Letter to Standing Committee Delegates

A Plea to Standing Committee

of the Church of the Brethren
The Michigan District Board, on 27 April 2002, approved for ordination a man who is openly homosexual in practice, who is not celibate, and in spite of the query coming to Annual Conference this summer from the Northern Ohio District.
Standing Committee should review this action, and the Michigan District Board’s action should be reversed, for the following reasons:

The numerous Scriptures that enjoin such behavior.

It violates both the letter and the spirit of the 1983 Annual Conference statement on Human Sexuality, which declared that same sex relationships are not acceptable.

The several District Boards act as delegated agents of the Annual Conference in the practice of credentialing ministers in the Church of the Brethren. District Boards cannot authorize actions contrary to the policy of Annual Conference. For a District Board to so brazenly violate Annual Conference action is highly irregular, and unethical in the extreme. This is a constitutional crisis for the Church of the Brethren.

The breakdown this action will cause in the placement system and the recognition of ordinations. Several Districts (Atlantic Northeast, Southeastern) already have in place policies that augment the 1983 Annual Conference decision.

The timing of this action is highly suspect, as it attempts to present the Conference with a fait accompli as it considers the Northern Ohio query. It appears to be as much a political move as anything. The freedom of Conference to declare its position should be not checked by the action of a District Board.

Standing Committee has “unofficially” stated from the platform of Annual Conference that such credentialing actions are not acceptable.

The divisive effect this will cause (and is already causing) within the denomination. Should the Standing Committee sustain this action, many congregations and individuals will prayerfully review their support and activity within the Districts and the denomination.

Past actions by Districts and possibly the Standing Committee in dealing with persons engaged in such behavior, most notably a minister, Onaldo Pereira, in Brazil.

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	A Plea to Standing Committee of the Church of the Brethren The Michigan District Board, on 27 April 2002, approved for ordination a man who is openly homosexual in practice, who is not celibate, and in spite of the query coming to Annual Conference this summer from the Northern Ohio District. Standing Committee should review this action, and the Michigan District Board’s action should be reversed, for the following reasons: The numerous Scriptures that enjoin such behavior. It violates both the letter and the spirit of the 1983 Annual Conference statement on Human Sexuality, which declared that same sex relationships are not acceptable. The several District Boards act as delegated agents of the Annual Conference in the practice of credentialing ministers in the Church of the Brethren. District Boards cannot authorize actions contrary to the policy of Annual Conference. For a District Board to so brazenly violate Annual Conference action is highly irregular, and unethical in the extreme. This is a constitutional crisis for the Church of the Brethren. The breakdown this action will cause in the placement system and the recognition of ordinations. Several Districts (Atlantic Northeast, Southeastern) already have in place policies that augment the 1983 Annual Conference decision. The timing of this action is highly suspect, as it attempts to present the Conference with a fait accompli as it considers the Northern Ohio query. It appears to be as much a political move as anything. The freedom of Conference to declare its position should be not checked by the action of a District Board. Standing Committee has “unofficially” stated from the platform of Annual Conference that such credentialing actions are not acceptable. The divisive effect this will cause (and is already causing) within the denomination. Should the Standing Committee sustain this action, many congregations and individuals will prayerfully review their support and activity within the Districts and the denomination. Past actions by Districts and possibly the Standing Committee in dealing with persons engaged in such behavior, most notably a minister, Onaldo Pereira, in Brazil.
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