04/20/2004: "Change coming to UMC?"

There are rumblings out of the Pacific Northwest that may herald changes for the United Methodist Church. According to KIMA-TV, some 70 churches are questioning whether they want to remain part of the annual conference that acquitted [sic] lesbian pastor Karen Dammann of violating the Book of Discipline provision barring active gays from the pastorate:

An internal war between church factions is brewing between some 70 individual Northwest congregations and the United Methodist Church's regional conference headquarters, in Seattle.

To some disgruntled ministers and churchgoers, it's a matter of who should the Church be following: the liberals changing society or the word of God.

When the congregation of the Westpark United Methodist Church sings in praise of�the Lord, they call for spiritual obedience.

That's why the support of Reverend Karen Dammann in Ellensburg�who's in open gay relationship�has caused a furor.

"It grieves me," said Rev. Colleen Sheahan, who runs the Westpark United Methodist Church Academy.

Over the weekend Sheahan wrote a letter in behalf of other Pacific Northwest church leaders to the United Methodist Church's international headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee.

They call for observance of a Book of Discipline ruling,�which prohibits openly gay ministers from serving on the pulpit.

Some 70 northwest churches say the regional conference erred, and that now there's a break in their covenant, according to Westpark United Methodist senior pastor Gary Starkty.

For various reasons having to do with UM polity, this kind of move could bring about chaos in the denomination. Of course, the prospect of losing thousands of ~~paying customers~~ members could also scare the annual conference into doing something to mollify the ~~Neanderthals~~ conservatives. The UMC General Conference starts one week from today, and it will be interesting to see what moves to strengthen the Discipline's homsexuality provisions might be attempted by evangelicals.