This afternoon I sat down with The Rev. Dr. Joretta L. Marshall, the incoming chair of Reconciling Ministries Network and professor of pastoral care at Eden Theological Seminary, to discuss the recent United Methodist Church Judicial Council decisions defrocking Beth Stroud and reinstating a suspended UMC minister who had refused membership into his congregation to an openly gay man.
You can download the podcast of our interview for your IPod or computer through this link:
Download JorettaMarshallInterview.m4a
(click with the RIGHT mouse button on the hyperlink and choose “Save Target As” and save to your desktop or other folder – once downloaded click on the file to listen).
Both controversial decisions have sent shock waves through the United Methodist Church. Conservatives – including outside political groups such as the Republican Party aligned Institute on Religion and Democracy – have cheered the decisions, but groups such as the Reconciling Ministries Network, a coalition of UMC churches, clergy, and lay people, have issued statements blasting the outcomes of these decisions.
“The decisions of the Judicial Council create a tragic moment in the history of our United Methodist Church. The outcomes were surprising in their severity and in their disregard for United Methodism. The harshness toward clergy continues a pattern; the harshness toward lay members is shocking. Be careful. Often such discriminatory rulings unleash long-harbored hatred,” said RMN on their web site.
Marshall, a well recognized United Methodist clergyperson, is considered one of the leading experts on pastoral care in the US and is the author of several books (including Counseling Lesbian Partners - Counseling and Pastoral Theology) and articles dealing specifically with issues of sexuality and ministry. She also served a stint as the Academic Dean at Eden and as such has been a friend and mentor to me during my seminary career.
Photo credit: Eden Theological Seminary
