Queer Delegate Statement #1
Introducing the Queer Delegate Caucus

With joy and celebration, we announce the creation of the first-ever Queer Delegate Caucus, a group of persons elected to serve at General and Jurisdictional Conferences who identify as LGBTQAI+ in the United Methodist Church. We are faithful followers of Jesus Christ committed to a fully inclusive church that lives into the promise of Christ’s redeeming and reconciling love for the entire world. 

In the aftermath of the approval of the Traditional Plan, which targeted queer people, at the 2019 Special Session of General Conference, many Annual Conferences across the US elected slates of centrist and progressive delegates to serve at the 2020 General Conference. While some queer people chose to leave the UMC, others stayed to continue the work in partnership with progressive and centrist allies to affirm us as beloved children of God. 

Queer people have been in the UMC ever since its inception, and have been elected as delegates to all GCs in the past. We honor their legacy and continue to champion this work alongside faithful allies. And now our presence has grown to include 25 seated delegates to this General Conference. Even more were elected to serve as Jurisdictional Conference delegates around the United States. To date, the QDC is comprised of more than 55 delegates from every US Jurisdiction. We are present and active within our delegations, legislative committees, and strategy groups.

Over the next few weeks, we will share the vision of a Spirit-led body that is a place for all God’s beloved to serve authentically in the full life of The United Methodist Church. To that end, we ask all delegates to vote to remove language from the Book of Discipline that harms LGBTQAI+ people. We hope to live into John Wesley’s general rules to do no harm, do good, and to stay in love with God. 

We invite you to join us in prayer for all General Conference delegates, specifically that the Holy Spirit will move through our work.

Prayer

Creator God, we dream of a church that embodies the call that you have placed on your followers. We seek your mercy and forgiveness for the harms that have divided us for so long.  

For the sins of racism, sexism, heterosexism, ageism, ableism, and xenophobia we seek your forgiveness, grace, and your mercy. For the sins of pride, arrogance, elitism, and colonialism we seek your forgiveness, grace, and mercy. 

For the harmful words and actions that tore apart our quadrennial gatherings…the shame and hurt that was imparted by people in Your name…we ask for your healing and your transforming grace. 

Holy One, move in us. Move in our church. Move in our gathering. Move so that folk who have been harmed by the church may experience some healing and that those of us who have been called to lead will actually do just that…LEAD your people to newness of life in you.

This is our prayer…In Christ’s name. Amen.

Testimonial

“I was not born into the Methodist tradition. I was drawn to it by the Wesleyan understanding of God’s grace. This grace is what continues to keep me in the church that I love and when the Church chooses to live into the fullness of this grace, we will be known as the community of faith that practices what it proclaims! When we fulfill the commandment of Christ ‘to love one another.’”

- Rev. Effie McAvoy, GC Clergy Delegate