by Leland Spencer
I have to confess that I'm conflicted about the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Of course, as a feminist and a reconciling United Methodist, I support the right of any person to have any job without regard to her or his sexual orientation (or, for that matter, sex, gender, gender identity, or gender expression); however, something about supporting any effort that increases the number of people in the military doesn't sit right with me. If DADT is repealed, queer folks will have the same rights to get shot or have their bodies blown to bits as anyone else. Is that really the kind of equality we're working for in this movement? I'm not trying to be flippant; my concern is serious. If an underlying theme of this movement's work is human dignity and the sacred worth of each person, is that compatible with increased militarism?
Not having sorted entirely through this paradox, its very existence brings me to another: The UMC also has a DADT policy, but we describe it with bigger words and no contractions. And, clearly, I support the repeal of the church's version of DADT. Therefore, a fair question based on my concern in the first paragraph is whether adding out, practicing queer people into the current structure of the church actually does anything for human dignity. My initial answer is yes, and that the church and the military are different. I am privileged to have had moments in my life where I've seen the church at its best, so I know the church can be a source of hope in connecting people with the resource of faith, and indeed, in resisting evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.
So, I conclude that I support the repeal of both DADT policies, though I am substantially more ambivalent about the first than the second.
Leland G. Spencer IV, a lifelong United
Methodist, is a PhD student in the department of speech communication
at the University of Georgia, where he researches religious rhetoric as
it intersects with gender and sexuality. Leland holds an M.A. in
Communication from the University of Cincinnati (2009). While in
Cincinnati, Leland served as the worship intern at the Wesley
Foundation. Leland served as a
part-time local pastor at Mapleton United Methodist Church in the East
Ohio Conference from 2005 until 2007 when Leland withdrew from the
candidacy process because of the United Methodist Church's exclusive
position about the ordination of LGBT persons.
The Rev. Gilbert H. Caldwell is a retired United Methodist Minister who lives in Asbury Park, N.J. He was active in the Massachusetts unit of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and participated in the civil-rights movement throughout the nation. In 2000, he, with others, organized the RMN Extension ministry United Methodists of Color for a Fully Inclusive Church (UMOC), an organization committed to the full inclusion of LGBT people in every aspect of church and society. His recent book, Something Within: Works by Rev. Gilbert H. Caldwell is available from Church Within A Church.
Reconciling Ministries Network mobilizes United Methodists of all sexual orientations and gender identities to transform our Church and world into the full expression of Christ’s inclusive love.