United Methodist Young Clergywomen Boldly Proclaim that God’s Love Extends to ALL
The Young Clergywomen Collective wrote a response to the Judicial Council decisions about the consecration of Bishop Karen Oliveto. Read more about the decision here.
As the United Methodist Young Clergywomen’s Collective, an ad hoc group of licensed, commissioned, and ordained United Methodist clergywomen under the age of 40, we believe in the United Methodist mission statement “to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” We fiercely hold to Jesus’ teaching that nothing is more essential to our call than loving God and loving our neighbors. We detest the current denominational trend of excluding the LGBTQIA+ community. This discrimination does irreparable harm to those among us who are LGBTQIA+ and significantly impairs our mission to make disciples who transform the world.
This week, millions of people read about The United Methodist Church in national newspapers, denominational publications, and on social media and saw no love for the LGBTQIA+ community. Instead, they saw a denomination falling short of meeting Jesus’ commandment that we love one another. As a church, we are failing to meet the US’s basic non-discrimination laws. The United Methodist Young Clergywoman’s Collective believes that all people are children of God, beloved and with sacred worth. The Judicial Council’s most recent decision neither made disciples nor transformed the world into a better place; in fact, it has made it harder for us to do so.