LAKELAND
The bulk of the New Testament is made up of open letters written by early church
leaders addressing crucial issues within the church. Written on scrolls, those letters
sometimes took months to reach their destinations.
Today, the Internet has made it possible for news and personal greetings to be sent
across the globe in mere seconds. Although the technology has changed, church leaders are
still writing epistles to Christians to share their views on crucial issues facing
todays church.
Most recently, the churchs debate over homosexuality and the fate of Elián
González has evoked emotional responses from Florida United Methodists, and many of the
conferences clergy are using Internet e-mail to offer their views, advice and
admonitions to a wide-reaching audience.
On April 7, Bishop Cornelius L. Henderson sent an e-mail to the nearly 630 Florida
clergy who have e-mail addresses offering his pastoral response to the Elián crisis and
the General Board of Church and Societys decision to collect funds for Juan Miguel
Gonzálezs legal defense.
Within days, clergy from across the conference had written their own personal response
to the bishops letter and offered their feelings about the situation and the
conferences and denominations response. Those messages reached active and
retired clergy in the Florida Conference and serving appointments throughout the world.
Some forwarded the messages via e-mail to laity within their churches.
In response to Hendersons letter, the Rev. Jacque Pierre, pastor of
Lakelands Highlands United Methodist Church and a Haitian-American, wrote in an open
letter to clergy, district superintendents and conference staff that he empathized with
the Cuban exile community, but asked why they did not empathize with the plight of other
Caribbean people facing similar situations.
"As an immigrant in the United States and a native of Haiti, I can understand the
position of the Miami relatives of Elián and appreciate the cry of the Christian
community to be in solidarity with them," he said. "However, I cannot understand
why the same brothers and sisters who are expressing their outrage and concerns for Elián
did not show any compassion and sympathy
when a Haitian mother was separated by force
by the immigration authorities from her two small children (the woman who was pregnant was
allowed to stay in Miami to receive medical attention and her two small children were sent
back to Haiti, the land from which they were fleeing)."
A cyberspace discussion on the issue of the churchs stance on homosexuality was
begun April 19 by the Rev. Bill Payne, pastor of Parrish United Methodist Church in
Sarasota, and has involved at least 50 Florida clergy. Some messages were brief statements
of encouragement or agreement with anothers point of view, while others included
multi-paragraph scholarly reviews of scripture.
In his open letter to the Florida Conferences delegates, Payne said the United
Methodist Church is "laboring under a false unity" and is compromising its stand
on social and personal holiness in order to avoid any further membership drops. Arguing
with the scientific evidence of people being "born gay," Payne asked delegates
to "maintain our present position or make it tighter."
The Rev. Jorge Acevedo, pastor of Grace United Methodist Church in Cape Coral and a
clergy delegate to General Conference, responded that he is "embarrassed for our
church
not
by who we are, but by how people both within and outside the church
perceive who we are." Acevedo said he would "vote to maintain, if not
strengthen, our convictions about homosexuality."
The Rev. Kelly Dahlman-Oeth, a Florida clergyman appointed to Browns Point United
Methodist Church in Tacoma, Wash., said the study of the human brain and genetics,
especially as they relate to a persons sexual orientation, are not definitive. He
also called on the church to "go back to Wesleyan principles of grace."
The Rev. Waite Willis Jr., a professor of religion at Florida Southern College in
Lakeland, presented his interpretation of many scripture passages dealing with human
sexuality. He said he is proud of the United Methodist Church and sees "so many
wonderful ministries going on everywhere I look."