Pastoral Response to GC2019

Our Beloved Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

We are writing to share with you the outcome of the special session of General Conference held this week in St. Louis. By a narrow margin 438 to 384, the delegates voted for the Traditional Plan. We would like to explain the meaning of this decision and what it entails for us First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple. We do so in our affirmation of our Wesleyan heritage and the historic role the Temple has played in Methodism within Illinois and beyond.

The Traditional Plan retains the current language in the Book of Discipline that prohibits the ordination of LGBTQ and clergy from conducting same-sex marriages, nor can these ceremonies be held in our churches. The Traditional Plan increases the harshness of the penalties for violating these prohibitions. For the first offense, pastors will be suspended for a minimum of a year without pay. For the second offense, they will have their credentials taken from them. All pastors, Boards of Ordained Ministry, and Bishops will have to certify that they will uphold the Book of Discipline in its entirety.

We, your pastors and other clergy, deeply lament the passage of this hurtful, discriminatory plan and judge that it is not in keeping with the very best of our Wesleyan tradition with its profound emphasis on God’s universal love.

To our LGBTQ+ members and friends, we apologize for the harm and pain that the ruling of this General Conference has caused you.  We promise to continue to work even harder for the full inclusion of all people in the life of the UMC. We also want you to know that for us, and for the Chicago Temple, this Conference ruling will not change anything. We commit to continue to work tirelessly in order to create a church that is truly open, loving, and life-enhancing. We will persist. We will not give up. We will hold tight to the vision of God’s beloved community where all are affirmed and included. You will always be included in the full ministry and life of this congregation. You are a child of God. You are beloved. You are wanted. You are family.

In the final moments of General Conference in St. Louis, there was a call for a declaratory decision from the Judicial Council on the constitutionality of this plan. Major sections have already been ruled unconstitutional. The Judicial Council will be meeting April 23 – 25 in Evanston to rule on this fact and if it should invalidate the Traditional Plan as a whole. Until then we wait, and we continue to do our ministry as we have in the past.

We will keep you posted in the days, weeks, and months ahead as the full implications of this Conference decision become clear. But, for now, we want you to know that we are here. If this decision has caused you pain or even to wonder whether or not you can stay in the UMC, we are here to listen to you, to cry with you, to walk with you, to pray with you, and to stand with you. We all have much prayerful reflecting and discerning to do. It is our hope that we will do that together as a community, a family, of one shared faith.

In solidarity and in hope,

Myron F. McCoy

Wendy A. Witt

William Schweiker

Robin Lovin

Jason Reed