The Standing Committee of district delegates to the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference held meetings from Sunday evening, June 29, through Wednesday morning, July 2, in Greensboro, N.C. Annual Conference moderator Dava Hensley presided, assisted by moderator-elect Don Fitzkee and Conference secretary David Shumate.
Recommendations on queries
The district delegates spent several hours discussing two queries coming to the Annual Conference and made recommendations on both: “Query: Reducing Harm: Interim Steps to Reduce Suffering” (new business item 4), and “Query: Concerns about Current Practices Related to Matters of Sexuality” (new business item 5).
The Standing Committee recommendations will be presented to the full delegate body during Conference business sessions.
Find a full photo album from the meetings of the Standing Committee, and more Annual Conference photos, at https://www.brethren.org/news/coverage/ac2025/
“Query: Reducing Harm: Interim Steps to Reduce Suffering,” from Arlington Church of the Brethren and Mid-Atlantic District, raises concerns about the treatment and suffering of LGBTQ+ people and asks what can be done about outdated language and science in three statements of Annual Conference: “Human Sexuality from a Christian Perspective” (1983), “Licensing/Ordination of Homosexual Persons to the Ministry in the Church of the Brethren” (2002), and “Report of the Leadership Team and the Council of District Executives on the Authority of Annual Conference and Districts regarding the Accountability of Ministers, Congregations, and Districts” (2017).
Standing Committee recommended that the query be adopted and recommended the following two-fold answer:
“1. We lament that conversion therapy was considered a safe or viable option in previous Annual Conference statements, and do not endorse ‘conversion to heterosexual orientation [as] another option’ (Human Sexuality from a Christian perspective, 1983).
“2. We acknowledge that Annual Conference’s position statements should reflect ‘the denomination’s current best discernment of the way of life God calls us to live’ (2025 Annual Conference booklet, p.66), and recognize that some existing position statements on human sexuality appear out of step with current realities and merit further discernment. In the interest of unity and care for all in the body we await the Spirit’s leading for renewed study. While the current statements on human sexuality remain on record, we seek to honor and love all in the body by lifting up guidance that builds safer and more compassionate communities, including:
- ‘challenging openly the widespread fear, hatred, and harassment of [people in the LGBTQ+ community],’
- ‘advocating the rights of [LGBTQ+ people] to jobs, housing, and legal justice,’ and
- ‘engaging in open, forthright conversations with [people in the LGBTQ+ community]…stop alienating one another and instead venture toward understanding.’
“(All quotes from Human Sexuality from a Christian Perspective, 1983)
“As Paul counseled a divided church, ‘If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it’ (1 Corinthians 12:26, NIV).”
“Query: Concerns about Current Practices Related to Matters of Sexuality,” from Highland Avenue Church of the Brethren and Illinois and Wisconsin District, asks how the church can move forward in a manner that reflects greater mutuality and space for differing understandings about sexuality among individuals and congregations. It cites lack of progress on matters of sexuality in more than 40 years, the Church of the Brethren approach that balances local autonomy and denominational authority, the latitude given for congregational decisions on other matters, as well as that “districts have been uneven at best in their decisions to enforce policy related to sexuality.”
Standing Committee recommended that the concerns of the query be accepted as a legitimate question and be referred to the Review and Evaluation Committee.
Find the full text of these queries and other business items at www.brethren.org/ac2025/business.
Listening session
Standing Committee held a short listening session with Bridgewater (Va.) Church of the Brethren on the evening of July 1. The session of a little more than a half hour in length was open to the public and was standing room only, with almost every chair filled and many people standing along the walls or sitting on the floor. More than 45 people from the Bridgewater congregation were in attendance.
This was the first listening session with Standing Committee since the option was created in 2021. Designed to give church members the opportunity to express concerns to the denomination, the process is centered on Matthew 18 to help work through controversy and conflict. Any Church of the Brethren member, group, or entity may request a listening session in writing to the Annual Conference officers, with sponsorship from a Standing Committee member, following the procedure outlined in the Standing Committee Manual. Listening sessions are not intended for making decisions or to circumvent the appeals or query processes, but as opportunities for Standing Committee to hear concerns in a pastoral manner.
Speaking on behalf of the Bridgewater congregation were its three pastors–David R. Miller, Jennifer Keeney Scarr, and Erin Rinaca–and moderator Ted Flory. The group explained the nature of a decade-long conflict with Shenandoah District and the feeling of the congregation that they have been mistreated by the district, which has caused deep pain.
As presented by the group, who provided written documentation to Standing Committee, the disagreement with the district centers on the congregation’s long-standing support of all people regardless of sexual orientation. This stance of the congregation dates back to the 1970s and 1980s. They acknowledged that the congregation has openly challenged the 1983 Annual Conference statement on human sexuality. In 2012, the congregation began the process of creating new mission and vision statements that were adopted in 2013 focused on the conviction that the church should being an inclusive family of faith. In 2015, the congregation approved their pastors performing same-sex marriages.
“All these decisions are made following the example of Jesus,” said Flory.
Shenandoah District has polity against same-sex marriages, and the presentation listed several times when the congregation and its ministers were sanctioned or felt targeted by the district. Although the congregation and the district attempted a reconciliation process, it failed. The process concluded last fall with the congregation presenting a query to district conference, which was returned.
The Bridgewater representatives said that in their view the polity of the district moves far beyond Annual Conference polity in disciplinary intent, potentially seeking the “separation” of the congregation. However, they repeatedly expressed loyalty to the district, a strong desire to stay in the district, and the intent to stay in the Church of the Brethren.
The group told Standing Committee that in the current Church of the Brethren structure there is no path to reach the wider denomination with their situation.
They presented four questions:
— Without compromising our Christian call, what is a congregation in conflict with its district supposed to do?
— What should we do if/when districts overstep denominational polity?
— What should Bridgewater Church of the Brethren do if/when Shenandoah separates us from the district and thereby also the denomination?
— Is there a possibility available to us that could reduce harm and open a pathway forward?
At the end of the congregation’s presentation, the moderator received written questions from Standing Committee members and posed them to the group. Most were for clarification of things that had been said during the presentation.
The moderator closed with prayer for both the Bridgewater congregation and Shenandoah District. Standing Committee then went into closed session for debriefing.
In other business
Numerous reports were received including from groups bringing items of unfinished business to the Conference: the Breaking Down Barriers Committee, the Standing with People of Color Committee, and the Calling Denominational Leadership Study Committee.
Other reports were brought by the moderator, the Church of the Brethren Leadership Team, the Global Mission office, the Program and Arrangements Committee, and subcommittees of Standing Committee including the Nominating Committee and the Organizational Structure Subcommittee. A “white paper” written by the latter was commended by Standing Committee and forwarded to the Review and Evaluation Committee.
Also reporting was a committee appointed by the Annual Conference officers to review the denomination’s Special Response Process. The process was last revised in 2014 and has not been used since then. It is designed to help the church navigate strongly controversial issues.
Consultations were held with the Council of District Executives and the leadership of the Mission and Ministry Board and Annual Conference agencies: Bethany Seminary, Eder Financial, and On Earth Peace. During the consultation with CODE, a group of district executives reported on the Deportation Defense Response Team initiative, requesting help to fund the needs of church members faced with immigration detention or deportation, and asking the wider church to extend caring to those members.
Elections
Elections were held for Standing Committee subcommittees and other positions:
Church of the Brethren delegate to the World Council of Churches: Linetta Alley, with Nadine Monn as alternate
Program Feasibility Committee, named as the second Standing Committee representative for a term continuing through 2029: Cathy Huffman of Virlina District.
Nominating Committee of Standing Committee: Dawn Baldwin of Northern Ohio District, Aaron Gross of South Central Indiana District, Kevin Kessler of Illinois and Wisconsin District, and Lori Sollenberger Knepp of Middle Pennsylvania District.
Appeals Committee: Beth Cage of Northern Plains District, Shawn Carothers of Pacific Southwest District, Vickie Samland of Western Plains District; with Gary Copenhaver of Michigan District and Myron Jackson of Missouri and Arkansas District as alternates.
Two-Thirds Committee to serve during this Annual Conference: Dawn Baldwin of Northern Ohio District, Cathy Huffman of Virlina District, and John Shelly of Southern Pennsylvania District.
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