BWARM Meeting on February 17th 10am-12pm - ONLINE ONLY
PLEASE NOTE OUT OF AN ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION (SNOW PREDICTED) THIS WILL BE A ZOOM MEETING NOT IN PERSON

Join us for our BWARM winter quarterly meeting this Saturday, February 17th! Please register for the Zoom meeting to receive the link. Worship will be led Rev. Gayle Annis-Forder. After worship, our program will focus on Reclaiming Our Connection.

In this liminal time as our denomination inches towards much uncertainty at General Conference “2020” (beginning April 23, 2024) and as our annual conference weighs options for restructuring, much of the conversation is about the institution, the structure, and the administration of ministry. Meanwhile, we are aware that our primary mission is to create disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world and our own Book of Discipline identifies what we all know to be true: local ministry (in churches and extension ministry) is “the most significant arena through which disciple-making occurs” (¶120). Transformational local ministry happens through connections—yes, connections to the structure, but even more so connections to one another and with our community. How is it in this time of institutional re-ordering, we are nurturing health in these most fundamental relationships? How is it that we are building new relationships and continuing to draw the circle wider to those who have been excluded and/or lost in the shuffle?

Rev. Kate Mackereth Fulton (serving Trinity UMC, Germantown) will begin our conversation. We will also hear from several folks who will share their pain as their home churches disaffiliated and their search for a new church home. We are all aware of the harm the church has done in this challenging time. Finally,we will hear an update on the Lighthouse Church program and what we can do to support and promote this vital connection at this particular moment in our church’s life.

Response to the “Protocol of Reconciliation & Grace through Separation” from the Steering Committee of Baltimore-Washington Area Reconciling United Methodists

For many years, Baltimore-Washington Area Reconciling United Methodists (B-WARM) has fought for the vision of a United Methodist Church that is inclusive of all persons, particularly LGBTQIA+ persons. The proposed “Protocol of Reconciliation & Grace through Separation” seeks to make this vision a reality while providing a framework to create one or more new “traditionalist” or other Methodist denominations. We applaud the effort that was made to include diverse theological perspectives in the conversation that created this Protocol, including our episcopal leader, Bishop LaTrelle Easterling.

B-WARM supports this attempt to form a fully inclusive denomination. All people deserve a spiritual home where they can be welcomed and loved as their authentic selves. We regret the reality that this inclusive church must come at the cost of separation with Methodists who do not share our fully inclusive vision. Our prayer is that the Protocol can provide a truly welcoming Methodist home for ALL persons.

Even though the Protocol appears to have broad support across the UMC, there is still much work to be done. No plan for the denomination’s future will be put into place unless it is approved by the General Conference. In the coming months, B-WARM will work to support the Protocol as a potential way forward for an inclusive Methodist denomination. We will offer opportunities for learning and dialogue so that the people of the Baltimore-Washington Conference can fully understand the great benefits and count the serious costs of this plan. One of these opportunities will come at our meeting at John Wesley UMC in Baltimore on February 29, 9:30 AM-12:00 PM. We will also advocate for our General Conference delegation to support this plan so that there will finally be an expression of Methodism that welcomes and loves all LGBTQIA+ persons.

The Baltimore-Washington Area Reconciling United Methodists seek to affirm lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and ensure the full participation of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities in the ministry and life of the United Methodist Church, particularly in the Baltimore-Washington Conference.