Some BLG research respondents say they like the UM denomination as a whole.

There is too much good in the UMC for the church not to eventually see that accepting GLBT is the right thing and godly to do. In the meantime, I feel very much like an outsider...

I was raised in the Methodist church and served as a US-2 missionary after college, so I feel a deep sense of connection and commitment to the Methodist Church.

I am an ordained elder in the UMC. I chose the UMC because it felt like I was back at my roots. My Grandfather was a Methodist pastor also. I like Wesleyan theology and the openness to hear and discuss different theologies. The UMC does not say they are the only church and therefore works in Ecumenical circles.

I'm impressed by the general official commitment to peace and justice that the church displays, and I view my participation as a great opportunity to make that commitment more real for individual churchgoer. Christianity provides an avenue for witnessing peace and justice to those who might otherwise turn away for ideological reasons.

I love the church too much to leave it over its stance on [GLBT] issues, but fight like hell for the church's transformation.

One of my greatest hopes is that someday, in my lifetime, the UMC will allow full participation by GLBT individuals, including ordination and the recognition and blessing of our relationships. However, I also recognize that one of the characteristics I admire about the UMC is its diversity in beliefs, ethnicity, and worship styles. I pray that we will be able to reach some form of common ground, where the Discipline does not contain discriminatory language, but those who I respectfully disagree with (those who hold very conservative beliefs regarding sexual orientation) do not feel the need to depart from the denomination. Overall, my hope is that we can find some way to all get along and be respectful of each other.

It is a more theologically liberal denomination... I am hopeful that Methodism will one day be inclusive of all people in membership and in ministry.

There is a great deal of worth in most of the traditions of the church, and I have hope that the work of reconciliation will one day lead to a United Methodist Church that values all of God's people without regard to sexual orientation. I have seen progress already; though it is a long road. I feel we will arrive one day.

I will stay loyal, even if it never changes.

I love the UMC. I really do. From the time I can first remember, I was surrounded by a church family that was caring and wonderful. My mother once told me, about Methodists, that while other denominations might kick you out if you disagree, the Methodists would say, 'Well, let's talk about it.' As I got older, the UMC’s background in social justice was also impressive to me.

The pluralism, and the pockets of folks I meet sympathetic to gay and lesbian members. Many of these souls are at the General Church level or affiliated with reconciling congregations.

I understand the church has a long way to go on dealing with the issue of homosexuality, but (the majority of the time) I feel that if all [GLBT] UMs were to leave the church, they [the UMC] would never deal with the issue appropriately.

While I am disheartened by the stance of the General Conference, I am fully heartened and enriched by the full breadth of ministry within The United Methodist Church and its ever increasing attempt to be more holistic in ministry and mission. I am a United Methodist because I believe in the core tenants of the beliefs of the United Methodist Church. I don't have to agree with everything that the General Conference says in order to be a faithful Christian and a United Methodist with integrity.

[The UMC is] a cause of considerable stress, but it is also the church in which I am most at home.

I made a vow at my ordination to serve this church. Most of my adult life has been centered on my commitment to this church. I fervently disagree with the ways in which the General Conferences of the past decades have redefined us (i.e., in more conservative, even fundamentalist ways), but either the United Methodist Church will come to accept me or it will have to forcibly remove me. I will not leave willingly.

The wonderful thing about the United Methodist Church is that individual congregations can have a "take it or leave it" attitude regarding the politics of the UMC.

Unlike [others] who have had a hate or a love-hate relationship with the UMC, I never in my life wavered. I never rebelled in adolescence or college, and [General Conference] actions have only made me more motivated to participate in changing it that it might be more faithful to the Gospel. I played the piano to accompany the Sunday School hymns before classes every Sunday..., and I sang in the choir for church. Perhaps the responsibility of doing so kept me committed.

No 'organized religion' is perfect, but the Methodist tradition is the closest to that perfection I can imagine.

I have been a Methodist all my life. My major professional career was spent as a United Methodist clergy person. That "history" is what keeps the connection and what makes me hope that the UMC will change its position on GLBT issues.

I would like to see more reconciling UMCs but I really don't want to leave the UMC for any reason.

Because of the United Methodists loyalty to worldwide issues; the constant questioning and looking at the g/l/b/t issues and the willingness to look at this. In the meantime, I have a place to go in the reconciling ministries... [a place] that accepts me for who I am in a community of straight and GLBT. I love the service, singing, and everything about the United Methodist Church!

There's a lot of good going on in the UMC. And I believe that UMs are good, fair, kind, loving people who want to do the right thing. In regards to including LGBT people, I know that one of these days, the UMC will include them in every aspect of the life of the church. But, I also believe the church is held hostage by a very powerful, well-financed, slick, ultra-conservative/ reactionary group that knows how the Discipline works inside and out.

[The UMC] is a great place to be in 2002! There are changes taking place and lots in the wings! I find the vast majority of people don't give a hoot about someone's sexual orientation. It is the character of the individual.

The UMC has good doctrine and polity, for the most part, that I am proud of. In keeping with UM connectionalism and the idea that we create and maintain our church, I am happy to stay in the church, working to bring it to a more full understanding of what it means to be God's people and working for the kingdom of God.

On good days, I still think that on the whole the UMC is made up of people of good will who are doing their best to be faithful, even when I think they are mistaken. On other occasions, I feel responsible for the younger generation who have not let hateful attitudes take them over. I refuse to be driven away, leaving only the wrongheaded behind to guide them. On really bad days, I am not sure what holds me other than stubbornness or apathy.

I find that I am very much at home in the United Methodist Church. . . . I feel more loyalty to the UMC, since I invested my thought into choosing it for myself.... I find that I agree theologically for the most part with the United Methodist Church,... I feel very much of a sense of "religious belonging."

I love the United Methodist Church, I want to serve the UMC as a clergy person, and I DO [sic] believe that the current teaching of the United Methodist Church regarding homosexuality is in harmony with the teachings of Scripture. At the same time, I wish it were possible for me to be accepted in the UMC for who I really am, not who I pretend to be.

The way I see it is [that] the UMC is my church too. I have been a member most of my life. It is a privilege to be a minister in this denomination, but it is also my right to pursue the call that God has placed before me. And while I recognize that a call to ministry must be authenticated by others, my ministry is proof that God calls GLBT people to service.

Next: Social Justice