One of our local rags, The Charlotte Observer (if its LGBT, print it) reported on a recent same-sex marriage ceremony held in a Charlotte, NC church,
Of course that is against the rules of the United Methodist Church (UMC) , and their Bishop has warned the clergy that if charges are brought, he will follow the "Book of Discipline".
In the UMC, that might result in a church trial and a suspension, but if history holds true to form, the wayward minister will probably get her job back even if she is suspended.
At least one person had the courage to object,
The strategy of progressives in the UMC is to use the same techniques that worked in the Episcopal church, and those are to infiltrate the ranks of clergy with increasing numbers of revisionist preachers, to work politically raising the issue of same-sex marriage at their conventions year after year in hopes of wearing down and outlasting the opposition, to bide their time as conservatives depart the church, to work on the lay person's emotions rather than stressing the teachings of Jesus and the apostles, and as this case demonstrates, to proceed with unauthorized same-sex marriages thereby creating the so-called "facts on the ground". Unless quickly squashed, the "facts on the ground" become established as tolerated and acceptable before being codified.
Given their structure, the UMC in the U.S.A. may eventually split in a manner different than the split we saw in TEc. In the case of the UMC, the departing churches will be those that are opposed to the worldwide UMC's traditional stance on marriage, whereas in TEc, the departing churches were those that agreed with the worldwide Anglican Communion's position on marriage.
"On Saturday, the Rev. Val Rosenquist and retired Bishop Melvin Talbert defied the United Methodist Church's ban on same-sex marriage by performing a wedding at Charlotte's First United Methodist."
Of course that is against the rules of the United Methodist Church (UMC) , and their Bishop has warned the clergy that if charges are brought, he will follow the "Book of Discipline".
In the UMC, that might result in a church trial and a suspension, but if history holds true to form, the wayward minister will probably get her job back even if she is suspended.
At least one person had the courage to object,
"Not everyone was pleased. On Sunday, after Talbert’s sermon at the 11 a.m. service, a former member of the church stood up at his pew to object to the same-sex wedding and to Talbert’s justification for it. His words competed with an announcement that the collection would be taken up, so few in the church heard him.The United Methodist Church in the U.S.A. has been slouching towards Gomorrah for a number of years, and the only thing keeping them from going all in for same-sex marriage has been the polity of the Church which gives voice and vote to the more numerous conservative member churches from Africa.
Former teacher Charles Walkup later told the Observer he said that 'as one who’s personally dealt with homosexuality, I affirm that the Methodist (Book of) Discipline is correct.'
Walkup, who ended his membership in the church after it joined the Reconciling Ministries Network, added that he tried to speak up because “Jesus warned of false shepherds who mislead his precious sheep.”
The strategy of progressives in the UMC is to use the same techniques that worked in the Episcopal church, and those are to infiltrate the ranks of clergy with increasing numbers of revisionist preachers, to work politically raising the issue of same-sex marriage at their conventions year after year in hopes of wearing down and outlasting the opposition, to bide their time as conservatives depart the church, to work on the lay person's emotions rather than stressing the teachings of Jesus and the apostles, and as this case demonstrates, to proceed with unauthorized same-sex marriages thereby creating the so-called "facts on the ground". Unless quickly squashed, the "facts on the ground" become established as tolerated and acceptable before being codified.
Given their structure, the UMC in the U.S.A. may eventually split in a manner different than the split we saw in TEc. In the case of the UMC, the departing churches will be those that are opposed to the worldwide UMC's traditional stance on marriage, whereas in TEc, the departing churches were those that agreed with the worldwide Anglican Communion's position on marriage.
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