Do No Harm
RMN’s Response to Harare as a Second Site for General Conference 2028
The Commission on the General Conference has announced that Harare, Zimbabwe, will serve as a second site for the 2028 General Conference. Reconciling Ministries Network recognizes that the Commission is making difficult decisions in a challenging season, and thanks them for their important work. We also have significant questions about this choice, and we believe the whole church should be asking them together.
The safety of every delegate and other General Conference attendees is our top priority, and we know it is the Commission’s priority as well. US visa restrictions and immigration enforcement threaten to keep many of our siblings, especially delegates from across Africa, away from the table where our church makes its decisions. We share the Commission’s commitment to include as many people as possible, and we trust that this choice was not made lightly. The United Methodist Church in Zimbabwe is vibrant and faithful, and its people have contributed so much to our connection and to the mission of Christ in the region.
We do not question the faith or vitality of the United Methodists of Zimbabwe. Our questions center around the safety of delegates and other Conference attendees and for the integrity of our shared commitments. Our first General Rule calls us to do no harm. We believe that rule applies not only to our process and shared decisions, but where we gather to make them. The legal landscape in Zimbabwe is not uncertain for the LGBTQ+ people who call it home. We are learning from them, and want to understand what delegates would face should GC 2028 be held there. In that spirit, we ask the Commission to consider the following:
- Is there a public safety plan for LGBTQ+ delegates and delegates with disabilities? Will this plan include information about current laws, general preventative measures, safe transportation throughout the event, accompaniment strategies, access to legal support, and a rapid response process if someone is threatened or detained?
- Will there be a commitment that no delegate will be required to hide their identity or marital status in order to safely participate?
- Will there be an assurance that LGBTQ+ Zimbabweans who interact with General Conference will continue to receive protection and support after the gathering adjourns?
- Will there be a site selection policy for future General Conferences that treats LGBTQ+ safety and legal equality as core criteria, alongside the accessibility and visa concerns the commission already weighs?
We also hope the Commission will share how Zimbabwe’s immigration and criminal laws were considered in this decision, and whether other sites were explored.
We want to listen first to our siblings in Africa in this matter, especially LGBTQ+ United Methodists and allies who navigate these realities every day. Rev. Benedict Odhiambo, a member of RMN’s board, and pastor of Christ Chapel UMC in Kenya, reminds us what this decision could mean:
“The choice of Zimbabwe creates a painful double burden for African LGBTQ+ Methodists. I know LGBTQ+ Methodists here in East Africa, in Kenya, in Zimbabwe, in Uganda. They are already vulnerable. When the global church brings its LGBTQ+ delegates into a country where they are criminalized, it inadvertently puts a spotlight on local queer Methodists who will be left behind after GC leaves. Zimbabwean LGBTQ+ people who come forward to welcome delegates could face consequences after delegates fly home. We have seen this pattern before at other global meetings in hostile legal environments.”
He continues:
“If the church cannot guarantee that safety, then the moral choice is to move the site, not as punishment to Zimbabwe, but as faithfulness to our commitment that all delegates are equal.”
We do not raise these concerns to condemn the Commission, but we also recognize that it’s never too late to choose a safer and more equitable path when one exists. We encourage the Commission to keep pursuing the safest option for every participant. We also urge the Commission to invite LGBTQ+ delegates and delegates with disabilities into the conversation before plans become final, along with queer general agency staff who may be asked to travel to Harare.
During last week’s Council of Bishops Leadership Gathering in Calgary, we were reminded how much it matters to intentionally bring many voices to the table. Hearing and considering those voices, and letting them shape the outcome matters equally as much.
RMN stands ready to walk alongside the Commission as this work continues. We believe a church that gathers from every corner of the world can also be a church where every delegate arrives safely, engages and contributes without fear, and returns home whole.
