New England: 100 UM Clergy to Perform Same Sex Unions
There is a preponderance of Methodist Bishops and Clergy calling for a change in the moral and standards of our Book of Discipline concerning Gay marriage. The Prophet Haggai asked his people to discern between two hypothetical questions. The first was ” what if something Holy touches that which is ordinary?” The second “what if something ordinary touches that which is Holy?” The answer is that which is unholy always corrupts. The Methodist Church is being corrupted by those who have claimed to be Holy as per their oaths of office
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4 Comments
by Roger
On July 2, 2011
There is a preponderance of Methodist Bishops and Clergy calling for a change in the moral and standards of our Book of Discipline concerning Gay marriage. The Prophet Haggai asked his people to discern between two hypothetical questions. The first was ” what if something Holy touches that which is ordinary?” The second “what if something ordinary touches that which is Holy?” The answer is that which is unholy always corrupts. The Methodist Church is being corrupted by those who have claimed to be Holy as per their oaths of office.
by becky black
On July 3, 2011
I AM CONCERNED WITH THE 2012 CONFERENCE. WE ALL KNOW THAT THE BISHOPS NEED EYE GLASSES BUT RESUE TO GET NEW ONES. I AM CONCERN THAT THE GAY ISSUE WILL PASS AND THE DECLINE OF THE UNITED METHODIST WILL NOT BE GOOD. BISHOPS LISTEN THE THE SHEEP WHO SUPPORT YOU ARE AWARE OF THE TRICKS THAT YOU HIDE FROM US
by Gary Crum, Ph.D.
On July 18, 2011
I am a bivocational lay Pastor of three UMC churches and am just beginning UMC candidacy for licensure. I must admit that I am deeply concerned to see that the Book of Discipline and even the Holy Scriptures would be wantonly violated by so many established clergy! What kind of denomination am I in?
Tell me this: Is there to be no action taken, in love, against those who are guilty of this denial of the Revelation of God? What has my denomination officially said about this public slap administered by their approved clergy? Are they my proper role models to disrespect denominational authority? I would say to them to leave the denomination if you feel so inclined in your ecclesiastical behavior — do not be the source of confusion and tension. Change the policy before changing the practice, or shed your UMC robes.
I am not allowed to do marriages yet because I have not completed all the denominational hurdles — the 100 have completed them, but then openly and with fanfare rejected them (!!) — can they do marriages?
Perhaps they all should be formally removed from their denominational authority to do marriages — which under state law even in pro-homosexual marriage states might negate the marriages until they got re-ordained over the Internet or by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America or somewhere else.
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Perhaps the people in the UMC pew and the pulpit also need to have a letter writing campaign to the denomination, and prayer vigils against this gross error in high places. Should we not begin to gather support from across the denomination, including UMC leaders from around the world? Perhaps we need to have a world-wide unity conference for doctrinal purity, and ask questions like these to the 100:
~~Is the book of Romans the Revelation of God?
~~Have church leaders for 2000 years acted as bigots?
~~Am I so wise as to tell God that He is wrong, just because I cannot understand His wisdom at times? Don’t I have to follow Scripture by faith?
~~Can faithfully following the commands of God as provided in His Holy Scripture be now determined to be wrong and not destroy the very authority of Scripture? If Scripture is by vote deemed wrong and bigotted (I do not believe it is), on what shall we base our unity of doctrine — the writings of the 100 clergy over the writings of Moses and Paul, who condemned homosexual practice?
Paul’s writings are Scripture, as attested by the Apostle Peter and the church for 2000 years — and the Scipture has dangerously harsh words for these 100 clergy — hear the unchangable, errorless Word of the Creator spoken by the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Peter, who was chosen by our Risen Christ Himself to feed His sheep:
2Pe 3:14-16 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. And account [that] the longsuffering of our Lord [is] salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all [his] epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as [they do] also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
Woe to the 100! I would not like to be in their shoes, reading these words of Holy Scripture — but again, these words probably have no fearful weight for them, for they are a laws unto themselves.
by Jon
On August 2, 2011
Every time a story like this comes out, I get more and more worried about keeping my family in this denomination. I truly wonder why what SEEMS to be a majority of Methodists, who disapprove of action like this haven’t moved to oust the Elders and people in power in the denomination. Why do we still have leadership (Bishops etc.) that seems to be working against the will of both God and a majority of the UMC, ignoring, giving handslaps, and sometimes encouraging this kind of behavior in our shepherds? Maybe I am ignorant of how difficult that would be. Barring ouster of existing leadership and ushering in the new, why have we not seen a split yet? I feel like we are reaching critical mass, and something is going to have to give soon.