I’ve
not added a blog post for several months. In fact, I only wrote one blog post
last year. Not that my life has gotten any more dull, but 2023 brought an unexpected
curve ball that almost knocked me out of my writer’s box. Since I became a
blogger in 2014, I’ve written nearly 200 blog posts, touching on lots of
things: writing novels, our travels, family including the births of grandkids
and the deaths of both parents, my volunteer activities as a retired guy. As a
past high school principal, I wrote of my horror regarding school shootings and
my support for banning assault rifles. I probably lost a few readers with that
post. Intentionally, with that one
exception, I’ve avoided politics and religion, because no one wins those
debates. So, it’s not surprising I’ve not written any posts about my church,
which is where that curve ball came right at me by surprise a year ago.
I’m
a lifelong Methodist. Mama was a Methodist Church organist for over fifty
years. Pop was a devout and active Methodist. Nita was raised Methodist. We
married in her childhood Methodist Church. But we also were teenagers of the
rebellious ‘60’s, and were a childless young married couple in the ’70’s. For a
decade, we didn’t go to church. Then came two sons and a move to a small town
where we decided we did not want our kids to be ‘unchurched.’ We joined the
First United Methodist Church of Lockhart, and for forty years were active
members. It’d take a long paragraph to list all our roles in the church during
those four decades, and the church’s importance to our lives.
But
our membership and commitment ended in mid-September 2023 when during a Sunday
afternoon meeting our congregation voted overwhelmingly to leave the ‘United’
Methodist denomination and attach to a new ‘Global’ denomination. There was a six-month ‘discernment’ period in
which folks took sides. There were several meetings to delve into the pros and
cons of staying ‘united’ or going ‘global.’ Our side lost, causing Nita and me
to make another tough decision about our own membership in the new ‘global’
congregation.
We
and others who voted to remain a United Methodist church had to decide whether
our many wonderful friendships and our long commitment to this congregation, or
our personal theological beliefs, were more important to our spiritual
well-being.
If
you don’t know, the key issue was an old issue in which the greater United
Methodist denomination was about to reverse its position on homosexuals not
being allowed to marry in United Methodist sanctuaries and end the prohibition
on homosexuals becoming ordained United Methodist pastors. Nita and I needed no
convincing that we stand with the queer community in this one. To us, inclusiveness,
not guard rails, reflect Jesus’s teachings. Unsurprisingly, but sadly to us, it
turned out 70% of our local congregation disagreed and voted to abandon the
United Methodists for the much more restrictive new Global denomination.
The
next day, we resigned our church membership of forty years and began visiting
United Methodist Churches which had not voted to leave the denomination. After six months and visiting several
churches, we have settled in at Manchaca United Methodist Church in far south
Austin, a thirty minute country drive from home, instead of our old one-mile
drive. We are making new friends. Our hearts are joyous to be in the midst of
other Methodists who share our stance on queer inclusiveness as scripturally
sound and personally agreeable. We are pleased to have come out the end of a
year-long dimly lit tunnel, to find we are in the light again.
Nita
and I are now experiencing that we are not too old or too set in our habits to
make a big adjustment supporting our belief that homosexuality is not God’s
little boo-boo, a belief that we had long held in quiet suspension, but had not
forgotten.
2024
is our new ‘start over.’ Still, we both
are striving to maintain our friendships with those who continue to worship in
our ‘old’ congregation. It’s working, because Christians really can ‘love the
socks off each other’ even as we harbor conflicting views about a few things.
What’s
more, yesterday on the drive to and from Manchaca UMC, the bluebonnets along
the highway were in full glorious bloom. Easter’s coming, ya’ll, to all of
us. Christ is Risen, he is risen indeed.
And for fun, here’s a new bluebonnet and grandkids photo.
