President Veazey listened intently to translators.

Gwendolyn Hawks-Blue made a point.

The council's discussion drew rapt attention and mixed emotions.

Group Discusses Tough Issues

The challenges, pain, and hope of maturing as a worldwide church all surfaced over a few September days in Independence, Missouri.

The setting was the Temple, where 47 members of the Expanded World Church Leadership Council and other leaders spent several days discussing culturally respectful standards of conduct. They emphasized issues such as same-sex marriage and ordination of lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgendered members.

Two men represented the spectrum of opinions. On one end stood a doctor from the United States. On the other perched a member from the Haiti Mission Center.

Poised between were World Church leaders and much of the church.

Though the two men represented different countries, this was not an issue defined by national borders. In many places, various views can be found in nearly every region, city, even neighborhood.

The Presidency recognized the strong differences of opinion but still brought a message of hope. They asked for members’ prayerful support as they grapple with an issue at once highly personal and highly public.

Tears, impassioned speech, frustration, resignation, hope, and joy all marked the week. Council voices represented a range of countries, ages, and genders. Some council members yearned for sweeping change. Others wanted the status quo.

Looming over it all was legislation proposed for the 2010 World Conference. One resolution would give priesthood the right to marry same-sex couples in places where it is legal.

Despite the week’s intense emotions, President Steve Veazey ended with a message of hope.

“In a strange way I have less anxiety at this point than at the beginning because I think we’ve understood and heard what the realities are,” he said. “We’ve heard there is a great need to provide more educational material about what these resolutions are and are not. These…resolutions are just proposals; they do not mean decisions have been made.

“These issues are challenging, but during times of great challenge we tend to step up with our best thinking.

“I do believe the Holy Spirit is active in the life of the church, and we will experience that before, during, and after the Conference. I hope you don’t leave with a feeling of crisis. We do have serious issues, and the gospel is pressing us to address them. But I believe we have the capacity to grow in what it means to be Community of Christ.”

Discussion focused on personal testimonies, groups, and scripture. Ramifications touched on priesthood, membership, and church organization.

The goal was to grow in understanding—no small task in a church with cultures that hold vastly different outlooks and approaches on sexuality.  Leaders strove to create a common language, offering definitions for terms such as sex and sexuality. They brought prayer, upheld the worth of council members, and led scripture study. The study involved exegesis, which seeks to find the true intent of scripture by examining the context, history, and culture surrounding the writing.

Leaders also sought to accentuate common ground by upholding the We Share document (www.CofChrist.org/discernment/weshare/) and our Enduring Principles (www.CofChrist.org/ourfaith/enduring-principles.asp ).

Many embraced that approach. A few said their mission centers and congregations held reservations about those tools or hadn’t yet educated everybody in their areas.

Meanwhile, the two men stood on opposite sides of the spectrum.

One Story
The doctor sobbed repeatedly as he told council members he was “hardly sure I have the courage to stand before you.”

“I have been gay all my life, and it’s who I am. I…have lived in this community as an openly gay man. I have a partner who shares a love of the church.

“You simply can’t say that we don’t exist.… There is a fundamental issue when you look at me and say ‘You are not worthy to minister. You are not worthy to bring Christ into others’ lives.’”

He implored the church as a whole to honor each of its communities and to live together in community.

“People trust their lives to me as a physician every day,” he said, “and it’s confusing why the church can’t trust in me to carry forward the gospel.”

Another View
The other man attends Haiti’s largest congregation.

“In my culture talking about homosexuality is immoral,” he said. “So how can we accept…homosexuality? Homosexuality in the church will be a huge problem with my wife. To know that this issue will be raised at World Conference, that’s a huge problem for us.

“The Haitians follow the letter of the Bible literally. Since some verses speak against it, that’s why they say it’s no good, unacceptable. I accept exegesis. But for us, some things are very clear, and we can’t change that.”

He explained that in his culture powerful feelings about homosexuality transcend even love and sometimes prompt violence.

“If a parent discovers their child is homosexual, they kick them out.… In 2002, two men were dragged into the streets and burned because they were homosexual.

“As far as maybe talking about human sexuality, no—I just can’t talk about it.”

Those disparate views frame the debate. As members study the topic, they might find help in scripture that Wim van Klinken, International Headquarters director, suggested at the beginning of the council meetings.

Scripture, prophetic guidance, knowledge, and discernment in the faith community must walk hand in hand to reveal the true will of God. Follow this pathway, which is the way of the Living Christ, and you will discover more than sufficient light for the journey ahead.—Doctrine and Covenants 163:7d

Some asked why the topics even needed to be discussed. President Veazey replied:

“Something has to happen…that helps us resolve this tension that is beginning to sap the energy of the church in some areas…so we can focus on missional endeavors.

“We are…at a very serious juncture.… Now is the time to gain a better sense of the way we want to approach the journey into the future.”

—Greg Clark reporting
November 2009 Herald