Jeremy Smith of Hacking Christianity blog looks at the word "practicing" and what it means to certain United Methodists. "What's in a word," he asks. After analyzing the legislation which was passed and affirmed by the Judicial Council, he sees that the editorial committee of the Book of Discipline put it back in for "consistency" sake. But the problem doesn't end there, he suggests.
The Problem of “Practicing” in The UMC: A Portent of a Harmful Future
...It was discovered that the Traditional Plan, in several places, lacked the word “practicing” when it referred to gays and lesbians eligibility for clergy membership. In the Discipline as it is now written and affirmed by the Judicial Council, it would seem that even celibate (“non-practicing”) gays and lesbians would be barred from ministry across the board.
In response, the Confessing Movement cried crocodile tears over the lack of the word “practicing” in the Traditional Plan. Their statement is fascinating in that it blames the lack of inclusion on “delay tactics by opponents” and not their own culpability as it was their own executive director that helped shepherd it out of the Commission on A Way Forward process, though it was ultimately written by a secret group of bishops. ...
Read the whole article to discover how "practicing" went from an act to a status, and how even celibate and single gay people are at risk--and women and trans...