logo

Editorial
Reflections on "Extraordinary Ordinations"
By James V. Heidinger II

The United Methodist Council of Bishops released an important statement on November 7. It clarified, for the benefit of the church, that the October 19 ecumenical ordinations of a partnered United Methodist lesbian and another married woman who champions gay rights "has no official status" within the United Methodist Church.

The two "extraordinary ordinations" were sponsored by the unofficial Church Within a Church (CWAC) group, a six-year old organization of United Methodists who declare that they are "dedicated to being the inclusive church." The service at Mount Vernon Place UM Church in Baltimore drew "extraordinary" attention because two retired United Methodist bishops (Susan Morrison and Jesse DeWitt) participated in the liturgy and in the laying-on-of-hands. Two other retired bishops, Judith Craig and Leontine Kelly, sent letters of affirmation and support.

The statement, prepared by a task force of bishops, assured the church that the ordinations were "not approved by any United Methodist annual conference, board of ordained ministry or cabinet." In a lengthy UM News Service report about the statement, bishops described it as a "helpful clarification" and assured that there "are no widespread implications" for the United Methodist Church (See UMNS article on p. 31).

While we are grateful to the Council for taking seriously the questions raised by the controversial ordinations and for preparing a statement of clarification for the church, several observations need to be made.

First, the matter is much more serious than the statement from the council would indicate. Yes, the explanation that the ordinations had no "official status" needed to be made, and it was, indeed, a "helpful clarification."  But the fact is that two of our United Methodist bishops joined in using the sacred service of ordination as political theater. It would appear that in so doing, the two bishops violated the order and discipline of the UM Church and undermined the ministry of another pastor(s). These events do, in fact, harm local church ministry.

Second, the bishops' statement makes the important point that "Ordinations are ecclesial actions." They are what church bodies do. Thus, for CWAC to sponsor its own ordination service would appear to be a schismatic activity. The bishops were no doubt aware of this nuance as one was quoted as saying, "I do not believe it (the service) is an indication of schism. I believe it is an indication of dissatisfaction." Another noted that the church has always "headed toward schism" but added he doesn't believe that is the prevailing spirit of CWAC, and that "there is no intent to harm the United Methodist Church."

While none of us wants to talk about schism, we must face realities. When a group of churches engages in a highly publicized, unauthorized service of ordination, it is engaging in a schismatic act. (We would add that it is also schismatic when retired pastors in California join in doing same-sex covenants in overt defiance of church polity.) But what makes the ordination service so troubling for United Methodists is that two UM bishops actually participated in it and two others publicly expressed their support and approval. Perhaps there was "no intent to harm" the church, but there was and is intent to try to force the church to approve something it has refused to approve for more than thirty years. Make no mistake, it is harmful to the church.

And third, the matter raises questions once again about issues of accountability, for both clergy as well as episcopal leaders. For those of us who are members of the Order of Elders, we are part of a community whose purpose is "to mutually support, care for, and hold accountable its members for the sake of the life and mission of the church" (Par. 306, Book of Discipline, p. 198). The key phrase there is "hold accountable its members." Pastors who are elected to the episcopacy remain members of the Order of Elders. They do not become immune from accountability.

As I read the statement from the Council of Bishops, I found myself wondering whether any members of the Council were at all upset about what Bishops Morrison and DeWitt had done. I hope some expressed dismay. They are the ones who must hold their fellow/sister elders accountable.

In an address to the Confessing Movement several years ago, Dr. Steve Harper said that our church has orthodox belief and reasonable polity "on the books," but we are just "not holding ourselves sufficiently accountable" to those standards.

In his message entitled "Applying Wesleyan Distinctives to the Crisis of our Church," he added, "The church is a voluntary organization. No one has to join us or affirm what we believe. But once someone does, then we have every right to expect that person to demonstrate in character and conduct a clear and consistent fidelity to our avowed standards. Otherwise, we have no norms and any appeal to 'united' Methodism is an exercise in linguistic futility."



Click here to send your response plus the title of this article to us at Good News.

Good News | 308 East Main St. | P.O. Box 150 | Wilmore, KY 40390 | 859-858-4661 | 1-800-487-7784
info@goodnewsmag.org | About Us | ©2007 Good News magazine