Dear Friends,

 

Greetings in the name of Jesus!  Much of the New Testament contains letters from the apostle Paul to the early church concerning living in Christian community. The issues he addressed involved questions the church faced at that time such as how to handle food offered to idols, spiritual gifts, and morality.  Paul’s response to these issues often was to remind the church how important it is to be united as Christians. The apostle stressed that the Christian’s first obligation is to love one another, which fulfills the Law.  Paul also reminded the Church that we are uniquely gifted as believers to serve our Lord, who is the head of the church.  We are one body in Christ!

 

Centuries later the church continues to wrestle with difficult and divisive issues.  The most recent example of this occurred in May when the General Conference of the UMC gave each local church and pastor the ability to choose whether to host or perform same gender weddings.  As I have had conversations with individuals and with our leadership (Church Council, Trustees, and the Staff Parish Relations Committee), it has become clear that we have a variety of opinions on these matters.  What is most important is that we continue to serve God, love each other and reach out to the world together in Christ’s name.

 

Our leadership has worked diligently over the past several months to develop a building use policy for weddings to be performed in our church.  It is written in a spirit of respect for all our members and a desire to do ministry together.  It is included below.  Please feel free to address comments or concerns to your leaders and your pastor.

 

Blessings, Pastor Keith

 

 

Bakerstown United Methodist Church

Policy for Weddings

Approved by Trustees and Church Council (September 2024)

 

For many years, the official stance of the United Methodist Church was that only heterosexual marriage ceremonies were to be performed by clergy and hosted on church property.  In May of 2024 the General Conference of the United Methodist Church passed legislation allowing local congregations to follow their convictions without penalty regarding conducting of or refusal to conduct same gender weddings on their property. 

 

Our church leadership understands that members of our congregation have differing opinions on this matter.  What we hold in common is that we seek to love and respect one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.  Our desire is to love all people while continuing to follow the tradition of the Church we have been taught. 

 

Therefore, the Board of Trustees upon the recommendation of our Church Council has decided at this time to adopt an official policy stating that we will not host same gender weddings in the building, the sanctuary, or on the grounds of the Bakerstown United Methodist Church.

 

In addition, it is important for us to ensure that the ministry of the United Methodist Church is extended to all who desire it.  Our appointed clergy are instructed to maintain a list of trusted ministers and neighboring churches within the United Methodist connection who offer same sex marriage ceremonies as part of their ministries.  This list will be available for referral by the office administrator and our pastors.