Spoiler: Don’t be a Jerk

The Special Conference of the United Methodist Church (UMC) finished its meeting in St. Louis today. I was present at the conference for most of the day, as I was already in the city for a planning meeting for the National Workshop on Christian Unity. The Conference was very different from our General Convention for several reasons. First of all, it’s a unicameral body, larger than our House of Deputies. Second is that it has voting representation from all over the world as the UMC is truly a global church. The third is the part the bishops play. They sit on a platform at the front of the assembly and take turns presiding, but they do not speak to or against legislation, and they have no vote.

The news today, of course, is the passage of the so-called “Traditional Plan” (TP) in the last hour of the convention. There had been multiple plans to try to find a way forward on the issues of human sexuality. The plan which had been put forth by the bishops, the so-called “One Church Plan,” had been defeated this morning. Others had been ruled unconstitutional by the UMC’s Supreme Judicial Council, which is their supreme court. In fact, several aspects of the traditional plan were also ruled unconstitutional in the last couple of days. The bulk of today's legislation was by those supporting the TP bringing amendments to try to “Fix” it. Since these amendments were not reviewed by the Supreme Judicial Council before passage, it is still possible that large parts of the TP may be ruled unconstitutional.

A side story of this is the Wesleyan Covenant Association, which is an association of “Traditionalist” members of the UMC. They meet tomorrow and it is widely expected that they will move to leave the church even with the passage of the TP. For those of you familiar with the backdoor politics of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, they have been highly active in this process, as they were in the 2000s in our denomination.

The Traditional Plan doubles down on the language in the Book of Discipline that calls homosexuality incompatible with scripture and is designed to expedite trial and deposition of clergy who are LGBTQIA+. This conference was, as you might expect, very painful for members of the UMC LGBTQIA+ community, which is numerous. Whether the UMC will continue to exist as it has heretofore, whether it will splinter, or whether this fight will drag on in further General Conferences is a question that cannot be answered this close to the event.

In any case, it is likely that Episcopal Churches will see “refugees” from the UMC. Some of these will be people who simply need a temporary respite. Some of these will be people for whom the UMC can no longer be their home. I make the following suggestions:

Remember that these fellow Christians are really hurting. They feel their denomination has failed them, but they are still Methodists. You are not going to be able to just put a BCP in their hand and make them Episcopalians, nor should you. ANY language about “Coming Home” or “Returning to the Mother Church” is harmful, insensitive, and historically inaccurate, since American Methodism and the Episcopal Church are both technically equally children of the Church of England. If we can provide a place of rest for them before they move to some other expression of Methodism, that should be our role as the Episcopal Branch of the Jesus Movement. Treat them as you would a parishioner who has gone through a particularly traumatic family episode, as that is exactly what they have been through. Some Methodists may become Episcopalians, but that should not be our goal. Do no harm, and let them take their time as they figure out what they are called to. Don’t try to press them to pledge, become members, or serve on your understaffed committee unless they ask to. Welcome them warmly as full siblings in Christ, and treat them with compassion. Lay off the smugness! There is nothing to celebrate for us here. Don’t reinforce the class-divide legacies that have divided our churches for two hundred years. Methodism is a beautiful and strong tradition that has given much to the Christian world in hymnody, Christian formation, and ecumenism. Their diminishment is our diminishment. In addition, talking about “Crazy Methodist Polity” only requires a cursory look at how we handle legislation to see how we are the pot calling the kettle black. DO NOT talk about how much further ahead we are as Episcopalians on LGBTQIA+ issues. Because seriously, we don’t have bragging rights. We were behind the ELCA, UCC and many other Christian denominations (Decades behind the MCC) on this and we still have much work to do. Many UMC congregations have been way ahead of us in this in spite of the discipline of the UMC as a denomination. Don’t attempt to score cheap points on the backs of our Episcopal LGBTQIA+ siblings that are still struggling. Just don’t. Be aware when talking to UMC clergy that we are not in full communion with them. We recognize them as Ministers of the Gospel, but we haven’t achieved interchangeability. While we have an interim eucharistic sharing agreement and there is a full-communion proposal on the table (And what is going to happen to that is anybody’s guess as of today), we do not currently have interchangeability of ministry with the UMC. UMC ministers cannot celebrate sacraments within or transfer to the Episcopal Church. Because our Constitution and Canons do not currently recognize the historic episcopate as realized in the UMC, Elders moving to the Episcopal Church would have to be ordained to the diaconate and the priesthood in our church before being able to serve. This OUR problem as Episcopalians — something that is frankly embarrassing. This is different than the formal and informal arrangements between many other protestant bodies, which allows for easier exchange. Neither is there a “Passthrough” option through the ELCA or Moravians. Our agreements with those denominations specifically apply to the elders originally ordained by their denominations. Personally, I wish we had already established full communion with the UMC before this all occurred, but we have to deal with the legalities as they actually sit. Perhaps something can be done in the near future. I pray it will be so. In general, think before you speak. Be slow, cautious, and generous. Use all your pastoral sensitivity. Treat them as suffering brothers and sisters in Christ, rather than potential new members. Perhaps they will stay with us, perhaps they will not. Both are OK, and we need to be OK with that.

The Rev. David Simmons, ObJN, is the President of Episcopal Diocesan Ecumenical and Interreligious Officers, Co-Chair of the National Workshop on Christian Unity, Vice-Chair of the Interfaith Council of Greater Milwaukee, Ecumenical Officer of the Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee, and someone who has experienced the gifts of Methodism in his own life.