| Conference compiles learnings about transgender clergy BY MELISSA LAUBER
UMCONNECTION STAFF Members of the Baltimore-Washington Conference are gaining new understandings into how the church might respond to transgender clergy. These learnings, are the result of four conversations on March 23 and April 27, which were sponsored by the conference Order of Elders and Order of Deacons. More than 300 people attended the conversations, which used a process developed by JUSTPEACE, a United Methodist center for mediation and conflict resolution, hired by the conference as a consultant. The learnings will assist those at the clergy executive  session of annual conference in June to address the topic of transgender clergy. The possibility exists that this issue might arise, said the Rev. Roberta Scoville, dean of the Order of Elders. The learnings will also help to inform the laity so that they will be able to address the issue of transgender clergy with more understanding, Scoville said. Participants at the talks divided into small groups to address two questions: What is Jesus Christ calling us to do in regard to transgender persons in ordained ministry within the United Methodist Church? and What is Jesus Christ calling us to do in regard to the way we engage each other around difficult questions? Participants were asked to share theological reflections, ethical considerations, medical information, personal stories and their understanding of United Methodist polity and the Book of Discipline.  Scoville and the Rev. Patti Smith, dean of the Order of Deacons, compiled the comments recorded by all the small groups into a summary of learnings. The summary recognizes the struggle transgender people experience as they attempt to reconcile the differences between what they believe their gender identity to be and their actual biological sex. It also reflects the fact that the Bible and Book of Discipline do not unequivocally resolve issues surrounding the role of transgender people as clergy. These learnings are not an official statement of the United Methodist Church nor are they to considered as recommendations of the annual conference. They are presented so that United Methodists can see the breadth and depth of the sharing that has occurred among annual conference lay and clergy members, Scoville said. | 
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