Parsippany Church Votes to Welcome Gay Parishioners

During Sunday’s worship at the United Methodist Church at Mount Tabor, a special vote was conducted to become a "’reconciling congregation,’ one in which all people, regardless of their sexuality or gender identity, are valued for who they are and welcome to participate in the life of the church,” said Rev. Amanda Hemenetz.

Officially, The United Methodist Church opposes homosexuality, “but our church is choosing to affiliate with The Reconciling Ministries Network to make it official that we do not agree with the wording of the doctrinal stance, and all people are truly welcome here,” she said.

With 72 in attendance, out of the 52 people who voted, 51 voted in favor of welcoming all people, including homosexuals.

“It was a wonderful service of inclusion and celebration … The vote was in favor of becoming Reconciling, 51 to 1.  The highlight of the service were our liturgical dancers, four girls who danced to 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow,'” said Hemenetz. “I am so very happy to be serving a church where all people are truly welcome.  And I am proud of the congregation for following the leading of the Holy Spirit.”

The vote took place at their 10:30 a.m. worship service and was overseen by their District Superintendent. It was an anonymous ballot, in which all who hold membership in the church are encouraged to participate.  

“The best part of this process, for me, is the conversation it has enabled. A church couple, long-time members, had never shared with the congregation that their daughter is lesbian and their son is gay. Due to the Reconciling process, they felt comfortable in letting the congregation know. We had the pleasure of sharing their joy at the recent marriage of their son--without these conversations regarding inclusivity, I doubt the church would have known of the wedding at all.  We are enabling people to be who they are, and celebrate the relationships in their lives,” said Hemenetz.

Reconciling Ministries Network is an organization of mostly United Methodist pastors and laity who feel the official stance on homosexuality the worldwide United Methodist Church holds is discriminatory and long overdue for change.  

“Our Book of Discipline states that homosexual practice is "incompatible with Christian teaching." It also forbids the ordination of homosexual people, and forbids pastors from officiating at same-sex weddings. These rules have been debated within the church at each General Conference, the worldwide meeting every four years in which the content of the Book of Discipline is revised, for over 30 years.”  

According to Reconciling Ministries Network (RMN), the organization “mobilizes United Methodists of all sexual orientations and gender identities to transform our Church and world into the full expression of Christ’s inclusive love.”

One of these ways is by voting to become a 'Reconciling Congregation.'

“To be a Reconciling Congregation, a church must draft and vote to adopt a statement proclaiming that people of all sexual orientations and gender identities are welcome in the life of the church and are accepted and valued as they are.  While voting to become Reconciling does not change official rules, it does make a statement in favor of change.  It also lets our LGTBQ brothers and sisters know where we stand as a congregation, regardless of the official stance of the denomination,” said Hemenetz.

Hemenetz has personally been involved in RMN for a number of years and when she began her pastorate at Mount Tabor, she did not know where the congregation was on this issue.  She offered a survey in worship regarding many 'social justice' and mission opportunities, the church's stance on homosexuality being one of them.  

“To my surprise, the results were highly in favor of moving toward full inclusion in reference to sexuality.” 

The survey included more than 20 topics and the only topic that received more positive responses than working toward full inclusion was helping those affected by hurricane Sandy (unanimous).  She shared the survey results with the church’s and at the same time, she shared with them that she had been asked by RMN to be trained as a 'process coach,' someone who is available as a resource for churches wishing to becoming Reconciling.  

After going through the training, Hemenetz asked the church leadership if they could explore the possibility of becoming a 'Reconciling Congregation.' 

“The vote was unanimously in favor of moving forward.  A team was established to explore opinions within the church and host educational events. Stories have been told, questions have been answered, and now it is time to vote.”  

At another United Methodist Church, Rev. Cynthia Skripak gave a sermon that discusses why the United Methodist Church should allow openly gay clergy and members.

According to another Patch article, the 2012 General Conference took place from April 24 – May 4 and one of the policies reviewed was the church’s position on homosexuality. Within this agenda item, a resolution was introduced that would state the church was not of one mind on the subject of homosexuality “and, that was voted down,” Skripak said. “Even this middle ground was not approved by the majority of the body.”

Skripak said what was left was the church’s longstanding position that while all individuals are considered to be of sacred worth, “being a homosexual is incompatible with Christian teachings.”

Two days after the General Conference ended, Skripak said in a sermon that “Our church has set up an institutionalized system that does not welcome or affirm or include anybody and everybody who loves the Lord. It is hurtful language and exclusionary language, although it is not intended to be.”