It’s a new day!

It’s a new day in the United Methodist Church!

 General Conference 2020 (delayed until 2024) concluded Friday. It was truly a historic occasion. For the first time in 52 years, my 56-year-old church is free of harmful language regarding human sexuality.

 We have been set free from the albatross that has been weighing us down since the first General Conference, in 1972, when the first condemnation of homosexuality was jammed into our Book of Discipline by last-minute vote.

 Now we are poised to stride into a future of vibrant ministry in the name of Jesus Christ.

 Understand, please, that General Conference actions do not make our church “pro-gay.” But we are no longer militantly anti-gay. We are now simply neutral. That’s a huge turnaround.

 Getting here wasn’t easy, and the price was high. In this fight, the UMC lost one-fourth of its churches in America, and some overseas as well. More work remains, and certain forces (WCA, GMC, IRD) will continue their efforts to destroy the church. As we proceed with jubilant caution, we need to understand what was done, and what wasn’t done, at this conference.

Here’s an outline, compiled from UMC sources and from valued voices who were on the front lines: chiefly Adam Hamilton, Mark Holland, Amy Lippoldt and David Livingston. Any errors or misinterpretations are mine.

General Conference…

 ·    Eliminated the church’s 52-year-old condemnation of homosexuality. The vote was a decisive 523 to 16.

 ·    Adopted revised Social Principles that address current social concerns in a balanced way and removes all the anti-gay sections inserted by “conservatives” in conference after conference since 1972.

 ·    Removed exclusionary policies and Book of Discipline language concerning gay and lesbian people, including prohibitions against the ordination of otherwise qualified candidates for ministry.

·    Removed a ban prohibiting clergy from officiating at, and churches from hosting, “homosexual unions.” The conference specified that clergy cannot be required to perform such services, and churches may vote not to host them.

·    Affirmed a carefully nuanced new definition of marriage designed to meet the needs of people in both “conservative” and “progressive” ministry contexts. We now define marriage as “a sacred, lifelong covenant that brings two people of faith (adult man and adult woman of consenting age or two adult persons of consenting age) into a union of one another and into deeper relationship with God and the religious community.”

 ·    Approved a regionalization plan that gives each of the church’s four global “regions” more say in tailoring church life to its own customs and traditions. This plan must be approved by two-thirds of the voting members of annual conferences over the next year. The plan does away with “central” conferences, which were designed in the 1880s to disenfranchise Black people. There also is momentum to do away with jurisdictional conferences, which also were largely racist in intent, but that awaits later action.

 ·    Eliminated the pathway to disaffiliation that was created in 2019. It also directed annual conferences to develop policies for inviting disaffiliated churches to return to the fold, if they wish.

 ·    Sketched a path for clergy to regain credentials they lost in the sexuality fight.

 ·    Approved full communion between the UMC and the Episcopal Church. Final action awaits the next Episcopal general convention in 2027.

 ·    Authorized to ordained deacons to preside at the sacraments of baptism and Holy Communion in their ministry settings. Previously, only ordained elders could preside at sacraments. The move blurs the distinction between deacon and elder, so more work here must be done.

 Also of note:

 ·    The conference disqualified all petitions from individuals, churches and conferences no longer associated with the UMC. Other clear efforts by bad actors to derail conference work were stopped.

 ·    Five delegates from the Great Plains Conference were elected to leadership positions on the 15 legislative committees, four as chair.

 ·    Great Plains Bishop David Wilson received a standing ovation as he became the first Native American bishop to preside over, and to preach during, a General Conference session.

 ·    The conference also did some other things regarding funding and the number of bishops, but those are too technical for me to explain (let alone understand).

 Delegates described the atmosphere at this conference as positive, hopeful, inspiring and full of grace – a sharp contrast to other recent conferences, which were marked by rancor and distrust.

 “It is difficult to describe the spirit here,” said Mark Holland, executive director of Mainstream UMC, a “progressive” lobbying group. “It is a remarkable mix of joy, exhaustion, and disbelief.”

Surely, after 10 grueling days, delegates must have been thoroughly worn out, but clearly most of them were happy with the outcome.

“This is an historic conference,” said Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey of Texas. “I believe God is doing a new thing.”

After five decades of being sidelined by peripheral issues pushed by bad actors, maybe we can finally pursue our real purpose: fostering a worldwide community defined by the love of God through Christ.

And so I pray. General Conference 2020/2024 is over. Praise God!