My friend Phil arrived early Saturday morning to the expo center, site of the 2014 Eastern PA annual conference meeting. As he walked toward the entrance, he heard an unfamiliar voice shouting from across the parking lot. “Here comes another fag!” Phil could not see clearly the man who uttered the epithet, but it was obvious that it was levied at him. Ironically, Phil is not gay, but he was wearing a rainbow stole – a symbol of LGBTQ solidarity well-known among Eastern PA conference members. Phil, a lay member of Arch Street United Methodist Church in Philadelphia, thought it his duty to inform presiding Bishop Peggy Johnson of the incident. At the opening of the morning session, Bishop Johnson spoke of a “name-calling” incident outside the gathering, which she said was “inappropriate” and had no place among Christian people. She admonished the conference members to be respectful of one another even if they disagree.
What makes the difference between name-calling and hate speech? Hate speech is defined as a verbal attack against a person or group on the basis of race, religion, gender, disability, or sexual orientation. Hate speech is used to intimidate and purposefully create a climate of fear. Social media responses to the morning’s events and other informal chatter indicate that conference attendees overwhelmingly condemned the words of the anonymous man in the parking lot. However, it must be noted that people typically restrict their use of hate speech to environments in which they think they can get away with it. This man did not seem to be concerned that another United Methodist clergy or lay member could hear him. Why not? It speaks to the overall atmosphere in some United Methodist circles, in which it seems riskier for a gay person to publicly announce his or her sexual orientation than for a bigot to use hate speech in a loud and purposefully-public fashion. What can faithful United Methodists do in order to tip the balance in the opposite direction? This year’s EPA conference gathering can be characterized by a spirit of avoidance. The body voted to defer most of the resolutions dealing with homosexuality, even the one calling clergy who performed the Arch Street same-gender wedding last fall to voluntarily surrender their ordination credentials. In such an environment, it is critical to be attentive and obedient to the Spirit of God, and be ready stand up and speak on behalf of our LGBT siblings when the right moment arrives.
Rev. Dr. David Krueger
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This shows the incredible, unacknowledged privilege and power conservatives have granted by the Book of Discipline and backed by complicit bishops. We can’t even call out evil without it being controversial or attacked.
Wow–what powerful points!
Thank you, Rev. Krueger. God called me into ministry, knowing I was a lesbian (before I did), and after my ordination gave me the gift of finding myself, my wife and a life that finally felt authentic. I left my UMC ministry almost immediately – out of fear. Twenty years later, I still long for a place in the UMC, but what God has prompted me to over this past year is promoting a message of solidarity for and with all my LGBTQ brothers and sisters who need to see how VERY MANY LGBTQ’s are Christians and how VERY MANY Christians truly support and embrace the LGBTQ community. We need to be visible and vocal. It’s simply called SPEAK LOVE LOUDER. May God bless the spreading of the message and the speaking of the love – for ALL God’s children. An easy to share logo can be found at my website.
We had a similar experience in our small group discussions at our Detroit Annual Conference. In Michigan, a federal judge had ruled that Michigan’s addition to our state constitution that marriage is only between a man and a woman was unconstitutional, and is presently being appealed. Our group was to discuss a resolution encouraging fellow Methodists to encourage state officials to grant equal marriage rights to all in our state. While the ” F” word wasn’t used, there was one man who was very loud in his comments about marriage being only between a man and a woman to the point one of our youth representatives was in tears. Several of us who were wearing rainbow stoles went over to her and assured her that there were many in the United Methodist Church who were working to change the ruling in the United Methodist Church that gay and lesbian people were of worth. To be the statement in our social principles that ” Homosexuality is not compatible with Christian Teachings” is also hate speech. I wish someone in authority in the United Methodist Church would call it as such. We also had a resolution that would have banned the wearing of rainbow stoles and jewelry. Fortunately that was soundly voted down.
The United Methodist Church should be in leadership in Loving All Their Neighbors. As long as the incompatibility clause is part of our social principles people think they are supported by their church in behaving this way. How sad and unchristian.
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Well said Rev. Kruger; keep speaking on behalf of those who are perceived as different. Perhaps one day our church can find a path to acceptance, but if there are not those among us calling in the wilderness we never will. In the meantime may those among us who hate remember the cries of, “CRUCIFY HIM!” and with introspection ask themselves where they stand.