WMJM Endorses Gay/Lesbian Bishop Candidates

Crossing Thresholds & Changing Hearts:
Endorsing Two LGBTQIA+ Episcopal Candidates

The Western Methodist Justice Movement endorses the episcopal candidacies of Rev. Dr. Karen Oliveto and Rev. Frank Wulf, based on their proven track records in ministry, their commitments to justice, and the voice of LGBTQIA+ perspectives that the Council of Bishops so greatly needs. Indeed both have been endorsed by their respective annual conferences, and their candidacy statements speak for themselves.

As the Western Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church faces into the challenges of vitality in the midst of cultural change, we need exceptional leadership now more than ever. For too long, we have been unable or unwilling to acknowledge the call of LGBTQIA+ leaders to be our bishops. Gifts and graces of exceptional leaders have gone underutilized because of discriminatory UMC polity.  Important perspectives have gone unheard. As the Western Jurisdiction continues its dedication to Biblical Obedience and operating beyond all of the discriminatory restrictions of the Book of Discipline, we now have the ability to consider all of our best leaders, including out LGBTQIA+ elders. Rev. Wulf and Rev. Dr. Oliveto are out LGBTQIA+ United Methodist elders blessed with the ministry and leadership skills necessary to be excellent bishops.

Now is the time for the Western Jurisdiction to put action behind its statements of inclusiveness. We call on the Western Jurisdiction to elect a qualified, competent bishop who can represent the hurt and concerns of LGBTQIA+ United Methodists.  Only an out LGBTQIA+ bishop can do this because they have lived it. Our denomination needs queer voices at the highest levels of leadership. For this reason, if other LGBTQIA+ candidates who meet the qualities necessary for the episcopacy emerge during the election process, they should also be given due consideration. Electing an out LGBTQIA+ bishop would give voice to the needs of those cast to the margins for so many decades and would be a signal of grace to those who wonder if there really is a place for them in the UMC. No one else—not even our strongest ally bishops—can speak to the needs of the LGBTQIA+ community as effectively as an out LGBTQIA+ bishop. Rev. Wulf and Rev. Dr. Oliveto know what it's like to be marginalized and threatened just for being who God created them to be. From the core of their being, they live out incarnational ministry for many LGBTQIA+ persons, and demonstrate the power of God working in and through the lives of those the powers of this world too often reject. Both have dedicatedly  worked to reach out to and work with marginalized communities. They are the type of leaders the UMC so urgently needs at this time.

We call on the delegates of the Western Jurisdiction to recognize that ‪it’s time to do the right thing for our jurisdiction and our denomination. With two highly qualified candidates, this is the time to elect an out LGBTQIA+ bishop. Rev. Dr. Karen Oliveto and Rev. Frank Wulf have been called out for such a time as this, and now is the time for the Western Jurisdiction to decide which one of them to elect.