Julie Wood Video
An image from Julie Wood's video about how her gay son Ben was bullied by a church youth worker.
A poignant video of a mother telling of the impact of United Methodism's anti-LGBT stance on her teen-aged son has captured online attention in advance of a Nov. 1 sexuality panel hosted by the Connectional Table.
Julie Wood created her video in response to an invitation from the Connectional Table for United Methodists to contribute their views to the discussion. In the video, the Western North Carolina laywoman recounts how her son, Ben, and her family were active in The United Methodist Church throughout their lives. Mrs. Wood then tells how her son was bullied by a church worker who told Ben's youth group that the young man was going to Hell because he was gay. Ben had disclosed his sexual orientation to his youth group prior to the episode.
Sometime after this incident in 2013, Ben Wood took his own life.
The video was receiving wide distribution through social media over the Oct. 24-26 weekend in advance of a Nov. 1 sexuality panel that will be live-streamed online from 8 to 10 AM Central Time. Participating panelists are bishops who contributed to the book Finding Our Way: Love and Law in The United Methodist Church. They include: Bishop Gregory V. Palmer, Bishop Hope Morgan Ward, Bishop Melvin G. Talbert, Bishop Kenneth H. Carter, Bishop Michael J. Lowry, Bishop John K. Yambasu and Bishop Rosemarie Wenner, and United Methodist Publishing House President and Editor Neil Alexander.
They will be discussing their perspectives on human sexuality based upon their chapter in the book. Viewers are encouraged to read the book prior to the live stream discussion. United Methodist leaders are also encouraged to gather church members for viewing and joining the discussion on Saturday morning. Additional resources to support the discussion can be found at http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/human-sexuality-homosexuality.
Additionally, participants may ask questions about the book via Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #cttalks during the live stream on November 1 from 8 a.m. until 10 a.m. Central Time. The panel will answer relevant questions from these platforms.
To view the live stream, go to http://umc.org/connectional-table-webcast on the day of the event.
Cynthia B. Astle coordinates United Methodist Insight. Information from a United Methodist Communications press release by Ashley Boggan was used in this report.