News and Views

During the plenary session May 31, the Rev. Beth Hutton and seven other ordinands rose to speak on behalf of two of the candidates who were approved by the Board of Ordained Ministry, but were removed as candidates by a ruling of Bishop LaTrelle Easterling.

This is a difficult moment for us in our journey of ministry. We are honored and privileged, Bishop, to be elected as Deacon and Elders in full connection in the Baltimore Washington Annual Conference. We have all worked hard to get to this place. Yet we are deeply grieved by the exclusion of our colleagues and siblings in Christ, who are LGBTQ+.

We have together studied, practiced, and served because we each have a call on our lives from a creative, loving, merciful and living God.

We follow the way of Christ -- and are aware that Jesus sought out and invited service and commitment from those who were rejected by authorities. At the same time, we strive to model the loving community of a Triune God, in particular as we love, relate to, and belong to one another in this connection we call The United Methodist Church.

Today, while some of us will be joining this connection because of our privilege, our colleagues and friends will be excluded. They also have calls on their lives. Vocation is a gift from God and does not designate winners or losers. They have borne fruit for the kingdom with remarkable gifts for ministry. They were recommended to this body to be commissioned and/or ordained by the Board of Ordained Ministry just as we were. They have studied, practiced and served in the ways we have served; they have been asked the same questions, and they were all found able and fit for ministry.

We echo our sister in Christ, Kara Scroggins, who last year spoke these words from the floor after similar, disheartening discussions in the clergy session:

“We fail to welcome the gifts and celebrate the full humanity of God’s children who are LGBTQ+. Despite all that there is to celebrate, our denomination–this very annual conference–continues to practice discrimination and to cause harm to people; the church harms people who selflessly volunteer their lives in service to it.”

Our general rules are clear, we are to do no harm.

We eight clergy are committed to standing with those who have been rejected with our presence and our vote, mindful that the stone the builder rejected has become the cornerstone. At the urging of the Holy Spirit, we stand for inclusion and for the end to exclusion, seeking a time when The United Methodist Church embraces the fullness of every person’s gifts.

Rev. Giovanni Arroyo
Rev. Beth Hutton
Rev. Elizabeth LeMaster
Rev. James McSavaney
Rev. Laura Norvell
Rev. Katie Saari
Rev. Dawn Stewart
Rev. Leo Yates