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Randall Miller: As an openly gay man, it causes a significant amount of personal pain for me, when the church that I love says that homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. It’s just fundamentally unfair and untrue.

Richard Thompson: We wonder why these people keep banging on the doors, keep pushing us and pushing us, trying to back us into a corner.

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Karen Oliveto: I think every time we go, we hope that this will be the year. You wanna believe that people will do the right thing. You wanna believe that of course the church will step up.

Peter Coyote: San Francisco pastor Karen Oliveto, Berkeley divinity professor Randall Miller and Bakersfield pastor Richard Thompson are heading toward a showdown.

They will join United Methodists from around the world for a convention in Tampa, Fla., where the church will decide whether it still holds that homosexuality is a sin.

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A Church Divided

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Church service at Glide

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Glide Memorial Methodist Church, San Francisco, Calif.

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Rev. Karen Oliveto,

Glide Memorial Methodist Church

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First United Methodist Church, Bakersfield, Calif.

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Rev. Richard Thompson, First United Methodist Church

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Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, Calif.

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Prof. Randall Miller, Pacific School of Religion

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Tampa, Florida

April 2012

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Rev. Tom Lambrecht, Good News

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Rev. John Miles Jr., Delegate, Arkansas

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Andy Turner Arant, Delegate, Mississippi

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Amory Peck, Delegate, Pacific Northwest

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Richard Hearne, Delegate, North Texas  

TITLE CARD: Andrew Ponder Williams, Delegate, Missouri

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Rev. Gregory Gross, Delegate, Northern Illinois

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Marie-Louise Kpokpo, Delegate, Cote d’Ivoire

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Mwenda Tunda, Delegate, Democratic Republic of Congo

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Molly Vetter, Delegate, California-Pacific

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Karen Booth,Transforming Congregations

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Rev. James Howell, Delegate, Western North Carolina

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Bishop Tom Bickerton, Western Pennsylvania

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Phillip Conway, Delegate, West Ohio

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Retired Bishop Melvin Talbert, Northern California-Nevada

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Tacoma, Washington

January 2013

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Rev. Gordon Hutchins

The Bridge United Methodist Church

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Wayne & Michael Simonson

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Amory Peck, Delegate, Pacific Northwest

NARRATOR: It’s Easter Sunday at Glide Memorial Methodist Church in San Francisco, and the reverend Karen Oliveto takes the stage in front of a full house.

Song: Savior, savior.

Oliveto (voice-over): For almost fifty years, this church has been a place of unconditional love and unconditional acceptance.

Song: Give my love for Christ.

NARRATOR: Oliveto has an unusual mix of churchgoers in her congregation.

Oliveto: Gay, lesbian, large trans population.

Oliveto: People of different colors and ethnicities, people of different faith backgrounds. It is powerful to be here on a Sunday morning and see that diversity lived out so boldly.

Oliveto: Welcome to Glide. Happy Easter.

NARRATOR: Oliveto belongs to a national network of progressive Methodists who want to change church doctrine that says homosexuality is a sin. They would like to ordain gay and lesbian ministers, and perform same sex  marriages.

NARRATOR: But the progressives will face opposition within the church from a coalition of conservative evangelicals.

Song: Lift high the cross.

NARRATOR: At First United Methodist in Bakersfield, California, pastor Richard Thompson leads the Sunday morning service.

Song: Let all the world adore His sacred name.

Thompson: Homosexual people are to be loved, they’re our brothers and sisters.

But the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching and has been for two thousand years.

NARRATOR: Thompson is a member of the evangelical group Good News, which leads the campaign to retain church doctrine condemning the practice of homosexuality.

Thompson: If the church loses its doctrine, it can no longer bring salvation.

Because without the doctrine you don’t have a foundation to stand on. And if you want to say that all things are okay, then it doesn’t matter.

Thompson: Christ has risen, he has risen indeed. Amen.

NARRATOR: While evangelical Methodists like Richard Thompson argue that the church’s stance on homosexuality is necessary for its survival, that belief is being challenged not just in progressive churches, but even in some divinity schools.

Miller: The story of Sodom is often used as a key text.

NARRATOR: Randall Miller teaches at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley.

Miller: And the condemnation of homosexuality. The folks in the story are heterosexual men.

Miller: I teach the introduction to Christian Ethics class.

Miller: And one of the fundamental issues we talk about is human sexuality.

Miller: How is it that the Jesus movement became transformed into the church as sex police?

Miller: Most of them know that the issue of gay and lesbian inclusion is an ongoing issue in most churches, in most denominations.

Miller: And it is one of the sharpest conflicts that they will probably ever be engaged in.

NARRATOR: He believes that Methodists can embrace homosexuality as other mainline Protestant churches already have.

Miller: In the Christian tradition there is only one God, and so obviously, God did create Adam and Eve and Adam and Steve.

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NARRATOR: This theological dispute dividing United Methodists comes to a head in Tampa, when both sides clash at their big convention.

Bishop  Richard King Jr.: We invite in English, invite in Spanish.

NARRATOR: The Tampa convention center is teeming with Methodists.

Bishop Richard King Jr.: Invite in sign language. Invite in Swahili.

NARRATOR: Nearly a thousand elected delegates are here, representing congregations from across the country and around the world. They meet like this every four years, and what they decide  becomes church law.

Bishop Richard King Jr.: Everyone, come one, come all.

NARRATOR: Over the next ten days, they will debate and vote on church policy toward gays and lesbians.

Miller: It’s like a legislative assembly. Delegates like myself, we each have one vote, and we try and sort of build the necessary number of votes to get a policy passed.

NARRATOR: And just like at a political convention, rival factions will argue their positions passionately.

NARRATOR: Among the observers watching the delegates from the bleachers is Bakersfield pastor Richard Thompson. He is joined by Tom Lambrecht, who heads the evangelical lobbying effort.

Tom Lambrecht: There are so many groups and perspectives within the United Methodist Church that it’s very difficult for us to have a common identity.

Lambrecht: And so there’s kind of a wrestling going on between the various groups who believe that their particular view is the way we should be.

NARRATOR: Across the street, Pastor Karen Oliveto joins a large group of progressive Methodists.

Oliveto: We have spent time really breaking down every delegate: are they clergy, lay, male, female, LGBT or straight? I’ll be working with volunteers to help strategize.

NARRATOR: But the wildcards in this vote are the delegates from Africa, where the Methodist Church is gaining most of its new converts. Of the nearly one thousand convention delegates, roughly one third are from Africa. They will play a critical role in making any changes to church doctrine.

NARRATOR: Before the petition on homosexuality makes it to the convention floor, it must first pass two committees.

NARRATOR: The process is like passing a bill in Congress. The first step is a vote in the subcommittee. Randall Miller is playing a key role.

Miller: I’ll be working with a group of delegates who want to repeal that passage. And then there’ll be people who are solid opponents.

John Miles Jr.: I don’t see my ideas or views on homosexuality changing.

Miller: They’ll be working very hard to defeat any legislation that would repeal the church’s opposition to homosexuality.

Andy Turner Arant: Every Sunday I go to Communion service, and ask the Lord to forgive me for my sins.

NARRATOR: Evangelicals in the room argue that the church’s position on homosexuality is true to the Bible, and that God loves the sinner but hates the sin.

Arant: And if we want the pathway to heaven, we must repent of the things that we do, that the Bible tells us is wrong.

Amory Peck: Repent? No, I’m not going to repent.

NARRATOR: Gay and lesbian delegates in the room respond with personal stories.

Peck: Makes me very sad when I hear some of you though say, ‘You know I love you, I love you, I love you, but what you and Linda have is wrong.’ And when I hear that, I hear you saying that what you do in the bedroom is wrong. I hear you saying that it also must be wrong then that we own a home and cut the grass and buy the groceries and bring them home – that everything that goes into making up what she and I have, is wrong, for some of you.

It’s fine with me, if you want to hold my relationship to high standards. I think we should hold all relationships to high standards. I just don’t want you to tell me that I can’t have one.

Richard Hearne: Amory I do love you. And you’re responsible for me changing where I am, where I was to where I am today. And I’m basically a conservative theological person. We have got to change this discipline; take out this harmful, harmful language.

NARRATOR: After a lengthy debate, the delegates vote by paper ballot. For the petition to advance to the next stage, a majority of the delegates will need to vote for it.

Andrew Ponder Williams: I do have the results of this ballot. The petition has passed: 14 votes in favor of removing the language, 12 votes opposed and one abstention.

Let us pray. Dear God, be with us as we discuss.

NARRATOR: It’s the first time that a petition like this has passed the committee, one that totally removes the church’s language on homosexuality. It’s an early indication that the progressive coalition could actually succeed.

Nat Sound: Amen.

NARRATOR: The liberal camp celebrates.

NARRATOR:: Down the street at the evangelical coalition’s headquarters, Tom Lambrecht receives news of the vote.

Karen Booth: So the subcommittee very close vote 14 to 12 was to take out the restrictive language.

Lambrecht: We believe that what we're talking about in homosexuality is a behavior. We all have attractions and desires to do certain things that are contrary to the  will of God.

To give into those desires doesn't mean that we are created that way. It just means that we have desires that are contrary to the will of God. We are then called as Christians to understand and to resist those desires.

NARRATOR: The issue now goes before a full committee of 87 delegates. If adopted, it will then make its way to the floor of the convention.

Miller: We decided to take a principled but high stakes approach to just delete the foundational statement about the incompatibility of homosexuality and Christian teaching from our Book of Discipline.

Nat Sound: Is there discussion?

Rev. Gregory Gross: I rise to speak in favor of this petition. Each day I meet with young people, teenagers, who they’ve come to their parents and they’ve said I think I might be gay. Hear me, I think I might be, not that I am, I might be.

And what has happened is, their parents have turned them out of their home. When they were 16, 15, 14, and now they’re living on the street. And then what happens is after several years they end up in my office, because now they are testing positive for HIV.

This language does harm because when I talk with the parents, and I ask them why, why did you turn them out? They say, it is because my faith tells me I can’t allow this under my roof. I ask you to vote for this.

NARRATOR: But then the African delegates begin to weigh in.

Marie-Louise Kpokpo: The word homosexuality is incompatible to the Scriptures. Incompatible to the Christian faith. That’s why if the church encourages this, this would be the death of the church itself.

NARRATOR: They refer to scripture…

Kpokpo: The Bible talks about the family of Abraham, Isaac always family. And when we talk about family we see a man and a woman. Never woman and woman, never a man and man. That’s not family. Thank you.

NARRATOR: And they warn of the impact on their congregations if there is a change in church doctrine.

Mwenda Tunda: And when we came here, members of our churches told us that when you go to the general conference, if the vote on homosexuality passes then we are going to leave the church.

Miller: Many of the folks from the countries of Africa are more culturally conservative around issues of human sexuality, including the acceptance of gays and lesbian people, and so there’s a bit of an uphill climb for us.

NARRATOR: After more than an hour of discussion, it’s time to decide on whether the petition goes to the floor.

Molly Vetter: Please write yes on your ballot if you support this petition. Please write no if you oppose this petition. Are there any ballots that have not been collected? Alright, I declare this ballot then closed.

I do have a report on the petition. It was not supported By a vote of 34 in favor and 43 against. We stand in recess until 1.30

NARRATOR: This time the conservative African vote was the deciding factor. For the progressives, it means their quest to delete the church’s stance against homosexuality has failed.

NARRATOR: It’s a painful setback.

Singing: I am open, and I am willing, for to be hopeless would seem so strange. It dishonors those who go before us so we keep on to light of change.

NARRATOR: Immediately, leaders of the progressive coalition meet to assess their situation.

Oliveto: It’s been disastrous. I mean it’s just been bam, bam bam.

NARRATOR: With time running out, they switch to plan B. They decide to support a compromise petition that states the church agrees to disagree on homosexuality.

NARRATOR: But the conservative evangelical lobbyists are in no mood to compromise.

Thompson: Right this way gentlemen. You’ve come to the right place for breakfast.

NARRATOR: They host a breakfast at their headquarters to urging delegates to remain strong in defending the church’s doctrine.

Lambrecht: This morning we would like to spend just a little bit of time speaking about the issue of homosexuality. And here to help us with that is Rev. Karen Booth, director of Transforming Congregations.

Karen Booth: I found myself listening intently to the openly gay and lesbian delegates and responding with strong emotion to their stories of personal hurt and frustration with what they believe are the hurtful policies of our church.

My guess is that there may be some of you out here at breakfast this morning who are wrestling with similar feelings.

But friends, when all positions regarding sexual ethics are equally valid, the historic Christian teaching that affirms God’s good gift of sexual intimacy only within the context of monogamous, heterosexual marriage is undermined and effectively set aside.

May God prevent the United Methodist Church from ever becoming such a denomination. Amen.

NARRATOR: The floor of the convention center fills up, as the final showdown commences.

Vetter: Good morning bishop, general conference, visitors and volunteers. It’s time to turn in our discussion to an issue that matters to many of you here in our church and in our world. James Howell at microphone six will introduce it.

James Howell: Many people feel like we need to take a strong stand against homosexuality, and many people feel that we need to be totally inclusive. But what we want doesn’t matter, what matters is Gods will, and let me suggest that it is perhaps God’s will that we tell the truth, that we disagree.

We have said for a long time that we do not condone homosexuality, but they are here, they are in our delegations, they are serving in our churches. They keep coming back to a church that says no to them. There’s a kind of miracle in that. There’s a kind of grace in that.

Let us vote for what is God’s will, that is that we disagree. Thank you.

Bishop: Thank you, I’m looking for a speech against. Yes right here, microphone five.

Conway: It’s scary to me when we’re part of a church that isn’t willing to talk about sin any longer. Sin is real, it’s the reason Jesus came, it’s the reason he died.

There are lots of forms of sin, and this isn’t the only form, but it’s one we’ve been asked to acknowledge as normative when it’s not.

I’m opposed to the petition and I ask you to defeat it for the sake of our youth, and the future of our church.

Bishop: All right, friends. We’ve had a long and good debate, let us prepare to vote. Take your keypads. If you would support the motion, please press one. If you are not in support of the motion, please press two. Please vote now. Five seconds. And the voting is closed.

And you have not supported the motion. Thank you. 

NARRATOR: Four years ago, the vote was close. This time it isn’t. The progressives lose in a landslide, with the African delegates making the difference.

Conservative Methodists feel vindicated.

Thompson: I’m glad that the church retained its current language, which I think is fair and compassionate and understanding. And um, and it’s a good position for the church to be in. We do face a changing cultural climate in America concerning this, but of course the church has never allowed the cultural climate or a segment of the culture to determine what our basic beliefs are.

NARRATOR: But the progressives are frustrated and angry.

Bishop: Friends, we are going to be moving towards a break (whistling). Let’s be in order please.

NARRATOR: Having lost the vote, progressive delegates and their allies protest and shut down the session.

Song: Let us break bread together on our knees.

Miller: I know there are lots of folks out there who say why are we wasting any time with religious institutions who don’t want us. And my response is that, 60 percent of gay and lesbian people claim some religious affiliation, and mostly Christian, despite everything that’s happened.

NARRATOR: Before leaving their Tampa convention, progressives gather once more, and vow to continue fighting for gay rights within and outside the church.

NARRATOR: Retired Bishop Melvin Talbert urges them on.

Talbert: I declare to you that the derogatory language and restrictive laws in the Book of Discipline are immoral and unjust and no longer deserve our loyalty and obedience.

NARRATOR: And raising the stakes, Talbert, a national church leader, gives his blessing to gay marriages.

Talbert: I call on the more than 1100 clergy to perform marriages among same-sex couples, and to do so in the normal course of their pastoral duties.

NARRATOR: Since the convention, many Methodist ministers, especially in the Western United States have heeded the bishop’s call.

NARRATOR: In Tacoma, Washington, Gordon Hutchins was among the first, after voters in his state legalized gay marriage.

Gordon Hutchins: When this couple told me that they had been praying for forty years that some day they would be able to be married in their church, I had no choice, even if it’s in violation of the Book of discipline, in violation of the rules of our church.

Wayne Simonson: This is something between Michael, myself and God. I don’t want to be married in a courtroom, I want God’s blessing. I want to be able to stand up before my Christ and my God, and say here is my mate, and I want to stay with my mate for eternity.

Gordon Hutchins: I declare you legally married in the eyes of the state of Washington. Those who God brought together, let no one tear asunder.

NARRATOR: In recent months more than 1500 United Methodist pastors have pledged to perform same-sex weddings.

NARRATOR: Amory Peck will be among them. A delegate to the Tampa convention, Peck is now planning to marry her partner Linda, in church. She has the support of her congregation in Washington State, and they are willing to go ahead, no matter what the consequences.

Amory Peck: I think it’s going to drive the rest of the US church and the African church crazy. I think we will hear a resounding shoutback saying they can’t do that. That’s wrong. That’s not Godly, that’s not biblical. I think the West, how do I say this kindly, doesn’t care.

Gordon Hutchins: Wayne and Mike Simonson.

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CREDIT ROLL:

Producer, Camera & Editor

Adithya Sambamurthy

Co-Producer

Matt Smith 

Narrator

Peter Coyote

Sound

Michael Barnitt

Supervising Editor

David Ritsher

Senior Producer

Stephen Talbot

Senior Editor

Amy Pyle

Copy Editors

Christine Lee

Nikki Frick

Executive Producer

Sharon Tiller

Editorial Director

Mark Katches

Executive Director

Robert Rosenthal

Music Courtesy of

Chancel Choir, First United Methodist Church

Epworth United Methodist Church Choir

Glide Ensemble

Additional Footage

United Methodist Communications

Copyright Center for Investigative Reporting

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