Category Archives: The Church

Man writing

A Pastoral Letter from Cleveland

Grace to you and peace. I did not plan to join the protesters. Most certainly, neither Diane nor I intended to be jailed in Cleveland during the General Conference. But the Holy Spirit moved us and here I am in the Cleveland jail for the

People with their feet in a circle

A Glimpse of the ‘Beloved’ Community

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. God does not faint or grow weary; God’s understanding is unsearchable. God gives power to the faint and strengthens the powerless. Even youths

Typewriter

Gay Catholics Saddened by Methodist Vote

News release WASHINGTON — Responding to votes by leaders of the United Methodist Church that called homosexual relations “incompatible with Christian teaching,” forbade ordination of openly gay or lesbian clergy and prohibited same-sex union ceremonies, members of Dignity/USA expressed sorrow, and pledged to stand with

Typewriter

Another Missed Opportunity

News release: Office of the Moderator, UFMCC The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches joins justice-seeking people within the United Methodist denomination and in the larger community in expressing profound sorrow and disappointment at the decision of the Conference delegates in Cleveland, Ohio to affirm

Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis

The Lost Baptist Ark

In the climactic scene in the movie “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” Indiana Jones and his girlfriend are tied to a pole to watch as the Nazis open the ancient Ark of the Covenant. This holy symbol of Israel’s religion has been captured and is

Typewriter

Black United Methodist Church in Boston Breaks New Ground

News release WASHINGTON — Union United Methodist Church in Boston made history by voting to become the nation’s first black Methodist church to officially welcome and include gay and lesbian worshipers. “This is a courageous, precedent-setting decision that blazes a new trail for other churches

Man writing

A Letter to the Congregation

With the composition of a single two-paged letter I was able to lose the respect, support and love of an entire congregation of Christians. The faithful witness I maintained through twenty-seven years of service to a small group of believers came to nothing frightfully quickly.