The Rev. Cynthia Meyer met with Bishop Scott J. Jones on Friday, 12 days after telling her congregation that she was in a “committed relationship” with another woman.
The Rev. Cynthia Meyer exits the Great Plains Conference office in Topeka through
a line of supporters after meeting Jan. 15 with Bishop Scott J. Jones as part of a
supervisory review process.
Following the meeting, Jones said a complaint had been filed against Meyer on Jan. 5, the day after she talked about her relationship in her sermon.
The Book of Discipline states in Paragraph 304.3 states: “While persons set apart by the Church for ordained ministry are subject to all the frailties of the human condition and the pressures of society, they are required to maintain the highest standards of holy living in the world. The practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. Therefore, self-avowed practicing homosexuals are not to be certified as candidates, ordained as ministers or appointed to serve in The United Methodist Church.”
Human sexuality issues are expected to be among the headlines in the worldwide church’s General Conference, which is scheduled for May 10-20 in Portland, Oregon. The nearly 1,000 delegates from around the world will meet to discuss and are expected to vote on many topics, including whether to lift the Book of Discipline’s ban on ordination and appointment of pastors in self-avowed, practicing homosexual relationships.
The Jan. 15 meeting was part of the supervisory response process spelled out in the Book of Discipline. No action was taken during the meeting.
“The meeting today with Cynthia is part of the supervisory response process. This is the normal way in which a minister’s relationship to the church is reviewed when an allegation of violation of church discipline has been made,” Jones said. “As bishop, it’s my job to conduct a supervisory response and today was the next step in that process.”
More information will be shared as it becomes available.
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