Ohio Wesleyan Takes ‘Pause’ with UMC over LGBTQ Issues

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Following the lead of another UMC-related Ohio university, Baldwin Wallace, Ohio Wesleyan University trustees have voted to take a "one-year pause" in its relationship with The United Methodist Church over LGBTQ inclusion.

Adora Namigadde of Radio WOSU reported April 30:

"Ohio Wesleyan University's president says the school is taking a "one-year pause in its relationship" with the United Methodist Church in the wake of a worldwide meeting that upheld a ban on same-sex marriage. The move comes just after Baldwin Wallace University in Berea cut ties entirely with the church.

"The United Methodist Church held its General Conference in February, where hundreds of delegates from around the world voted to continue a ban on the ordainment and marriage of the church's LGBTQ members.

"Ohio Wesleyan, a private liberal arts school with about 1,500 students, was founded in 1842 by Methodist ministers. University president Rock Jones says he was disappointed in the results of the conference, but he's hopeful the church will change its mind -– or be forced to divide.

“'I think there is a real possibility that there will be a new form of Methodism within the next year that will be fully inclusive, reflecting the interests of the majority of American United Methodists,' Jones said in an interview with WOSU.

"The United Methodist Church visits its affiliated schools every 10 years. Ohio Wesleyan was due for a visit in fall 2019, but recently requested it be moved to 2020. A university spokesman on Tuesday said the school is not suspending its affiliation, but rather requesting a one-year delay in that review. However, Jones says the visit may be canceled if church law remains."

Hamilton-led meeting getting pushback

Although originally billed as a way to achieve unity after the 2019 General Conference, the May meeting led by the Rev. Adam Hamilton at United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kan., is getting significant pushback. Specifically, more clergy and lay United Methodists are criticizing the makeup of the 500 invited participants for the lack of diversity in terms of LGBTQ people and people of color.

For example, the Rev. Tom Waitschies, pastor of Preston Hollow United Methodist Church in Dallas, Tex., posted the following on Facebook (editing added for easier reading). Reprinted here with the author's permission:

"As a part of a denomination that has struggled to live up to the highest ideals of justice and equality, I mourn the continued disregard I witness from our leadership. When Adam Hamilton rose up and began to resist the traditionalists' takeover of the U.S. church, I cheered. [I thought] Someone in leadership is going to right this wrong. He organized a meeting at CoR in May where we would begin to hash out a way to welcome and treated ALL with respect, fairness, dignity, love and acceptance. He issued the opportunity to be invited to be a part of this new movement. Each conference would have the opportunity to bring 10 persons to take part.

"Then reality set in. Our conference, the North Texas Conference, did not select one LGBTQ clergyperson or laity. Not one Deacon was selected. Where is the justice and equality? The participation of the disenfranchised should be a no-brainer. The exclusionary practice we have been decrying, the push for inclusion we have been demanding, has been met with business as usual.

"We are not going to right this wrong of exclusion with the same practices we’ve always engaged in. It is time to put aside what we’ve always done. [Bring] to the table those who have been excluded to hear from them, to let them lead us into a future where they are valued and heard."

Greater New Jersey clergy and laity announce resistance

In an open letter to Bishop John Schol and conference leadership, a coalition of United Methodist clergy and laity formally announced their intention to resist implementation of the Traditional plan and the toxic politics behind it. The letter posted online reads in part:

"We are clergy and laity in GNJUMC. Among us are those who identify as LGBTQIA+, as well as allies and advocates, each of us baptized into Christ, called forth from the waters into Christ’s ministry in the world. We are outraged by the deepening spiritual, emotional and physical trauma inflicted upon LGBTQIA+ persons by the actions of the United Methodist Church, both historic and current, that refute that claim. We lament the harm that has been done and we dissent from the decisions made by the General Conference. Silence is complicity and we will no longer remain silent.

"The actions we deplore and hereby refuse to abide by include:

  • The expansion of the exclusionary language found in our Book of Discipline for the last 47 years.
  • The creation of policies that have prohibited LGBTQIA+ persons to be fully engaged in all areas of ministry.
  • The prohibition of funds to support LGBTQIA+ ministries.
  • The decisions of the 2019 Special General Conference in support of the Traditional Plan which increased restrictions on the commissioning and ordination of LGBTQIA+ clergy and strengthened punitive measures against our clergy who perform same-gender weddings.
  • The vitriol of the 2019 Special General Conference. That is not who we as a church are called to be.

"Acting on our Wesleyan values of personal piety and social holiness, we commit ourselves to the ongoing resistance of theological positions which exclude and deny access to the means of grace of ordination and marriage to LGBTQIA+ persons."

Media Mentions as of May 1, 2019

How the Middle Schoolers Who Refused to Be Confirmed Because of MethodistLGBTQ Policies ... – Slate Magazine

UMC council tells LGBT forces to hit the rainbow road – OneNewsNow

Omaha's First United Methodist confirmation class declines to join church over LGBTQ rules – Omaha World-Herald

Future is uncertain for United Methodists on gay issues. But for now, no one is walking out. – Charlotte Observer

Teens decide not to join local church over Methodist Church's decision on LGBTQ+ rights – KETV Omaha

Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, which she founded in 2011.