Methodist clergy blast gay exclusion

More than 100 clergy members from the Rocky Mountain region of the United Methodist Church have signed a statement protesting a national church ruling that effectively bars a gay man from membership.

"We proclaim our vigorous disagreement with this act of injustice by the highest judicial body of our denomination," said the statement. It was signed by 124 clergy members, including Bishop Warner H. Brown Jr., who heads the region, and the Rev. Phil Wogaman, acting president of Iliff School of Theology.

The Rocky Mountain Conference, which the regional body is called, includes Colorado, Wyoming and Utah and has about 300 clergy members in 263 churches.

While not an official statement of the conference, the list of clergy members and a $100 fee per signer was coordinated through the church's regional office. The money paid for ads that were scheduled to appear today in the Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post.

http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_4292152,00.html

The two local Methodist pastors that I know are very pro-human-rights, and particularly pro-GLBT-rights.

They are also my favorite peaceniks (they never miss a peace rally).

Iliff School of Theology and Phil Wogaman rock! I'm so proud to have graduated from there, it really is the last great bastion of liberal Methodism.

Nominated! The struggle for love and inclusiveness lives! :headbang: