[amc] discussion of Hyattsville
- From: "Helen Hopson" <hmhopson@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: amc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 6 Mar 2006 15:57:23 -0600
North America's oldest Mennonite congregation, Germantown Mennonite Church
in Pennsylvania, was cut loose from the Franconia Conference in the 1990s
for taking a welcoming stance. I was told that the conference ministers, at
Pastor Richard Lichty's request--for symbolic meaning, escorted him out of
the church. He returned to the congregation, which then as a church no
longer affiliated with the larger Mennonite body, "re-ordained" him by
congregational authority. A couple of googles on the church tell more of the
story. I see that there is another pastor there now, and I think that is a
fairly recent development.
On 3/6/06, garland robertson <pastor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> Members and Friends of Austin Mennonite Church
>
>
>
> Thank you for the reflective discussion concerning the situation of the
> Hyattsville community. I appreciate the concern and desire for insight that
> this subject has generated among us.
>
>
>
> Whenever I invite persons to join us for worship, I am usually asked some
> direct questions about our congregation. Most often the questions relate to
> the role of women and to the homosexuality issue. My response is that we
> welcome to full participation all persons regardless of physical or cultural
> distinction who desire to follow the way of Jesus. Whenever I am asked to
> clarify 'the way of Jesus,' I speak about the prophetic call for persons to
> honor justice, mercy, and respect in their relationships with others. I
> explain that Jesus embraced this aspect of traditional religious expression
> and in addition validated the existing teaching that in the quest to live in
> relationship with the creator God one need only to follow a simple
> guideline: do unto others that which you would like them to do unto you.
> Some persons have responded to my invitation explicitly because of my
> assurance that homosexual persons will be welcome in our community.
>
>
>
> The matter of how the MC USA relates to the homosexual issue takes shape
> from the discussion about family in item 19 of the Confession of Faith which
> speaks of marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman. There is no
> explicit reference to homosexuality in the confession. I know that in the
> Western District Conference, the Bethel College MC has printed in their
> bulletin every Sunday their welcome of all persons regardless of sexual
> orientation. Because they are such an influential community, I do not
> expect that any other church in WDC who also publicly acknowledges this
> attitude would experience any negative response from the conference or other
> communities in WDC. It is interesting that in the Allegany conference, 25%
> of the initial vote was in favor of Hyattsville's membership policy, and 35%
> of voting delegates supported Hyattsville's continued full membership in the
> conference even after Hyattsville refused to adjust their membership policy
> to reflect the expectations of other more dominant congregations. This I
> believe this discrepancy indicates significant support, although not
> majority.
>
>
>
> I know there can always be unpredicted consequences whenever positions are
> published on controversial issues. Yet, as your pastor I do not want this
> concern to be the final determination for me in how we respond to these
> complexities. I desire the final impetus for a decision to rest on the
> measure of how our behaviors conform to the pattern displayed in Jesus's
> relationship with sinners—with persons like us. It seems Jesus trusted the
> spirit's capacity to guide persons into the life that God has intended . My
> intent in ministry is that we are always moving toward learning to trust
> this same capacity.
>
>
>
> Please continue to share your reflections with us. May it go well with
> you. Sincerely,
>
> Garland Robertson
>
>
>
> *...always hold firmly to the thought that each one of us can do something
> to bring some portion of misery to an end*
>
>
>
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A Moment of Peace: http://www.soulofthegarden.com +++ Waging
Peace: http://www.afsc.org/iraq
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