No Such Law Sunday

No Such Law A guide for preparing your church for the upcoming United Methodist Judicial Council decisions and an invitation to join together in prayer on Sunday, April 23, 2017.

Galatians 5:22-23

Introduction On Sunday, April 23rd, Reconciling United Methodists across the country are invited to worship together with a shared heart and mind toward the upcoming United Methodist Judicial Council meetings which will include critical decisions on Bishop Karen Oliveto’s ministry as the first openly lesbian bishop, and on other LGBTQ-related rulings.

Thanks to the movement’s decades of of insistence on an end to discrimination, and on the non-compliance that is Biblical Obedience, the denomination is changing and official proposals for policy change are expected at a special called General Conference in 2019. In the meantime, as we continue to model the church at its best and lead the way for the denomination to follow suit, we pray together for justice and we refuse to wait.

In this toolkit you will find worship resources, information on the Judicial Council rulings, and opportunities to be a public witness through social media as we join together in worship across the globe in our shared commitment to justice.

On this second Sunday of Easter, we are still awakening to the new life made available to us - basking in the reality of dashed hopes now resurrected. We see the fruits of the Spirit cropping up in unexpected places. We are reminded once again that there is nowhere the Spirit is not at work and despite all efforts to extinguish the work of God - love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control will prevail in the face of any unjust law.

We take hope this day and everyday in the One who gave of himself fully in commitment to justice and love for all God’s beloved. This same One promises us even now that we are never alone on the journey and we have everything we need to stand against all forms of injustice. Our work is never in vain. Wherever we see the fruit of the Spirit, we know God is there too, creating new life in resurrection hope, with or without the blessing of any human made institution.

#CalledOUT Clergy

Judicial Council Rulings - What’s at stake?

On April 25-28, 2017 in Newark, NJ, the Judicial Council of The United Methodist Church will meet once again to determine the constitutionality of a number of LGBTQ-related actions. Among the cases is the request for a review of Bishop Karen Oliveto’s election and ministry as the first openly lesbian bishop, given The UMC’s current discriminatory language towards LGBTQ persons in ministry.

Immediately after Bishop Oliveto’s historic election last summer, Ms. Dixie Brewster, a lay delegate of the Great Plains Annual Conference requested a declaratory decision from the Judicial Council on the following in part: “What is the application, meaning and effect of 1304.3, 1310.2d, 1341.6, and 12702.1 (a), (b), and (d) in regard to the nomination, election, consecration and/or assignment as bishop of a person who claims to be a “self-avowed practicing homosexual” or is a spouse in a same-sex marriage or civil union?”

The Judicial Council will hold a hearing at 9AM on Tuesday, April 25th to hear 60 minute arguments from both the petitioner and the respondent followed by two sessions of questions by the council. This hearing will be open to the public. The council will not be releasing any decisions until after their entire meeting together is complete.

The election of Bishop Oliveto, who has been faithfully serving the church since she was ordained in 1985, was seen by many as a critical and hopeful step forward for the entire denomination. Bishop Oliveto was elected based on her call to episcopal leadership, her years of successful ministry, and her commitment to being a pastor to all members of The UMC - including LGBTQ people. Her election as an openly married lesbian was received as a sign that the church is indeed capable of recognizing the call God has placed on the lives of LGBTQ persons to serve at all levels of the church. God has used both her election and ministry in incredible ways.

Galatians 5:22-23 states that “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law…” Who can deny that the Spirit has produced such fruit through the election and ministry of Bishop Oliveto? Who would dare stand in the way of God’s work of producing fruit? Can we say there is a law when Scripture itself tells us there is #nosuchlaw?

To remove or prohibit Bishop Oliveto from her ministry as bishop would stand in the way of the Spirit’s works as evidenced by the fruits we have seen in the church, we have heard in the stories of individuals, and we have known in our own hearts. The church has made itself one step closer to the life God intends for it. We join in prayer this weekend that the Judicial Council and the denomination refuse to declare once again that an unjust law of the church supersedes the fruits of the Spirit against which there is no such law.

Additional LGBTQ related rulings No. 0417-2 A review of Bishop Webb’s ruling of law on an untitled resolution adopted by the Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference which sought to impose a “moratorium upon Bishops within the NEJ on initiating and processing of complaints and initiating of investigations and trials based upon the sexual orientation or marital status of faithful United Methodists or involving clergy for same-sex marriages.” Bishop Webb rules the resolution unconstitutional and the Judicial Council will review his argument. Regardless of the JC’s analysis, the NEJ has modeled Biblical Obedience in the writing, putting forward, and adoption of this resolution on non-conformity and the spirit of their work remains intact.

No. 0417-4 A motion was made at General Conference on May 19, 2016 to refer a petition to the Judicial Council for review. The petition would, in effect, require any bishops who had a complaint filed against them and admits to a chargeable offense during the just resolution process to receive a mandatory penalty. Similar petitions regarding clergy were ruled unconstitutional by the Judicial Council already and this docket item will confirm whether or not the former Judicial Council ruling No. 1318 applies to this nearly identical petition and is thus unconstitutional.

No. 0417-5 - Bishop Middleton’s ruling of law from the New York Annual Conference will be reviewed by the Judicial Council. Her analysis in response to two questions regarding the ordination process proposed that Boards of Ordained Ministry are not required to “ascertain” (implying an investigation) whether or not a candidate is “a self-avowed practicing homosexual” before recommendation for commissioning or ordination. The Board is simply required to “measure, evaluate, and discern” a candidate’s fitness for ministry. Bishop Middleton also ruled that voting on a candidate’s fitness for ministry cannot be based on speculations or beliefs about their sexuality.

No. 0417-6 - Bishop Dyck’s ruling of law from the Northern Illinois Annual Conference will be reviewed by the Judicial Council. Her analysis was a response to the same two questions proposed in the New York Annual Conference in the ruling above. Her analysis also maintained that requiring Boards of Ordained Ministry to “ascertain” information about a candidate’s sexuality (or other aspects of living the “highest ideals of the Christian life” as expressed in the Book of Discipline’s qualifications for ministry) is not within their role. Bishop Dyck likewise argued that basing a vote for or against a candidate’s readiness for ministry based on a “belief” about their sexuality is akin to hearsay and inappropriate for discernment of the candidate. She also included a statement that ruled the NIC Board of Ordained Ministry’s public statement made last year “out of order.” The statement declared the board’s unwillingness to include sexual orientation or gender identity as a factor in their discernment of a candidate’s readiness for ministry. Regardless of the Bishop’s or the Judicial Council’s ruling on the board’s statement, their commitment to non-discrimination is applauded as an act of Biblical Obedience that requires no affirmation of law from any institutional body for effectiveness in supporting LGBTQ candidates for ministry.

#NoSuchLaw Galatians 5:22-23

Worship resources PRAYER God of eternal hope, You have shown us what is true. In the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have seen that there are no powers or principalities that can extinguish your work for Love, Justice, Healing, and Wholeness for all of your creation . In Christ’s relentless pursuit of you, political and religious leaders alike attempted to use tradition, law, and structures to silence truth, halt compassion, destroy hope, and strike fear in the hearts of all who would follow him. However, your faithfulness triumphs in the face of every threat. Even in death, you are still creating new life. Through the resurrection of Christ, you have shown us that there is nothing at work greater than your Love. No law can keep us from being gentle. No policy has the power to stop us from being faithful. No structure can erase Love. The Spirit is moving and wherever we are willing to join in her work, she will birth fruit through us. Help us to trust that wherever we see the fruits of your Spirit, you are there too. And help us to live in absolute defiance of any law that attempts to call the fruit of your Spirit anything other than holy, anything other than blessed, anything other than you with us.

In the name of the One who paved the way for us to follow, Amen.

CALL TO WORSHIP Holy One, you have assured us that though we cannot see the Spirit herself, we can see the fruit of her work in one another, in our lives, and in the world. We know she is there wherever we see love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against these things, you have told us, there is no such law.

When we see gentleness in speaking to the belovedness of the ones the church has called “incompatible,” we proclaim that against these things: There is no such law.

We know that whenever there is faithfulness to your call despite having to navigate ordination processes and episcopal elections steeped in discrimination and harm, you too are there. And we proclaim that against these things: There is no such law.

We know that wherever there is patience enough to withstand 45 years of persecution and yet maintain joy, hold on to kindness, and grasp internal peace enough to push forward as a collective group, the Spirit has long been at work. And against these things we say with certainty: There is no such law!

Against the fruit of your Spirit, no law can stand.

Thanks be to God.

Make your convictions known Help us send a clear message to The United Methodist Church that we are watching, waiting, praying, and preparing for the Judicial Council’s review of all the LGBTQ-related cases and especially their decision on whether or not to maintain Bishop Karen Oliveto’s episcopal ministry. To remove her would do so much harm to LGBTQ individuals, the church at large, and the ministry God is already doing through her.

On “No Such Law” Sunday, your church or community is encouraged to use your cell phone to record the message below and post on social media with the hashtag #nosuchlaw.

“We have seen the fruits of the Spirit through the ministry of Bishop Oliveto. She is our bishop and against these things there is ‘no such law’!”

You are also invited as individuals to share your convictions about the importance of maintaining Bishop Oliveto’s ministry as a queer bishop on your personal social media pages per recommendations below.

- Pre-record a video or use the “Facebook Live” feature to share why having Bishop Oliveto, our first openly lesbian bishop, matters to you. Consider reflecting on one of the fruits of the Spirit and how you have benefited from this step forward in the church. What would we lose if the Judicial Council suggested there is a law where scripture has said there is “no such law?”

- Write a status update about the importance of keeping LGBTQ people in leadership in our denomination, especially as we seek together “A Way Forward.”

- Simply copy and paste the following as your status: I proudly recognize Bishop Karen Oliveto as a Bishop in The United Methodist Church. The Spirit is moving through her ministry as the first openly lesbian bishop in our church and against the fruits of the Spirit’s work there is #nosuchlaw.

- Print copies of this toolkit and have them available at your church to help inform your congregation.

- Change your social media profiles to show your support of Bishop Oliveto.

- Find the images at https://twibbon.com/Support/no-such-law

- Or engage the #ToBishopKOWithLove campaign from our friends at https://twibbon.com/support/tobishopkowithlove