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Permalink Reply by kevin roberts on 9th mo. 5, 2011 at 10:40am

hey elzie

 

OYM has recently finished its 2011 yearly meeting. left over from last year was the issue of the proposed change to the discipline, that among other things specifically defined marriage as "between one man and one woman." that change to the discipline had been approved by one of OYM's two quarters, although the second quarter had not been consulted before the change was brought to the floor of last year's YM, which is the customary process. at that time it was sent down to the second quarter's monthly meetings for consideration, with the request that a minute be presented to the YM at this yearly meeting.

during the year, the second quarter did not find unity with the paragraph, and so the change to the discipline for the overall OYM will not fly. this is significant, because a decade or two ago, it would have slid on through with little comment as representing the understanding of the yearly meeting. this time, there was a great deal of comment, and OYM decided that the change to the discipline did not represent its discerning of unity with christ. it seems that this decision came as a surprise to some members.

what it means is that OYM has seriously reassessed its past discernment in this matter, and at the very least no longer believes that a paragraph including the phrase "marriage is between one man and one woman" adequately describes our understanding of the will of god.

OYM has a number of openly and not-so-openly homosexual individual and couples who have been estranged from the YM in the past over this issue. in my opinion, this decision by the yearly meeting opens up an opportunity to invite them back.

 

you're pretty close to stillwater, which is my own monthly meeting in OYM. why don't you come visit some first day?

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