Welcome to the web site FaithfulUMC.com! We invite you to read the statements for clergy and laity and sign on to signify your support and agreement.

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This web site originated with a letter that has been sent to all active United Methodist bishops, signed by 59 pastors of large and strategic churches. More than 40 of the pastors are from churches among the largest 100 United Methodist congregations in the U.S., including seven churches of over 5,000 members each. The Revs. Tom Harrison, Charles Kyker, Ed Robb III, Ken Werlein, and Steve Wood spearheaded the communication to the United Methodist bishops.

The letter was written to communicate a deep concern regarding more than 900 ministerial colleagues who have pledged to perform same-sex weddings, despite the church's prohibition against such ceremonies. This widespread ecclesiastical disobedience threatens to tear apart the covenant which holds The United Methodist Church together. It is also a direct challenge to the clear teaching of Scripture.

United Methodist clergypersons are invited to add your names to the 59 original signers. United Methodist laypersons are invited to register your agreement by signing the accompanying laity statement. We encourage you to email your friends and colleagues, inviting them to sign. For those who do not have email, we welcome printed signatures as well. At the top of this web site is a "signature form" that may be downloaded and printed for sharing in Sunday school classes, Bible studies, and churches. You may also download and printout the full texts of the clergy letter and laity statement.

Hand-written signatures may be mailed to:

Bishops Letter
The Woodlands United Methodist Church
2200 Lake Woodlands Drive
The Woodlands, TX 77380

Thank you for your support in standing for scriptural integrity and covenantal unity within The United Methodist Church.

Clergy Letter to the Council of Bishops

Dear Council of Bishops:

We are writing out of genuine love and deep concern for our church. We believe that the unity and the future of The United Methodist Church are in jeopardy.

According to The United Methodist Reporter "more than 900 UM clergy, in conferences across the country (The United States), have pledged to officiate at same-sex weddings and other services celebrating homosexual unions." In the same article, the Rev. Bruce Robbins (identified as the originator of this movement) "acknowledged he had been discouraged by failures to effect change in the church's positions on homosexuality either legislatively or through Judicial Council rulings, and sought a different approach."

For forty years we United Methodists have listened to each other, respected each other and have engaged in holy conferencing on the important issues of same-sex marriage and the practice of homosexuality. And every four years, our discussions have culminated in General Conference determining the church's position. Though the discussions and resultant protests have not always been pleasant, there has been the assurance that we would respect the decisions of General Conference and live by the covenant that holds us together. The unity of The United Methodist Church has been preserved as a result of this commitment to holy conferencing and to respecting the decisions of General Conference.

If we take them at their word, at least 900 of those who want to change the Book of Discipline regarding same-sex marriage and the practice of homosexuality are no longer willing to honor our Wesleyan way of holy conferencing and respectful dialog. As the article cited above states, the Rev. Robbins and others are encouraging and committed to massive acts of ecclesiastical disobedience, hoping that The United Methodist Church will not possess the resources or the resolve to enforce the church's position. We are grieved that, evidently, the process of holy conferencing and the mutual respect necessary for good-faith conversations are no longer valued by so many of our colleagues. Their promised actions not only threaten the integrity of our church's connectional relationships, they undermine any hope of future dialog and prayerfully working out a solution to our church's seemingly intractable divide.

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Lay Statement to the Council of Bishops

Dear Council of Bishops:

We the undersigned have a genuine love and deep concern for our church. We believe that the unity and the future of The United Methodist Church are in jeopardy.

We agree with the sentiments expressed in the clergy letter to the bishops of The United Methodist Church (click here to read the full text).

In light of the following facts:

Thirty-six retired bishops have called upon The United Methodist Church to reverse its long-standing position on the practice of homosexuality and same-sex "marriage"
According to The United Methodist Reporter "more than 900 UM clergy, in conferences across the [United States] have pledged to officiate at same-sex weddings and other services celebrating homosexual unions."
The Northern Illinois Annual Conference passed a resolution saying that clergy who disobey the Book of Discipline by performing services celebrating homosexual unions should receive only a 24-hour suspension.
In a recent trial, a UM clergyperson who performed a holy union service was given only a 20-day suspension and invited to write a paper promoting her views on how to resolve this issue.
Various annual conference groups are enlisting clergy to perform same-sex weddings and publicize their availability to the gay community, as well as the broader public.

We believe that a minority within The United Methodist Church is attempting to hold the whole church hostage to its determination to change over 3,000 years of Judeo/Christian teaching on the nature of marriage and sexual morality. We support our church's gracious, loving, and truthful position on the nature of marriage as a lifelong union between one man and one woman, and that sexual relations be reserved only for heterosexual marriage. Our church’s position is a balanced reflection of the teachings of Scripture and portrays the mind of God on these matters. We are grieved that a minority has abandoned the process of "holy conferencing" that has characterized our church's deliberations on these issues. We see these actions as an affront to our United Methodist connection and a betrayal of clergy vows of ordination.

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