We recognize that as children of God all people are of sacred worth. Because Christ has opened the church to all people, we fully welcome, accept, and affirm each and every person into full fellowship, without regard to their age, economic class, educational level, gender identity, marital status, mental ability, nationality, physical ability, race, or sexual orientation. It will be our position to support the candidacy and ordination of qualified persons regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Likewise, we will support the rights of the clergy of Highland UMC to perform marriages for all couples who seek to be married.
Our congregation is a member of Reconciling Ministries Network.
All are welcome at Highland UMC!!
Stonewall LGBTQ+ Fellowship Group
Fourth Mondays, 7 PM, Library
Please join us every fourth Monday for discussions with friends, family, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. You do not have to be a member of Highland to attend. Meetings will be topic-focused or “whatever is on your heart.” LJ Coward is the group’s new leader, who is a licensed counselor and a member of the LGBTQ+ Community. For more information, please email her at ljcoward@gmail.com and put ‘Stonewall’ in the subject line.
All God’s Children: An Interactive LGBTQ+ Seminar
Highland’s newly formed LGBTQ+ Affirming Ministry team has been busy! They planned and held the All God’s Children seminar in Bradley Hall on Saturday, September 13. They extended hospitality and welcome and partnered with two other churches, Edenton Street United Methodist and Fairmont United Methodist, in sponsoring the guest speaker, Dr. Angel Collie, who is Director of Duke’s Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity. The seminar was for allies, friends, family, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
The interactive seminar was a wonderful success, with over 100 people attending, and representatives from 22 different churches were there. The day provided a snapshot of what we can accomplish through collaboration with other churches and community members in our efforts to support the LGBTQ+ community. What an incredible inter-denominational opportunity for learning and sharing!
Check out photos from the event below:
Background
Inclusion at Highland
For several years, Highland UMC has been having conversations about human sexuality and Christian teaching. We’ve spent time studying the Bible, talking in the Sunday School hours and on Wednesday nights gathered around tables in the Conference Room. In February of 2020, Highland’s Church Council passed an Inclusion statement and asked the Congregation to give feedback and to vote on whether or not to adopt the statement. Due to Covid, that vote did not take place until the fall of 2020. With over 260 votes cast, the statement passed with an 80% vote in our church community.
In May 2021, Highland voted as a congregation to become a reconciling church and join Reconciling Ministries Network. (271 votes received, 82% in favor) Reconciling Ministries Network (RMN) has been actively involved within the United Methodist Church working for the full inclusion of the LGBTQ Community into the life and service of the UMC.
Inclusion in the United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) amended the United Methodist Book of Discipline and the Revised Social Principles at the 2024 General Conference:
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United Methodist Book of Discipline
The Book of Discipline was amended to remove discriminatory language and bans related to LGBTQ+ people. These changes include:
- Removing the language that homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching
- Removing the ban on ordaining clergy who identify as self-avowed practicing homosexuals
- Removing the language that makes performing same-sex weddings a chargeable offense
- Removing the requirement that the denomination’s finance agency enforce the funding ban
- Removing the language that homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching
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Revised Social PrinciplesThe Revised Social Principles were amended to define marriage as a sacred covenant between two people of consenting age
As a ReconcilingMinistries Church, Highland has committed to supporting the ordination of LGBTQ+ persons and allowing clergy to perform same-sex weddings – now the United Methodist Church has opened the doors for us to live that out without penalty.
