Apparently the United Methodist Church is anti-gun

[TanklessPro]

I was born Southern Baptist, but started attended a UMC when we moved to a rural place. I was listening to Tom Gresham on Guntalk this weekend and made a statement about the UMC being anti-gun. So I did a little search....
http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/gun-violence

This is some of what they state

"""In light of the increase of gun violence affecting the lives of children and youth, we call upon The United Methodist Church to:

convene workshops of clergy and mental health care professionals from communities (urban, rural, and suburban) in which gun violence has had a significant impact in order to discuss ways by which The United Methodist Church should respond to this growing tragedy, and to determine what role the church should take in facilitating dialogue to address the issue of gun violence in our schools and among our children;

educate the United Methodist community (parents, children, and youth) on gun safety, violence prevention, adult responsibility around gun violence prevention, and the public health impact of gun violence;

identify community-based, state, and national organizations working on the issue of gun violence and seek their assistance to design education and prevention workshops around the issue of gun violence and its effect on children and youth;

develop advocacy groups within local congregations to advocate for the eventual reduction of the availability of guns in society with a particular emphasis upon handguns, handgun ammunition, assault weapons, automatic weapons, automatic weapon conversion kits, and guns that cannot be detected by traditionally used metal detection devices. These groups can be linked to community-based, state, and national organizations working on gun and violence issues;

support federal legislation in the US Congress to regulate the importation, manufacturing, sale, and possession of guns and ammunition by the general public. Such legislation should include provisions for the registration and licensing of gun purchasers and owners, appropriate background investigation and waiting periods prior to gun purchase, and regulation of subsequent sale;

call upon all governments of the world in which there is a United Methodist presence to establish national bans on ownership by the general public of handguns, assault weapons, automatic weapon conversion kits, and weapons that cannot be detected by traditionally used metal-detection devices;"""

.... And apparently they are very anti-gun and this disturbs me.
I have several church friends that are very pro-gun, like myself. Our Sunday School leader and I have been discussing a men outing to the range where I'm a member. I plan on having a discussion with the Associate Pastor, who I have know for close to 25 years.
I also found that UMC of Kentucky has been vocal opposing this view. If you are a member of the UMC, were you aware of this? If you were, what have you done to oppose this? If not, do you plan on doing something now?

BTW, I take my Christianity very serious. Please do not turn this into a discussion on Religion because it will be closed. Thanks in advance.

 

[Robert]

Just to echo the OP's request, make the thread about firearms, NOT religion.

 

[DeepSouth]

My best friend and fellow gun nut goes to a UMC church and I informed him of this several years back, while he didn't like, he also wasn't surprised. That said we are in rural Alabama and everyone in that congregation is a hunter or is married to a hunter, none of them are anything other than pro gun. Not one them gives rip what the UMC says about guns. They simply ignore and dismiss them on that issue, among others.

Unfortunately most "national" churches are becoming or have become overly concerned with being politically correct so I'd be surprised if this isn't the position of several other detonations as well, they probably just aren't as open as the UMC is.

They should all just stick to preaching and teaching theology, unfortunately that's not the world we live in.

 

[EIB0879]

I grew up in the Methodist and later, UMC. This really doesn't surprise me but I don't see it being popular in rural southern UMC churches. Maybe they should take a page from the church in Alabama that opened a gun range if they are serious about gun safety.

 

[TomJ]

The UMC is not alone. We used to go to a church with a wonderful pastor. He retired, and the new pastor went on anti-gun as well as other far left rants more than once. I was one of many members who sat down with him to let him know we come to church to learn about God, not politics, but he was relentless in pushing his agenda. Needless to say, we found another church.

 

[KCAce]

I grew up UM and worship in one today. While I think firearm violence is a legitimate issue for the church (any church) to consider, there are other better ways to address it than by what was listed. I am encouraged by some of the responsible positions and comments made by some church leaders today about gun ownership and being armed in church. Some progress, I think.
KCAce

 

[jmr40]

I don't know about the local Methodists, but Baptist churches here are usually either neutral of actively encourage folks to own and use firearms. My son and daughter are both married and attend different churches. Both have active security plans with some armed members. My son-in-law is a deacon, carries in church and is quite active in gun rights.

The church I attend has a sort of don't ask, don't tell philosophy. No one including the pastor is actively anti-gun, but they don't actively encourage gun ownership either. We have several working and retired LE officers who CC in services.

GA law allows carry in churches as long as the church permits it. If the individual church decides not to allow carry, then it is not legal.

 

[hso]

We discussed the UMC's anti position in the past.

 

[EIB0879]

I haven't been in a UM church in over twenty years. How long ago did this statement come out?

 

[Hookeye]

The UMC as been anti gun in national platform, for at least 30 years that I know of.

My local clergy never mentioned the topic.

But they were cool guys

 

[Wishoot]

Interesting.

My church is quietly encouraging people to carry.

 

[lilguy]

Our new minister is vehemently anti handgun, as is the national church . Other ranting are giving me pause. We don't go often but support them financially. <deleted>. A little too left leaning for me now.

 

[Neo-Luddite]

My wife and kids regularly attend and are members. I attend infrequently. Our money flows in whether we go or not. The local congregation here is made up of wonderful people, many of the hunting and shooting crowd. The topic of guns never comes up. The political disconnect between the local and national UMC is huge. To keep peace in my home I have swallowed the bitter pill and am ignoring it.

 

[Dain Bramage]

...and weapons that cannot be detected by traditionally used metal-detection devices

Apparently, their understanding of firearms ended with Die Hard II.

 

[jmace57]

lilguy - if you and some other like-minded members withhold your tithes and offerings, and let them know why, you will be surprised at how quickly things might change. At my church, people put a slip of paper in the offering envelopes "we will be not be contributing to the church until X issue is addressed".

 

[ironworkerwill]

The political disconnect between the local and national UMC is huge.

That's what I understand as well. Along with just about every organization, national level "bureaucracy" is often not reflected at the local level.

 

[herrwalther]

My freedom of religion is freedom from religion. My freedom to bear arms is to carry. If you don't like how your church is doing something, you can 1) not carry 2) try to change your church or 3) go to a different church.

If your pastor is a staunch anti-gunner, like mine was when a member of the Roman Catholic strain, it does not matter how safe you are as a firearm carrier. You can try to change it with activism but rarely does it work with facts.

 

[Panfisher]

I am a member and officer in a small United Methodist Church. Ironwill said it, major disconnect between mainline political thoughts and local churches. Many pastors are not anti-gun, but are very much anti- gun violence, but who isn't against gun violence.

 

[Praxidike]

The entire article doesn't seem like something a relious group would write. Seem like something a well versed government anti gun official or Mom Demand Action group would write based on the rhetoric. I wonder if the UMC is getting donations or favors from the Left to push the issue.

 

[Dframe]

ONE of the reasons I am no longer affiliated with the local UMC

 

[10mm Mike]

I have found that methodist churches tend to be left-leaning in general (at least in my area), so it doesn't surprise me that they support gun control at the national level. It does surprise me that there are so many successful methodist churches in the "Bible belt" portions of the south, since that is a very conservative demographic.

At my church, people put a slip of paper in the offering envelopes "we will be not be contributing to the church until X issue is addressed".

That's awesome. I've never even thought about that before, but I like it.

 

[SSN Vet]

but who isn't against gun violence.

Once upon a time, American culture endorsed the idea that a good guy with a gun was doing a good deed when he shot a bad guy with a gun committing a crime.

Today we call both "gun violence" and make them morally equivalent.

I submit that we are the worse off for it.


Re. Any organization that parrots Brady Bunch shtick? Liberal is as liberal does

 

[Midwest]

the entire article doesn't seem like something a relious group would write. Seem like something a well versed government anti gun official or mom demand action group would write based on the rhetoric. I wonder if the umc is getting donations or favors from the left to push the issue.

^^^^^
this
.

 

[AlexanderA]

The UMC's General Board of Church and Society has long been a hotbed of antigun activism. It has its headquarters on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. In 1974, it helped form Michael Beard's National Coalition to Ban Handguns, with which it shared office space. (This organization was renamed to the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence in 1989.)

The United Methodist Church's national organs do not necessarily reflect the local congregations. In fact, the activists there are quite far removed from the rank-and-file members.

In 1974, the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society formed the National Coalition to Ban Handguns, a group of thirty religious, labor, and nonprofit organizations with the goal of addressing "the high rates of gun-related crime and death in American society" by licensing gun owners, registering firearms, and banning private ownership of handguns with "reasonable limited exceptions" for “police, military, licensed security guards, antique dealers who have guns in unfireable condition, and licensed pistol clubs where firearms are kept on the premises.” In the 1980s and 1990s, the coalition grew to 44 member groups. In 1989, the National Coalition to Ban Handguns changed its name to the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, in part because the group felt that assault weapons as well as handguns, should be outlawed. Today, the coalition comprises 48 member organizations.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coalition_to_Stop_Gun_Violence

 

[cc-hangfire]

I'm a Methodist in the rural Deep South, & there are many left-leaning positions of the national church that do not resonate with the beliefs and leanings of my congregation or my region. Each congregation has its own characteristics. The conservatives among us work to influence to totality of UMC as we can.