tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76233698621829903552024-02-07T19:55:19.966-05:00Dean's WorldNew posts usually added between Wednesdays and SundaysAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10333223125397603828noreply@blogger.comBlogger118125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623369862182990355.post-1874552073422653752014-01-30T17:25:00.000-05:002014-01-30T20:39:05.750-05:00Before the clergy covenant became sacred ...
I was rereading a book today by one of my favorite Methodist historians John H. Wigger. The book is Taking Heaven by Storm and the chapter I particularly focused on is his chapter on the conflict about slavery within early American Methodism.
I came across these examples of regional ecclesiastical flexibility:
1. At the 1804 General Conference, the conference approved a proposal to Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10333223125397603828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623369862182990355.post-3215219804098148562014-01-16T17:26:00.002-05:002014-01-16T23:02:42.009-05:00Thank you for the outpouring of support for Frank and his family!Foundry Church invited a love offering for Frank Schaefer and his family after he was defrocked Dec. 19 by the Board of Ordained Ministry of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church for not agreeing never to do a same-gender wedding again.
11:00 service and panel discussion will be live-streamed.
To me, the most chilling argument during Frank's trial took Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10333223125397603828noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623369862182990355.post-25494831670692814532013-12-24T14:21:00.000-05:002013-12-25T07:21:53.625-05:00Why Foundry Church loves Frank Schaefer
Pastor Frank Schaefer and the Foundry choir
We had scheduled Pastor Frank Schaefer to preach here at Foundry Church on Jan. 26, 2014, but when I heard that his ministerial credentials had been taken away from him in a 20-minute meeting of the Board of Ordained Ministry of his conference last Thursday, Dec. 19, I immediately called him and invited him to preach at Foundry the very next Sunday, Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10333223125397603828noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623369862182990355.post-25571752641549571152013-12-19T18:05:00.000-05:002013-12-19T18:26:17.192-05:00Tired of spin: The defrocking of Frank Schaefer
Pastor Frank Schaefer
The jury sentence imposed on Pastor Frank Schaefer was craftily composed.
The jury was not going to punish Pastor Frank. Whatever consequence he suffered would be his own choice.
In effect, the jury's sentence said: We aren't going to punish you; you have to decide if you are going to punish yourself. We aren't going to do anything bad to you; you have to decide if you Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10333223125397603828noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623369862182990355.post-53811985639661461002013-12-09T15:25:00.003-05:002013-12-09T15:25:39.014-05:00Pastor Frank Schaefer to preach at Foundry Church
Pastor Frank Schaefer will preach at Foundry on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014 at 9:30 amnd 11 a.m. with a Q and A session to follow. Everyone is invited!
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10333223125397603828noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623369862182990355.post-55814598367393742082013-12-06T11:28:00.001-05:002013-12-06T12:12:24.002-05:00An interview with Rev. Dr. Cheryl Anderson, author of "Ancient Laws and Contemporary Controversies"
Cheryl B. Anderson teaches Old Testament at Garrett
Q. Dr. Anderson, we are looking forward to you being our special speaker at Foundry for Dr. Martin Luther King Sunday, Jan. 19. Could you summarize for us how literal interpretations of the Bible help legitimize the oppression of women, the poor, racial/ethnic groups, LGBTQ people, and those of other faiths in our world today?
Dr. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10333223125397603828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623369862182990355.post-25763068531183465322013-11-27T14:52:00.001-05:002013-12-11T17:28:49.071-05:00UMC trials: 8 things bishops control <!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10333223125397603828noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623369862182990355.post-33244403699984170802013-11-27T11:05:00.001-05:002013-11-27T11:05:03.293-05:00Correction to "the crux of the divide"
Rev. Karen Booth
I have added a correction to my blog posting entitled "Frank Schaefer's trial and the crux of the UMC same-sex divide."
I stated in the original version of the posting that the Transforming Congregation Movement, a part of the Good News Movement, believes in "reparative therapy," such as was formerly practiced by Exodus International.
In a comment to that posting, Rev.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10333223125397603828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623369862182990355.post-32146220668694248852013-11-25T17:15:00.000-05:002013-11-25T17:15:40.007-05:00Frank Schaefer's trial meant to begin a reign of fear?
Rev. Paul T. Stallsworth
One of the expert witnesses for the prosecution during Pastor Frank Schaefer's trial was the president of an unofficial group of United Methodists called the Taskforce of United Methodists on Abortion and Sexuality.
The Rev. Paul T. Stallsworth, president of the task force and editor of its publication Lifewatch, was introduced at the trial as the president Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10333223125397603828noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623369862182990355.post-74453203823896577822013-11-24T08:16:00.001-05:002013-11-24T08:16:51.688-05:00Why I believe hell will be empty<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10333223125397603828noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623369862182990355.post-22729558239546081232013-11-22T20:33:00.000-05:002013-11-27T10:24:13.363-05:00Frank Schaefer's trial and the crux of the UMC same-sex divide
CORRECTION: In an earlier version of this blog I stated that the Transforming Congregation Movement believes "in the kind of 'reparative therapy' recently recanted by Exodus International (and rejected decades ago by mainstream psychiatric medicine)."
Rev. Karen Booth of the Transforming Congregation Movement corrects my statement in a comment below. She states that the organizationAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10333223125397603828noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623369862182990355.post-23542469820694862842013-11-22T13:23:00.001-05:002013-11-22T13:23:26.967-05:00Dear Foundry Members and Friends<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10333223125397603828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623369862182990355.post-81290588806538215882013-11-21T12:15:00.003-05:002013-11-21T12:15:33.832-05:00A Statement from FoundryFoundry is a historic, progressive church in Washington D.C. that welcomes all, worships passionately, challenges the status quo, and seeks to transform the world through God's love. Drawing upon long-established rituals and spiritualities, Foundry is innovative and pioneering in our efforts to be a place of positive change within Christianity, within our denomination, within ourselves and in theAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10333223125397603828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623369862182990355.post-86705081757581590092013-11-20T17:03:00.002-05:002013-11-20T19:27:25.683-05:00PostludeExcept for jury selection and during the testimony of a member of
the board of Good News who formerly served on the Judicial Council (when I left
for a time of personal prayer), I was present for the entire trial of Pastor
Frank Schaefer. I am trying to analyze
what happened but, at the moment, all I can find inside is this random
collection of mostly disappointed impressions. So I suppose Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10333223125397603828noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623369862182990355.post-71118237099356259742013-11-17T12:43:00.002-05:002013-11-17T12:43:53.610-05:00How Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett could helpFirst some context, then a personal story, and finally a suggestion about how I think Bishop Wallace-Padgett could help.
The Context
Bobby Prince and Joe Openshaw Photo by Kevin Higgs
When Joe Openshaw and Bobby Prince asked Bishop Melvin Talbert to do a
religious ceremony in Center Point, AL, celebrating their marriage
(legally done earlier in Washington, DC), Bishop Talbert contacted Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10333223125397603828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623369862182990355.post-67596256170366298752013-11-17T09:21:00.002-05:002013-11-17T10:47:06.395-05:00How Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett could helpFirst some context, then a personal story, and finally a suggestion about how I think Bishop Wallace-Padgett could help.
The Context
Bobby Prince and Joe Openshaw Photo by Kevin Higgs
When Joe Openshaw and Bobby Prince asked Bishop Melvin Talbert to do a religious ceremony in Center Point, AL, celebrating their marriage (legally done earlier in Washington, DC), Bishop Talbert contacted the Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10333223125397603828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623369862182990355.post-54713172694661687552013-11-15T14:24:00.002-05:002013-11-15T14:57:08.023-05:00The sensitive matter of comparing racial and LGBT civil rightsI've been expressing myself on Facebook rather than this blog for the past months because, frankly, Facebook is less time consuming and less intellectually rigorous. Comments made on Facebook, however, also tend to be much less thoughtful and more susceptible to misunderstanding.
I had a terse exchange on Facebook this week with my friend the Rev. Robert Barnes.
We were having a discussion Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10333223125397603828noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623369862182990355.post-90592631338293819392013-06-19T16:45:00.001-04:002013-06-19T16:45:56.163-04:00Glen Beck ... bless him
Walking past the Capitol today, I saw a crowd gathered and wandered over to see what was happening. It was an anti-IRS Tea Party Rally.
I got to hear some of Glen Beck's speech. He said the Tea Party is the current civil rights movement. He said it represents the current day expression of the teachings of Martin Luther King, Jr, Gandhi and Bonhoeffer ... and Moses and Jesus.
He saidAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10333223125397603828noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623369862182990355.post-79617563075047673032013-06-18T15:06:00.001-04:002013-06-18T15:15:01.726-04:00Marsh Chapel choir is way way super cool
Boston University Marsh Chapel choir is an exceptionally skilled group of singers ... mostly music majors from BU.
This summer I will be returning to Marsh Chapel to preach August 11 and 18. Hearing the choir is always a pleasure. (If you live in New England you can hear the choir sing on the Sunday morning broadcasts of the chapel service on WBUR.)
However, the Marsh Chapel choir has now Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10333223125397603828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623369862182990355.post-71225052337367485182013-06-11T17:57:00.001-04:002013-06-11T17:57:35.756-04:00Tourist traps ... all the stuff<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Fake jumping beans
Ash tray in the shape of South Carolina
For many years we lived in the North and my brother Nevin
lived in the South. As a preacher I had more vacation time than money, so just about every
summer we would travel south to mooch off of Nevin for a
week or two. He was a great host.
I don’t know when the Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10333223125397603828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623369862182990355.post-49056556365927315542013-06-07T17:09:00.000-04:002013-06-07T17:09:20.635-04:00Bishop McLee: Advocate for full inclusionMIND is the group within the New York Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church working to end discrimination against LGBTQ people. (I am a big fan of MIND, by the way.)
Here is part of their report from Day 2 of the annual session of the NY Conference:
The day ended with Bishop McLee’s first episcopal address to the New
York Annual Conference. He began by saying “I am going to be Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10333223125397603828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623369862182990355.post-26393620113255242162013-06-06T12:43:00.000-04:002013-06-06T12:43:06.413-04:00The holy temple of hardware
One of the Washington Post reporters who covered the fire that destroyed Frager's Hardware store on Capitol Hill last night is Michelle Boorstein.
Michelle Boorstein
I immediately recognized her name because she is the religion reporter for the Post. How appropriate, I thought, sending the religion reporter to cover the fire at Frager's.
For those of us who live in the weird old Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10333223125397603828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623369862182990355.post-65889440732475792142013-06-05T14:00:00.002-04:002013-06-05T14:36:49.925-04:00Prayers for Rev. Heiss and Bishop Webb
Rev. Stephen Heiss
The Rev. Stephen
Heiss, pastor of Tabernacle
United Methodist Church in Binghamton,
N.Y., has written an open letter to his bishop saying that he has officiated at several weddings for same-gender couples over the past several years -- including his daughter's wedding to her partner.
The letter is posted on the Reconciling Ministries Network blog here.
The Upper New Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10333223125397603828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623369862182990355.post-2271575037154484262013-05-02T11:54:00.001-04:002013-05-02T12:00:10.202-04:00Only men are spiritual leaders? What century is this?
I got this announcement in an email this morning. I am stunned. I have removed the names of the sponsors, location, and speakers because I don't want to get personal.
But, OMG, what does it mean when the spiritual leaders of this city are seen as only males? What century is this?
City Father's Conference
A unique opportunity will Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10333223125397603828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623369862182990355.post-58934458736680544622013-04-30T15:57:00.002-04:002013-04-30T15:58:20.812-04:00Celebrating the Life of Bob Edgar
See also this article about Bob by RNS. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10333223125397603828noreply@blogger.com0