#umcgc

[a-little-lost-at-sea]

@queerchristianaffirmations said this in a post today and i really needed it (feel free to use or save!)

[ID: A circle of light pink and cream flowers and green leaves on a white background. In the center of the circle are the words “gay love forever amen.” The words “gay love” and “amen” are in light pink cursive, and “forever” is in all caps in dark gray. End ID.]

[peaceofthespirit]

LGBTQ+ supporting Christians interpret the Bible differently than traditionalists and still use the Bible in their arguments. So they too have a "Biblical view" of things, just one that traditionalists don't agree with...

[priestessamy]

I’m gonna talk about a thing because people in my facebook and twitter already know how I feel about it and I think I just need to vent.

So some background for folks who don’t know me so well, I grew up in the United Methodist Church. It’s always been a denomination with a lot of good and a lot of bad that kinda balanced out into this weird, sorta nice experience.

When I was a babby teenager, I was pretty dang religious and honestly kinda conservative too. And that tapered off as I got into college, even though I always knew that I wanted to be a religious leader. Which I worked on. I went to theology school, which was amazing. That was where I learned a lot about myself. That was where I tried weed for the first time. That was one of the first times I ever had a drunk make-out with a friend that turned awkward.

It’s also when I realized I was queer.

And the thing is, the UMC has always had a REALLY awkward stance with queer people. Ever since the... 1970s-ish, they’ve had some very explicit rules in their social rules about both members and pastors being “openly practicing homosexuals” and zero rules about trans people, but you could FUCKING GUESS. And everything really just came down to individual people. It was up to each and every pastor how closely they would follow those social rules.

I’ve always been really lucky when it came to that. Going to BU, I could depend on everyone being very accepting, though I still didn’t come out as trans until after graduation. But I was also in a UMC policy class with one of the most notorious right-wing people in the entire blogosphere. Dude’s kind of a major prick and I can’t believe I didn’t know it at the time.

Everything was on track. Every four years, the church would fail to change their social rules and they would just keep right on trucking along. And I was nervous, because I was a boy who wanted to be a girl and really liked girls, and that fucked me up. Never mind the way that my mental health was on a steady decline. I was not in a great state.

So as I was trying to get ordained, I had to take a mental health survey, meet with a shitty professional, and then sit down with the District Committee to decide if I would continue on my ordination process or not. There was a lot of worrying answers, and I ended up crying during that ordination meeting. They were worried about my mental health, that I would implode after too much stress as a pastor, and I was dropped from the process. Years after a lot of work, and years away from my next goal. 

It really, really, really screwed me up. It destroyed my faith, it crushed my mental health, all that. But I still kept watching the UMC, just to see if some day they might become more accepting of LGBTQ people. 

This weekend, they held a long-awaited conference to do just that. Instead, they passed legislation that would likely make the denomination MORE conservative. And I’m just so tired. That’s the thing. A lot of my friends, both queer and allies, are completely lost. Many are down to just crying and going to ice cream and alcohol and hugs and whatever they can get. But I’m so numb.

There’s not really a finale to this particular story. It’s all fucked up and nobody knows what to expect. And I’m just really tired.

[the-art-of-leaving]

To everyone heartbroken by the UMC decision: we see you. We love you. I’m so sorry. We are here for you to help process and heal.

[a-little-lost-at-sea]

if there’s a heaven then i believe john wesley is wailing

“listen,” he tells God,

“i know You said there’d be no more tears,

but some things deserve to be sobbed over.

not that i have to justify being agonized—You won’t demand a permit,

or a legislative session, or another 47 years in the wilderness of bureaucratic self-importance

with my signature applied postpartum. call me yet another heretic

whose thinks the most important command from You

is Isaiah 40:1; i only want

to comfort my people. just like You.

i meant it when i said all should be invited to the table,

so children, find me on trial and blessèd.

find me in community with the queer pastors

watching their lives’ work go from dust to dust before their bodies are in the dirt,

unable to speak a hallelujah over the ashes.”

[a-little-lost-at-sea]

new tablet background; feel free to share and use!

[ID: A light, grayish blue background with the text “Queer love is divine.” The first three words are in cursive font, and “divine” is in all caps in a print font. End ID.]

[a-little-lost-at-sea]

my current coping mechanism is putting John Wesley quotes on gay flags (background source)

[ID: Three images of a rainbow flag with slightly muted colors. There is a quote by John Wesley in very light blue: “You will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you? Are all of them together stronger than God?” End ID.]

[sparky7u]

Monday Afternoon At GC2019: The UMC Has Just Died

The delegates have spoken and the UMC has just died: gays are irredeemably bad, evil and unacceptable. I am sick to my stomach.