c. 2004 Religion News Service

PITTSBURGH _ The United Methodist Church voted Tuesday (May 4) to keep its policies on homosexuality intact, while its highest court said it had no power to overturn the controversial not-guilty verdict of a lesbian pastor who was charged with violating a ban on gay clergy.

In a series of votes, delegates to the church’s General Conference meeting rejected moves to acknowledge deep divisions on homosexuality, or allow local church bodies to set their own standards for gay pastors.

The church’s official position, first adopted in 1972, remains that homosexual activity is “incompatible with Christian teaching” and that “self-avowed practicing” homosexuals are banned from pulpits.

At the same time, the church’s Judicial Council said it “does not have authority” to review the March 20 acquittal of the Rev. Karen Dammann, who tested church law by telling her bishop she was gay.

The ruling does not affect Dammann’s status in the church, but it does hand gay rights advocates a partial victory on a day when most of their initiatives were soundly defeated.

Delegates rejected, 572-423, a resolution that required no changes in gay policy but said for the first time, “We recognize that Christians disagree on the compatibility of homosexual practice with Christian teaching.”

They also defeated, 638-303, a proposal that would have allowed local conferences to decide how to handle “the matter of homosexuality as it relates to fitness for ministry.”

More than 950 delegates to the church’s General Conference meeting here tightened the language on homosexuality to make policies more precise. Conservatives said confusion over the policy resulted in Dammann’s acquittal.

Delegates seemed to be suffering from battle fatigue after three decades of disagreement. They also seemed nervous that major changes could lead to the kind of division suffered by the Episcopal Church after it voted last year to install an openly gay bishop.

“People were looking to us to make a very clear statement, and to not do so would have had serious consequences in our church, just as it did in the Episcopal Church,” said the Rev. Eddie Fox of Hermitage, Tenn., who spearheaded efforts to keep the existing policy.

The civil three-hour debate did not contain the raw emotion seen when the Methodists last met in 2000. The only visible display came from pro-gay advocates wearing rainbow stoles, who sang “Amazing Grace” before the vote.

The “incompatible” language, contained in the Methodists’ “Social Principles,” does not hold the weight of church law. However, it serves as the foundation for the stricter prohibitions on gay clergy and same-sex union ceremonies.

Last week the Judicial Council invoked the “incompatible” language to declare that “the practice of homosexuality is a chargeable offense” against clergy.

Despite that finding, the court’s decision on Tuesday said only gay clergy who had been convicted of breaking celibacy could be refused an appointment. The nine judges said courts, not bishops, could “make that determination.”

In a strong dissent, however, four members of the court said the Dammann jury “negated, ignored and violated” the clear teachings in the church’s constitution.

Liberals, who had focused their energies on acknowledging differences rather than pushing for major changes, called the church a “dysfunctional family” that was projecting a false sense of unity.

“For me today, the church spoke very clearly … that we will not speak the truth,” said the Rev. James Preston of Rockford, Ill. “The United Methodist Church does not speak the truth. We will not speak the truth about who we are, or where people are. We are not a church of truth-speakers.”

Advocates for acknowledging the obvious divisions said such a move would not signal change, but perhaps move the church to a more comfortable middle ground.

“More than any other issue facing our church, this issue has been the proverbial thorn in our collective side, and we have exposed our wounds to the world,” said the Rev. Margaret Mallory of Perrysburg, Ohio. “This seeks to move the polarities from their respectable and irreconcilable corners to a place where meaningful dialogue can take place.”

Nearly all of the opposition to making any changes came from African delegates, who represent the most conservative _ and fastest-growing _ segment of the church.

“I am discouraged when I see so much time being spent talking about sin when to me this is clear that this is sin,” said the Rev. Muland Aying Kambol of Kitwe, Zambia.

In related business, delegates also:

_ Defeated a resolution that voiced support for gay couples to receive “the same protections and benefits” available to heterosexual married couples. That motion was rejected 633-296.

_ Rejected a resolution that would have expanded the church’s support for gay rights to rights for “all persons whatever their sexual orientation or gender identity.” That motion was rejected 630-311.

DEA/PH END ECKSTROM