Key points:
- Following General Conference, the Rev. Joelle Henneman writes, “We have not reached Christian perfection quite yet. However, as we move forward, we do so with a more diverse harmony of voices.”
- After the conference ended, her WhatsApp feed was filled with stories and pictures of celebration.
- She describes encounters with United Methodist parents of LGBTQIA+ children who now feel like the church sees and embraces their kids.
Photo courtesy of the author.
Commentaries
While the 2020 General Conference finally happened after a four-year delay, what it lost in time it made up for in substance.
Historic and significant changes happened, including the passage of regionalization legislation that would give different parts of the world the ability to adapt the Book of Discipline for more missional effectiveness. Our core values were freshly articulated in a new Social Principles, and the ministries of LGBTQIA+ people were affirmed through the removal of restrictive language.
Though a lot happened within the walls of the Charlotte Convention Center, the most significant impacts of this General Conference are how these changes affected people outside the walls.
While at General Conference, my glasses broke. I went to a store to get a new set of frames and the person helping me shared that he is a United Methodist. He has a transgender daughter and proudly showed me a tattoo on his forearm with her name on it.
Although he didn’t know the General Conference was happening, when I shared with him that legislation passed removing language from the Book of Discipline that restricted LGBTQ people from participating fully in church life, he pumped his fist in the air and shouted, “Yes!”
During General Conference, a photograph of me crying and hugging my friend Angie Cox was published by The Associated Press and circulated on news sites and in print papers around the world. My phone filled with texts, not only from friends saying they had seen my image, but also how proud they were of The United Methodist Church.
Thomas Fletcher wrote a post on the Community Development for All People Facebook page: “Historic changes are taking place in The UMC, which will allow the denomination to be a place where all people can fully and authentically practice their faith. We are grateful to all those leaders who worked tirelessly for so long to make the church open and inclusive.”
As I walked through the General Conference’s exhibit hall for the last time on May 3, two moms stopped me on separate occasions thanking me for my service and my witness as a transgender woman. Both moms have LGBTQIA+ kids and shared how both my example and work served as an example to their kids and that The United Methodist Church now fully included them.
By Sunday, May 5, most delegates and observers had returned home to worship with their churches. My WhatsApp feed was filled with stories and pictures of celebration.
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One church celebrated with a pride-colored cake as 30 queer people joined the worship. Another church formed a large circle where stories of General Conference were shared, while other churches celebrated with potluck lunches and rainbow flags draped across altars. One church voted by an 80% margin to join Reconciling Ministries Network in response to the actions of General Conference.
This General Conference was eight years in the making. Eight years of meetings, building relationships and working through difficult conversations. As a result, The United Methodist Church is a more inclusive space where diverse voices are heard. General Conference was shaped by intentionally hearing the voices of women and a movement toward decolonization.
However, the impact of this work is not limited to the words printed in the Book of Discipline or the diversity of people in positions of power. Rather, the actions taken have already resulted in drawing the circle of God’s love and grace wider, to include people who thought their voices would not be heard inside the church.
The work is not done. We took giant steps at General Conference 2020, but we have not reached Christian perfection quite yet. However, as we move forward, we do so with a more diverse harmony of voices. Voices that felt unheard because of who they are, now celebrated in The United Methodist Church.
Henneman serves as the senior pastor of the United Methodist Church for All People in Columbus, Ohio.
News media contact: Tim Tanton or Joey Butler at (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free Daily or Weekly Digests.
