Controvery on the Horizon in the UMC (and I’m Afraid to Write About It)
Last night I wrote a lengthy post about Drew Phoenix, the trangender United Methodist pastor who has become the source of a heated debate in the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference. But I chickened out and couldn't bring myself to hit "Publish." I don't know why I'm so scared to deal with this subject, but I am. I'll keep working on it. If anyone is really interested in what I have to say, maybe I'll muster up the gusto to publish the post later this week.
At any rate, Phoenix, formerly Ann Gordon, appears to be safe. The United Methodist Book of Discipline has no rules prohibiting or restricting transgender pastors, and Scripture is silent on the subject of gender reassignment. (The most closely related Scripture I know of is Deuteronomy 22:5, which prohibits cross-dressing. But I've know more than one clergyperson to dress in drag without being defrocked.) Of course, The IRD is all over this story, so much drama is sure to ensue.
More on this story as I find the courage to write about it.
At any rate, Phoenix, formerly Ann Gordon, appears to be safe. The United Methodist Book of Discipline has no rules prohibiting or restricting transgender pastors, and Scripture is silent on the subject of gender reassignment. (The most closely related Scripture I know of is Deuteronomy 22:5, which prohibits cross-dressing. But I've know more than one clergyperson to dress in drag without being defrocked.) Of course, The IRD is all over this story, so much drama is sure to ensue.
More on this story as I find the courage to write about it.
posted by Tinley | 4:44 AM
3 Comments:
The truth is that we have no rules to deal with this, and the pastor may be permitted to serve.
The issue will be, "Is he/she a man or a woman?" Can we claim a gender identity for ourselves, or is this something that is determined definitively (by God?) based on our physical gender at birth?
In my first appointment, a hermaphroditic baby was born in our parish, and the parents made the decision to raise him male (with some surgery involved as well, I believe). What about this young person? What if he grows up and says, "My parents messed up; I'm female"?
Very difficult situations.
These are very difficult situations to be sure.
I think the best way to understand someone's gender identity is to ask how they understand it themselves. It seems clear that Rev. Phoenix is a man and ought to addressed with the appropriate pronouns (he/him/his).
Just like the infant Kevin spoke of gender is not a black/white issue. Sometimes it is helpful to distinguish between gender and sex. Sex refers to biology (and we know that is not just male or female, but many variations...XX, XXX, XXY, XY, etc).
Gender on the other hand refers to the socially constructed roles assigned to persons based on cultural conceptions of "sex," like the concepts of masculinity and femininity.
A great resource for folks trying to understand this issue is the book Made in God's Image by Ann Thomson Cook. Another good book from a Chritsian perspective is Omnigender by Virginia Ramey Mollenkott.
I went to click on the article... and low & behold there several gay, lesbian, etc ads there. You should've warned folks.
Yes, it's a difficult situation. However, this person shouldn't be in a leadership position. To retain them in that role sends a confusing message to the church.
It's also an opportunity to circumvent the homosexual marriage ban in the Book of Discipline.
This is another sad case that opens the doors for more of the ideology of:
"I am who I think I am, not who God created me to be."
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