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UCC President Endorses Marriage Equality:
A Moment for Celebration and Critical Reflection

Reflections by Jay E. Johnson
CLGS Programming and Development Director

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

As tears wet my face this evening I could not help but be reminded of another occasion when I was so moved by ecclesiastical proceedings. It was just two years ago, in Minneapolis, that the Episcopal Church's General Convention approved the election of Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire. As anyone who has ever attended similar councils of the church knows, being deeply moved is not exactly the experience one expects to have at such gatherings.

Just a few hours ago the Rev. John H. Thomas, the General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ made a statement in support of both civil marriage equality and the religious blessing of same-gender marriages in Christian churches. This is, as they say, news—big news. And the sustained standing ovation he received, together with the tears streaming down the faces of many of those around me, bear witness to the kind of news this is.

Like nearly every other Christian denomination, the congregations of the UCC are divided over LGBT concerns and especially over the question of marriage. As the Rev. Thomas noted, even some of those who support the full inclusion of LGBT people in Christian churches stop short of endorsing marriage equality. But, he went on to add, drawing the line at marriage is simply inconsistent with the positions previously adopted by the UCC General Synod and the time has come to take the next and courageous step. After all, he said, there is no "convenient time" for courage.

As an Episcopal priest and therefore technically an ecclesial "outsider" in this gathering, I did not expect to find myself quite so anxious with anticipation as I was this evening when the Rev. Thomas began his remarks. The ballroom here on the campus of Emory University in Atlanta was filled with an electric silence as he spoke—a collective breath holding of the attendees at this National Gathering of the UCC's Coalition for LGBT Concerns. The Rev. Thomas chose this setting to make his announcement, he said, precisely because of the journey the Coalition has facilitated in the UCC over the last twenty years of the UCC's "Open and Affirming" movement. Reflecting on my own anticipation for what his position would be, I realized the important fact—and he noted this himself—that positions taken by one church body inevitably make an impact on others. In some important ways, his courageous and compassionate position offers a model for other churches facing the same issue, regardless of the outcome of the General Synod's vote next week.

At the same time I could not help but revisit some of my concerns over the marriage question itself as I witnessed this historic moment. Quite frankly, I have come to a rather odd—okay, call it "queer"—posture toward the marriage equality debate over the last few years. For some time now and in various public venues I have dutifully lent my support to and worked for the right of same-gender couples to marry, because I do believe this is an important social justice issue. I have done this work and taken this position in public even though in private I harbor some serious reservations about how the debate and the struggle it entails has been framed. Not the least of my concerns about this is how the expression of any such reservations amounts to some kind of LGBT betrayal, as if entertaining any doubt about the struggle places one among the "enemy." It seems to me that the significance of the statement made here tonight invites some constructive scrutiny.

I worry, for example, that the full-throttle, "brook-no-dissent" approach to winning marriage equality has left precious little room for critiquing the western cultural institution called "marriage" and how this cultural institution has historically served to stratify society by rewarding particular kinds of human relationship at the expense of others. I worry about this in the same way I worry about the struggle to admit openly lesbian and gay people in the armed forces of this country, as if there is no queer critique to be made of the American military-industrial complex; and in the same way I worry (as many feminists have for some time) that the struggle for women's ordination over the years has blunted the critique of patriarchal structures in the institutional church; and in the same way I worry about how the strategies for LGBT liberation developed in mostly white communities appear to trump or ignore strategies for dismantling racism.

With respect to marriage, it is my fervent hope—from a theological perspective if nothing else—that our various LGBT advocacy organizations will carve out much more space for analyzing, evaluating and constructively critiquing what the institution of marriage has come to mean in the United States and in our churches. (Significantly, it has come to mean something different and at times remarkably so in contexts outside of the U.S.) Surely we want to hope for more than participating in a cultural institution with a failure rate of more than 50 percent. Surely we want to hope for more than simply changing the pronouns in our marriage liturgies. Surely our religious traditions inspire a broader vision than that for a just, equitable, thriving human society. Don't they?

All that said, the Rev. Thomas still brought tears to my eyes tonight. I am profoundly grateful to him for that, not only because of the content of his statement but also because of the way he constructed and articulated his argument, which I believe offers an important theological marker for other Christian communities. (I'll be working on posting the full text of his statement on this website soon.) The fact remains that it does matter, and quite profoundly, for the head of a major religious institution to give unqualified support to full marriage equality in civil society as well as full religious marriage equality in our churches. Here's how he stated his position: "I believe the General Synod should affirm the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons to have their covenanted relationships recognized by the state as marriages equal in name, privileges and responsibilities to married heterosexual couples. I believe our local churches, as they are able, should move toward the development of marriage equality policies so that the same liturgical and pastoral blessing and discipline may be offered all entering into covenanted relationships."

It remains to be seen, of course, how the General Synod will act next week and from there, how those actions will be received by local congregations. Nevertheless, the statement made here this evening marks a milestone moment. I suspect this moment will be remembered as marking a significant shift in the American ecclesiastical landscape, no less significant than the first ordination of an openly gay man (yet another UCC accomplishment more than thirty years ago). However we wish to frame the import of this moment, it's certainly hard to deny that something important is going on when a statement made by a religious leader can bring tears of joy to the eyes of LGBT people.

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