The RMN Board’s Report of March 2024
“There are two questions that we must ask ourselves,” said the theologian and civil rights leader Howard Thurman. “The first is, ‘Where am I going?’ The second is, ‘Who will go with me?’ If you get these questions in the wrong order, you are in trouble.”
RMN is on the threshold of significant change. In this letter, we want to give you a glimpse into where we’re going.
Do you know your board? Take a look at their photos.
They are stepping across the threshold into the next opportunity for RMN – coming out of the background and stepping into the leadership of a dynamic future. Please take time to see them.
Each one is a person who lives in the intersection of their identities. Each brings all of themselves. They provide diverse and needed perspectives on The UMC and RMN. (As the new chair of the board, I am especially grateful to Rev. Kimberly Scott for her prior leadership and for preparing a slate of incredible leaders for this strategic time.)
At the board’s February meeting in Charlotte, NC, we reaffirmed RMN’s focus, mission, and vision:
- Our focus to celebrate and affirm persons who are LGBTQ+
- Our mission to work intersectionally for justice within and beyond the UMC
- Our vision of a transforming Church that ensures justice, equity, and dignity for all of God’s children.
Legislative Priorities at General Conference
The writer and educator Audre Lorde said, “Without community, there is no liberation, only the most vulnerable and temporary armistice between an individual and her oppression.” At RMN, we’re committed to moving past the ‘temporary armistice.’ Therefore, the board unanimously supports the proposed transformations to the Church listed below.
- Removal of all the discriminatory language in the United Methodist Book of Discipline to make Church law neutral and end the explicit harm toward persons who are LGBTQ+
- Revision of the Social Principles to honor the global nature of the Church and those who undertook this years-long process of revision
- Regionalization of the denomination’s structure to acknowledge the harm of U.S. colonization and to provide an equitable and liberating context for mission and ministry.
Here, you’ll find the RMN board’s statement of support for these critical legislative priorities.
The board is also working collaboratively to build a community of the harmed, threatened, blamed, and marginalized laity and clergy who are LGBTQ+ in the UMC with their friends, families, allies, pastors, and congregations. The Love Your Neighbor Coalition (LYNC) and Reconciling Ministries Network are deeply engaged in creating activities, community gatherings, and collective calls to action when delegates, advocates, and volunteers gather in Charlotte from April 22 to May 4. Email Dr. Mittie Quinn at umcmittie@gmail.com to inquire about volunteer opportunities where you live or in Charlotte.
RMN’s Strategic Direction
In addition, the RMN board has laid out plans for the organization’s ministry after General Conference 2024. The work of creating worshipful communities for LGBTQ+ people is needed more than ever, but no decisions of any General Conference will achieve that goal. That is RMN’s role. Your board recognizes the landscape in which the mission of RMN will unfold over the next few years.
We hammered out details of RMN’s infrastructure needed to strengthen Reconciling congregations, expand community organizing, resource the movement, and develop leadership. In the meantime, RMN is launching its next major fund development campaign next month, planning its next Convocation for 2025, and identifying strategic objectives for the next five years of robust change in the UMC.
Pray for us and work with us
It is a pleasure to work with this board and staff who are unmatched in skill and experience in the UMC. RMN is a clear leader for change. Your involvement and support have sustained it and prepared it for its next steps. Thank you.
Finally, your board and I are interested in your input and feedback. Do not hesitate to reach out to any one of us. No matter what, pray for us, work with us, and support us as you can. The kin-dom of God is near!
Grace and peace,
Rev. David Meredith
Mychal Boyd
Rev. Rachel Cornwell
Janet Duke
Mary Gladstone-Highland
Rev. Joey Heath-Mason
Rev. Dr. Ron Hoellein
Rev. Dr. Valerie Jackson
Jan Lawrence
Rev. Kennedy Mwita
Rev. Michael Parker II
Rev. Mina Nau
Karen Prudente
Derrick Scott III
Rev. Kimberly Scott
Sutton Smith
Rev. Dr. Deb Stevens
Eric Swanson
Jacob Vaughn
Ben Weger
Alice Williams
Rev. Anjie Woodworth
