News

Two Opportunities to Hear Jimmy Creech

The Conference Board of Church and Society, the Conference Committee on Reconciliation, and the Methodist Federation for Social Action will jointly host Jimmy Creech at an Annual Conference Session dinner on Wednesday, June 15 at 5:30 p.m. at the Pyramid Alehouse, 1029 K Street, Sacramento. He will be discussing his new book, Adam’s Gift – A Memoir of a Pastor’s Calling to Defy the Church’s Persecution of Lesbians and Gays. Deadline to register is June 6. Download...

UMC Global AIDS Fund Committee Condemns Death of Ugandan Human Rights Activist

Calls on religious community to speak out on behalf of marginalized and resist all attempts to promote intolerance and hatred. WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United Methodist Church Global AIDS Fund Committee has joined more than 70 other religious representatives from around the globe in expressing deep concern about the violent death of human rights activist David Kato in Uganda. The Global AIDS Fund Committee calls for religious leaders in Uganda to speak, act, and to urge their faithful to...

33 Retired Bishops Urge End to Gay Clergy Ban

A UMNS Report By Heather Hahn* Thirty-three retired United Methodist bishops have released a statement calling on The United Methodist Church to remove its ban on homosexual clergy.   The bishops noted that the church has lifted other restrictions on clergy before.   "Our United Methodist Church, ashamed and repentant in the past, ended official and unofficial restrictions on candidacy, ordination and appointment for reason of race, gender and ethnicity," says the...

Court Upholds Pastor's Right to Accept Members

By Linda Bloom* A United Methodist pastor has the right to determine local church membership, even if the decision is based on whether the potential member is gay or lesbian.   Annual (regional) Conferences cannot limit that right or ask the Church's top court to set policy, the United Methodist Judicial Council ruled during its Oct. 27-30 meeting.   "The General Conference is the only body authorized and able to resolve the issue for the Church," wrote Jon R. Gray in...

A Different 9-11 Story

By the Rev. Alan Jones Pastor, Campbell United Methodist Church "I never believed that, in my lifetime, I would see Muslims and Christians sitting next to each other, praying together," said one of the Muslim participants in the 9-11 Dinner and Prayer gathering at Campbell United Methodist Church.  The church provided a dinner and invited friends from the Muslim and wider interfaith community to attend. In all, 215 meals were served. The food was all halal, kosher, and...

PSR Applauds Federal Decision Striking Down Proposition 8

BERKELEY, California - Pacific School of Religion and its Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry are applauding the decision by U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker, announced this afternoon, that California's ban on same-sex marriage violates the United States Constitution's guarantee of equal protection under the law. The decision, along with Judge Joseph L. Tauro's July 8, 2010 ruling in Massachusetts that the Federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is...

Reconciliation Luncheon Speaker Is National Spokesperson for Transgender Issues

The California-Nevada Annual Conference Committee on Reconciliation will welcome the Rev. Drew Phoenix of Anchorage, Alaska as guest speaker for this year's luncheon at Annual Conference Session. A United Methodist elder for more than 20 years, Phoenix has become a national spokesperson for transgender issues.   He has served a variety of ethnically diverse, urban congregations in Maryland and Washington, DC, inspiring congregations to engage in community ministries informed by social...

Third Annual Boswell Lecture to Discuss Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, And Transgender Issues in the Black Church

BERKELEY, CA – The Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas, professor and chair of philosophy and religion at Goucher College, will present the third annual John E. Boswell Lecture: "The Black Church and the Blues Body," April 30, 6:30 p.m. at the Pacific School of Religion Badè Museum. The event is sponsored by CLGS and the Dismantling Racism Committee, of Pacific School of Religion, and the Black Seminarians, and Women's Studies in Religion Program, of the Graduate Theological...

GCORR to Church: Membership Decline Connected to Impact of Racism

The latest statistics show a declining membership within The United Methodist Church – and racism continues to permeate the denomination, inhibiting the growth of the Church. That's the report from the General Commission on Religion and Race (GCORR) Board, which met March 10-12 in Arlington, Virginia.  "The decline of the Church can be set side by side against the demographics of the Church. A Church that is 91 percent white in a country where non-whites are rapidly...

Talbert Award Nominations Sought

The California-Nevada Annual Conference Commission on Religion and Race invites nominations for this year's Bishop Melvin Talbert Award for Racial Justice. This annual award is given to a person within our Annual Conference who best exemplifies a proactive stance in addressing, and working toward dismantling, racism in the church and society.   Individuals and churches are invited to submit a one-page letter regarding their nominees. Please send the nominations, through regular mail or...

Documentary Explores Faith of Disabled

By Kathy L. Gilbert and Suzy Keenan* PHILADELPHIA (UMNS) Gifts of humanity go beyond color, gender, ability.   Houses of worship, to be true to their mission, must make places for persons with disabilities, United Methodist Bishop Peggy Johnson of the Philadelphia Area says in a television documentary.   Johnson is one of several faith leaders featured in "A Place for All: Faith and Community for Persons with Disabilities." The show, produced by the Interfaith...

United Methodists Hold Line On Gay Issues

By Linda Bloom* Nov. 4, 2009 | A UMNS Report Ten years ago, the Rev. Greg Dell was put on trial by The United Methodist Church for performing a same-sex union ceremony.   Since then, a few states have legalized gay marriage and some mainline Protestant denominations, including the Episcopal Church and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, now accept non-celibate gay and lesbian clergy.   The United Methodist Church, however, has remained firm in upholding its traditional...

Judicial Council Voids Sexuality Statement

By Linda Bloom* Nov. 2, 2009 | DURHAM, N.C. (UMNS) - There is an official position in The United Methodist Church on gay and lesbian sexuality, and that position states that the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. The Judicial Council, the denomination's highest court, in a ruling released November 2, said that the Baltimore-Washington Annual (regional) Conference went too far in adopting its own statement declaring "a more authentic and truthful...

Church Court to Address Apportionments, Sexuality

Pension rates for retired clergy in the California-Nevada Annual Conference to be addressed. By Linda Bloom Oct. 23, 2009 | NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)   The United Methodist Church's highest court will consider whether regional church groups have any latitude on payment to general church funds when it meets Oct. 28-31 in Durham, N.C.   The Judicial Council also will discuss what language is acceptable for statements on sexuality and whether clergy can fill local church positions...

Important Hate Crimes Legislation Signed into Law

Oct. 28, 2009 | WASHINGTON, DC - More than a decade since it was first introduced, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was signed into law today by U.S. President Barack Obama. The bill passed the Senate October 22 with a bipartisan 68-29 vote, having passed the House on October 8 by a vote of 281-146. The General Board of Church and Society (GBCS) of the United Methodist Church says it celebrates the passage of this piece of legislation.   "Tragically...

Singer/Activist Holly Near to Receive 'Leading Voice' Award for LGBT Activism

BERKELEY - The Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry, an academic center of Pacific School of Religion, will present its Leading Voice Award to singer and activist Holly Near on Sunday, October 18, during the 11 a.m. service at New Spirit Community Church in Berkeley. Near is "an accomplished performer, songwriter, and recording artist, who has used her talents in the service of causes ranging from worker's rights, to women's equality, anti-racism, anti-war, and...

United Methodist Board of Church & Society Awards $115,300 in Ethnic Local Church, Human Relations Day Grants

Board of Directors approves 2010 budget, hears report from task force on homophobia and heterosexism. LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C. - The board of directors of the United Methodist General Board of Church & Society (GBCS) meeting here Sept. 23-27 awarded $115,300 in Ethnic Local Church and Human Relations Day grants, introduced a new resource for opposing homophobia and heterosexism, and adopted a budget for 2010.   In response to projections from the denomination's General Council on...

Gay Men's Chorus Is in Concert at First UMC Napa This Month

The Oakland-East Bay Gay Men's Chorus will conduct a benefit performance at First United Methodist Church in Napa, California on Sunday, September 13 at 5 p.m. Tickets $12 (general admission) and $9 (seniors and students). Call Rick or Paul at 707.226.1314 to purchase - or visit www.brownpapertickets.com and search for OEBGMC in the "artists" category.   Proceeds from the concert will be shared by First UMC and the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of North Bay.   First...

Rev. Jeffrey Kuan Speaks About His Tuesday Arrest

By Jane Horstman CA-NV Conference Communications Office   The Rev. Jeffrey Kuan, a professor at the Pacific School of Religion (PSR) and member of the California-Nevada Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church, was one of approximately 175 people arrested on Tuesday, May 26 for civil disobedience in protesting the California Supreme Court's decision to uphold a constitutional amendment denying same-sex couples marriage equality under the law.   The California Marriage...

Cal-Nev Member of Clergy Among Four Arrested in Act of Civil Disobedience

May 26, 2009 - Four clergy members on the faculty and staff of Pacific School of Religion (PSR) were arrested near City Hall in San Francisco, today, in acts of civil disobedience following the California Supreme Court's decision to uphold a constitutional amendment that denies the full equality of same-sex couples under the law.   The four are: the Rev. Jeffrey Kuan, associate professor of Old Testament at PSR, a clergy member of the California-Nevada Annual Conference of The United...