GAY TRUTH

The Western Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church consecrated a married lesbian bishop in a move that could split the denomination. Greater Northwest Episcopal Area Bishop Grant Hagiya claims the Holy Spirit led the move that the church bylaws expressly forbid - this fulfills the requirement of blasphemy "We understand there may be some political implications, but in our mind this was the best person. It was not a question of (sexual) orientation, it was a question of who was the best spiritual leader. The body spoke and said 'Yes, this is the one.' " Hagiya said . Yet the denomination's Book of Discipline cites "self-avowed practicing homosexuals are not to be certified as candidates, ordained as ministers, or appointed to serve in The United Methodist Church." "The Wesleyan Covenant Association (a group of evangelical and conservative pastors) is meeting in Chicago in the fall to decide the future and if they'll form a brand-new

At its quadrennial meeting last month, the United Methodist Church decided not to take up contentious LGBT issues. But that’s not stopping its regional conferences from making decisions on their own. Two U.S. jurisdictions will consider three openly gay candidates for bishop next month. The Rev. Karen Oliveto, the Rev. Frank Wulf and the Rev. David Meredith have been nominated for election at the meetings of the denomination’s Western and North Central jurisdictions July 13-16, according to the Reconciling Ministries Network. It’s not the first time an openly gay candidate has been nominated — Wulf has been nominated before, according to Reconciling Ministries Executive Director Matt Berryman — but there’s “no question” there is momentum this time after last month’s United Methodist Church General Conference in Portland, Ore. “I feel like there’s a kind of a groundswell of movement,” Berryman said. “Many, many annual conferences are refusing to comply with the Book of Discipline

The Rev. Frank Schaefer did not hesitate for a moment when asked by his gay son, Tim, to preside at his wedding in Hull. The Methodist minister was honored — and overjoyed. Last week, six years after the ceremony, Schaefer was convicted at an emotional church trial in Pennsylvania for breaking church laws that forbid United Methodist clergy from performing same-sex weddings. The jury imposed a 30-day suspension, and told Schaefer that if he could not comply with church law, he must surrender his credentials as a clergyman. “Absurd? Prehistoric?” said the Rev. Robert Coombe, who represented Schaefer in the trial, searching for words to describe his view of the proceedings. “Nobody wants a trial. It’s very painful to everyone involved, and it’s costly to the church, so why are we doing this?” Schaefer’s is one of a number of similar cases making their way through the legal system of the United Methodist Church, exposing a sharp rift within the nation’s second-largest Protestant denomi