We're Queer and We're Here in the UMC
W ell, it's annual conference time again. Annual conference is the yearly (obviously) gathering of representatives, clergy and laity, from all United Methodist churches in regional conclaves called, confusingly, Annual Conferences. The annual conference is a time to celebrate ministry, ordain and commission new pastors, review budgets and do business, and set the direction of the conference for the future. During this time, my Twitter and Facebook feeds are abuzz with tweets and postings from many different conferences around the country. Most are of the self-congratulatory "rah, rah" type - "this worship is soooo inspiring", "wow, our Bishop really understands us", "we are doing such great work in the world." Rarer, however, are comments and reflections on how our church is failing in its mission to love the world, especially by letting down a large and growing percentage of our congregation who are LGBTQ and their allies. It breaks ...