An openly-gay United Methodist minister was suspended from her religious duties for 20 days after elders decided on Thursday that she violated church doctrine by performing a same-sex wedding.
Rev. Amy Delong was also required to write a paper about how she should deal with issues that "create an adversarial spirit" within the church, according Rev. Tom Lambrecht, representing the Wisconsin Conference of the United Methodist Church.
"We feel good that it recognizes that there was a violation of church law and that there is a punishment levied," Lambrecht said of the decision.
DeLong is required to complete the first draft of the document by January 1, 2012. The final draft is to be completed by June of 2012. If she fails to comply with the ruling, DeLong will be suspended from her ministerial duties for one year.
Delong said her goals during the proceeding were to tell the truth about herself, to help the church live up to its goals, and to send a message of love to gays.
"I am standing in the light of God and feel confident and strong. We have opened some doors and it feels like a new day," she said after the trial.
The sentence ended a four-day church trial in which a 13-member jury unanimously convicted DeLong of officiating a wedding for a lesbian couple in Menominee, Wisconsin in September, 2009.
Rev. Scott Campbell, who represented DeLong, called it a "very fair" outcome.
The 44-year-old minister from Osceola, Wisconsin faced two charges -- officiating a homosexual union and being a "self-avowed practicing homosexual."
The jury voted 12-1 that DeLong was not guilty of being a self-avowed practicing homosexual. Homosexuals may be ordained ministers in the United Methodist Church but they must vow to a life of celibacy, according to the church's doctrine.
DeLong, who has been in a relationship for the last 16 years, is the executive director of Kairos CoMotion, a progressive theological advocacy group.
The church trial, similar to a criminal trial, was held at Peace United Methodist Church in Kaukauna, about 30 minutes southwest of Green Bay.
The proceeding marked the seventh time over the last two decades that the church has held a trial involving homosexuality, according to the United Methodist News Service. The church is expected to take a hard look at its policies on homosexuality during its legislative conference in 2012, Lambrecht said.
"This is going to be a big issue and an important discussion that is going to be held in 2012," Lambrecht said. "There are proposals that completely reverse our church's position on the issue right now."
Lambrecht also recommended the jury require DeLong to sign a statement saying she would not perform same-sex marriage ceremonies in future. She had said earlier that she would refuse to sign that type of statement if it were required.
Despite the ruling, DeLong said she would not treat an invitation to preside over a same sex marriage any differently than she would a traditional marriage.
"There's no way I would categorically discriminate against them based on their sexual orientation," she said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/24/us-methodists-gays-idUSTRE75N08D20110624
Affichage des articles dont le libellé est The Rev. Amy DeLong. Afficher tous les articles
Affichage des articles dont le libellé est The Rev. Amy DeLong. Afficher tous les articles
vendredi 24 juin 2011
mardi 21 juin 2011
Some Methodist clergy defy gay marriage ban - break the silence
A growing number of pastors in the United Methodist Church say they're no longer willing to obey a church rule that prohibits them from officiating at same-sex marriages, despite the potential threat of being disciplined or dismissed from the church.
In some parts of the U.S., Methodist pastors have been marrying same-sex couples or conducting blessing ceremonies for same-sex unions for years with little fanfare and no backlash from the denomination. Calls to overturn the rule have become increasingly vocal in recent weeks, ratcheting up the pressure for the Methodist church to join other mainline Protestant denominations that have become more accepting of openly gay leaders.
While trials of pastors who conduct same-gender ceremonies have only occurred once every several years, the threat is indeed real: The Rev. Amy DeLong of Osceola in western Wisconsin faces a three-day trial starting Tuesday on two charges: violating a church prohibition on the ordination of "self-avowed practicing homosexuals" and marrying a lesbian couple.
She said she told her supervisors years ago that she was in a lesbian relationship and felt comforted by the support and caring she received in response.
While she avoided discussing her relationship in local church settings, she said her efforts to live halfway in the closet and halfway out took such a toll that she finally decided to break her silence. She agreed to marry a lesbian couple in the fall of 2009, and she didn't mince words when she reported it in a required ministerial report a few months later. Eventually the two church charges were filed against her.
"I would be lying if I said this process hasn't been difficult, but I also feel called to break the silence and tell my own truth regardless of the consequences," said DeLong, 44. "When I entered (the ministry) I did not suspend my conscience. It's incumbent on me not to perpetuate its unjust laws."
The chances of getting the rule reversed within the Methodist church are far from certain, however. Rule changes must be approved by delegates at the church's General Conference, held every four years. Because a growing number of delegates come from Africa, the Philippines and other theologically conservative regions, voting patterns reflect strong resistance to change.
That hasn't stopped Methodist clergy in the U.S. from raising the stakes. Hundreds of pastors from areas including Illinois, Minnesota, New York and New England have signed statements in recent weeks asserting their willingness to defy the rule.
Those who do so could be charged with violating denominational law and forced to face a church trial. Penalties could include defrocking or suspension from the ministry.
At a conference this month in Minnesota, the Rev. Bruce Robbins of the Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church invited clergy to sign a statement saying they'd be willing to conduct any wedding, not just heterosexual ones. He said more than 70 signed it.
Robbins said he was driven to a sense of urgency because efforts are under way to have Minnesota's constitution limit civil marriages to heterosexual couples.
"One of the tragedies is, there are so many things we should be attending to: poverty issues, justice issues," he said. "I wish this didn't have to be at the center of our efforts today. But it is because of the inequality, the unfairness of the policy."
Similar efforts in New York this month drew signatures from more than 140 clergy and another 500 signatures of support from lay people, according to an organizer. Another 100 retired clergy did the same in New England, and at least a dozen there have actually conducted same-sex marriages with no complaints.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2011-06-19-methodist-church-pastor-gay-marriage-defy-rule_n.htm
In some parts of the U.S., Methodist pastors have been marrying same-sex couples or conducting blessing ceremonies for same-sex unions for years with little fanfare and no backlash from the denomination. Calls to overturn the rule have become increasingly vocal in recent weeks, ratcheting up the pressure for the Methodist church to join other mainline Protestant denominations that have become more accepting of openly gay leaders.
While trials of pastors who conduct same-gender ceremonies have only occurred once every several years, the threat is indeed real: The Rev. Amy DeLong of Osceola in western Wisconsin faces a three-day trial starting Tuesday on two charges: violating a church prohibition on the ordination of "self-avowed practicing homosexuals" and marrying a lesbian couple.
She said she told her supervisors years ago that she was in a lesbian relationship and felt comforted by the support and caring she received in response.
While she avoided discussing her relationship in local church settings, she said her efforts to live halfway in the closet and halfway out took such a toll that she finally decided to break her silence. She agreed to marry a lesbian couple in the fall of 2009, and she didn't mince words when she reported it in a required ministerial report a few months later. Eventually the two church charges were filed against her.
"I would be lying if I said this process hasn't been difficult, but I also feel called to break the silence and tell my own truth regardless of the consequences," said DeLong, 44. "When I entered (the ministry) I did not suspend my conscience. It's incumbent on me not to perpetuate its unjust laws."
The chances of getting the rule reversed within the Methodist church are far from certain, however. Rule changes must be approved by delegates at the church's General Conference, held every four years. Because a growing number of delegates come from Africa, the Philippines and other theologically conservative regions, voting patterns reflect strong resistance to change.
That hasn't stopped Methodist clergy in the U.S. from raising the stakes. Hundreds of pastors from areas including Illinois, Minnesota, New York and New England have signed statements in recent weeks asserting their willingness to defy the rule.
Those who do so could be charged with violating denominational law and forced to face a church trial. Penalties could include defrocking or suspension from the ministry.
At a conference this month in Minnesota, the Rev. Bruce Robbins of the Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church invited clergy to sign a statement saying they'd be willing to conduct any wedding, not just heterosexual ones. He said more than 70 signed it.
Robbins said he was driven to a sense of urgency because efforts are under way to have Minnesota's constitution limit civil marriages to heterosexual couples.
"One of the tragedies is, there are so many things we should be attending to: poverty issues, justice issues," he said. "I wish this didn't have to be at the center of our efforts today. But it is because of the inequality, the unfairness of the policy."
Similar efforts in New York this month drew signatures from more than 140 clergy and another 500 signatures of support from lay people, according to an organizer. Another 100 retired clergy did the same in New England, and at least a dozen there have actually conducted same-sex marriages with no complaints.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2011-06-19-methodist-church-pastor-gay-marriage-defy-rule_n.htm
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