An Op-Ed from Pacific School of
Religion faculty Rev. Dr. Kristin
Stoneking
BERKELEY, Calif., May 2, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- This week, the United Methodist
Church (UMC) excised discriminatory policies against LGBTQ+
persons, many of which have been a part of its rules since 1972.
While this is a celebration for those inside the denomination, it's
also a victory for champions of dignity and human rights
everywhere. The UMC is the second-largest Protestant denomination
in the U.S., with a global membership of 10 million. With
this change, it becomes one of few, and one of the largest,
worldwide Protestant bodies without anti-LGBTQ positions.
A PSR faculty member on the frontline to
remove discriminatory policies from UMC rules speaks on the
movement's success
The impact of this change for the rights and protection of all
people and the new discourse now possible is significant. As a
denomination with consultative status in the U.N., United
Methodists are now uniquely positioned to speak on behalf of LGBTQ+
persons in a transnational body through the language of faith.
While algorithms create smaller and more niche echo chambers,
large, non-governmental institutions that cross nationality
boundaries but carry unifying identities like common faith or
denominational identity have the power to be conduits of both
complexity and community.
This change in UMC policy has been labored for by many, some of
whom contributed decades of work but didn't live to see this day.
For me, this journey began in 1998 with a refusal to answer
anti-LGBTQ+ questions during the ordination process. The courage of
the body in Eastern Kansas, which
affirmed my gifts and graces for ordination despite the ban on
LGBTQ+ ordination, is an example of the many who have resisted and
brought us to this day. In 2016 I worked with a team to organize
a mass coming out of queer United Methodist clergy, which
led to the founding of the Queer Clergy Caucus. Now that our
work and prayers have been answered, I give thanks and celebrate
all who have made this change possible.
Pacific School of
Religion (PSR), where I teach, has also been at the
forefront of this work. Their Center for LGBTQ and Gender
Studies in Religion (CLGS), founded in 2000, is the country's
first seminary-based LGBTQ+ center. Since then, it's been working
to advance the well-being of LGBTQ+ people and transform faith
communities and society through a new public discourse on religion,
gender, and sexuality through education, research, community
building, and advocacy. Karen Oliveto, the first openly
queer bishop in the UMC, is a PSR alumnx, along with many other
groundbreaking theologians and leaders in the fight for social
justice.
At PSR, our vision is to create a world where all can
thrive, and are grateful to be partners with the UMC at this
historic moment. We invite all into furthering transnational
communities that champion spirituality, compassion, and dignity for
all persons.
Rev. Dr. Kristin
Stoneking is Associate Professor of United Methodist
Studies and Leadership at Pacific School of Religion, a
progressive Christian seminary, graduate school, and center for
social justice committed to a radically inclusive Gospel. Rev.
Stoneking is also an ordained elder in the California-Nevada annual conference of the UMC and has
served as a local church pastor, district superintendent, and
campus minister with a ministry focused on the intersection of
social justice, revitalized faith communities and organizations,
faith formation, and interreligious engagement.
CONTACT: Hallie Fryd,
hfryd@psr.edu
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SOURCE Pacific School of
Religion