At their recent gathering in Germany, the United Methodist Global Young People’s Convocation (GYPC) rejected several resolutions petitioning the General Conference to permit same-sex unions. They also affirmed resolutions calling for reduced abortion, saying “We mourn and are committed to promoting the diminishment of high abortion rates.” And they urged greater support for international delegates at the next General Conference.
GYPC meets every four years and its assembly’s purpose is to “make the voices of young people around the world be heard in the life of The United Methodist Church.” Its legislation is supposed to reflect the “needs of young people across the globe.” Proposals require at least a two-thirds vote by delegates. About 350 delegates attended this assembly during late July in Berlin.
One pro-life resolution that the GYPC approved called on United Methodist churches and campus groups to “be on the forefront of supporting existing and developing new ministries that compassionately help women in their communities find feasible alternatives to abortion.” Another sought to “affirm the important, common-ground goal of lowering the world’s abortion rates” and “affirm efforts of ministry and political leaders to lower abortion in ways consistent with our United Methodist Social Principles.”
A third resolution supported “efforts of ministry and political leaders to lower abortion rates in ways consistent with our United Methodist Social Principles, including but not limited to promoting adoption, supporting pregnant women, and expanding healthcare’s accessibility.” And a fourth resolution spotlighted United Methodist membership in the pro-abortion rights Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice and asked United Methodists to ponder whether it can “conform to The United Methodist Church’s nuanced position on abortion” or can “represent the views on abortion of faithful grassroots United Methodists around the world.”
Objections were raised about the resolution encouraging women to find alternatives to abortion. “As United Methodists, this is a very hard issue that we face… and we are not of one mind on this issue,” said a delegate from the Northeastern Jurisdiction in the U.S. “Many women who face an unplanned pregnancy go through a very hard time deciding what to do… This sentence would only make it harder for those women, possibly causing more emotional distress than necessary, when our whole goal is to help these very women.” But the resolution passed.
Several proposals urging allowance for same-sex “marriage” were introduced by someone affiliated with liberal Dumbarton United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C. All proposed altering The Book of Discipline’s prohibition against same-sex unions. One proposal called for allowing same-sex “marriage” by United Methodist churches where legally recognized, such as in Washington, D.C. Another proposal would have prevented United Methodist clergy who perform same-sex unions from being defrocked or having their credentials revoked. This resolution was ruled out of order.
A resolution from Sierre Leone opposed homosexuality and alcoholism. “The house of God is a holy and sacred place which must be adorned as he who comes to the Lord should be pure and should worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness,” declared the Sierra Leone Annual Conference Youth and Young Adult Organization. “As our bodies are the temple of God and therefore should not be defiled.” It continued: “We should not as a church condone any practice that is an abomination to the Christian faith, regardless of its financial [cost] to the church, what shall it profit a man to gain the world and lose his soul.” The Sierre Leone young United Methodists emphasized: “We are saying that homosexuals, lesbians and alcoholics should not be driven from the church as Jesus died not for the righteous but for the unrighteous, that they will come to his saving knowledge. They should be encouraged to take part in worship services and listen to the word of God to help transform their lives but should not be allowed to take active leadership roles, especially that of the clergy.” This resolution from Sierre Leone was ruled out of order.
Advocates for accepting same-sex unions cited the need for unity and diversity within the church, but pulled little from the Bible itself. One delegate from the North Central Jurisdiction reprimanded appeals to Scripture calling homosexual practice a sin, asking that they “please refrain from claiming that you are speaking for God’s word or God’s will, as all of us are using our interpretations thereof.” The GYPC did approve a resolution admitting “we have been, and remain, divided regarding homosexual expressions of human sexuality.”
One young blogger afterward wrote: “I believe that the votes here at our Global Young People’s Convocation are what will be similar to the votes at General Conference 2012, it saddens my heart to see that the direction we are headed as a church seems to be further and further away from unity and more toward division. It also saddens my heart to know that perhaps this may be the beginning of a new phase of the United Methodist church in which we find different parts of our denomination going their separate ways.”
An activist for pro-homosexuality Reconciling Congregations afterwards complained that the GYPC had voted in a “very hurtful way,” leaving many “wounded” and in “pain.” He lamented that the delegates had “decided to uphold the United Methodist Church’s homophobic stance on the marriage of lesbians and gays by our clergy and in our churches.” And he further opined that the debate “was not civil.” He cited a delegate who “implied that those of us inspired by the Holy Spirit to work for inclusion were not a part of the Body of Christ.” Another delegate had ostensibly called “LGBT people aberrations.” But the activist also celebrated that other voices made clear that “God loves queer people.”
A United Methodist News Service story about the GYPC assembly vaguely noted: “As is often the case at General Conference, the petitions dealing with human sexuality caused tension, leading to a dramatic Friday night session where tears were shed and debate became heated.” But the story did not report the result of the votes.
A resolution from Finland lamented second class treatment for many non-U.S. delegates at the last General Conference. It cited the failure to send advance copies of legislation to many non-U.S. delegates and the failure to translate daily updates about the General Conference for non-English speakers. It also complained that assigned plane tickets forced some non-U.S. delegates having to leave General Conference early. “We declare the existence of such problems to fall short of our highest expectations for a truly global, anti-racist, and justice-promoting Christian church,” the resolution declared. “We call on the General Board of Global Ministries, the Council of Bishops, the Secretary of General Conference and the Commission on the General Conference to take concrete steps to prevent the above problems from being repeated again at the 2012 General Conference.”
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