Foundry United Methodist Church’s public role as President and Mrs. Clinton’s church in the 1990s has now been superseded by a newer, more dubious, distinction. The February edition’s front page of the church’s monthly newsletter, The Foundry Forge, proudly promotes the church’s new policy of special worship services to “recognize” the commitments of homosexual relationships. The original announcement was made to the congregation in a November 11th, 2007, pastoral letter by senior minister Dean Snyder.
“Starting February 1 [2008], gay and lesbian couples in a committed relationship can have their relationships and their love recognized and honored at Foundry,” the newsletter declared. In his November letter, Snyder argued that this “ministry” to homosexuals was necessary because, “Our failure to recognize and honor the committed relationships of our lesbian and gay members does harm to them and to the larger society by failing to provide spiritual and communal support for commitment and stability within gay and lesbian relationships.”
The February 2008 Foundry Forge newsletter announces the Washington, DC church’s intention to introduce special worship services to “recognize” same-sex unions. (Click on image to enlarge) |
Foundry has declined to disclose whether or not these recognition ceremonies have taken place since they became publicly available on February 1st, 2008.
Snyder’s letter and the Foundry newsletter explained that same-sex couples will convene their initial commitment services off-site, where the pastor may be present but will not preside. An appointed lay person may preside.
The proposal is consistent with Foundry’s LGBT agenda, which became evident with its 1995 choice to become a “Reconciling” congregation, and continues through its lobbying to remove the Book of Discipline’s disapproval of homosexual behavior. (Snyder’s letter announcing the service encouraged his congregation and “others of good will to continue to work to change the Book of Discipline.”) The church already hosts couples’ counseling workshops “designed for couples who are planning weddings, marriage, civil unions, and commitment ceremonies” that are “encouraged to both opposite sex and same sex couples.”
Foundry’s clergy may find this most recent policy problematic: the United Methodist Church’s Book of Discipline (paragraph 341.6) unequivocally prohibits “ceremonies that celebrate homosexual unions” from being “conducted by our ministers and… in our churches.” Moreover, paragraph 2702.1 (b) of the Discipline lists “conducting ceremonies which celebrate homosexual unions” as a chargeable offense for the United Methodist clergy person presiding over the ceremony.
Foundry seems to claim it will not violate the letter of church policy by convening the initial “commitment” ceremonies off-site. But The Discipline’s prohibition does not reference “commitment” rites but simply “ceremonies that celebrate same sex unions.”
The Book of Discipline is the authority whose rules guide the governance of theUnitedMethodistChurch. It is modified and reissued every four years at the church’s General Conference.
Acknowledging the potential conflict between their activity and the Church’s rules, Mark Schoeff, who wrote the February article, explained that the proposal “is designed to stay within rules outlined in the UMC Book of Discipline while at the same time allowing him to minister to Foundry members.” Although Schoeff noted that Snyder will not “conduct vows at same-sex ceremonies,” he “may provide worship leadership.”
Schoeff recognized that Foundry’s hair-splitting semantics may not be enough to keep senior minister, Dean Snyder, out of ecclesial trouble. Although Schoeff admitted, “There is some chance that charges could be brought against Snyder by those who object to Foundry’s program,” he predicted: “There will probably not be a complaint about this.”
In January, Foundry’s Church Council unanimously affirmed Snyder’s proposal. Former Foundry senior minister Phil Wogaman praised the recognitions as “courageous and insightful” for their role in affirming “the moral dignity of these unions.”
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