Integrity

It's been a gift to be here at the trial.  One of the most powerful pieces of this trial process has been observing our jury court (clergy colleagues acting as jurors).  Since they were selected yesterday (tho it seems like days, if not weeks ago now...) I have been impressed with their integrity.

Now, at this point you may know that this afternoon the trial court arrived at their decision addressing the two counts against Amy DeLong: Guilty- for having conducted a same-sex union; NOT guilty for being a "self-avowed, practicing homosexual."  This in itself is an AMAZING verdict (and worthy of its own blog post) but I do not write this because I agreed with their conclusions.  This post is to address the upstanding conduct of the trial court- not their verdict. 

As the judge (bishop) gave instructions- they were thoughtful.  As the witnesses spoke- they were attentive.  As laughter filled the courtroom (mild, light-heartened interactions between witnesses &/or the counsels), they remained focused and disengaged, avoiding reaction or direct eye contact with the audience.

I say all of this because recently at Annual Conference it felt like our "clergy covenant" had become a piece of ancient history.  Disconnected, disheartened-- and many members jaded-- our clergy communion has not enjoyed the strength and solidarity that I believe it once had and could have again.  As a keen observer of human interaction, I was honored to sit and observe the trial court's actions and inactions.  They gave me hope, even in midst of a lot of despair, of what our covenant could look like.  I felt a sense of pride and blessing to see my colleagues in this light. Thank you, WI Conference Clergy- Trial Court 2011, for your integrity in this difficult process.

With You I Am Well Pleased

It's been raining a lot up here in Kaukauna.  Maybe that's why the image of baptism has come to mind.  We've been seeing A LOT of water around here. 

But it's actually the voice from heaven heard in the Gospel of Luke that has got me thinking-- as Jesus rises out of the waters of baptism the words come forth, "With you I am well pleased."

Maybe it's because I am being reappointed to a new congregation and leaving my flock at Trinity (and thereby getting a little sentimental), but I've had this passage running through my head in the last couple of days.

I'm in the Fox Valley, hanging out, and watching a good friend/ colleague/ officiant at my wedding (1998!) go on trial.  Yes, I have my eye on Amy, but I also have my eye on several of my parishioners from Trinity, who've come to be in solidarity.  Most of them had never even met Amy previously-- but had heard stories from me or read about her online.  And here they are-- hours from home, wearing rainbow stoles, and singing songs of Jesus.  Even my dad, a middle-aged, Midwestern straight guy is here.  Amy, of course, was his pastor for six years, but who would have thought he'd drive for five hours one-way and take three days of vacation to protest the Church with a bunch of GLBT-hugging Methodists?

As you can imagine, these are the dear people in my life, with whom I am well-pleased.  They are my parents, my parishioners.  They are my family of faith.  This experience is providing us a strange (even painful) place to share and grow together.  But I feel blessed to be here with them and Amy, and even more so-- pleased with our common witness-- sharing the soft rain upon our heads and being reminded of our heavenly calling.

Called

Sitting there in the banquet hall listening to her tonight, hearing God's word pour out-- it's evident-- God's gifts are incarnate in the Rev. Amy DeLong.  It's Monday evening, June 20, 2011 and about 80 of us are gathered together to be in solidarity with Amy and her partner, Val, who are having their love put on trial in Kakauna, WI.  It's no wonder she sensed a call-- a call that was confirmed by the WI Board of Ordained Ministry, and then consecrated by Bishop Sharon Zimmerman Rader.  Because it's there-- and boy, it's evident.

As a preacher it can be easy to lean back, make critiques, evaluate, and meditate on how you would 'improve' on someone else's speaking skills.  Not so in listening to Amy.  Just sit back and enjoy the ride-- fluency in speech, rhythm, story, theology, inspiration and even irritation.  It's all there.  It feels good like having taken a good run-- there's nothing like gettin' whipped back into (spiritual) shape.

In the next few days it will be argued that Amy doesn't have the grace of God to be called and ordained in the United Methodist Church. No matter the outcome of the trial, that point will never be proven.  In the days ahead- pray for Amy, pray for us-- but mostly, please pray for the United Methodist Church.

MFSA: My Church

As a pastor in the United Methodist Church, I am reminded every year at Annual Conference during clergy session that the Order of Elders is my "home church."  Our Methodist history tells us that we are itinerant preachers who find "church" not within the walls of a clapboard chapel or under the stained glass of a certain sanctuary, but instead among the fellowship of those called to Word, Sacrament, Order, and Service.

Well, the truth is, even though I hear those words proclaimed year after year-- I'm just not so sure about that.  While I enjoy the annual reunion and reconnecting with my colleagues-made-friends, I find myself drawn to a particular crowd of folks which I see not just one time a year, but many times a year.  I regularly see these people at education events, retreats, vigils, marches, and protests.  In these varied settings we learn together about theology and up-coming issues at General Conference, pray for the poor, give voice to undocumented immigrants and boldly stand for the right (not privilege) of collective bargaining.  They are the members-- clergy and lay-- of MFSA.

This past February and March, as the budget battle in Wisconsin drew national headlines I stood with members of WUMFSA (Wisconsin United Methodists for Social Action) week after week.  Together we marched with ecumenical clergy, protested with the Interfaith Coalition for Worker Justice, conducted sit-in-Bible studies at the doors of the Governor's office, and chanted the call and response, "Tell me what religion should look like--This is what religion should look like!" on the Capitol steps.  These are the people I trust, I rely on. They help me deepen my faith and broaden my embrace.  It is among this group of Christians that I find fellowship as a clergy person in the United Methodist Church.  MFSA is "church" to me.

Finding Blessing in Times of Trial

-A Message from Scott Campbell, Pastor of Harvard-Epworth UMC in Cambridge, MA

Some members of the Harvard-Epworth community may know that I am involved in a church trial that will take place in Wisconsin later this spring. I am functioning as the “counsel for the respondent,” the church’s equivalent of a defense attorney. This is not the first judicial process in which I have taken part, but it is far and away the most uplifting. In previous experiences I have functioned as both a prosecutor and a defender, but in most of the proceedings the issues at stake revolved around significant clergy misconduct. In the current instance the Rev. Amy DeLong has been charged with performing a holy union for a same gender couple and with being a “self-avowed, practicing homosexual” (the term used by the church’s Book of Discipline.) Amy is universally acknowledged to be a wonderful pastor and a truly gifted servant of God.

What has been most extraordinary about the time leading up to the trial has been the level of mutual care that has emerged from the persons who comprise the support team around Amy. She has brought together an amazing group of talented and caring people to serve in a number of capacities. I have been working with a small group of people who have been developing our trial strategy. There is a much wider body that is dealing with things like press relations, guest accommodations, the web page (loveontrial.org), fund raising, training in non-violent action, worship at the trial, etc. The group has been meeting together since August and has formed bonds of deep affection among the members.

When the team heard from Amy about some struggles that I was going through with my parents’ health, I was inundated with messages of caring and support. One woman offered to come out from Wisconsin and cook, clean and babysit our kids for a week if that would help. Others have sent notes of encouragement, small gifts and stories of their own struggles with similar issues. I have been the recipient of Christian ministry in a setting in which I thought I was the one who would be doing the ministering.

Blessings,

Scott