Our calling as clergy women leads us to work for the liberation of people of all genders and sexual orientations. The United Methodist Young Clergy Women’s Collective mourns the decision in the Mississippi Annual Conference to place two United Methodist clergywomen on involuntary leave for officiating the wedding of two nonbinary people. We fear a public trial and all of the harm that will bring to LGBTQIA+ people in and out of our denomination.
The public ministry of the United Methodist Young Clergy Women’s Collective has grown out of the United Methodist denominational subgroup of Young Clergy Women International (YCWI). All of the previous open letters on this website have been by and for United Methodists.
Today the YCWI board issued a Letter of Solidarity in Regard to the Involuntary Leave of Rev. Elizabeth Davidson and Rev. Paige Swaim-Presley.
As an ecumenical organization, YCWI’s letter details how the harm extends beyond United Methodism:
Your actions against the LGBTQIA+ community have negative repercussions across denominational lines. It harms the witness of the Christian church when you fail to align with Methodism’s first general rule: “Do no harm.”
– Young Clergy Women International
We endorse and support this letter written on behalf of all 2,500 members and alumni of YCWI.
We are not in this struggle alone.
Please read and share the full letter here.
You can also show your support by making a donation to RMN’s Clergy Defense Fund and helping the newlyweds with their registry.
