[captainsblog]

That was on the cover of our bulletin this morning.

This was our order of worship:



And the theme- from the readings to the children's message to the sermon, to the ending Prayer for Thanksgiving that I led-

Accept our thanks and praise, O Lord,
 for all our existence and  for all that you have done for us;
 for the beauty of this world and the splendor of the whole creation;
 for the wonder of life in all its magnificent diversity;
 for the mystery of love and the blessing of human community;
 and for your providence, which sustains and nourishes our life.

We thank you for the gift of family and friends,
  and for the loving care
  which surrounds us on every side.

We thank you for setting us at tasks
  which demand our best efforts,
  especially those tasks that serve your ministry of reconciliation.


- was one of inclusiveness, and condemnation of those who condemn, and of how our doctrine and dogma have centered so much attention on the banning of gays in marriage and clergy when there's the noisy gong of hundreds of other Commandments- Old and New- being broken by our straighest and gayest of members on a near-daily basis.

In preaching this morning, Rich stood with the accused who stood earler this month in the dock of judgment at that church in Syracuse I visited. He said what I said to the Bishop myself, in that emailed letter that still goes unanswered- that our Discipline's condemnation of sexual orientation as being "incompatible with Christian teaching" is itself incompatible with so much of it.

He ended his message by reading from Pastor Steve's own description of the events of that Thursday- both upstairs in the Bishop's office with his accuser present, and downstairs where somewhere between 150 and 200 of us were standing in solidarity with him.  You can read his whole piece here, but Rich ended his sermon today with the same words that Steve ended his post with:

My dream for a “just resolution” begins with my bishop dismissing the charges filed against me on the grounds that my actions -

reflect obedience to the central teachings of Jesus,
confirm the best and highest reading of the UMC Discipline,
and do, in truth, spring from the Spirit of God herself.

If that could happen . . .
our UM church could finally begin to proclaim
that we want to be a 21st century church –
no longer relying on the crumbling architecture of
a 19th century understanding of human sexuality.

The prize of peace is so tantalizingly close!

----

So, yeah. We had an affirming message from our respected elder of the denomination, songs of support from the hymnal, sacred texts which echoed what we're saying, and we even had show tunes.  All that's left is to hang the rainbow flag outside- and that might just be coming.  For Rich has asked me to meet with him this week, and I think it may be about actually setting at "the tasks which demand our best efforts."

All those references to "reconciliation" in the service- in readings, prayers and the sermon itself- can't have been by accident. Our denomination's unofficial but organized movement to strip this bigotry from our doctrine is known as Reconciling Ministry, and there are both national and conference movements which network under that banner.  They welcome new churches who will be welcoming. It begins with the single step of a congregation affirming itself as such a house of God- the closest church to us, in suburban Rochester, puts it this way:

FUMC is a Reconciling Congregation where all persons of any age, gender, gender identity, race, ethnic origin, economic reality, family status, sexual orientation, diverse ability or social status are welcome without reservation to share in God’s love.

Is that so hard a thing to say? I don't think so; yet nobody west of the Genesee River has yet to say it, that I'm aware of.  That, also, will not be the end of it; we can line up enough "vision statements" and survey results to start a bowling alley and watch them all fall noisily to the floor.  In time, that message, and even that rainbow flag, will likely attract the very members we seek to reconcile with, and to.  Two or more of them may one day seek God's blessings on their unions, which even the nonsectarian state and United States now give full recognition to.  Will our congregation welcome them? Will our pastor, whoever it may then be, take the bullshit by the horns and say "yes" where printed pages from Nashville and imminent registered letters from Syracuse will wag their fingers "no" at us?  Will we stand in solidarity when the fight really means something?

I pray that all God's children in this charge will say "yes," and as we said to end our service for Steve, "Amen and Amen!"

Comments

[thanatos-kalos.livejournal.com]

Good luck! ::hugs::

[captainsblog.livejournal.com]

I'll leave for you to decide whether there's any psychic significance to this occurring on the day that American Auntie reran COE, which I've only watched 20 minutes of so far but which included Jack and Ianto's references to "couple" that seemed totally sacreligious and yet at the same time sacred.

[thanatos-kalos.livejournal.com]

I think CoE running has far more to do with its main guest star, but... ;) I look fwd to interviewing you!

[headbanger118.livejournal.com]

the Spirit of God herself. ??? Where did the feminine come from?