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Response to Legal Action of General Conference

The Nebraska Annual Conference turned out to be a big lift. Before and during the conference, more than 200 United Methodists signed the following statement, written by Rev. Jay Vetter, senior minister of Christ UMC, Lincoln, and others:

Nebraska Annual Conference
Rev. Jay Vetter
July, 2004

While we appreciate the faithful witness of our delegation, we are saddened by much of what was enacted by General Conference 2004. Many of the decisions made in Pittsburgh have exacerbated the spiritual violence done to us in the name of our faith by our church. At the same time we experienced the redeeming grace of God and the presence of the Living Christ in the faithful witness of much of what happened. We are grateful to the Nebraska Conference for offering petitions to remove the language in our Discipline that names homosexual persons as incompatible with Christian teaching and excludes from and denies ministry to LGBT persons. We appreciate the support of many in our delegation and those who participated in the Reconciling Ministries Network's Watermarked: Witness of Assurance.

Increasingly we feel the sting of religious bigotry in the decisions made by General Conference. The refusal to even acknowledge that faithful Christians disagree on the issue of whether homosexuality is a sin and the expansion of the list of chargeable offenses against pastors is a direct attack on all who believe in full participation in the life of the church by all persons regardless of sexual orientation.

We agree with the members of the Cal-Pac Conference delegation who said in a letter to their conference, We are discouraged that, in this time of war, disease, poverty and alienation, our Church is focusing inwardly and using its extraordinary resources to control and marginalize members of the Body, rather than reaching out and releasing the resources of the church for disciple-making ministries.

To our LGBT sisters and brothers and their families we say, We are sorry. The language inserted into our Discipline does not reflect the unconditional love of Jesus Christ as we have experienced it. Our church needs you in order to be made whole in Christ. Please do not give up on us. God is not finished with us. Someday our church will be a safe place for you to develop your faith.

We commit to do everything within the legal limits imposed by General Conference to embody the unconditional love of Jesus Christ. We will strive to surround one another with a community of love and forgiveness. We will still be here when General Conference convenes in 2008. We believe that the Holy Spirit is on the move. Who are we to get in God's way.

We plan to try to get the statement published in the Nebraska Messenger, the church newspaper, later this summer.

During Nebraska AC, we wore the Rainbow Stoles that we brought back from Pittsburgh. We made 200 more stoles and distributed 190 of them from the tables of First UMC, Omaha, and RUMOLA (Reconciling United Methodists of the Lincoln Area). Soon it seemed that the stoles were being worn everywhere we looked.

RUMOLA took the lead in planning a respectful, silent witness that took place while the report on General Conference was read to the delegates. RMN members and supporters circled the outside walls of the meeting room. We wore our stoles so there could be no doubt about who we are and the cause we represent. Twenty-five members of Omaha's First UMC, the state's only RMN church, took part in the silent witness along with many from RUMOLA and others from Omaha, Lincoln and other Nebraska cities and towns. Some missed a day of work to take part.

GLBT people were represented at a special Diversity Service by Michael Gordon, a member of Omaha's First UMC, who talked about the pain of being a gay man in the UMC and the redeeming acceptance and love he feels in belonging to an RMN church.

At the annual MFSA banquet held the night before AC began, the general secretary of the General Board of Church and Society delivered a stirring message against the war in Iraq. Jim Winkler began: "I believe the war in Iraq is lost. I believe the United States should leave Iraq by the end of the month. The United States cannot bring peace or democracy or stability to Iraq - we need to get out of Iraq now."

At First UM's table, lots of people stopped to pick up a stole, to sign a statement, to look at our literature or to talk. It was a busy place. We left AC with the feeling that good things had happened there.

Betty and Bob Dorr