'Hateful Music' of Anti-Gay Legislation Lingers On

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A United Methodist Insight Exclusive

I wish that 16 years ago I had kept a diary of my sharing with the Rev. Gregory Dell as he led a group to engage in civil disobedience among the delegates at the United Methodist General Conference in 2000 in Cleveland, Ohio. To paraphrase an oft-quoted adage – "The music is over but the melody lingers on" – I say of that experience, "The hateful music of the anti-gay legislation of the UMC is NOT over and its hurtful and harmful melody taints the total mission and ministry of the United Methodist Church of today.”

I often wonder how many of our group who demonstrated that day have made their transition to life eternal, or as Greg and I, are living with health concerns? As we cope with health challenges – Greg with Parkinson’s disease and I with disability from two surgeries for a brain tumor  – our desire now is to pass along to the church our experience and the passion for justice that still energizes us.

The experience that I remember from those moments centers on our preparing/waiting/entering/disturbing the business of the General Conference. We remember being arrested and charged with Tresspassing in response to the bishops and General Conference officials who felt that "church order" should be the order of the moment, instead of perceiving our challenge as an opportunity to remove Disciplinary language and legislation that demeaned rather than affirmed those sisters and brothers among us whose sexual orientation was same-gender loving.

In my journey with the Civil Rights Movement I have been arrested only four times: in New York City in 1971 protesting the discriminatory policies of A & P Supermarkets; in front of the South African Embassy in Washington, DC, in 1985; and twice at the 2000 General Conference in Cleveland. My second arrest at the Cleveland General Conference with Greg Dell and others was a "mountaintop spiritual experience" because of the unifying spirit with which we confronted The United Methodist Church's homophobia.

As we waited for what seemed to be hours to enter the assembly hall, many of us used the time to reflect prayerfully. I remember walking in our waiting area and in the aisles of the gallery among the spectators. My walking seemed much like following the pattern of a floor labyrinth found in some cathedrals and churches, making my way on a kind of pilgrimage.

Once we went to stand among the delegates in front of the presiding bishop and the other bishops seated on the stage, I thought how strange it was that we who were considered to be members of the "United Methodist family" had to disrupt other members of the "family" because of how language and legislation were harming LGBTQ members of the "family."

Then I had a Yogi Berra-like "déjà vu all over again" moment. The United Methodist Church was doing to its gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender members what it had done to those of us who were its black members: separating, segregating, and relegating them to a "secondhand and less than" place in the UMC!

I wanted to include here a reflection on this experience from Greg Dell, but his current health condition precludes his writing now.  He has read what I have said above and corroborated my memories. Then he reminded me of this statement by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., quoted from “Letter From The Birmingham Jail”, April 16, 1963:

“So here we are moving toward the exit of the twentieth century with a religious community largely adjusted to the status quo, standing as a tail-light behind other community agencies rather than a headlight leading men [and women] to higher levels of justice."

As Greg says, isn’t it ironic that so many United Methodist clergy are still being suspended, charged with disobedience, defrocked and punished for performing marriages for gay and lesbian couples while secular law has now mandated marriage equality?

Greg’s wife, Jade, who was also arrested at the Cleveland United Methodist General Conference of 2000 reports that North Carolina recently passed House Bill 2, one aspect of which strikes down a ruling by the Charlotte, NC, city council allowing transgender people to use the restroom where they are most comfortable.  The immediate blowback from the passage of this repressive bill has been swift and strong. There have been marches, protests and rallies supporting the transgender community in Raleigh, the North Carolina State capital.  Hollywood producer Rob Reiner has said that he will not make any more films in North Carolina until the bill is rescinded. CBS News reported that musician Bruce Springsteen cancelled a concert scheduled in North Carolina over HB2. Local businesses have noted that HB2 is bad for North Carolina tourism and CEOs of 100 major corporations have made it clear that HB2 is not “business friendly.”

Erik Sherman, a contributor on the Forbes website, restated the implications of HB2:

"North Carolina’s HB2 “bathroom” bill that requires trans people to use the bathroom for the gender indicated on their birth certificates has received national attention. Unfortunately, coverage of the bill — really, the law, at this point — has largely been reduced to who should be able to use which bathroom.

"It is more. There has been at least some discussion of how the new law prohibits a local government or any “political subdivision of the state” from establishing gender identity as a class protected from employment discrimination. What has received little attention is how an entire section of the law has nothing explicit to do with issues of gender identity. Instead, it prohibits local governments from affecting employment conditions in private companies."

This aspect of the bill could make it much easier for private companies to exploit workers without their ability to redress those abuses. There will be a hearing about HB2 on April 25, 2016, in Raleigh, NC. North Carolinians of all faiths, genders, races, and political affiliations will be on hand.

It will be interesting to see how the 2016 United Methodist General Conference deals with the high-profile issue of the full inclusion of all people in its mission and ministry, especially since U. S. law now has begun to do what the UMC has not yet done: affirm and acknowledge that same-gender loving persons are members of the family and ought be treated as such.

"We ALL are Family" – not because of a song, but because God made us that way!

"Just Do It" United Methodist Church!

The Rev. Gilbert H. Caldwell of Asbury Park, NJ, is a retired clergy member of the Rocky Mountain Annual Conference. He has been a lifelong leader in the Civil Rights movement, and is one of the co-founders of Black Methodists for Church Renewal and of People of Color for an Inclusive United Methodist Church.

The Rev. Gregory Dell of Raleigh, NC, is a retired clergy member of the Northern Illinois Annual Conference and contributed to this article with the assistance of his wife, Jade Dell. He served on the board of Reconciling Ministries Network, and was one of the first United Methodist pastors to be brought up on charges for conducting a wedding for a gay couple at Broadway United Methodist Church in Chicago.