Rachel Fugate Blog #6 The Reconciling Movement

The United Methodist Church

I am a member of the United Methodist church. I have been since I was born and I plan to be for a long time, but there has been a debate recently within the church that has cause a major issue. Homosexuality and Christianity have been clashing over the years to the point that new religious sections have been formed to create space for the emergence of homosexual Christians. Specifically in my case I have moved from a church that does not accept LBGTQ people to one that is open to all, not just when it comes to sexuality, but also race, gender, or religious affiliation.

Reconciling Ministries

The main body of the United Methodist Church was founded on white protestant males who owned land. This trend continues today however many strides have been made towards diversity. Our bishop for the Williamsburg and surrounding regions is Korean. There is a female bishop in a district adjacent to us. This is all well and good but still the dominant group is white straight men of the more conservative nature. There is a movement in the United Methodist Church called the Reconciling Ministries. As United Methodist Church doctrine stands right now, homosexuality is not conducive to the Christian lifestyle, as stated in the Book of Discipline. Reconciling Ministries is a movement to change this rule and open the doors of Christianity to LGBTQ peoples.

Last year the General Conference, which is the governing body of the United Methodist Church and represents the entirety of the church around the world, met to discuss our Book of Discipline and the church as a whole, as they do every four year. At this conference it was brought to a vote that the doctrine be changed. Reconciling Ministries had made major strides within the churches themselves, finding that many Methodist Churches and conferences were already accepting of LGBTQ people, but it is still not in our doctrine. In some areas it has become a major issue concerning those who can be married in UM churches as well as who can become clergy in the church. When brought to a vote Reconciling Ministries and many other church districts including the Wesley Foundation here on campus were said to find that the conservative vote was still just high enough to keep the doctrine as it is.

Reconciling Ministries is changing the church from the inside and working its way to the outside. Conservatives within the church are moving to the back, though they were once the dominant group. Many of the decision made at the conference were used to try and keep the charge towards LGBTQ acceptance at bay within the church. However, it is becoming increasingly evident that the church is moving away from this dominant group and they know it.

I know this isn’t something that we have seen or talked about in class, but it really just jumped out at me when I read this question. I would love to hear your all’s thoughts on this.