2314
(2 votes, average 5.00 out of 5)
Written by Louis Weisberg, Staff writer
Feb 10, 2011
A United Methodist minister in northwest Wisconsin faces a church trial and possible dismissal from the denomination’s clergy.
Charges were brought against the Rev. Amy DeLong of Osceola after she acknowledged conducting a holy union ceremony for a lesbian couple and registering with her longtime partner under Wisconsin’s domestic partnership statute. The United Methodist Church, the nation’s third-largest denomination, bans clergy from performing same-sex unions and allows gays and lesbians to serve as clergy only if they’re celibate or keep their sexual orientation secret.
DeLong’s trial, to be held in Appleton April 11-13, will be the first of its kind in the state. Penalties range from defrocking to as little as a reprimand.
The church committee that brought the charges against DeLong indicated that its members did so only because they had no choice under church law. They released a statement praising DeLong’s courage and describing the charges against her as “fundamentally unjust.”
“The Committee fears that the United Methodist Church … is at grave risk of forever losing the infinite talents, gifts and grace that gay and lesbian clergy bring to make the (church) a better, stronger, more vibrant place,” the statement said.
The case has prompted a letter of protest from 32 retired Methodist bishops who urged the church to drop its ban on “self-proclaimed practicing homosexuals” serving as ministers.
The Methodist ban on openly gay clergy is a source of contention within the church, as it is within other Protestant denominations. In recent years, proposals to eliminate the restriction have been presented on a regular basis only to be voted down by representatives at the denomination’s general conferences. DeLong said the situation is unlikely to change due to the growth of church membership in the conservative southeastern United States, as well as in the developing world.
DeLong has served in the clergy for about 14 years and is well known in Wisconsin’s Methodist community as an advocate for progressive causes. She’s co-founder of Kairos CoMotion, a group that provides advocacy and education about progressive issues in the Methodist church.
DeLong served as a parish pastor for eight years, until complaints about her sexual orientation led to her loss of an appointment at a Milwaukee congregation in 2006. Since then she’s served in the extension ministry, without health insurance coverage and other benefits.
Despite no longer serving a congregation, DeLong, who is an elder in the church, is required to submit annual reports detailing her ministerial activities. It was in filing a report that she informed church authorities about officiating at a same-sex union ceremony.
“No one has asked me why I did the holy union, they’ve only asked me why I reported it,” DeLong said.
Despite the elaborate preparation that’s required for a church trial, DeLong said she’s glad to have her sexual orientation out in the open after years of living “a divided life” in which she had to learn “how to parse the language, how to introduce my partner without calling her my partner.”
“It was taking a toll on my soul and psyche,” she said. “The truth-telling has been life giving. Telling the truth and being who I am openly without an ounce of shame or embarrassment, that is life giving.”
DeLong said she’s surrounded by a supportive team that’s helping her prepare for the trial, including friends, Methodist laypeople and clergy from Wisconsin and northern Illinois.
“All of the details of this are more than one person can handle,” she said. “But I am surrounded by love in every direction.”
