Digging Deeper on the “Protocol” and Numbers

Here comes an ultra-Metho-nerd post: unpacking a little more of what was shared by some of the folks from "the room where it happened" in the making of the "Protocol of Separation." Late last week, a team of people who come from different parts of The United Methodist Church-- and may or may not represent…

Three things I hold

I am a member of both my Annual Conference's Delegation to General Conference 2020, and of our Conference Task Force exploring whether and how Methodists in New England might become a new and inclusive Methodist movement. Between juggling these roles and my own passion for the future of ministry in my local Methodist church and…

Sermon: Beyond the Worry

"Beyond the Worry" (February 17, 2019) As I prepare to travel to the Called Session of The United Methodist Church, I am not alone in feeling worry about the future of our denomination. But if God cares for the birds and the flowers, perhaps God gives us something inherently human, which will provide for us…

UMC, this is the moment.

I try not to be too dramatic. Okay, maybe I try not to be needlessly dramatic. But I'm convinced that with hindsight it will be clear: This is the moment that a new structure for an existing denomination-- or an entirely new denomination-- will begin its birth pangs. I hope it's that first thing, hear me.…

How did we get here?

The New England Annual (regional) Conference of The United Methodist Church experienced a watershed moment this week-- so many watershed moments that it's clear this is not a moment, but a movement. I speak not only of the passage of an Action of Non-Conformity with the General Conference of our denomination, but of the whole…

Let the penalty fix the “crime”

Here we go again... A month after the Board of Ordained Ministry in Pennsylvania stripped Rev. Frank Schaefer of his ordination credentials for officiating at his son's wedding and refusing to state he would follow the entirety of the Book of Discipline in the future, the United Methodist Church is back at it again. The…

Reasons I Stay…

Days like today, I think about the denomination of The United Methodist Church, and why I’m a part of it. Days that follow trials and verdicts, personal vendetta turned to personhood- and livelihood- stripping arguments and actions make it hard to remember. There’s beautiful theology, and a structure that is imperfect but has room for…

The courage of couples

Tim Schaefer takes the stand today. Tim's father, Rev. Frank Schaefer, was found guilty yesterday in a United Methodist Church trial for officiating at Tim's wedding to his similarly-gendered partner six years ago. An inactive member of Schaefer's church, angry because his mother and Schaefer had a disagreement which led to her being fired from…

Diary of a Delegate: rebuttal – Some More Equal than Others

I received a comment on my last post (and have received several mentions on Twitter) decrying my efforts with my colleagues as overly political, pushing an agenda, and even Machiavellian or Orwellian. My commenter wrote: "The only totalitarianism is the 'progressive' caucus forcing their will on the rest of the church. Disgraceful." Let me be…