A note from Pastor Brad:

The historic Postponed 2020 General Conference of The UMC has concluded in Charlotte.  No doubt, many of you have heard about the important decisions that have been made there in the past few days.  It has, indeed, been momentous! (I'm including links below where you can read more details about each of these from UMNews.) Here are some key decisions:

• Disaffiliations are ended, and regionalization was approved, which now awaits ratification of the requisite constitutional amendments by two-thirds of the aggregate votes of annual conferences. 
• The restrictions against same-gender weddings were lifted, granting freedom to each local church and each clergyperson to decide whether to host or perform weddings.  
• Similar rules against the ordination of gay clergy were also lifted.  
• The statement that homosexuality "is incompatible with Christian teaching" was also struck from our Book of Discipline.  
• The revised Social Principles were approved. 
• We also adopted a plan to share full communion with The Episcopal Church (which awaits future approval by the Episcopalians).
  
  

I do not remember any General Conference which accomplished so much--and with essentially two quadrennia worth of legislation to wade through! While there are those who are unhappy with some of these changes, there are also those who are feeling deep joy. So, with all of these changes in The UMC, what can we expect to change at BUMC? My short answer is not much. We will continue to focus our hearts, our eyes, our efforts on Jesus Christ--which means making disciples, and loving and serving our community and wider world, working for what is good and right and just. The only difference--which I believe is an important one! --is that we can now wholeheartedly welcome ALL people--including LGBTQ+ folx--saying, "Come as you are and see."  We now have the freedom to fully include all people as a part of the church's ministry--to truly hold forth the "wide umbrella" where progressive, moderate and traditionalist people can find ways to live together peaceably.  We can prophetically show our divided world what is possible by God's grace.