It’s becoming the next wave of protest as teens have banded together to reject their membership into their church before the entire congregation.
The possible backlash can have implications that can affect both the church members and that person’s family.
The teens are protesting the decision by the Methodist church to ban openly-gay people from being ordained as ministers or serving in the church.
The decision was made at the United Methodist Church (UMC) conference in St. Louis last February.
It also forbade any UMC funds from going “to any gay caucus or group, or otherwise use such funds to promote the acceptance of homosexuality.”
Although a majority of the churches in the United States voted against the ruling, the tipping point was the conservatives and delegates based in Africa and The Phillippines.
Most recently, 14-year-old Kat Miller, stood before her congregation at Batavia Zion United Methodist Church in Batavia, Wisconsin, and rejected the church’s proposal for her to become a member in protest of the new anti-LGBTQ+ policies.
Miller spent two years in the church’s confirmation program to eventually become a member.
There were three other members of the church who read aloud personal faith letters about what the church meant to them. Miller’s however, contained an additional paragraph outlining acceptance.
She wrote:
“I believe the most important values of a Christian life are to accept everyone who is willing to believe in being a good person in God’s realm… Yet, the stance of the UMC, the organization, does not resonate with what I believe.”
Miller said in an interview that she heard the story of Bishop Karen Oliveto. She shared that Oliveto was put on trial for her sexual orientation.
“I don’t agree with that,” Miller said.
“I don’t think that we should be judging people because I think the church should be a welcoming place where you can come and feel loved.”
Therefore, instead of being confirmed as a United Methodist that day, she decided to be confirmed as a Christian due to her continued faith in God.
The statement that Miller ended up reading was censored by the church after she read it during rehearsals.
She said during her speech during the actual confirmation ceremony:
“This is not my faith statement and not my original words. I was given this to read.”
Reverend Dan Verdegan declined an interview but stated that although he supported her decision, he felt that the original statement was not appropriate for the day’s celebration.
Eight teens in Omaha, Nebraska made a similar decision when they banded together and took a stand against the new policy as well during Easter Sunday service.
They received support from their congregation in doing so.
The teens did confirm that they are open to changing their stance later if the policy changes but stated that at this time, they would be unable to be confirmed as a United Methodist.
In part:
“We are concerned that if we join at this time, we will be sending a message that we approve of this decision.
“We are not standing just for ourselves, we are standing for every single member of the LGBTQ+ community who is hurting right now…”
The teens were greeted with a standing ovation.
You can watch Kat’s interview below.
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