{"id":2587,"date":"2012-11-13T14:19:35","date_gmt":"2012-11-13T22:19:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/?p=2587"},"modified":"2012-11-30T16:43:54","modified_gmt":"2012-12-01T00:43:54","slug":"umns-same-sex-unions-gain-support-in-u-s-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/umns-same-sex-unions-gain-support-in-u-s-elections\/","title":{"rendered":"UMNS: Same-sex unions gain support in U.S. elections"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maine, Maryland and Washington approved same sex marriage at the ballot box. Minnesota reject an amendment that would have defined marriage as only between a man and a woman. UMNS photo illustrations by Kathleen Barry.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

A UMNS Report |\u00a0By Kathy L. Gilbert*<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

United Methodists have been grappling with acceptance of\u00a0same-sex marriage for decades<\/a>\u00a0and many United Methodists were on both sides of the issue in the voting booth Nov. 6 as the vote in four states indicated support for same-sex unions.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy heart and mind are all mixed up with United Methodist and State of Washington thoughts today (Nov. 7),\u201d said Amory Peck, a member of the Pacific Northwest Annual (regional) Conference.<\/p>\n

Maine, Maryland and Washington approved same-sex marriage at the ballot box while Minnesota rejected an amendment that would have defined marriage as solely between a man and a woman. It is still illegal for same-sex couples to marry in Minnesota.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat our citizens did do was vote down a proposed state constitutional amendment that would write into the constitution that a marriage is between one man and one woman,\u201d said the Rev. Tyler Christiansen, pastor of Lake Harriet (Minn.) United Methodist Church.<\/p>\n

The final tallies in the three states approving same-sex unions were almost identical. In Maine, the vote was 52 percent for and 47 percent against; in Maryland, the vote was 52 percent for and 48 percent against; and in Washington, the vote was 53 percent approved, 47 percent rejected.<\/p>\n

President Barack Obama entered the public debate by becoming the first president to support gay marriage.<\/p>\n

Debates have been simmering inside the church and in society for years. At the center of the issue for many in The United Methodist Church is how to offer ministry to gays and lesbians.<\/p>\n

\u2018Years of yearning\u2019<\/h3>\n

During the annual meeting of the\u00a0Pacific Northwest Conference, June 21\u201324<\/a>, delegates voted to support Referendum 74 on the November ballot. The governor had signed a law to make same-sex marriage legal in Washington but those opposing the law got enough signatures to put the law on hold until the November ballot.<\/p>\n

Peck was a delegate to the 2008 and 2012 General Conferences and attended the 2000 and 2004 gatherings. General Conference is the denomination\u2019s top lawmaking assembly. She said she was encouraged by the Pacific Northwest Conference\u2019s decision to support the referendum and the\u00a0Western Jurisdiction\u2019s decision \u201cto commit to a spirit of biblical obedience<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, today, all those years of yearning, and all the years of working to bring God\u2019s message of love, of inclusion, into being, the people of Washington state have voted for marriage equality,\u201d she said. \u201cMy partner, Linda, and I will be married in the spring. I know that we\u2019ll be surrounded by our church family and friends. Surely, the spirit of the Lord will be in that place, at that time.\u201d<\/p>\n

United Methodists not of one mind<\/h3>\n\n

Video from the 2012 General Conference of The United Methodist Church captures the ongoing division about statements in the church\u2019s Book of Discipline related to homosexuality.<\/em><\/p>\n

At the denomination\u2019s\u00a02012 General Conference<\/a>\u00a0in April, delegates kept the language in The United Methodist Church\u2019s law book that states marriage is between one man and one woman. The church also forbids United Methodist pastors from officiating at same-sex unions or holding such unions in United Methodist churches.<\/p>\n

However, during the\u00a0summer\u2019s annual (regional) conference meetings<\/a>, 15 states\/regions approved legislation that rejected the denomination\u2019s stance in response to the General Conference action even though those votes do not override The United Methodist Book of Discipline.<\/p>\n

In October, Seattle Area\u00a0Bishop Grant Hagiya<\/a>\u00a0wrote a\u00a0letter supporting the referendum<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWashington state\u2019s marriage equality bill has my support because it does not mandate anyone to do anything they do not want to do, and this is in harmony with my own stance on religious freedom. I believe that it is also consistent with our United Methodist heritage and our shared practice of honoring the deeply held beliefs of others, even when we do not fully agree with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Western Jurisdiction, which encompasses the eight westernmost regional conferences of the United States including Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, Guam, and other territory in the Pacific, issued a \u201cStatement of Gospel Obedience\u201d calling the church\u2019s stand wrong. The jurisdiction took the action during its quadrennial meeting in July.<\/p>\n

Committed relationships<\/h3>\n

The Rev. Allen Ewing Merrill and his wife, Sara Ewing Merrill, are co-pastors of Hope.Gate.Way., a United Methodist community of faith in Portland, Maine, and are part of a\u00a0movement of United Methodist pastors<\/a>\u00a0who have signed a statement expressing their willingness to defy the denomination\u2019s ban on officiating at same-sex unions.<\/p>\n

Allen Ewing Merrill said there were a number of gay and lesbian people in his congregation in loving, committed relationships.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is nothing to condemn about these relationships. These are people who love one another. They are faithful to one another. They desire to spend the rest of their lives together. There is so much to celebrate about their relationships. The love expressed through these relationships is an inspiration to us in our own marriage,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Erica Tobey, a member of the congregation who married her girlfriend, Ali, in September, said she has always felt welcome and loved at Hope.Gate.Way.<\/p>\n

\u201cWords cannot describe the excitement that comes with knowing that along with the blessings and support of our incredible faith community, my family can also have all of the legal protections of any other marriage,\u201d Tobey said after the state vote. \u201cWe are so grateful to live in a world where we feel completely included and surrounded in love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Covenant blessed by Scripture<\/h3>\n

The Rev. Neil Gastonguay, pastor of Bath (Maine) United Methodist Church, said he opposed the vote in Maine that legalized same-gender marriage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that marriage is a covenant between a man, a woman, and God, and that is supported in Scripture. By this I do not mean that there is any reason to treat homosexual persons with anything less than love and respect, just as the Scriptures say.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut when it comes to marriage, this is a unique and special covenantal relationship between people and God, intended for the sustaining of the human race in the context of loving relationships of mother and father, and for those relationships to be a witness to the love of Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Rev. Kevin Dunn, pastor of First United Methodist Church in New Ulm, Minn., agrees that Scripture does not support same-gender marriage.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are supportive of the civil rights of LGBT persons, and we would favor civil unions if their civil rights could be addressed in that way,\u201d Dunn said. \u201cI would have to change a lot of my beliefs in Scripture in order to support gay marriage since I don\u2019t see the practice of homosexuality affirmed anywhere in the teachings of Scripture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Same-sex marriage still illegal in Minnesota<\/h3>\n

Minnesotans neither affirmed nor approved same-sex marriages, said Christiansen.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnder current state law, same-sex couples are not allowed to marry. While it is exciting for many of us who wanted to see this amendment defeated, it does not mean that the law is changing,\u201d Christiansen said.<\/p>\n

Members of the\u00a0Minnesota Annual (regional) Conference<\/a>, meeting May 30\u2013June 1, voted to send a resolution opposing the proposed amendment to the Minnesota state constitution that only a union of one man and one woman be recognized as marriage.<\/p>\n

Those submitting the resolution stated that civil rights such as health insurance, equal taxation, retirement benefits and health-care directives are based on one\u2019s marital status.<\/p>\n

United Methodists in Minnesota are not of one mind on this issue, said the Rev. Elizabeth Macaulay, pastor of Richfield United Methodist Church, Minneapolis.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do we feel? Certainly many of us feel moved that the Conference was willing to speak publicly about a contentious justice issue.\u00a0Collectively many felt that we lived our membership vows to \u2018resist evil, injustice and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
A UMNS photo illustration by Kathleen Barry.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cOn All Saints Eve our flagship church in Minneapolis (Hennepin Avenue) hosted an interfaith gathering at which we worshiped, prayed and committed to speaking out for full inclusion in community for all families seeking to raise children and live in covenant.\u00a0There were over 200 clergy of many denominations and over 1,000 persons in attendance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church<\/a>\u00a0was among several faith groups that participated in \u201cCelebrating Healing Minnesota,\u201d an event celebrating the defeat of the marriage amendment.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Northeastern Jurisdiction also affirmed its commitment to the rights of all persons at its 2012 meeting<\/a>. In a resolution, the jurisdiction stated, \u201cClergy, lay persons and congregations may feel bound by conscience to offer the ministries and sacraments of the church to all persons on an equal basis and that even though bound to the Book of Discipline, we are also bound by Jesus\u2019 commandment to stand with the marginalized and the oppressed in our midst.\u201d<\/p>\n

The resolution was approved by 61 percent.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Northeastern Jurisdiction<\/a>\u00a0includes the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.<\/p>\n

In his\u00a0address to the Baltimore-Washington Annual (regional) Conference<\/a>, Bishop John Schol said he believes \u201cgay and lesbian people are children of God \u2026 (who) can live in loving, committed relationships that reflect God\u2019s grace-filled love.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do not understand all of the mysteries of human sexuality,\u201d Schol said. \u201cI believe that our sexuality is a gift from the Creator to be shared in loving, committed relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other United Methodist annual conferences made statements in their annual meetings about same-gender marriage that did not have legislation on the ballot.<\/p>\n

At the\u00a0Iowa Conference June 2\u20135<\/a>, two documents with hundreds of signatures expressed compassion for gays. More than 500 signed a \u201cDo No Harm\u201d covenant stating the denomination\u2019s top lawmaking body made decisions that violated John Wesley\u2019s first General Rule by failing to acknowledge that members of The United Methodist Church are divided on homosexuality.<\/p>\n

Iowans did vote to retain state Supreme Court Justice David Wiggins,\u00a0who faced a heated campaign for joining in the 2009 decision that legalized same-sex marriage in the state<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod is love. God calls us to love. God blesses love. I can only hope that The United Methodist Church will follow where the Spirit is leading, in the name of love and for the sake of love,\u201d Allen Ewing Merrill said.<\/p>\n

*<\/em>Gilbert is a multimedia reporter for the young adult content team at United Methodist Communications, Nashville, Tenn.<\/p>\n

News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or\u00a0newsdesk@umcom.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maine, Maryland and Washington approved same sex marriage at the ballot box. Minnesota reject an amendment that would have defined marriage as only between a man and a woman. UMNS photo illustrations by Kathleen Barry. A UMNS Report |\u00a0By Kathy L. Gilbert* United Methodists have been grappling with acceptance of\u00a0same-sex marriage for decades\u00a0and many United […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":2594,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[138,139,14,31],"class_list":{"0":"post-2587","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-umns","8":"tag-conflict","9":"tag-referendum-74","10":"tag-sexuality","11":"tag-umns"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/umns-marflow.jpeg?fit=810%2C480&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2l75j-FJ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2587"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2757,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2587\/revisions\/2757"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}