United Methodist Church Misstep

United Methodists Tighten Ban on Same-Sex Marriage and Gay Clergy

Rural southern life in the '50s revolved around church activities. There were Sunday morning services that involved "Sunday School" and after "Preaching", the more formal service.  Sunday evening was the youth service, Wednesday night was choir practice, and many Friday evening's there was a pot luck dinner at the church community room. Your religious, and social life, all-in-one.  

My little village had two churches; Methodist and Baptist. Similar in that both are Christian however very different. The Baptist belief was much more fundamentalist (strict) in teaching and the Methodist more liberal.    

My grandmother and grandfather were both pillars in the two churches.  Sunday morning my grandfather went to the Baptist Church and my grandmother to the Methodist. Although partners in the general store, and all other aspects of their lives, they attended different churches on Sunday morning.  There was never a disagreement or discussion - that was just a fact. I never knew why.  

I attended the Methodist church with my mother and grandmother. Which bring me to today's topic.  Although not a member of any church or religious at this time, I have never been ashamed about my childhood religion - until this week.

By Timothy Williams and Elizabeth Dias (New York Times) ST. LOUIS — The United Methodist Church on Tuesday [February 26] voted to strengthen its ban on gay and lesbian clergy and same-sex marriages, a decision that could split the nation’s second-largest Protestant church.

After three days of intense debate at a conference in St. Louis, the vote by church officials and lay members from around the world doubled down on current church policy, which states that “the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching.” The vote served as a rejection of a push by progressive members and leaders to open the church to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

Now, a divide of the United Methodist Church, which has 12 million members worldwide, appears imminent. Some pastors and bishops in the United States are already talking about leaving the denomination and possibly creating a new alliance for gay-friendly churches.

In a time where mainstream religion is losing members, I question the logic in this action. Possibly an example of how the bigoted, narrow-minded are feeling emboldened to express their hate and inflict their biased attitudes on others. 

Counter this by being visible. Speak up!  

Members of the United Methodist Church reacting to the defeat of a proposal that would have allowed gay clergy and same-sex marriage, at a church conference in St. Louis on Tuesday.

  

He Wants to Be a Ballerina

Mr. Johnsey in London

He Wants to Be a Ballerina.
 He Has Taken the First Steps.

By Roslyn Sulcas (NY Times)
June 8, 2018

For the first time in modern ballet history, a male dancer is performing as part of the female ensemble at an international ballet company, signaling an important moment in an art form that often celebrates a particular ideal of femininity. Or, as the great choreographer George Balanchine said, “ballet is woman.”

But in a world with a heightened awareness of gender fluidity, and with transgender people increasingly accepted in a variety of professions, including acting and modeling, ballet is taking its own brave leap.

“I want to be seen as a ballerina,” said Mr. Johnsey, an American, who identifies as gender fluid but uses male pronouns. “My hair is up, I wear makeup, female attire. I am able to do female roles and look the part, so that is artistically what I do.”

Tamara Rojo, the director of English National Ballet who offered Mr. Johnsey a short-term contract in March, said she was “very sensitive about this being seen as a publicity stunt.” Instead, she said: “This is about reflecting the world we live in. There are different races, cultures and beliefs in our company — this is another aspect of that view.”


But stringent physical norms still matter in ballet. It’s not like the theater, which has embraced gender-switching with all-female accounts of Shakespeare, say, or Glenda Jackson playing King Lear. These may require some suspension of disbelief from the audience, but not a fundamental change in appearance or skill from the performer.

Chase Johnsey performing in the English National Ballet’s production of “The Sleeping Beauty” at the Coliseum Theater. Mr. Johnsey was performing as part of the female corps de ballet.
Photo Credit: Tom Jamieson for The New York Times

It is actually strength, hidden within softness and grace, and I have had to figure out in my genetically male composition, how to find that.
Chase Johnsey

“I think ballet can be the perfect environment for gender fluidity,” Ms. Rojo said. “We are in a position where we could open up roles for lots of people. Obviously certain roles require physical strength for lifting, and are less obvious for crossover. But the potential is there.”

Could Mr. Johnsey be a swan, a princess or a wili? “I don’t see why not,” she said.

Mr. Johnsey rehearsing. “I have never felt like a freak here,” he said of his time with English National Ballet. CreditTom Jamieson for The New York Times