C-Mail
I have just finished reading Amy Green's article on the Dammann verdict in the April 9 issue of “The Call.” [“Dammann verdict prompts mixed reactions from groups.”] What caught my attention was the quote by Rev. Peggy Gaylord: "We just really deplore any efforts to exclude to any degree any group from participation in life in the church."
My question is this: If the United Methodist Church is now going to allow practicing homosexuals to perform the sacraments of the church according to Rev. Gaylord's recommendation, are they going to continue to deny lay leaders this same privilege?
Jerry DeBusk
Lay leader
Bethel (Seymour) UMC
Maryville District
In response to the decision of the church trial of Rev. Karen Dammann in Washington: While many have expressed shock and disappointment, we are not surprised at all. There have been decades of the rest of the church looking the other way when things like the blessing of same-sex couples was revealed. The clergy in the Pacific-Northwest Conference, having failed to change the church’s Discipline, simply chose to disregard the Discipline. The court’s claim of “leading by the Holy Spirit” reveals, according to Charles Colson (BreakPoint 3/29), that he “contradicts his own word and welcomes gross sin into the heart of the church.” Our Georgia bishops, Watson and Davis, call this “a clear sign of rebellion” and they urge the delegates to General Conference “to consider an appropriate response.” We see the results of failure to quell rebellion in the story of King David and his willful son, Absalom (2 Samuel 12-19). Absalom was allowed to have his way and the end was rebellion, death and destruction.
Another recent example in which we were personally involved was the charge against Bishop Joseph C. Sprague of the Northern Illinois Conference in 2002. With many clergy and laity we charged him with “dissemination of doctrines contrary to the established standards of doctrine of the Church.” His most egregious declaration in “Affirmations of a Dissenter” says, “I must dissent from Christocentric exclusivism, which holds that Jesus is the only way to God’s gift of salvation.” The charges were dismissed out of hand, with no possibility of a church trial. Rebellion spreads like cancer, as evidenced in Bishop Sprague’s own NIAC resolution passed in 2003, which stated, “Be if further resolved that we commit to proclaim that homosexual orientation … can be compatible with Christian teaching. We encourage clergy to preach this from our pulpits … (and) in Bible studies, and we encourage lay people to teach it in our Sunday School classes and tell it to our children.”
The Dammann case was open and shut, yet the jury chose to disobey church law. Remember Humpty Dumpty in “Through the Looking Glass”? He opined, “When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean-neither more nor less.” The Dammann jury looked into the Discipline and said it did not mean what it said. James D. Berkley, in an article in “Christianity Today Magazine described this as a Methodist mob mugging.
This is not a family squabble. This trial exposes a deep divide that has widened over the years. There really are two “faiths” trying to reside under one roof – one that is faithful to scripture and one that is not. If you throw out scripture, tradition and reason, what’s left is experience, which may qualify as the basis for a club, but, in our opinion, not a church. We are dealing with a question of basic honesty. We do not question Rev. Dammann’s or Bishop Sprague’s sincerity in their beliefs. We do question how persons can honestly enter into a covenant when they no longer agree with the rule of scripture or the Discipline. C. S. Lewis conveyed this eloquently in his book, “Christian Apologetics.”
Having failed after 32 years to change either scripture or the Discipline, we think it is time for those who honestly disagree with the United Methodist Church to find a denomination (or start a new one) that believes and practices the way they do. They would be perfectly at home in the Unitarian or Metropolitan Community Churches, or United Church of Christ – even parts of the Episcopal Church in the USA. Those clergy who were not honest at their ordination or who changed their beliefs afterward need to be honest with them selves and with the UMC. Let us pray that the General Conference will find a way to facilitate this painful, but necessary, procedure. Though others may do so, we will not break our covenant.
Rev. Buford Hankins
First Elizabethton UMC
Johnson City District
Rev. Phyllis Hankins
Austin Springs UMC
Johnson City District
An Open Letter to the Holston Annual Conference delegation to General Conference:
I am writing because of the clergy trial of the Rev. Karen Dammann. In light of all that has happened, I am calling on our delegation to do two things:
1. Issue a public statement as soon as possible. The only official statement from our conference that I am aware of is on the conference Web site from Bishop Chamberlain. In his statement he says, “I do not know all the facts about the case nor the verdict that was rendered.” This is at the same time that a majority of the other bishops in the Southeastern Jurisdiction have issued strong statements expressing their disapproval of the “facts” of the case. Holston Conference deserves better than what is currently on our Web site. Last year our conference experienced a decline in average attendance. I am afraid it will be much worse this year if the people sitting in the pews do not receive a better response from our conference. As the elected delegation to General Conference, you are the logical group to give the needed leadership our conference so desperately needs at this time.
2. Vote at General Conference to strengthen the Book of Discipline. If the Book of Discipline is not going to be enforced then there is no reason to have it. In the words of Bishop Joe Pennel of the Virginia Conference, “I hope that a way can be found to hold this jury accountable for its misinterpretation of the Book of Discipline.” Our covenant has been broken by the jury, the retired bishop who testified, and by many others who supported this decision. General Conference must find a way to keep all clergy, including bishops, accountable to the Book of Discipline.
I will be praying for you as you represent our conference in Pittsburgh.
Rev. David Smith
Clapp’s Chapel UMC
Knoxville District
I cannot believe those who claim they know Christ Jesus as Lord can come to a conclusion as this about a practicing homosexual pastor. Our Book of Discipline is very clear, and I am distressed that those who are in leadership positions in the United Methodist Church can vote as these men and women did.
I would pray that this type of decision would never reach the Chattanooga District or Holston Conference. However, I know that this practice of human relativism has and is infiltrating not only our society but our churches as well. I would like for the Holston Conference to make a statement and stand against the destruction of the family at the Conference this June at Lake Junaluska, NC.
If adults cannot set a good example for the children around us, then how can we expect our children to learn right from wrong? We cannot speak words of Christ and then do as we please.
Barry Kimsey
Chapel Hill UMC
Chattanooga District
At church this past Sunday my pastor read from the monthly newsletter. It was deeply disturbing to hear the conduct of the Methodist church, in allowing the pastor in California to marry gay couples. Not only is this morally wrong but spiritually as well.
I believe the Bible tells us that homosexuality is a sin, so how can you allow this to happen and still allow this person to continue in the ministry? Our God is an unchanging God, so if this was a sin in the beginning then it is still a sin today. Can you just imagine what God is thinking as he looks down on us, his church? I’m sure it’s not, “Well done, my good and faithful servants.” We are a blessed nation, but I feel that if we continue on this past as a church, we will no longer have the covering of God on our lives, our church or our nation. We are to hate the sin but not the sinner, so this isn’t a question of hatred or not wanting change or evdn about tolerance. I think, as Christians, we are to be an example of Christ, and to do his work, not have our own agenda. This is not a new way to get people into the church.
I hope I have gotten my feelings across. I am not eloquent with words, but I do not know what Christ expects from his church and his people, and this is not one of them. I will continue to pray about this matter and ask God’s forgiveness that this is even an issue of the church. I also pray that the ones who think this is OK to go on will go to the word of God to get the counsel and truth that they so desperately need.
Tracy McStraw
Jones Chapel UMC
Cleveland District
Our hearts are breaking over yet another church allowing Satan to twist a moral sin into a civil right. There is nothing positive about homosexuality in the Bible. Yet, it seems people are more and more determined to rewrite the Bible to suit their own personal agendas. God never gave anyone permission to rewrite his holy word to fit civil rights. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Would not prayer and guiding them to righteous living according to the Bible be more pleasing to our Lord (obedience to his commands), than rewriting his holy word to be politically correct for today’s perversions.
What a witness these people could be for our savior, Jesus Christ, if they allowed him to deliver them from a lifestyle pleasing to Satan and to be led into a lifestyle pleasing to God!
Paul and Janis Gagnon
Calhoun UMC
Cleveland District
I am writing you today in regards to same sex marriages. I should not have to do this. God said “no” and so should you! What is wrong with you people! I do not want God to ask me one day, “Sheila, why were you a part of a group that sinned against me?” Do you want to be asked that question? I used to be happy being a Methodist, but now I am ashamed. I am a very active member of Jones Chapel UMC in Riceville, but if you do not put a stop to this I will remove myself from the Methodist faith. Shame on you, to allow this preacher in California to marry that couple, and shame on her, for saying it was very spiritual.
You may say that I do not have to worry because the law has not passed in Tennessee, but if the church allows it, it is only a matter of time. I do not like the fact that my grandson will grow up in a nation that tells him it is OK to sin. Sin is sin, and you do not even need to find a common ground for this. Just say no!
I am not judging the homosexual. One of my dearest friends was a homosexual. She no longer is, and I praise God that I loved her so much that I was able to tell her she would with sin if she did not change. Today is a very happy woman, married to a man and has a family. She is so pleased that Jesus forgives, and she can let go of the past and live a blessed life. Now you say you love these people, then tell them it is wrong, not that it is OK. God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.
Put a stop. This is foolish. This is sin.
Sheila B. Ettie
Jones Chapel UMC
Cleveland District
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