Tuesday, May 4, 2004
Group Holds Silent Demonstration for Inclusion of Homosexuals
By Melissa Lauber*

PITTSBURGH (UMNS) - More than 200 United Methodists braved near-
freezing temperatures early May 4, to kneel or stand in prayer in
front of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh in
silent witness to their desire for inclusiveness.

The witness came during the 2004 General Conference of the United
Methodist Church. The denomination's legislative assembly is meeting
April 27-May 7 at the convention center.

"I am here this morning trusting in God's spirit to work. Prayer is
the way to tune into the spirit," said Bishop Susan Morrison of the
Albany (N.Y.) Area. "How could I be anywhere else?"

The silent protest supporting the full inclusion of lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender people in the United Methodist Church was
sponsored by the grassroots group Common Witness. It is made up of
people from the Methodist Federation for Social Action, Reconciling
Ministries Network, the Parents Reconciling Network and Affirmation:
United Methodists for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns.

The group gathered at 6 a.m. at Smithfield United Church in
Pittsburgh, several blocks from the convention center. Morrison led
the march to the convention center with a prayer for "a bodacious
spirit of gentleness."

Several of those present expressed an appreciation for the spirit of
peace that prevailed, claiming that the time for tension and
confrontation has passed.

"It is important to have a witness of prayer for inclusiveness," said
the Rev. Diane Summerhill of the Baltimore-Washington
Conference. "Prayer connects us with a power that can change the
world. Things won't change quickly, but like drops of water, prayer
can erode the hardest rock."

The Rev. Lee Williamson of the California-Nevada Conference,
agreed. "A witness of presence is important," he said. "Showing up
demonstrates that you care. It goes back to relationship and our
essential relationship with God."

But whatever its form, a demonstration had to be made, said the Rev.
Gilbert Caldwell of Denver.

Caldwell was present in a similar demonstration in 1964 when the
General Conference met in Pittsburgh. "The issue then was race," he
said, and abolishing the racially segregated Central Jurisdiction.

Standing in prayer outside the convention center once again, Caldwell
said, "This is part of my ministry, my calling. The church is
continuing to hurt people."

He said he regrets that the church seems to be lagging behind society
in justice issues. "In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court
invalidated 'separate but equal,'" he said. "Until 1968, the church
remained segregated." The church is also behind in accepting the
sacred worth of those with different sexual orientations, he said.

Caldwell is reluctant "to compare the faces of bigotry. It is a waste
of time to say my oppression is more difficult than yours.
Comparisons are irrelevant," he said. "It is still human pain."

That pain manifests itself in a countless number of small ways, said
Sue Laurie of the Reconciling Ministries Network, an unofficial
United Methodist group advocating more inclusiveness in the
church. "Ordination is not the most important form of exclusion.

"Many times the church says, 'Welcome, our doors are open,' but
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people know when people don't
want their family photos in the church directory, or their flowers on
the piano, or them teaching Sunday school. It is condemning."

Throughout the day the delegates continued to pray, rising in prayer
when issues of homosexuality were brought to the floor of General
Conference.

"From a faith perspective, we must begin with prayer," said the Rev.
Monica Carsaro of the Reconciling Ministries Network. "Our prayer is
that we live together. We're United Methodists; we don't have to be
of one mind, but of one heart. Our prayer is for justice. It is a
prayer of wholeness and holiness."

*Lauber is a staff writer for the United Methodist News Service. Sue
Whorl contributed to this article.