United Methodists are responding to Kairos Palestine: A Moment of Truth ,a statement of faith and urgent call to action from Christians in Palestine. UMKR seeks, through nonviolent means and in partnership with Palestinian Christians, freedom, justice and equality for all Palestinians and Israelis.
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News & Analysis UMKR Statements
April 29, 2019 – United Methodists for Kairos Response (UMKR) acknowledges with gratitude the difficult work of the Judicial Council of the United Methodist Church in determining the constitutionality of legislation adopted by the Special Session of General Conference in February 2019 (GC2019).
We celebrate the Judicial Council’s rulings of unconstitutionality for some provisions of The Traditional Plan legislation adopted by GC2019, thereby removing harmful requirements for Annual Conference Boards of Ordained Ministry. We grieve with our LGBTQ siblings over those provisions of The Traditional Plan that have been found constitutional, including the continued prohibition of ordination for LGBTQ persons and mandatory penalties for pastors convicted of conducting same-gender wedding or union ceremonies.
We are deeply saddened that the decisions coming from General Conference 2019 did not lead our church in a way forward together, but instead increased the pain of our LGBTQ siblings, strengthened punitive enforcement of exclusionary policies, and sharpened the divisions in our church, leaving many United Methodists struggling to discern what our way forward, individually and collectively, should be.
[Learn more about the purpose of the Special General Conference 2019, legislation that was proposed, and the results, from the United Methodist News Service.]
UMKR is a member of the Love Your Neighbor Coalition (LYNC), a partnership of diverse organizations and ethnic caucuses in the United Methodist Church who work together on a range of justice issues, including full LGBTQ inclusion in the United Methodist Church.
In the wake of the painfully divisive experience of GC2019 and the findings of the Judicial Council in April 2019, UMKR renews its commitment to the vision of the Love Your Neighbor Coalition, to mutually support justice efforts on behalf of oppressed peoples and marginalized communities within our own denomination and around the world. We would be among those who answer the prophet’s call: “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed.” (Isaiah 1:17)
UMKR also renews our invitation to all United Methodists throughout the denomination who are called to answer the urgent plea of Palestinian Christians in the Kairos Palestine Document to join with UMKR in fulfilling our founding mission: seeking freedom, justice, and equality for all Palestinians and Israelis.
Learn more about UMKR and our work at www.kairosresponse.org
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UMKR Responds to GC2019 and Judicial Council Rulings
of April 2019
UMKR grieves over exclusionary legislation of GC2019, renews commitment to LYNC Vision, and invites all United Methodists to work for a just peace in the Holy Land.