In June 1984, the California/Nevada Annual Conference challenged the constitutionality of Par. 402.2 ("Since the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching, self-avowed practicing homosexuals are not to be accepted as candidates, ordained as ministers, or appointed to serve in the United Methodist Church"). They argued this before the Judicial Council in November 1984. The Judicial Council found that par. 402.2 is constitutional and spelled out that the GC can establish minimum standards for ministry and that the Annual Conferences must make the determinations that would result in changes in ministerial standing (Moore, 2000c; JC Decision 544). This ruling created a legal standing based on sexual orientation.
In other religious news, the Unitarian Universalist Church became the first modern main line denomination to perform gay and lesbian union ceremonies in 1984 (GLINN).
In 1985, the California/Nevada Annual Conference of the UMC adopted a resolution that commended the Reconciling Congregation Program and encouraged local churches to become Reconciling Congregations (RMN, select 1986, para. 4).
Also in 1985, Manna for the Journey, a quarterly resource for the Reconciling Congregations Program, was started by Beth Richardson and Mark Bowman (RCP, 2000b, p. 11) to address lesbian/gay concerns within the church; it would include worship aids, resources, and movement news (RMN, select 1985, para. 2). This magazine was renamed Open Hands in 1986 (RMN, select 1986, para. 3) and subsequently became an ecumenical resource for the welcoming movement (an encompassing term used to specify unofficial religious organizations that have programs and churches that specifically welcome GLBT individuals). The welcoming movement programs include More Light Presbyterians (PCUSA), Welcoming and Affirming Baptists, Affirming Congregation Programme (United Church of Canada), Open and Affirming Ministries (Disciples of Christ), Open and Affirming Program (UCC), and Reconciling in Christ Program (Lutheran) (RCP, 2000d, p. 3).
The Catholic Church made its own contribution to the debate over homosexuality in 1986 when Pope John Paul II issued a fourteen page letter in which he called gay people ‘intrinsically disordered' and stated that "homosexuality can never be reconciled with church doctrine" (GLINN).
In 1986, the Northern Illinois Conference of the UMC proposed and adopted a resolution to become a "Reconciling Conference," and the Wisconsin Conference adopted a resolution recommending that Wisconsin churches become RCs (RMN, se;ect 1086, para. 5).
In the summer of 1987, the first RCP Convocation was held in Chicago, with 125 persons from Reconciling Congregations attending. The program focused on worship, training, sharing, and celebration (RCP, 2000b, p. 11) By the end of 1987, there were thirty Reconciling Congregations (RMN, select 1987, last sentence).
The spring/summer of 1987 and the upcoming RCP Convocation also brought conflict in two arenas. The UM General Commission on the Status and Role of Women (COSROW), at the request of RCP, had approved a $1000 grant to assist with the Convocation, and others within the denomination protested the Commission’s action. The 1976 funding ban was cited by the General Council on Finance and Administration, and the grant was rescinded (RMN, select 1987, para. 2).
Controversy also erupted over an RCP invitation to the UM General Board of Discipleship. RCP invited the Board of Discipleship (Board), along with all other general church boards and agencies, to send observers to the 1987 Convocation, and debate within the Board ensued. After two tie-votes, Bishop George Bashore voted against accepting the invitation to break the tie. In spite of this, supportive Board members made contributions to send a representative to the convocation as an unofficial observer from the Board of Discipleship (RMN, select 1987, para. 3).
A landmark UM event of 1987 was the ecclesiastical trial of Rev. Rose Mary Denman, a forty-year-old ordained United Methodist minister who was charged with and tried for being a ‘self-avowed, practicing homosexual’ (N. Miller, 1989, pp. 211-227). Denman did not deny that she was a self-avowed, practicing homosexual. In fact she had shared that information in a letter to her bishop, the Rev. George Bashore, when she requested an extension of her leave of absence while in the process of transferring her ordination credentials to the Unitarian Universalist Church. Bashore instead filed charges against her. She was not charged with misconduct, and parishioners had not complained; Bashore charged her with being open about her sexuality.
Denman’s trial was held in St. John’s UMC, Dover, New Hampshire. The jury, thirteen of Denman’s UM clergy peers, voted twelve to one to suspend her until the 1988 General Conference. Both sides considered this decision a success. Denman saw the suspension as a positive outcome, for she did not lose her ordination, was not defrocked, and was able to successfully transfer her ordination credentials to the UU Church. The prosecution also believed they had succeeded, for they had prevented the trial from becoming a debate over church policy, and the UMC had held firm.
And in Houston, forty-eight evangelical UM clergy met and issued a Declaration, subsequently known as the Houston Declaration, in which they endorsed the "primacy of scripture," affirmed "equality and inclusive language in all human relationships" and stated, "It is not acceptable . . . that persons engaging in homosexual practices should be ordained to the ministry or continue in representative positions within the Church (Good News, 1988; Houston; Heidinger, 1997). See Appendix L for text of Houston Declaration.
1984-1988