Motion


Whereas the Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church explicitly states that, “the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching,” and

Whereas the 2019 Special Session of the General Conference of the United Methodist Church adopted a Traditional Plan that increases penalties for clergy who perform same-sex marriages and/or are themselves “self-avowed practicing homosexuals,” and

Whereas the position of the UMC of Red Bank, NJ, a Reconciling congregation which advocates full inclusion of homosexual members and clergy, rejects the Traditional Plan approved at the Special Session of General Conference in 2019 as inconsistent with the gospel of Jesus Christ, and will resist its implementation, and

Whereas the Trustees of the UMC of Red Bank, NJ have approved use of the church building to host same-sex weddings, and

Whereas the Church Council of the UMC of Red Bank, NJ has approved a statement supporting our appointed Pastor should he/she decide to perform a same-sex marriage, and

Whereas same-sex marriages are legally recognized and may be performed by any person so authorized in the state of New Jersey, such as ordained clergy, and

Whereas the UMC of Red Bank is determined to love and avoid doing harm to LGBTQ+ persons and to protect their interests,

Therefore, the UMC of Red Bank will dispose of our Shared Ministry apportionments as follows:
  • The UMCRB will withhold 33% of our next and subsequent payments for our designated portion of Shared Ministries, and it will be set aside in a fully separate, designated account and held for the sole purpose of shared ministries or their equivalent in a manner to be determined by the Finance Committee and UMCRB Trustees;
  • The disposition of the money in this set-aside account and the amount of Shared Ministry apportionments to be withheld may be reviewed and modified at any time, and will be reviewed by the Church Council any time one or more of the following occurs:
      • The General Conference votes to alter language in Book of Discipline related to the LGBTQ+ community,
      • Changes occur in the relationship between the UMC Book of Discipline and UMC of Red Bank (e.g. permission to contextualize), and/or
      • The portion of Shared Ministries allocated to UMCRB appears to have changed as a result of our decision to withhold.
  • Should the General Conference vote to become more fully accepting of LGBTQ+ members and clergy,
      • Some portion of monies may be released from the set-aside funds to Shared Ministries, and
      • the ongoing amount being withheld may be reduced.

        Full acceptance of LGBTQ+ members and clergy in the UMC would lead to full release of the set-aside funds to connectional ministries and withholding of Shared Ministries would be terminated.
  • While funds from Shared Ministries are being withheld, each delivery to Shared Ministries shall be accompanied by the explanation:
“This contribution of the United Methodist Church of Red Bank to its Shared Ministries assignment has been reduced from its apportioned amount because UMCRB can no longer fully support a church structure that rejects and even penalizes the full participation of God-loving LGBTQ+ persons. The percentage withheld is large, to make a strong statement about exclusion. We pray that the money included here will still sustain the best of the UMC’s connectional ministries. The Shared Ministries allocations withheld from this check are held in good faith in a designated account. The disposition of the designated account and the ongoing amount withheld may be reviewed at any time and will be reviewed each time
      • The General Conference votes to alter language in Book of Discipline related to the LGBTQ+ community,
      • Changes occur in the relationship between the UMC Book of Discipline and UMC of Red Bank, and/or
      • The portion of Shared Ministries allocated to UMCRB appears to have changed as a result of our decision to withhold.

End of Motion