Archive: UM official reveals lesbianism; Good News responds

The Rev. Jeanne Audrey Powers, associate general secretary of the General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concern (GCCUIC), identified herself as a lesbian when she addressed the Reconciling Congregations Convocation in Minneapolis on July 15. The Reconciling Congregation movement is comprised of UM churches and other groups that welcome the participation of homosexual men and lesbians.

Powers, an ordained member of the Minnesota Conference, noted that “many, many people in our church” already were aware of her sexual orientation. The 63-year-old clergywoman called her announcement “a political act,” designed as “an act of resistance to false teachings that have contributed to heresy and homophobia within the church itself.”

Ms. Powers believes, “As long as the phrases ‘homosexuality and the Christian faith are incompatible,’ and ‘celibacy in singleness’ continue to stand in our Discipline, no matter how these phrases are introduced or framed, our church is on record as perpetuating heterosexism in its life and homophobia in its teaching.”

Powers said she has no intention of withdrawing from the ministry or surrendering her ordination papers nor does she plan to indicate whether she is a “practicing” lesbian. In a statement, she said, “no one has the right to know intimate details of any other person’s loving sexual practices.” Practice, she added, “makes no sense, for identity is a matter of ‘being,’ not ‘doing.’”

Powers claims that she withdrew from “an almost certain episcopal election in 1976 because I did not want, as the first woman bishop and for the sake of the church, to have my life under a magnifying glass.”

In a prepared statement, Minnesota Bishop Sharon Brown Christopher—who did not attend the convocation—called Powers “a distinguished ecumenist in the global Christian movement and a respected leader in the United Methodist Church.”

“Throughout her ministry she has invited the church to reflect theologically and make decisions about the hard issues of life,” the bishop added.

The bishop said leaders of the Minnesota Conference, where Powers is a member, “will respond to her current invitation in a manner consistent with the compassion of Christ as well as the covenant of United Methodist people formed by their General Conference and described in their Book of Discipline.”

At its recent annual meeting, the Minnesota Conference approved a petition asking that the 1996 General Conference delete “all exclusionary references” to gays and lesbians in the Book of Discipline, including the statement about ordination.

The Rev. Bruce Robbins, the chief executive of GCCUIC, told The United Methodist Reporter that he believed Ms. Powers had “done a courageous thing by being truthful with people. She is convinced that her action will be good for the church.

“Her announcement will cause dialogue and hopefully result in better understanding of each other,” Robbins said.

The board of directors of Good News, an evangelical renewal movement within the UM Church, responded to the Powers announcement during its summer board with the following statement:

“The Rev. Powers, ostensibly taking the step of disclosing her lesbianism, is, from our perspective, doing no less than openly defying the witness of the United Methodist Church concerning human sexuality and using her position to advocate the acceptance of homosexuality. This is clearly in violation of Discipline Par. 906.12, which prohibits use of UM funds (staff salaries) ‘to promote the acceptance of homosexuality’; as well as Par. 402.2, which requires clergy ‘to maintain the highest standards represented by the practice of fidelity in marriage and celibacy in singleness.’ While being applauded for her honesty and courage in ‘coming out,’ the Rev. Powers declined to be totally forthright about what was explicitly implied in her public announcement—she has refused to indicate whether she is a ‘practicing’ lesbian. Without ‘practice,’ the announcement would have no significance.

“In a time when clergy are being schooled in the dynamics and dangers of sexual harassment and sexual molestation, it is a transparent ruse for the Rev. Powers to claim that the sexual behavior of clergy is beyond the province of the church. While the resignation of the Rev. Powers might normally be expected, it is clear that she is raising the challenge as to whether United Methodism can and will effectively enforce its own Discipline.

“The supervisory personnel of the General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns is responsible for reprimanding or removing the Rev. Powers. In addition, the Minnesota Conference Board of Ordained Ministry has a supervisory responsibility for the Rev. Powers because of her membership there. In light of this premeditated attack on the standards of the United Methodist Church, and with the distinct possibility of an ineffective response by those charged to oversee the situation, we understand those United Methodist congregations which will choose to withhold apportionment monies from the General Church until it is demonstrated that the Discipline is being implemented.

“If the Rev. Powers’ public ‘act of resistance to false teachings’ goes without appropriate, albeit compassionate, accountability, it will make a mockery of our General Conference legislative processes and will cause more and more United Methodists to wonder whether their church has the will to enforce its own disciplinary standards.”

Adapted from United Methodist News Service.

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