News / Religion
Methodist Church of Zimbabwe in gay storm
13 Mar 2014 at 05:02hrs | Views
The United Methodist Church (UMC) in Zimbabwe has moved swiftly to block attendance by the United States bishops at a global conference in Mutare of the church's educational institutions on suspicion they would push for the adoption of a resolution to ordain gay clerics.
A conference for Higher Education Ministries would be held at Africa University (AU) in Manicaland from March 18 to 20 at which, among other top church leaders, Bishop Melvin Talbert, a Bishop Rolly and a Bishop Loomis are billed to attend.
The three bishops reportedly support same-sex marriages.
AU vice-chancellor Professor Fanuel Tagwira yesterday grudgingly confirmed the 'short-lived rift'.
"It has been resolved. We received information that these bishops were coming and communicated with the responsible authorities in the church. We report to the church leadership and they are responsible for who is invited," said Tagwira.
He could neither deny nor confirm writing in protest against the bishops' attendance.
whether AU had written to protest against the bishops' attendance.
The Zimbabwe Mail reported that it has it on good authority that the UMC local leadership, as well as authorities at AU, had written some correspondence to higher church authorities in the US indicating their displeasure at the bishops' attendance, fearing they would push for the adoption of a resolution to ordain gay priests.
"Yes, we heard about the coming of the priests that you mentioned and we objected not because they are gay or homosexual, but because they are believed to have fronted a group that was pushing for the solemnisation of gay marriages," said a senior church member in Harare.
"Some of them actually attended events where gay marriages were solemnised in 2012 and pushed for the resolution at a conference in the US."
According to insiders, the local church leadership and the university were of the same thinking, but the problem was on who would communicate with the bishops advising not to fly to Zimbabwe.
"It was a case of who would bell the cat, the church's local leadership actually wrote to the international headquarters in the US protesting against the bishops' attendance," one of the insiders said. "There was no-none who was interested and the local church had actually barred them from visiting their Episcopal. People were just uncomfortable."
UMC spokesperson in Harare Reverend Alan Gurupira was not immediately available for comment last night.
A top cleric in the church yesterday said: "We are not judging them, but people want to be able to stick to their conservative ideas without being lumped with foreign ideas. As a society we do not agree with what they do even though it might be perfectly legal in their countries."
The UMC's division over homosexuality threatened to boil over in November 2012 after the denomination's Council of Bishops wanted disciplinary action taken against Talbert after he had presided over a wedding of two men in October of the same year, going against the church's doctrine.
Reports from the US two years ago said Talbert joined 13 other UMC bishops at a gathering on May 4 2012 outside that year's United Methodist General Conference in Tampa, Florida, where they showed their support for clergy in the denomination who choose to officiate at religious weddings of same-sex couples against the church's church rules, but Talbert said he preferred biblical obedience even if it meant ecclesiastical disobedience.
The council, reports at the time said, asked its president Bishop Rosemarie Wenner and Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett of the North Alabama Conference to file a complaint accusing Talbert of undermining the ministry of a colleague and conducting a ceremony to celebrate the wedding of a same-gender couple at Covenant Community United Church of Christ in Centre Point, Ala.
Talbert, who served as bishop of the San Francisco area, ignored a request not to perform the ceremony and is quoted as having declared that the church's view on homosexuality "is wrong and evil … it no longer calls for our obedience".
Another cleric, Reverend Frank Schaefer of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference was dragged to a church trial in Spring City, Pa, for performing a same-sex wedding for his son in 2007.
In a show of support for Schaefer, 36 Methodist clergy and nine clergy from other faith traditions presided over same-sex ceremony in Philadelphia.
Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church in Cambridge, Mass, announced in October 2012 that its church building is available for same-sex weddings, and the congregation said it would support its pastor if he performs services there.
The Council of Bishops has reportedly acknowledged the denomination is "not of one mind in matters of human sexuality". The council also called for a taskforce to lead "honest and respectful conversations regarding human sexuality, race and gender in a worldwide perspective".
John Lomperis, Methodist programme director of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, on the other hand praised the Council of Bishops for urging action against Talbert.
"When individuals choose to accept election as bishop, they choose to make a covenant with God and the rest of the church to uphold our code of conduct," he said in an email.
"And if our bishops cannot be trusted to not lie to God and the church, we have no basis left for unity as a denomination," Lomperis.
A conference for Higher Education Ministries would be held at Africa University (AU) in Manicaland from March 18 to 20 at which, among other top church leaders, Bishop Melvin Talbert, a Bishop Rolly and a Bishop Loomis are billed to attend.
The three bishops reportedly support same-sex marriages.
AU vice-chancellor Professor Fanuel Tagwira yesterday grudgingly confirmed the 'short-lived rift'.
"It has been resolved. We received information that these bishops were coming and communicated with the responsible authorities in the church. We report to the church leadership and they are responsible for who is invited," said Tagwira.
He could neither deny nor confirm writing in protest against the bishops' attendance.
whether AU had written to protest against the bishops' attendance.
The Zimbabwe Mail reported that it has it on good authority that the UMC local leadership, as well as authorities at AU, had written some correspondence to higher church authorities in the US indicating their displeasure at the bishops' attendance, fearing they would push for the adoption of a resolution to ordain gay priests.
"Yes, we heard about the coming of the priests that you mentioned and we objected not because they are gay or homosexual, but because they are believed to have fronted a group that was pushing for the solemnisation of gay marriages," said a senior church member in Harare.
"Some of them actually attended events where gay marriages were solemnised in 2012 and pushed for the resolution at a conference in the US."
According to insiders, the local church leadership and the university were of the same thinking, but the problem was on who would communicate with the bishops advising not to fly to Zimbabwe.
"It was a case of who would bell the cat, the church's local leadership actually wrote to the international headquarters in the US protesting against the bishops' attendance," one of the insiders said. "There was no-none who was interested and the local church had actually barred them from visiting their Episcopal. People were just uncomfortable."
A top cleric in the church yesterday said: "We are not judging them, but people want to be able to stick to their conservative ideas without being lumped with foreign ideas. As a society we do not agree with what they do even though it might be perfectly legal in their countries."
The UMC's division over homosexuality threatened to boil over in November 2012 after the denomination's Council of Bishops wanted disciplinary action taken against Talbert after he had presided over a wedding of two men in October of the same year, going against the church's doctrine.
Reports from the US two years ago said Talbert joined 13 other UMC bishops at a gathering on May 4 2012 outside that year's United Methodist General Conference in Tampa, Florida, where they showed their support for clergy in the denomination who choose to officiate at religious weddings of same-sex couples against the church's church rules, but Talbert said he preferred biblical obedience even if it meant ecclesiastical disobedience.
The council, reports at the time said, asked its president Bishop Rosemarie Wenner and Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett of the North Alabama Conference to file a complaint accusing Talbert of undermining the ministry of a colleague and conducting a ceremony to celebrate the wedding of a same-gender couple at Covenant Community United Church of Christ in Centre Point, Ala.
Talbert, who served as bishop of the San Francisco area, ignored a request not to perform the ceremony and is quoted as having declared that the church's view on homosexuality "is wrong and evil … it no longer calls for our obedience".
Another cleric, Reverend Frank Schaefer of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference was dragged to a church trial in Spring City, Pa, for performing a same-sex wedding for his son in 2007.
In a show of support for Schaefer, 36 Methodist clergy and nine clergy from other faith traditions presided over same-sex ceremony in Philadelphia.
Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church in Cambridge, Mass, announced in October 2012 that its church building is available for same-sex weddings, and the congregation said it would support its pastor if he performs services there.
The Council of Bishops has reportedly acknowledged the denomination is "not of one mind in matters of human sexuality". The council also called for a taskforce to lead "honest and respectful conversations regarding human sexuality, race and gender in a worldwide perspective".
John Lomperis, Methodist programme director of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, on the other hand praised the Council of Bishops for urging action against Talbert.
"When individuals choose to accept election as bishop, they choose to make a covenant with God and the rest of the church to uphold our code of conduct," he said in an email.
"And if our bishops cannot be trusted to not lie to God and the church, we have no basis left for unity as a denomination," Lomperis.
Source - zimmail
