Women clergy
Back in the 1950s, United Methodists who supported the ordination of women as clergy were called "disobedient" to scripture and the Discipline, just as those who support LGBT inclusion are called today, writes the Rev. Philip Amerson.
A United Methodist Insight Exclusive
Better Together – This was the theme used in the recent vote in Scotland by those seeking to keep the United Kingdom together. As a United Methodist I take heart in the Scottish vote. Better Together is a theme I would borrow. Pollsters and pundits predicted the Scottish vote was too close to call. Yet, the proposed separation was soundly defeated. The pollsters underestimated the influences of friendship, history, and faith in their prognoses.
Division is not the solution for the church either. Upon first hearing of the proposal for amicable separation I thought of the many family and friends who differ in our views on homosexuality. Their fellowship and wisdom on other matters would be lost in such a divide. We share so much of substance – the communion table, our commitment to Christian experience, our mission outreach and so much more. I have put too many miles on my sneakers in service accept the idea of schism. And, there are too many worn places on my knees praying on our behalf.
The amicable separation proposal is based on the desire to solve “the problem.” It is strange to realize others are planning your exit from your own home. I chuckled thinking I was a part of this problem. “Is it my bad breath?” I thought. Yes, we have our differences and hold to them passionately. Nonetheless we are better together. What raises the valence on this issue that would take us to divorce court?
Those against the current restrictive language of the Book of Discipline are still people of faith. We also take the scriptures seriously. We may read the scriptures differently and hear God’s call in a differing way, but are we not still brothers and sisters in Christ? Let’s be clear – the current Disciplinary language is clumsy at best and often contradictory. The United Methodist Book of Discipline encourages pastors and congregations to practice inclusive ministry, yet at the same time prohibits congregations from allowing same-sex weddings in their churches and pastors from performing same-sex marriages. Pastors in more than 20 states face a dilemma: in their settings, same-sex marriages are now legal.
One narrative offered by those proposing separation is that since 1972 United Methodists have been clear on these matters. It is said that for 42 years they have been tolerant of the “disobedient ones.” Such a rendering of history is fictitious and revisionary. It distorts more than it clarifies. As a delegate to four General Conferences, I know we have not been in agreement or consistent in our language and restrictions over the past four decades.
There are other narratives to consider. There is diversity in our ministry settings across the nation and within each conference. Many others have stayed, hoping for change, amid the disagreements. We, too, have a story of toleration to tell. We have cried out “How long, O Lord?” How long will other legitimate readings of the scripture be ignored? How long will the scientific research on gender diversity be denied? How long will our liturgical practices be held hostage by this matter? How many more opportunities to witness in the broader world will be lost?
The “orthodoxies” of one generation are inevitably reconsidered and reinterpreted in the next. Look at our denomination’s history: I remember women in the 1950s and 1960s who waited a lifetime to be affirmed in their vocation as ordained clergy. At last change came in 1956; even after 1956 some church leaders, including bishops, continued to hold to this prejudice. Many of these women served as unofficial pastors anyway, acting on their calling prior to official approval. They were said to be “disobedient.” Opponents based their views on scripture. I can still hear well-intentioned folks quoting I Corinthians 14 and saying that women should be silent in church. Some told those who supported the ordination of women to separate into another body or move to another denomination.
All of our theologies need to be tested by the realities of new biblical understandings. Should God’s voice or our call to be faithful best determined by a 55 or 60 percent majority vote at a General Conference? Sturdy, vibrant and practical theology requires more.
It is interesting that the language of the divorce court (amicable separation) is now proposed as an approach to “solve” our disagreements. I prefer “better together” and join with Anglican cleric and author Samuel Wells who writes: “Church means calling together Christians of all kinds, in all ways, across all barriers, and bringing them face-to-face, and holding them there in the presence of God, until they say to one another, 'I need you.'" [Samuel Wells, Be Not Afraid: Facing Fear with Faith, p. 66]
Over my 48 years of ministry I have witnessed many deep divisions and conflicting points of view. Disagreements have ebbed and flowed. The impulse toward the atomization of relationships seems to be bubbling up around the world – perhaps it was ever thus. Shouldn’t people of faith demonstrate a better way? Aren’t we all better together?
The Rev. Dr. Philip Amerson served as president of two United Methodist-related seminaries, Claremont School of Theology in California and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Illinois. Now retired, he lives on a "farmette" in northwest Indiana.