Amy Metheny and her wife, Catherine, were visiting friends in Florida and were separated from their Indianapolis church home when they received the news.
The One Church Plan had failed. This issue of the One Church Plan was whether Methodist Churches worldwide should lift restrictions on conducting same-sex weddings.
“We thought there was going to be a change, and we had hope,” Metheny said. That hope was dashed.
The General Conference of United Methodist churches met on February 23-26, 2019 and voted for the Traditional Plan over the One Church Plan. The One Church Plan was a way for United Methodist churches to agree to disagree. The plan would have allowed more conservative churches to continue their practices and more progressive churches to conduct same-sex weddings and ordain LGBTQ persons. The One Church Plan would allow a unity of mission in the United Methodist Church, without a uniformity on their practices. The Traditional Plan received 438 yes votes and 384 no votes. The decision was made by delegates of the United Methodist church form four different continents.
“About two-thirds of the North American delegates of the church voted for the One Church Plan, and that gives me hope,” said Metheny. “With the Traditional Plan passing, the church was telling us that we can’t agree to disagree.”
Above is Amy Metheny’s extended interview.
Not everyone is upset about sticking with the status quo. The President of Wesleyan Covenant Church in Ohio is pleased by the decision of the General Conference. Wesleyan Covenant has said,“The Traditional Plan is a sincere attempt to restore good order to the church.” Wesleyan also says that the congregation recognizes the differences exist but say they will continue to teach the historic teachings of the Bible.
At Broadway United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, IN, there are mixed feelings on how to go forward.
Chair of the governing council at Broadway United Methodist, Albert Hidalgo, and his partner, Dan Hilton, are concerned for the future of the church they love and have been attending for a long time; 8 years for Hidalgo and 27 years for Hilton. Hidalgo and a few other members of the church met to form a position statement regarding inclusion.
“The position statement is really for us to clarify for others and more importantly ourselves,” said Hidalgo. “There is a lot of fear on what the future means.” There is debate going on currently about possibly separating from the church and create their own denomination. The process of that is unclear and finances and figuring out the process will prolong the separation of the church.
Above is Albert Hidalgo’s extended interview.
Amy Metheny says she is not only worried about the separation of the church, but the message the General Conference is sending to LGBTQ youth. LGB youth are 8.4 times more likely to attempt suicide than LGB peers who come from a less rejecting home environment.
“We are not even talking about affirming, we are just talking levels of rejection,” said Metheny. “What message are we sending our youth? That we are telling them you are not welcome, you are not loved by God, and who you are is not okay.”
When Metheny went to Broadway United Methodist, she says she found God and love there. Metheny says she has felt shunned from other churches because of her sexual orientation. At Broadway, she says she was accepted and felt comfortable enough to hold her partner’s hand at church. To move forward, Metheny says, “We need to educate people on the Bible and let people go on their own journey.”
