(Jennifer Leclaire) “At last I am choosing to serve in that role with full authenticity and as my genuine self—as a woman who loves and shares my life with another woman.” Those were the words of Cynthia Meyer, a pastor at Edgerton United Methodist Church, who decided to make her first sermon of 2016 a coming out party. Meyer, 53, has been an ordained UM pastor for 25 years. “My decision to speak out and do that through a sermon for my congregation came long before the ‘It’s Time’ campaign,” Meyer told United Methodist News Service. “I’d say it’s been a calling on my heart for quite some time.”
Reconciling Ministries Network, a group working for full participation of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities in the life of the UM church, launched the “It’s Time” campaign in December. The campaign kicked off by partnering with documentary filmmakers who produced An Act of Love, the story of Frank Schaefer. Schaefer was defrocked in 2013 for officiating his son’s same-sex wedding and later reinstated. FULL REPORT
