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
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