An Email to Share

The following email was sent to me yesterday and with Ms. Whiteman's permission I am sharing it with you now.
Hi, Courtney!

I have not been successful in making comments for the UCC GS26 meeting via your Blog which you told us about at the Consistory Meeting earlier this month, so am resorting to E-mail. I hope this is OK with you. (I tried your cell phone also, but did not get a reply when I left a message.)

I believe it is very important to address AND SUPPORT two specific Resolutions, the one titled
(a) "A Reaffirmation of the Historic and Ecumenical Christian Perspective on Marriage," and
(b) "A Reaffirmation of Marriage Based on the Word of God."

It was a grave (no pun intended) error made at the 25th General Synod Meeting and at St. John's, when Same Sex Marriage was supported. Churches supporting this position have been dying -- members are leaving in droves. If you will read the entire submissions for these two Resolutions, you will find my position on the issues to be correct.

First, marriage is designed by God. This should not be confused with human and legal system problems of not being fair to all. That issue should, and must, be dealt with separately. We cannot change God's rules to make man's rules work. We need to change man's rules to make them work and leave God's rules as they are given to us in the Bible - His Word. God's Word is the supreme authority. As stated in "a", above, UCC should continue to press for civil rights, but must not do it at the expense of redefining sin. Marriage is between one man and one woman as God has made it. We cannot change what God has ordained in His Word.

We need to draw all sinners to Christ by loving them -- but we should not love their sin. Homosexuality is condemned in Scripture as sin.

Sorry this is a bit lengthy. You can reach me by phone or e-mail if you'd like to talk.

Hope being a delegate is a good experience for you. I'm praying that God will guide you.

Blessings-

Marguerite Whiteman


First of all, I want to inform you that I learned today that the church that submitted one of these resolutions is no longer a part of the UCC, which deeply saddens me; and the other is in flux and has sent no one to speak to the resolution. It is most likely that the resolutions will be sent to the synod floor with a recommendation of no action. I realize that this will be difficult for many people, not just Ms. Whiteman. However, I urge you all to remember that the decision made at GS25 was not made with haste, it was made with much discernment and since then many many churches have also gone through long and difficult discernment processes. Thus, I believe that the decision be made to take no action on these resolutions would be the most respectful to those of us who have spent so much time and energy on this issue. Not just those who were supportive of the decision made at the last synod but also to those like Ms. Whiteman who were hurt and angered by it and view it as a grave mistake. To bring back all of those feelings would be difficult for many people, and although I'm not typically one to stay away from something because it's difficult, in this case I think it best to take no action. The support that these resolutions are getting is not enough to pass them through, so to call a vote would simply be rubbing salt in old wounds.

Ms. Whiteman thank you very much for your comments, I'm sorry if you did not get the reply you desired, however I promise to keep your perspective in mind as we proceed through this synod. I hope you continue to follow along and share your perspective. It is valuable to me.