Teens who belong to the First United Methodist Church in Omaha, Nebraska are foregoing their confirmation because of the church’s newfound anti-gay policies, according to The Hill.
A group of eight teens has been preparing for a year for their confirmation and despite spending a great deal of time exploring their faith and learning about the teachings of the Methodist church, they have decided to hold off on being confirmed until the church reverses their decision to ban same-sex marriages in the church and to prevent LGBTQ+ from being ordained.
The teens announced in an open letter that they do not wish to be confirmed this year although they love the congregation they can’t, in good faith, join the church while they hold such anti-LGBTQ views. In the letter they say “Depending on how this church responds to the general conference action, we will decide at a later time whether or not to become officially confirmed… but until then, we will continue to stand up against the unjust actions that the denomination is taking.” If I were these teens I would just abandon the church altogether, but I’ve never been a very devout religious person and they seem to enjoy their faith.
These teens aren’t the only people who are rejecting the church’s decision, as a Methodist church in Florida ignored the decision and many other local Methodist churches have threatened to leave the group over the LGBTQ ban. This is the type of activism I like to see – these teens and churches are showing the world that they won’t bow down to how the conservative faction of Christianity want them to think.
Here is the letter in full if you’re interested in reading it:
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Source: The Hill
Thank you to these teens for standing up for justice and inclusion. We know what Jesus would do. He would not exclude or discriminate. I’m waiting to see what my local UMC does regarding this fracture. I spoke ( unannounced) in my church when the annual conference proved a real trend toward denying who I am and allowing exclusion to prevail. Unholy but we are seeing a country with unholy leadership. I’m grateful these young people are denouncing this.