10 May On Removing Anti-LGBTQ+ Language from the UMC

Dear Westwood Community,

Last week, at the General Conference of the United Methodist Church, we finally and fully removed anti-LGBTQ+ language and policies from our denominational Book of Discipline. This is a significant shift for the church: when the General Conference last met in 2019, we doubled down on exclusionary policies. But so much has changed, and now we have moved in a new direction. I look forward to further reflection in the future.

For today, I want to honor the part this congregation played in the movement for this holy and needed change in the church. Your clear witness to the Gospel and our voice in speaking up about the dignity, valued, and belovedness of all people, in all our diversities of sexual orientation and gender identity, made a difference. I know that there is still significant work ahead of us, but I also want to celebrate some of the shoulders we stand on:

Westwood UMC is the church of Bishop Mel Wheatley, who was Senior Pastor here from 1954-72. He and his wife Lucille became courageous advocates for inclusion, including through PFLAG, and also in the church. Elected Bishop in 1972, Mel Wheatley stood apart from all the other Bishops in the church, as in 1978 when he wrote an open letter to his colleagues declaring that he did not believe that homosexuality is a sin. He alone refused to sign on to the Episcopal address at General Conference in 1980, demanding that his colleagues acknowledge how their anti-gay words were not spoken unanimously. For the rest of their days, he and Lucille continued to be courageous advocates for inclusion.

At this General Conference, Rev. Frank Wulf was able to cast a vote to repeal the ban on gay clergy; Frank is known and beloved by Westwood UMC as one of the former directors of the Wesley Foundation at UCLA. He has three times faced charges for his identity as a gay man. He first attended GC in 1984, when a ban on gay clergy was introduced. This year, he got to participate in the removal of that ban.

Rev. Dr. Sharon Rhodes-Wickett, when she was Senior Pastor here, took a courageous stand as one of 15 prominent United Methodist pastors who publicly declared their opposition to the ban on same-sex weddings and on gay clergy, following the 1996 General Conference.

While Rev. John Woodall was Senior Pastor here, Westwood UMC opened its sanctuary to same-sex weddings. The first same-sex wedding we hosted celebrated the marriage of one of our pastors, Rev. Greg Norton, to Paul Floyd.

I know there are others, too.

With my pastoral colleagues here, I am so grateful to stand in this lineage of witnesses, each of whom has seen and shown ways that the Holy Spirit pushes us past barriers that others have held.

I know that so many of you, too, have been a part of this long work. I am grateful.

Rachel Gipson of our congregation was there with me in Charlotte, North Carolina for General Conference. She is both a reserve delegate from our Annual Conference, and one of the organizers of volunteer chaplains. On behalf of Resist Harm, and with support from groups like the Reconciling Ministries Network and Affirmation, the Chaplains offered meaningful, caring presence to LGBTQ+ folks and allies. They also, with their presence, remind us of something very important: that we have done harm. Their presence was a gentle reminder that there is work to be done if we are serious about reconciliation.

I look forward to continuing in this work, knowing that there is more to do, and that the work belongs to all of us together. Thank you for being a part of it.

grace and peace,
Pastor Molly