FINISHING THE JOURNEY: Questions and Answers from United Methodists of Conviction

Chapter One
Rev. Kathleen Baskin

Why do we need to take this journey?

From time to time in my ministry, I have been compelled by circumstances — either in the faith community or in the larger community — to step into the issue of homosexuality and the church. Whenever I beckon my congregations to journey with me, I know I can expect to hear familiar refrains from one member or another:

"Haven’t we done enough on that?"

"I’m so tired of this."

"Why do we have to keep talking about it?"

"Why stir things up?"

Of course, it’s natural for us to want what makes us uncomfortable to just disappear. Yet common sense also tells us that we don’t get rid of our discomfort simply by wishing it away or pretending it doesn’t exist.

Why so many heterosexual people feel uncomfortable about the issue of homosexuality is understandable. In our childhoods, we were handed what we thought were all the answers — homosexuality is wrong; the Bible says so. It couldn’t have been any easier. Given that, why wouldn’t we resist a deeper examination? Why should we have to sift through all the evidence ourselves, ask our own questions, work toward our own discernments?

Contemplating such a journey churns up our fears of stepping into the unknown. Some of us know that beliefs we’ve long held close will be challenged. These things make us lose sight of why we must embark. We are so engulfed in our own fears that we don’t even notice the pain and suffering of others in our midst.

I, myself, did not begin speaking out on issues concerning homosexuality until I knew this pain. It was first brought to me 20 years ago by a dear friend, a church organist who one day revealed to me that he was gay. As he shared his story, I listened with my heart as well as my head for the first time. I began my own journey that day, discovering so much about myself, about him and about what it means to be homosexual.

Over the years in my ministry, gay and lesbian parishioners have come to me, to sit in the privacy of my office and describe their own pain — of overhearing other members’ careless whispers, of being marginalized by the United Methodist Church. They have come to United Methodism because they hunger for God’s justice, mercy, love, and grace, yet once here, they are made to feel that some are more deserving of it than others.

I listen to their stories, and as I hear their pain, I long for the church to share fully the burden of that pain. As I Corinthians 12:26 tells us, "If one member suffers, all suffer together."

Years ago, Paul’s lesson was magnified and amplified for me while on a visit to South Africa during the wicked reign of apartheid. There, on a human-rights poster, I saw a slogan that has since become central in my ministry:

"If you’ve come here to help me, you’re wasting your time. But if you’ve come here because your liberation is bound up with mine, let us work together."

With these words, I could vividly see my own connectedness to the disenfranchised, the oppressed, and the outcast. We are all in need of liberation — freedom from the powerful forces that seek to separate us from God and one another. These words also have helped me come to understand that I am called, not to rescue the gay and lesbian parishioners who sit in pain before me, but to join with them as we seek our liberation.

We have to struggle through it together. This is more than common sense; this is the route to our liberation that God has plotted for us. We have been called to take this arduous journey. We have been called to take it with one another.

Doing so will take great courage and belief in God’s purpose. During the course of the journey, we may feel a shift in our foundations of what we believe to be right and wrong. But be assured: God will remain steadfast and at work among us, boldly leading us to ultimate victory over sin and evil.

Of other things, we also can be sure: that Jesus’ greatest commandment, to love God and love your neighbor as yourself, will remain the foundation upon which we base our faithful discipleship. Above all, no matter what, we still have the blessed assurance that Jesus Christ is our savior and his gracious love is our gift. It is this love that will see us through what may be a difficult journey.

With this book, we also know we are hand in hand with trustworthy guides. The men and women who have contributed here are familiar to us; all stand strong in the tradition of United Methodism. They are the people who sit next to us in church. They are our pastors. And they are the scholars who have taught our pastors.

The time is now. As I have beckoned my own congregations, I beckon again. The journey awaits. Come. Let us go together.