NEWS: Demonstration During Thursday's Session
In an act of witness in front of delegates to the 2008 General Conference, more than 200 supporters of full inclusion for gays and lesbians in The United Methodist Church walked onto the legislative floor at the Fort Worth Convention Center.
They formed a two-lined cross around the communion table located in the center aisle and draped it in a black shroud. They entered silently, but once all demonstrators were in place, they sang, "Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?"
The 15-minute demonstration was in reaction to the April 30 decision to retain the denomination's decades-old proscription in the Social Principles and other parts of the Discipline describing homosexual practice as "incompatible with Christian teaching."
Demonstrators placed a black shroud on the communion table to "recognize our brokenness" and "to acknowledge that the body is broken," said Audrey Krumbach, who read a statement during the witness.
The demonstration was a compromise between General Conference officers, the Council of Bishops and leaders of groups advocating the full inclusion of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people in the church. There had been plans for a large-scale demonstration reminiscent of those at the 2000 General Conference in Cleveland, where people participated in acts of civil disobedience and were arrested. At the 2004 conference in Pittsburgh, a demonstration was held on the assembly floor.
