Homosexuality in the UMC

When I first signed up for this class, I incorrectly assumed that the term “borderlands” simply referred to a geographic location along the border of Texas and Mexico, and that we would be studying relations between those two cultures. Certainly, we as a class have studied that extensively. But, that is not the extent of borderlands. My understanding of borderlands was not altogether clear until near the end of the course. Through study and examination, I came to understand the concept of borderlands as “the relations between two groups of people whose cultures and ideas have converged who may have normally disagreed with each other.” This encompasses just about everyone we have talked about, and then some. This encompasses Father Boyle and Catholics in their relation to gangs in East Los Angeles. This encompasses the volatile relationship between the native traditions of Latin America and the Vatican. Additionally, this could also encompass the relationship between liberals and conservatives, Protestant or Catholic, or theists and atheists. Additionally, this encompasses the rocky and sometimes unpredictable relationship between the Methodist Church and the homosexual community, who has used narratives, counter narratives, and testimonies to fight for a voice in the United Methodist Church. This form of activism (or simply doing something) has resulted in a borderlands between both parties and a new understanding in the Methodist Church amongst some people concerning homosexuality.

For nearly the entirety of the existence of the Christian faith, many people have declared homosexual acts and relationships to be a sin, even an abomination. Verses such as Leviticus 18:22 (You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abo...

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...g. The only catch; the wedding was for his son. In 2007 Frank Schaefer performed his son’s wedding in Pennsylvania. One month before the statute of limitations had expired, a church member filed a complaint when they found out that Rev. Schaefer had performed the wedding. The parishioner, Jon Boger, says “"It's his son. He loves his son. In a way I felt bad for him," Boger said. "But he's also shown no remorse or repentance, nor has he apologized to anyone." (Rubinkam, AP). Because of the guilty verdict, Schaefer has been defrocked, meaning he can no longer be appointed as an elder to a Methodist church, nor can he perform communion, baptism, or weddings in the future.

Works Cited

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/methodist-bishops-offer-support-to-pastor-who-lost-credentials-over-sons-same-sex-wedding/2013/12/21/9acaf1e6-6a77-11e3-a0b9-249bbb34602c_story.html