Open Letter to Our Church Council

Open Letter to the 

Trinity United Methodist Church Council

Dear Trinity United Methodist Friends,

I have been a part of our denomination since infancy. Both of my parents were ordained and served as pastors in the United Methodist Church. 

Our congregation has been my church home since 1962. Both my father and my mother, a sister, and a brother-in-law have served on the staff at TUMC. My daughters were baptized and eventually confirmed into the United Methodist Church at Trinity. Most Christmases since 1962 I have stood in our Nativity Scene. I have presided over MYF sub-district meetings, attended one sister’s wedding, pitched pumpkins, sung solos, knelt at the altar, given reports, mourned at my Mother’s funeral and my sister’s and at funerals of many friends. 

It is my plan to remain a member of Trinity United Methodist Church the remainder of my life and to someday be remembered in a memorial service in our beautiful sanctuary. 

There is but one way that I can imagine that I will not be a member of Trinity United Methodist Church on the day that I die. That would be if Trinity United Methodist Church ceases to exist.

We have a proposal on the agenda today to begin a process called “disaffiliation”. That is a misnomer, in my opinion. If that effort were to succeed, our congregation would cease to exist and our buildings and grounds would be transferred to a new independent congregation. That group could then choose to become a part of some other denomination or just become another independent church. The United Methodist Cross and Flame would be removed from the current Trinity campus and those of us who remain United Methodists would literally be without a church home. In that case one could not, by definition, be a United Methodist and a member of whatever church would be established on this corner.

I cannot and will not support with my one vote on our church council any effort to do that. Let me try to explain why.

1. Calling a vote would be a mistake in itself.

Passing this proposal is an effort to force a vote intended to disband Trinity United Methodist Church and establish an independent church on these grounds for a subset of our current members. Calling for such a vote is intended to divide us between United Methodists and those who no longer want to be United Methodists. It would be divisive if successful, by definition, of course. But it would be almost equally divisive if unsuccessful. 

Passing this proposal would immediately divide us into two camps, the United Methodists and the anti-United Methodists, and a third group of undecideds/apathetics/quiet folk. There would be concerted efforts to recruit folks from the third group to the other sides. It would go on for several months at least and the final vote would be a contentious and painful exercise.

Now, I hope and believe a vote to disband would fail. There may be a large group that could be brought out  —anyone who has any experience with human nature knows that those who are “het up” show up — but I do not believe that two-thirds of our members want this.

However, if the “antis” were to “win” and constitute a new congregation, the Trinity United Methodist congregation would cease to exist and the former members who remain United Methodists would not be a part of that new church.

In both scenarios, the church that exists at 606 Turner McCall Boulevard in Rome Georgia would be drastically smaller than the one we have known. Not only would future ministries be set back dramatically, but we would have spent months in controversy and discord and our Trinity United Methodist ministries, during the time of debate, would be severely curtailed.

If we as a church council decide not to consider such a disastrous path we will still lose some folks to other denominations. Maybe lots of them. That also breaks my heart. But many of those folks have already left or all-but-left. But those who remain can continue Trinity’s ministry. It may be a smaller ministry. We will be very sad to lose those we lose. But they can go ahead and get involved in their new churches’ ministries right away. And right away Trinity’s ministries can go on. And many who have not been so immersed in the controversy will continue to worship here with their friends of many years, still agreeing on some things and still disagreeing on others, but working together for Christ’s kingdom on earth.

2. I love our connectional church organization.

A non-United Methodist congregation on these grounds would not have the strength, coordination of efforts, missionary structure, wealth of published materials, pastoral resources of the worldwide 12-million member United Methodist Church. When disaster strikes we know that our donations to the UMCOR will be on hand putting that money to work to ease suffering. We know the overhead is paid by our regular church apportionments and that our special donations will go directly into rescue and relief efforts.

We know that we will always have a qualified pastor. While we  through our staff-parish relations committee have a lot of say-so in pastoral appointments, the bishop and cabinet also balance other information to make yearly appointments throughout the North Georgia conference. And Methodist pastors know that the conference has a secure job for them as long as they are faithful. Our pastors have pension, retirement, and insurance benefits. 

Our UMC children’s homes, colleges and universities, mission programs, publishing house… beautiful Camp Glisson where generations have grown closer to God… and much more.

A new congregation would have to operate as an independent church with no connectional assistance or resources, or else join a fledgling new denomination, or one of the other small Methodist denominations. Either way their structure and ministries would be more limited.

John Wesley started Methodist “societies” NOT as democracies. Local churches have discretion in many matters, and through representatives, have influence at other levels. But churches are not and never have been wholly owned by local congregations. 

I joined a church not a pastor. Our pastors serve usually three to eight years then move on to another appointment. I have sometimes had pastors whose sermons did not inspire me. I have known that our church’s ministries would go on and that, probably pretty soon, we’d have a different pastor. That encourages strong lay leadership and a team approach to ministry. If a different denomination or independent church sets up shop on this corner, I do not believe it can produce as strong a program of ministry as we are used to at Trinity United Methodist.

3. The future of the United Methodist Church

The last General Conference voted to maintain a strong prohibition against LBGTQ pastors. It was a close vote, though, and the folk who want to dismantle the United Methodist Church are afraid that our Discipline will soon be changed to allow a more permissive attitude regarding sexual orientation. They may be correct, especially since some of the folks on the winning side of that debate have left United Methodism.

Some are convinced that a practicing homosexual, even one in a committed relationship, should be barred from ordination in our church. Society at large has largely moved beyond that issue. Same-sex marriage is legal and common. Within our church nearly every family includes  at least one person whose sexual orientation is publicly known to be something other than heterosexual. Every person on our church council can likely name a dozen or more LGBTQ men, women, or youth who are associated with our church. For many in our congregation, and our denomination at large, this is no longer an important issue. 

I have always been aware of folks who were "different". If they weren't too outspoken or flamboyant they might be an accepted or even beloved part of the community: the women's shop owner who could tell Daddy which dress to buy for Mother -- the exact size, color and style that would compliment her. The tenor who sang beside me in the choir for years and died of AIDS. My young cousin who grew up in the church and became a wonderful organist, serving his Methodist church faithfully year after year, and folks just didn't talk about his “friend" — now his husband. The unmarried ladies who were ‘roommates’ all those years. That other sweet effeminate cousin that everyone loves but whom we knew would never marry. And some who in the last few years have “come out”. Can’t we all reel off similar stories?

In the 53 years since I began my teaching career, I have known scores of boys and girls, men and women,  who were "different". Those "different" kids and teachers and friends and fellow church members were the same mixture of good and bad, high achieving or lazy, principled and not so much,  etc. etc. etc.  --- as their "normal" counterparts. I love and admire them none the less. I believe Jesus would/will accept them just as they are. So I no longer much care how another human finds happiness as long as they are loving and no one is hurt.

Regardless of how the current divisions in our denomination play out, I believe almost all denominations will eventually soften their stances on this issue. Society, especially young folks, have moved on. The church will too. As surely as preachers today eat "abominable" shrimp;  as surely as stoning is no longer accepted as a form of child discipline; as surely as textiles are mixed willy-nilly to no one's consternation; as surely as our wives, mothers, and daughters are no longer shunned as "unclean" once a month; as surely as it is perfectly OK for a guy's very private parts to be intact; we'll quit making such a big deal out of sexual orientation.

So I ask…

So I ask you my fellow council members: Let’s not split our church over this issue. Let's live and let live. The folks on the other side of the issue are my friends. They are people I admire. They are people I worship with every week. They are people I sing with in the choir, that I stand with in the nativity scene at Christmastime, that have comforted me in the loss of my parents and a sibling, who have chaperoned youth trips, served on committees, unloaded pumpkins, knelt at the altar with me. Let's not divide our efforts. We agree on so much. Let's not cripple our mission. Let's just agree to disagree on this one issue and keep working together for the good that we do agree on. Let's not call forth a literally and purposefully divisive church-wide vote. Let's just keep working together toward our vision to be... a diverse fellowship striving to welcome, love, and serve all others, following the example of Jesus Christ.

-Terrell Shaw 

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Painful note: We lost the vote 5-9 with one council member absent. So we are in for several more months of  discord and controversy and then a vote to decide the very existence my home church. Positions will harden. I dread the discord. 

Second painful note: Please don't bother to point out that our church, like every other human institution, is embroiled in politics sometimes. We are humans. We are sinners on both sides. All we can do is try to live up to our principles and work hard for the right as we see it. We will make mistakes. Churches are, by definition, for very fallible humans.