Horrified
NPR clued me into something I wish were simply not so. Most of you know I was raised in the United Methodist Church, likewise most of you know that while I found it chafing, it was tolerable for a time due to its liberal religious ideology. No more. The Church I knew did not actively preach the dogma of homophobia, or all non-Christians go to hell, or the majority of the dogma of many branches of the Christian church. This was why I was able to go back to attending Methodist services a few years ago, I sat down with the minister and asked what the church would say on those hot button issues. Does the UMC say homosexuality is a sin? Does the UMC say all non-Christians will go to hell? What about abortion? What about earth centered spirituality? (that one got me an excellent book from an excommunicated S. American priest) His answers were satisfactory. It wasn't me, I knew this, but I was able to go for the sake of my spouse.
Yesterday the powers that be within the United Methodist Church, after much deliberation and argument and (from the sound of it) blood sweat and tears, came down on the side of removing a self identified lesbian minister of her position.
The UMC was always a beacon of religious tolerance in the past. Hell, it's a joke that if you get in enough trouble in other more conservative churches they'll tell you to go on over to the Methodist Church.
No more. The Conservative section of the church has won the battle. This grieves me deeply.
I truly am horrified.
And I am exceedingly grateful I found the UU when I did. It is a wonderful feeling to belong to such a community as this. Where I am loved and respected for who I am, and not judged for who I am not. It is such a feeling of freedom to be able to state what my exact beliefs are, and not have anyone tel me they make me a bad person, or weak, or "angry" or anything. They are simply my beliefs, come to after much contemplation, research, debate, and soul searching. And I am sure they will continue to evolve as I grow, for that is the way of life.
Nothing stays the same, all things evolved into other things- elsewise they grow stagnant and foul. I am saddened by the latest evolution of my former church.
sigh.
Yesterday the powers that be within the United Methodist Church, after much deliberation and argument and (from the sound of it) blood sweat and tears, came down on the side of removing a self identified lesbian minister of her position.
The UMC was always a beacon of religious tolerance in the past. Hell, it's a joke that if you get in enough trouble in other more conservative churches they'll tell you to go on over to the Methodist Church.
No more. The Conservative section of the church has won the battle. This grieves me deeply.
I truly am horrified.
And I am exceedingly grateful I found the UU when I did. It is a wonderful feeling to belong to such a community as this. Where I am loved and respected for who I am, and not judged for who I am not. It is such a feeling of freedom to be able to state what my exact beliefs are, and not have anyone tel me they make me a bad person, or weak, or "angry" or anything. They are simply my beliefs, come to after much contemplation, research, debate, and soul searching. And I am sure they will continue to evolve as I grow, for that is the way of life.
Nothing stays the same, all things evolved into other things- elsewise they grow stagnant and foul. I am saddened by the latest evolution of my former church.
sigh.