Hundreds Of Iowa Methodists Protest Church Stand On Gays

By Todd Erzen, Des Moines Register

Hundreds of Iowa Methodists signed protest documents at their annual conference Sunday declaring they are prepared to buck the leadership of their church on matters concerning gays and gay marriage.

A group called Do No Harm Iowa has gathered as many as 500 signatures — including those of about 70 pastors — in response to the most recent meeting of the United Methodist Churches’ global conference of leaders. A vote at that meeting, which is held every four years, determined the church’s book of doctrine and rules would continue to call the practice of homosexuality “incompatible with Christian teaching.”

But that, said Rev. Diane McClanahan of Trinity United Methodist Church in Des Moines, is incompatible with her own concept of Jesus.

“There are so many pieces of Scripture we no longer abide by because we have a different context,” said McClanahan, who served as a spokesperson for Do No Harm Iowa. “(Homosexuality) is just the issue of the day.”

The United Methodist Church continues to formally ban the marriage of same-sex couples and the ordination of gay clergy. Two protest documents were read Sunday following the report on the United Methodist General Conference, which ended May 4 in Tampa, Fla. Many among the 1,600 delegates wore blue “Do No Harm” T-shirts and stood silently during both readings.

McClanahan signed one document that was meant to act as a “public witness” but would not say whether she signed a second document that quoted Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” before including the following commitment:

“We, United Methodist clergy, in accordance with our ordination vows to ‘seek peace, justice, and freedom for all people,’ commit to marrying without bias or discrimination all people who seek the blessing of the church and are prepared to assume the privileges and responsibilities of a loving, committed, covenant relationship.”

The signatures on that “Covenant of Conscience” are not meant for public dissemination, according to the document, until those who signed determine their next course of action as a group.

Rev. Bill Burkhart, one of the Iowa Conference’s top administrators, said he wouldn’t speculate about what would happen if United Methodist pastors carry out their pledge to conduct same-sex weddings. Until a transgression actually happens, he said, what took place at the annual conference is simply dialogue.

“It’s part of our tradition to hear takes from people on all different issues,” Burkhart said.

The other document that contained most of the protest signatures spoke of resisting “evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves” and made the claim that “by discriminating against, diminishing, or demeaning our sisters and brothers in the family of faith, we are in an impossible situation and will be faithful to the law as interpreted by Jesus rather than comply with (church rules).”

“While we are deeply saddened that non-compliance with church law has become necessary, we live in hope that the day will not be long in coming when our church will remember its roots and once more be guided by grace, committed to justice, and led by love,” the document read.

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Image via Do No Harm Iowa