In the days after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Obergefell v Hodges, United Methodists around the world are reflecting on what it means for day to day ministry and the decision-making at the 2016 General Conference. ~photo GBCS/Clayton Childers
Lansing, Mich. June 27, 2015 (MIC) – United Methodists in Michigan and across the county continue to assess the impact of Friday’s Supreme Court ruling to make same-sex civil marriage a constitutional right in all 50 states.
The 5-4 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges dealt with two questions: Does the U.S. Constitution allow states to prohibit same-gender marriage and can states refuse to recognize the marriages of gay couples who wed in another state? To both questions, the majority said states must recognize same-sex marriage.
The decision addressed four cases challenging same-sex marriage bans in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. The Ann Arbor couple behind Michigan’s case, April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse, wanted to jointly adopt their children. The State of Michigan had argued they could not because they were not married. The ruling in the title case, Obergefell v. Hodges, favored the three cases linked to it, including Michigan’s DeBoer v Snyder.
Shortly after the decision, Bishop Deborah Lieder Kiesey, episcopal leader of the Michigan Area, released this statement:
The decision by the Supreme Court, to legalize same-gender marriage, illuminates the need to care and counsel all our members and all those who come to our churches for spiritual guidance and deepening of faith. In the coming days, I will offer guidelines on how our clergy can be in ministry with our LGBTQ parishioners and their families, and still remain in compliance with The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church. I encourage all of us to continue to pray and seek God’s guidance and grace as we move forward.
The Supreme Court ruling, as a practical matter, is not expected to impact church teachings or practice. Clergy of any tradition still have the legal right to decline performing a wedding for whatever reason, as they do now. “The First Amendment ensures that religions, those who adhere to religious doctrines, and others have protection as they seek to teach the principles that are so fulfilling and so central to their lives and faiths,” the Supreme Court opinion noted.
In an interview with the United Methodist News Service, Douglas Laycock, professor of law and religious studies at the University of Virginia School of Law, stated gay-rights advocates, “…pretty much conceded that clergy don’t have to do weddings.” Considered a leading authority on the law and religious liberty, Laycock added, “They keep escalating their demands as they win, but I think that concession is likely to last.”
Michigan Responds
United Methodists from around the State of Michigan expressed a variety of reactions to the Court’s decision.
“For centuries, the Church and culture have clashed,” said Rev. Benton Heisler, Director of Connectional Ministries for the West Michigan Conference, “Today the US Supreme Court has made a legal determination the culture has brought before it. Many will rejoice and many will weep.” As clergy and congregations continue to make decisions of conscience, Heisler added, “our call is to continue to minister to persons on this continuum of celebration and sadness. Christians are called to model the love of Christ, respect the courts and those elected to govern and transform the culture.”
Layman C. David Lundquist, a member of Kalamazoo First United Methodist Church and long time gay-rights activist, celebrated, “… a day too long awaited but one we knew would surely come.” With marriage now legally available to LGBTQ people anywhere in the United States, Lundquist concluded, “It is now time for The United Methodist Church to do the same! It is time to stop the injustices that continue to prevent our pastors from offering the blessing of marriage, including within our church buildings, for all people seeking to live in committed, faithful, loving relationships regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.”
A number of reactions across the state included an examination of legal and biblical aspects in the context pastors now face. “I make a distinction between ‘rights’ and ‘rites,’ says the Rev. Jack Harnish, retired pastor of the Detroit Conference. He adds, “As an American, I find nothing in the Constitution which would support granting privileges and benefits to couples based on their sexual orientation. The legal and civil rights of marriage should be, and now are, available to both heterosexual and homosexual couples.” Harnish goes on to explain, “Then, each religious tradition can determine the religious rites it will celebrate. This means as a United Methodist, I cannot celebrate same-sex unions, regardless of the action of the Supreme Court.” Jack continues with his view of scripture. “I believe we are being called to reinterpret scripture regarding homosexuality in the same way we have reinterpreted Jesus’s words about divorce and St. Paul’s instruction on slaves and women in the church. Obviously we do not take Jesus literally in his teaching on divorce and no one believes slaves should be obedient to their masters or women should keep silent in church. In the same way these passages should be read in the light of today’s culture and understanding. I believe that will lead us to an understanding of marriage which will include same-sex couples in faithful, committed relationships.”
The Rev. Mike Riegler, pastor of Edmore Faith UMC, Heartland District, and immediate past chair of the John Wesley Association of West Michigan, asserts, “One of the most consistent messages throughout the Bible—Old Testament and New—is that God’s people should choose God’s Word and Way over the ways of the world. As we have argued the topic of same-sex marriage in the UMC, it has often troubled me to hear arguments based on: new medical science, new social science, public opinion polls, the opinions of certain segments of the population, and—especially at this moment—new secular laws.” While expressing happiness for those in the LGBTQ community who will have their legal rights protected and be better able to enjoy the benefits of our society, Riegler reminds the church of their theological task. “As for the theological question of our church serving as God’s agent in offering God’s blessing on same-sex unions, I remain opposed, as I simply cannot find biblical justification for doing so.”
Ahead to Portland
Debate about the church’s stance has surfaced at each General Conference since 1972. Since that year, the church has stated in its Book of Discipline that all individuals are of sacred worth but the practice of homosexuality “is incompatible with Christian teaching.”
General Conference, which meets every four years, has consistently voted to keep that language and over the years has expanded on restrictions against gay clergy and same-gender unions. Officiating at same-sex unions is a chargeable offense under church law. The Book of Discipline states that marriage is between a man and a woman.
Some United Methodists expect these Supreme Court actions to be part of the discussion when General Conference, the denomination’s top lawmaking assembly, meets next year in Portland, Oregon.
“I think it will have bearing, and I think it will put a lot of people in the middle,” said the Rev. Sky McCracken, a district superintendent in western Kentucky. He will be part of the Memphis Conference’s delegation to General Conference. “I think it will be difficult because people will have a hard time deciding between what the law of the land says and what the doctrine of the church is.”
In November 2014, Bishop Kiesey reached a Just Resolution with the Rev. Mike Tupper, after Tupper performed a wedding of his daughter and another woman. Tupper, pastor of the Parchment UMC, Kalamazoo District, remarks on the Court’s ruling: “I pray that this decision helps our denomination move toward full inclusion at the 2016 General Conference”
The Rev. Thomas Lambrecht thinks the ruling won’t matter much to General Conference delegates. He is vice president and general manager of Good News, an unofficial United Methodist advocacy group that supports the denomination’s teachings on homosexuality.
“Most of the delegates who would favor retaining the church’s current position on marriage do so out of deep conviction and understand that the church is at different times and various points at odds with the culture in which it lives,” he said. “Our commitment to biblical truth does not depend upon judicial affirmation by the Supreme Court of this or any other nation.”
McCracken added that there some areas that already exist where church teachings and civil laws differ. He noted that both capital punishment and abortion are legal but United Methodists challenge both.
Members of Good News and others are proposing legislation that would impose mandatory penalties for those who officiate at same-sex weddings. A number of annual conferences also are sending petitions to General Conference that address questions of sexuality from various perspectives.
The Connectional Table, a United Methodist leadership body, is drafting legislation that would remove church law’s prohibitive language against gay weddings and clergy who are “self-avowed practicing homosexuals.”
The Rev. Kennetha Bigham-Tsai, Superintendent of the Lansing District and member of the Connectional Table remarks, “Today’s Supreme Court decision was not just a decision for marriage equality. It was a decision for equality. It was a decision that affirmed both the equal status of our LGBTQ brothers and sisters under the law and the sacred worth of all persons, no matter their sexual orientation or gender identity.” Bigham-Tsai, who helped draft a position called The Third Way, concludes, “I believe this to be a decision based upon the tenets of a Gospel that calls us to love instead of judgment, hospitality instead of exclusion. I know that there are differences around this matter within the church, but I hope and pray that the church would now work for reconciliation in a spirit of grace.”
This article was written by Kay DeMoss, MIConnect Senior Writer with material contributed by Heather Hahn, reporter for United Methodist News Service.
Last Updated on October 27, 2023