The Friendly Skies

We're taking off for a few days for rest and re-creation.....have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

Chance to do Good

Here are some excerpts from last Sunday's sermon (for those of you who declined to visit the sauna that was the sanctuary).

We recognized our great Mississippi Mission Team (take 2) 2008 -- the 15 people who spent a week in Waveland Mississippi the week after Easter. (Go to www.hollywoodumc.org to see a video of their adventures.)

Being in mission is not only about providing mercy. Being in mission is working for justice – such as Stephanie did when she helped a family in Waveland cut through red tape to get their electricity restored.
Being in mission is knowing that God has entrusted us to bring forth hope and wholeness for all God’s people. And then rolling up our sleeves to do the hard work of speaking truth to power.
But lately, and too often lately we as the church have abdicated our responsibilities; we’ve left it to others to do the work for us. We’ve said – Injustice towards gay and lesbian persons? Racial intolerance? Prejudice towards immigrants? Towards poor people? No need to worry – we live in the United States. A Christian nation. The government will take care of it, will work it all out -- someday. We don’t have to worry about it. And then -- we have seen first hand what our collective inaction has meant to our brothers and sisters.

Our Bishop, Mary Ann, referenced this complacency in her e-column this week:

For me, what stands out is how much the roles of church and state—in this instance at least—have switched places from where we were in the 1960’s. In that era, the Protestant church was a socially activist leader in the civil rights movement. ….pastors and church leaders [were] at the forefront and in the news, their statements and actions analyzed as closely as any presidential candidate today.

The context of the Bishop’s comments were the actions of the California Supreme Court this past week, overturning the ban on same gender marriages in California, which we celebrate abundantly as justice long overdue. Amen.

The court had the chance to do good, and they did. And we rejoice. But what has caused me pain this week: there’s something wrong when the government gets it right and the church continues to get it wrong. We the church should be leading and modeling the reality that all persons are created in the image of God and are equally loved by God – we the church should be setting the bar for society, the bar that says that everyone has the right to marry their beloved regardless of gender.

And sadly, we are not. Not yet. But hear the words of Jesus -- I am with you always…..so we walk with Jesus as we focus some of our mission emphasis on ourselves, on our beloved United Methodist Church. There is much to be done to change hearts in the next four years, followed by minds and in 2012 the Book of Discipline. How? By continuing as a congregation to model the greatest commandment: love God, love our neighbor – and reach those in Hollywood – gay and straight alike -- who desperately need to feel the love of God. That is our calling, our charge, our mission.

Our mission is clear. Create a church with truly open minds, hearts and doors that offers the love of Jesus Christ. Continue to be God’s hands and feet in the broken and hurting places of our city, our country, and our world – bringing hope and rebuilding lives. Be proactive leaders, not complacent followers, in the pursuit of God’s justice on earth. Make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Know that God has a purpose for each of our lives. And know that God – father, son and holy spirit -- is with us always –offering us daily the chance to do good.

Let's work to make sure the wonderful and groundbreaking actions of this conservative Court are not reversed at the ballot box this November.

Glory Be!

From the website of Progressive Christians Uniting (whose board I once sat on):

Earlier today the California Supreme Court ruled that the state may no longer exclude same-sex couples from civil marriage. The court held that barring same-sex couples from marrying violates this state's constitutional guarantee of equality.

PCU was a party to an interfaith amicus brief supporting the 12 couples who brought the "California marriage case," as it has been called, to the Supreme Court for review.

"This ruling is an important advance toward full equality," said PCU executive director Peter Laarman. "As long as civil marriage remains the gold standard in respect to rights and benefits for persons living in committed relationships, denial of marriage to gay people is clearly unconstitutional and unacceptable. We applaud the court majority for recognizing this obvious fact."

In the wake of the court ruling, anti-marriage equality forces are expected to redouble efforts to pass an anti-equality ballot measure. PCU will continue to work with California Faith for Equality and other groups to make it clear that not all people of faith think it's godly and righteous to treat gay people as second-class citizens.

Tonight there will be a brief religious service and celebration at 6 PM at the Metropolitan Community Church at 4953 Franklin Avenue in Los Angeles. A street celebration will also take place at 7 p.m. at the intersection of San Vicente and Santa Monica in West Hollywood.

Glory be!!!!

Do United Methodists Really Have Open Hearts, Minds, and Doors?

In a word, yes.


We have open hearts. Our hearts have been "strangely warmed" by the Holy Spirit just like John Wesley's heart was warmed one night in 1738. He heard a sermon preached on Aldersgate Street and became convicted of the power of God to work change in his heart and the hearts of others through faith in Jesus Christ. We claim that same power of the Spirit today.


The next year, Wesley defined three general rules for Methodist "societies" so that their members would live according to the Spirit. They are:

Do no harm.

Do good.

Stay in love with God.

Do all United Methodists follow these general rules and have open hearts?

Not all United Methodists; not all the time.

But there were strong evidences of open hearts in the General Conference sessions. From passing legislation strengthening our opposition to war; our opposition to torture in any form; our opposition to the death penalty generally and specifically in Texas (where over 400 people have been executed in the past 25 years); proclaiming justice for migrants and immigrants in circumstances worldwide; and speaking with one voice to tell SMU to reject plans for the G.W. Bush Presidential Library; to raising $18 million for Nothing but Nets, providing bednets for children in Africa so to prevent the spread of malariahttp://nothingbutnets.net/.

The answer is still yes. And this is a preview of the sermon for tomorrow.

What about Wesley's quadrilateral? Doesn't that mean we automatically have open minds?


The reality is that some parts of the quadrilateral are given more emphasis by some than by others. Some rely more on tradition than on reason or experience, while all rely on Scripture.

But we saw evidences of open minds at General Conference. The Judicial Council elections were a great example. We elected five fair-minded people to serve on the Council for the next four years -- a good indication that the Judicial Council will adjudicate, not seek to impose, legislation in the next quadrennium (see last week's post).

We saw the church decide to study how we can and should be a worldwide church with regional differences. We can talk more about this in the "green room discussion" after church tomorrow; but we are hopeful about how the church can accomodate regional differences and agree to not be of one mind on all issues, even while being a united church.

And we saw the church overwhelmingly reject any petitions that said that gender identity is a barrier to serving as clergy. That is good news.

We saw evidences of where the spirit is still tugging on minds to open. The prohibitive language in the Book of Discipline which does not allow for same gender blessings by clergy nor in church remains, by the narrowest of margins. So does the prohibition against gay and lesbian clergy. Again, by the narrowest of margins -- less than 100 votes.

I believe the way in which we prepare to open hearts -- and minds -- is to continue to grow our church and tell our story of God's amazing spirit here at HUMC. The more our congregation can serve as a model of God's inclusive, radical love for all people -- the more the church can lean on reason and experience over and against tradition.

Tomorrow morning I will share in worship how our congregation was lifted up as a model of open hearts, open minds and open doors in the Ministry and Higher Education legislative section by our former District Superintendent Grant Hagiya. I sobbed from my seat in the gallery.

So do we have open doors? By the grace of God, the answer is yes.
Efforts to restrict membership, or make it the sole discretion of the pastor or of the congregation, were rejected. And one of the most important developments was the GC approval of a constitutional amendment that says, very simply, all means all. 2/3 of annual conferences have to approve it; but simply it puts into our church constitution that all persons are welcome. Before it said all persons regardless of race, gender, age, and a litany of other qualifiers. Rather than add sexual orientation or gender identity or other missing adjectives.........we just asked for all to mean all. Amen!

Some of our doors might be opened a bit too wide by some of our UM brothers and sisters.......tomorrow i'll share a story about my 75-year-old roommate at GC. Let's just say if she had had her way, there would have been a tabloid headline about your pastor.

See you in church tomorrow!

It May Be Friday....but Sunday's Coming

Today is Friday. But Sunday is coming. Today we are in pain over the ways in which the general church, by narrower and narrower margins, continues to deny our Wesleyan calling to
do no harm to our brothers and sisters. But Sunday is coming. The signs are all around us. It's tough to see them through the tears, but they were there at GC and they are present at HUMC.

More reflections tomorrow.........tonight, here's the news service wire:



The UMNS reports on Wednesday's actions


By J. Richard Peck


After a long and emotional debate, the 2008 General Conference voted April 30 to retain statements in the Social Principles that the “United Methodist Church does not condone the practice of homosexuality and considers this practice incompatible with Christian teaching.”The final action replaced a “majority report” from a legislative committee, which called for recognition that “faithful and thoughtful people who have grappled with this issue deeply disagree with one another; yet all seek a faithful witness.” The assembly replaced the majority report by a 517-416 vote.


The committee had voted 39-27 to ask for United Methodists and others “to refrain from judgment regarding homosexual persons and practices as the Spirit leads us to new insights.” Frederick Brewington, a layman in the New York Annual (regional) Conference who chaired the legislative committee, said the proposed statement would eliminate a sentence that has “caused festering sores among the body for three decades.”



The Rev. Eddie Fox, director of world evangelism for the World Methodist Council, led the effort to retain the current language. “My integrity will not allow me to be silent,” he said in introducing the “minority report” to keep the church’s stance unchanged. He said the Social Principles must be faithful to biblical teaching, and he suggested that any change in the language would harm the global church.



In approving the minority report, the assembly affirmed that all persons are “individuals of sacred worth created in the image of God.” Delegates also retained statements asking “families and churches not to reject or condemn lesbian and gay members and friends.”


[Following the vote, there was a demonstration on the floor of the conference by observers from MFSA, Reconciling Ministries Network, Reconciling Parents Network, and other progressive folk. See a clip here: http://www.generalconference2008.org/]



In a separate resolution, the conference asked the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, the church’s social advocacy agency, to develop educational resources and materials on the effects of homophobia and heterosexism, the discrimination or prejudice against lesbians or gay men by heterosexual people.

The conference also retained a rule that prohibits United Methodist clergy from conducting ceremonies that celebrate homosexual unions.

When delegates returned for the evening session, they walked by some 100 people standing in silent protest of the afternoon votes.

General Conference let stand language in the Book of Discipline regarding pastoral authority over church membership. Petitions were brought to the assembly after considerable controversy over a 2005 decision by the United Methodist Judicial Council supporting the Rev. Ed Johnson of Virginia who denied membership to a man who was in an openly homosexual relationship. The council reinstated Johnson after he had been placed on involuntary leave by the Virginia Annual Conference.


A majority report of a legislative committee asked the conference to make it clear that pastors and congregations “are to faithfully receive all persons who are willing to affirm our vows of membership.” The Rev. Ted Virts, a superintendent in Sacramento, Calif., argued for the majority report. He said his job is to be “an errand-runner for God” who tells people they are “invited to a banquet,” not to be “a ticket-taker or a security guard.”

The minority report was defeated 515-384, while the majority report was defeated by 51 percent of the delegates, leaving in place the Discipline’s current language: “All people may attend its worship services, participate in the programs, receive the sacraments and become members in any local church in the connection."

It may be Friday, but Sunday is coming.

Back Home Again..with work to do

General Conference is still going on.....but I'm back home getting ready for two weddings and a funeral this weekend.

There were a few more gains on human sexuality issues made yesterday at GC, but not as many as we would have liked. Mostly we continue status quo for the next four years. The reality is that the vote margins rival those of Barack and Hillary.

We will be talking about it all during the sermon on Sunday. And I'll be posting my thoughts in the next few days as well. Meantime you can read the UMNS report at www.generalconference2008.org - the website of the Reconciling Ministries Network.

It is good to be home. I have missed you all.