Disputes on Homosexuality, Revised Hymnal Settled : Methodists Quickly Resolve Major Issues

United Methodists surprised themselves at their General Conference here this week with quick, large-majority decisions on homosexuality, a non-sexist hymnbook and a new theological statement--all of which had drawn the heat of controversy prior to the convention.

Delegates to the Methodists’ quadrennial meeting, which ended Friday, settled those potentially divisive questions early in the week.

* By “yes” votes of 69% and 80% respectively, delegates reaffirmed the church’s condemnation of homosexual behavior and continued to bar avowed, practicing homosexuals from clergy ranks. The prevailing opinion was that delegates had their minds made up before they arrived. But liberals took consolation in the authorization of a study of homosexuality, including its biological, psychological and sociological aspects.

* A new hymnal, a book second only to the Bible in significance to the denomination’s 37,800 U.S. congregations, was approved 893 to 69--a remarkable consensus considering the outcries that were raised at times over choices by the revision committee during the last three years. The hymnal, replacing a 1966 version, is expected to be the model for other mainline churches that want their lyrics and rituals to reflect generally progressive stances on such social issues as race, peace and the role of women.

* By an overwhelming margin of 826 to 52, and in less than two hours of reports and deliberations, delegates Tuesday afternoon approved a new statement on “Our Theological Task” that will replace portions of The Book of Discipline adopted in 1972. Liberal and conservative groups had aligned themselves on either side in the months preceding the 11-day convention, but compromises worked out in committee work last week were credited with the easy acceptance of the 10,000-word document.

An electronic innovation used during the 11-day convention also drew praise for speeding things along. Instead of paper ballots and standing counts of the delegates on crucial or expected close votes, delegates were able to know the results of their balloting within 10 seconds.

“We were the first religious organization of any kind to use the system,” said DeWayne S. Woodring, business manager of the General Conference.

When bishops, who are not delegates but who take turns presiding, called for votes, the clergy and lay delegates at their seats pushed a button on hand-held devices as the seconds ticked off on two large screens. Then, both vote totals and percentages--complete with a colored bar graph--flashed on the screens.

Although some thought it unnecessary and even slower than a show of hands on routine motions, the delegates several times indicated that they preferred the electronic way of voting and, perhaps, the anonymity that came with it.

Indeed, a liberal group at the convention speculated prior to the Monday voting on homosexual issues that the “secret ballot” effect of the system would contribute to easing restrictions on homosexuals. “Gay and lesbian delegates at this General Conference (who have not revealed their sexual orientation) . . . can cast their ballots from the closet and no one will know,” said a flyer from the Methodist Federation for Social Action.

As it turned out, however, the wording of a 1972 position was essentially retained: “Although we do not condone the practice of homosexuality and consider this practice incompatible with Christian teaching, we affirm that God’s grace is available to all.” The latter phrase was added to previous phraseology, along with other appended portions emphasizing the church’s care and ministry to all persons.

Nevertheless, delegates made sure that the matter will resurface at the next General Conference in 1992 by authorizing the study of same-sex relations. “Homosexuality has proved to be particularly troubling to conscientious Christians of differing opinion,” the adopted resolution said.

The most momentous decision, in the eyes of some Methodists, was the acceptance of the 960-page hymnal.

Although not every recommendation of the hymnal revision committee was accepted at the convention, hymnal editor Carlton (Sam) Young told reporters that, “we are pointing in the direction the church should go” in terms of lyrics and ritual wording that avoids offending women, minorities and the handicapped.

“We are the first national church to address the issue of language as substantively as we have,” Young said.

Many church members keeping track of the hymnal revision process since 1985 objected to any insertion of purely feminine references to God, such as “mother,” and more than 10,000 letters were received by the committee when it first voted to drop “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” and “Onward, Christian Soldiers” as too warlike. Those hymns, and some other traditional favorites, were kept by the committee in deference to custom.

The convention decided that in 36 Psalms the word “his,” referring to God, should be retained rather than the gender-neutral technique of using “the” or “God’s.”

Disappointment was hard to find over the new--and balanced--statement of beliefs for the 9.1-million-member denomination, second only in size to the increasingly conservative Southern Baptists, who number more than 14 million.

The original document was drafted over the last four years by a 25-member body headed by Bishop Earl G. Hunt Jr. of Florida.

It had been assailed by church liberals, who claimed that it retreated from a historic denominational bias toward pluralism. Evangelical conservatives maintained that assertion of Scripture as primary would rein in a profusion of theological diversity that left Methodists in a state of confusion about their church’s central beliefs.

Duke University theologian Thomas A. Langford, who chaired the General Conference committee that amended the draft statement, said a “more balanced” document resulted from lengthy committee deliberations. He and others involved in the process said the document’s ultimate triumph came by making clear the church’s willingness to accept theological diversity but not doctrinal pluralism.

As amended, “Our Theological Task” adheres to the traditional Methodist guidelines of using tradition, experience and reason in interpreting Scripture.

And the amended document, while affirming Scripture as the “primary source and criterion for Christian doctrine,” gives added emphasis to other elements by adding the sentence:

“Like Scripture, these (tradition, experience, and reason) may become creative vehicles of the Holy Spirit as they function within the church. They quicken our faith, open our eyes to the wonder of God’s love, and clarify our understanding.”

Removed from the document was a phrase that said Christians “do not necessarily draw explicitly on” experience, tradition and reason in all instances. An added section says, “All religious experience affects all human experience; all human experience affects our understanding of religious experience.”

In another concession to liberals, the document was amended to add a phrase suggesting God’s “special commitment to the poor.”

The Rev. Ignacio Castuera of Hollywood First Methodist Church, who attended the committee sessions on the theological document, praised the compromises. “All of the people took the high road in arguing their respective liberal and conservative positions,” said Castuera, who was not a delegate.

“Significant changes were made; that’s why it passed so easily,” he said.

In other action, the delegates:

* Took a somewhat less liberal attitude toward abortion by opposing it as a means of birth control or because the expected baby is not of the desired sex.

* Opposed the movement for a constitutional amendment making English the nation’s official language.

* Facilitated the release of ministers unsuited for the work by eliminating a church trial--thought to be more suitable when morals charges arise--and substituting an administrative hearing. Bishop Jack M. Tuell of Los Angeles, who had recommended that step, also said the delegates gave regional conferences the right to aid financially the transition of inept clergy to other jobs.