Open Hearts: An Inclusive Ministry of White Plains United Methodist Church
With open hearts, open minds and open doors, we welcome you! With you, we celebrate with love and thanksgiving the diversity of all the beloved children of God. We recognize that diversity is one of God’s greatest gifts to humankind, enabling us to continually grow and learn from one another. All are equal partners in church ministry and are persons of sacred worth
We are committed to the full inclusion and participation in the United Methodist Church of all people, without penalty, regardless of their race, ethnicity, citizenship status, gender identity, sexual orientation, economic status, age, physical or mental ability, marital status, family structure, country of origin, faith background, appearance, or life experience.
We also uphold paragraph 140 of the 2016 United Methodist Book of Discipline:
“Inclusiveness denies every semblance of discrimination….. The mark of an inclusive society is one in which all persons are open, welcoming, fully accepting, and supporting of all other persons, enabling them to participate fully in the life of the church, the community, and the world.”
We affirm that inclusiveness means the eligibility for the total involvement of all persons, without qualifiers or exceptions, in all church activities, programs, roles, and leadership positions.
Matthew 10:40: “Whoever welcomes you, welcomes me and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.”
This video of Bishop Richard Wilke was shared through Ministry Matters and the following excerpt is from this article.
The author of United Methodism’s most popular long-term Bible study has issued a plea to the church “to heal and not divide” over the issue of homosexuality. “I have given my life to revitalizing the church and bringing people to Christ,” Wilke says, adding that the current conflict “breaks my heart.” The 16-minute video features the renowned Bible scholar’s examination of the Old and New Testament scriptures that have been cited in defense of longstanding church laws and policies. He shares about his gay daughter and his personal and theological response to homosexuality and the United Methodist Church.
Click here to read a full detailed article reflecting the video from United Methodist News.
Interested in participating in the Open Hearts Ministry?
Contact Michelle Neill, petsallover@yahoo.com or Ashleigh Cannon, cannonam@att.net.
Resources for LGBTQ+ People and Allies
The following list of resources was provided by the Institute for Discipleship and the original file can be found here.
Places to Begin
– Kathy Baldock, ‘Walking the Bridgeless Canyon’
– Jim Dant, ‘This I Know: A Simple Biblical Defense for LGBTQ Christians Steve Harper, ‘Holy Love: A Biblical Theology for – Human Sexuality’ Justin Lee, ‘Torn’
– Matthew Vines, ‘God and the Gay Christian’
Next-Step Reads
– David Gushee, ‘Changing Our Minds,’ 3rd Edition
– Karen Keen, ‘Scripture. Ethics, and the Possibility of Same-Sex Relationships’ Dan Via’s section in ‘Homosexuality and the Bible: Two Views’
Resources Linked to the Wesleyan Quadrilateral
Scripture
– Mark Achtemeier, ‘The Bible’s Yes to Same-Sex Marriage’
– Robert Brawley, ed., ‘Biblical Ethics and Homosexuality: Listening to Scripture
– James Brownson, ‘God, Gender, and Sexuality’
– Richard Freeman & Shawna Dolansky. ‘The Bible Now’
– Luke Timothy Johnson, ‘The Living Gospel’ (chapter 8) Jennifer Knust, ‘Unprotected Texts’
– William Loader, ‘Sexuality and the New Testament’
– Dale Martin, ‘Sex and the Single Savior: Gender and Sexuality in Biblical Interpretation’
– Linda Patterson, ‘Hate Thy Neighbor: How the Bible is Misused to Condemn Homosexuality’
– Walter Wink, ‘Homosexuality and the Bible’
Tradition
– Cheryl Anderson, ‘Ancient Laws and Contemporary Controversies’ James Boswell, ‘Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality’
– K.J. Dover, ‘Greek Sexuality’
– David Garrison, ‘Sexual Culture in Ancient Greece’
– Judith Hallett, ‘Roman Sexualities’
– Frank Mondimore, ‘A Natural History of Homosexuality’
– Marilyn B. Skinner, ‘Sexuality in Greek and Roman Cultures,’ 2nd Edition Craig Williams, ‘Roman Sexuality’
Reason (Theology)
– Megan Shanon DeFranza, ‘Sex Differences in Christian Theology’ Jack David Rogers, ‘Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality’
– Robert Song, ‘Covenant and Calling’
Reason (Science)
– Jacques Balthazart, ‘The Biology of Homosexuality’
– Jerold Greenberg, ‘’Exploring Dimensions of Human Sexuality’ Evelyn Killen, ‘Reflections on Gender and Science’
– Justin Lehmiller, ‘The Psychology of Human Sexuality’ Simon.LeVay, ‘Gay, Straight, and the Reason Why,’ 2nd Edition Michael Regelr, ‘Science, Scripture, and Same-Sex Love’ ElizabethReis, ‘Bodies in Doubt’
– Anne Sterling, ‘Myths of Gender’
Experience
– Amber Contorna: ‘Unashamed: A Coming Out Guide for LGBTQ Christians Susan Cottrell, ‘Radically Included’ and ‘Mom, I’m Gay’. Chris Glaser, ‘Coming Out as Sacrament’)
– Steve Harper, ‘For the Sake of the Bride’James Martin, ‘Building a Bridge’
– Tim Otto, ‘Oriented to Love’
– E.T. Sundby, ‘Calling the Rainbow Nation Home’ Mel White, ‘Stranger at the Gate’
Video Resources
– Rob Fuquay, ‘Faithful and Inclusive: The Bible, Sexuality and the United Methodist Church’ (available from The Richard and Julia Wilke Institute for Discipleship
– Steve Harper, “Draw the Circle Wider: How I Changed My Mind”(available on YouTube @ “Steve Harper Methodist”)
– Steve Harper, “A Hermeneutic of Love” (FUMC Orlando) (available on YouTube @ “Steve Harper Methodist”)
Blog Sites
– Steve Harper, series entitled “Holy Love’—posts follow and expand on the book by the same title (www.oboedire.com)
Additional Resource Sites (booklists, audio/video, communities, etc)
– “LGBTQ+ Christian Reading Guide” (Matthias Roberts)- www.matthiasroberts.com/readingguide/
– Queer Grace (Emmy Kegler)–www.queergrace.com
– QSpirit (Kittredge Cherry)–www.qspirit.com
Ministries
– Canyonwalker Connections (Kathy Baldock)
– FreedHearts (Susan Cottrell)–resources for parents of LGBTQ children Human Rights Campaign–a broad-based LGBTQ advocacy group Reconciling Ministries Network (United Methodist)–their website has links to many other ministries
– Redwood Spiritual Care (Karen Keen)
– The Reformation Project (Matthew Vines)
Other Specific Topics
Marriage
– Phillip Cramer & William Harbison, ‘The Fight for Marriage’
– Chris Glaser, ‘As My Own Soul: The Blessing of Same-Gender Marriage’ Karen Keen’s book, noted above
– Scott McQueen, ‘Reasonable Doubt: A Case for LGBTQ Inclusion in the Institutions of Marriage and Church’
Transgender People
– Austin Hartke, ‘Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians’
Resources for Parents of LGBTQ+ Children
– Telaina Ericksen, ‘Unconditional—A Guide to Loving and Supporting YourLGBTQ Child,’
– Greg and Lynn McDonald, ‘Embracing the Journey: A Christian Parents’Guide to Loving Your LGBTQ Child’ Additional resources from. PFLAG