by Mark Tooley @markdtooley May 20, 2016 Methodist Perseverance On May 19 history was made. The United Methodist General Conference, representing a 12 million member denomination, voted to withdraw its church agencies from the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC), a Washington lobby that opposes all restrictions on abortion. In 1973 the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society (GBCS) organized what was then the Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights, which for many years was housed in the Methodist Building on Capitol Hill. The group from the start opposed any restrictions on abortion including parental consent laws. Support for abortion rights was conventional wisdom for Mainline Protestant elites in the early 1970s. United Methodists have debated RCRC for much of 40 years, with especially close General Conference votes in 1992 and 2008. GBCS and the New York-based United Methodist Women, which also belonged to RCRC, have long vigorously rebutted any attempts to withdraw. When John Lomperis, who now directs IRD’s United Methodist program, first became my assistant over 12 years ago he had already several years before as a college student made United Methodist membership in RCRC his special concern. One cold January he had even ridden coach overnight on Amtrak from Chicago to attend a pro-life Methodist worship on Capitol Hill as a witness against RCRC. John worked hard at the 2004 and 2008 General Conferences for RCRC withdrawal, organizing delegates for the debate. Attending Harvard Divinity School did not slow his passion. At the 2012 General Conference for the first time a legislative committee okayed RCRC withdrawal. Victory seemed near until church authorities removed it from the plenary calendar, effectively killing it. John was undeterred. In 2015 he was miraculously elected as a 2016 General Conference delegate from Indiana, an honor that eludes many much more senior church members. RCRC remained ever in his sights. Exceeding the brief of a typical delegate, John tirelessly documented RCRC’s record and informed other delegates around the world in preparation, traveling to Africa and the Philippines. Click here for the rest of the article: https://juicyecumenism.com/2016/05/20/methodist-perseverance/
Amen and Hallelujah!! It is high time for the Church to be loud and clear about its defense of human life. May the Methodists reform the Anglican Communion once again.
Oh my...another Anglican group on FB kept referring to an unborn baby as a "fetus". I guess using a scientific term makes the baby less human. These are good news though.