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by Oak Lawn United Methodist Church Staff
Greetings Oak Lawn Family:
We are here in Saint Louis on the final day of this special called general conference. It’s been an emotional week— as many of you have seen. The One Church Plan did not pass in legislative session yesterday, and we attempted presenting it again as a substitutionary motion, but it did not pass. We recognize that it is more likely that we will leave here today with no “way forward.” The small victory is, much of the Traditional plan was ruled unconstitutional, hopefully problems which the Wesleyan Covenant Association, Good News, and Institute on Religion and Democracy representatives in our denomination cannot fix. Even though the Traditional Plan passed this afternoon with a last minute vote, we await Judicial Council’s decision about its constitutionality with hope.
A majority of the delegates representing church may have spoken, but we know that the 47% of the delegates representing the church spoke for full inclusion of our LGBTQI siblings. We know that over 16,000 young people in the denomination spoke out for THEIR church. We know that hundreds of observers here in the Dome are singing, praying, marching, hugging and protesting for THEIR church. We know that thousands of people watching on the live-stream were praying, singing and shouting for THEIR church. God’s not finished yet. God IS still creating something new.
So, what does that mean for us— Oak Lawn United Methodist Church— on the corner of Cedar Springs and Oak Lawn Ave in Dallas, Texas? It means our work is not finished. It means that we continue to fight for justice and full inclusion. It means we are looking forward to seeing a new movement in The United Methodist Church and will be looking to the guidance of our Bishop as we seek to find a new way forward. It means that we hear the cries of our LGBTQI siblings and we will not step back, we will not sit silently. It means we will still have church on Sunday. It means we will still serve meals, pray, worship, laugh, cry and celebrate together. It means that we will still make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world— and that includes ALL people.
We are blessed to serve a church that serves all people. We are grateful for your prayers, and the love and support you offer us in ministry and we look forward to continuing to serve God alongside you as we continue in our call to justice for our LGBTQI siblings.
We are Easter people. We will be there to witness the Resurrection.
