DEWCOM

The Doctrine, Ethics and Worship Committee of the MCSA

The LGBTIAQ+ Conversation

1. A timeline of the LGBTIAQ+ conversation in the MCSA

For a helpful timeline of what has occurred in this conversation since 2000, click here. (For a colour, visual version of the timeline, click here.)

2. The 2003 Conference Discussion Guide

The 2003 Conference adopted a document entitled Christians and Same-Sex Relationships: A Discussion Guide for the Methodist People of Southern Africa. This document kickstarted the LGBTIAQ+ conversation in the MCSA in a tangible way. For a copy of the Discussion Guide, click here.

3. Conference resolutions dealing with same-sex relationships

Numerous Conference resolutions relating to the LGBTIAQ+ conversation have been passed over the years. Click on the following links for the most significant of these: Conference 2005; Conference 2007; Conference 2010; Conference 2014; Conference 2017; an extensive DEWCOM report to Conference 2017 entitled Continuing the LGBTIQ Conversation; Conference 2019; Conference 2020.

4. In search of grace and truth

In 2010 DEWCOM published a book entitled, In search of grace and truth: Christian conversations on same-sex relationships. It dealt with 12 questions that are commonly asked within the LGBTIAQ+ conversation, offering divergent perspectives on each question. The book is currently out of print, but a digital copy can be purchased here.

5. A profession of the MCSA’s unity and diversity

At the 2014 Conference, DEWCOM presented a profession of faith entitled A profession of the MCSA’s unity and diversity within the context of the Church’s conversation on same-sex relationships. The intention of the profession was to find a form of words that would honestly and truthfully express the divergent convictions sincerely held within the MCSA concerning same-sex relationships, while at the same time affirming our shared beliefs and the unity that continues to hold us together. Conference endorsed this profession of faith and has included it in the MCSA’s Book of Order. For a copy of this profession, click here.

6. Connexional LGBTIAQ+ Task Team

This task team was constituted at the Conference of 2019 and convened by the Presiding Bishop, in response to a resolution that called for a deliberate safe space to be created for LGBTIAQ+ persons. For a short statement on the multi-faceted purpose of this task team, click here.

7. Archive of papers

Over the years, many different papers have been prepared by or presented to DEWCOM on the LGBTIAQ+ conversation. For a sampling of these, please visit the archive page of this site.