Methodists file church law charges against Sessions over immigration
A retired United Methodist clergyman and two laymen, all from Western Pennsylvania, signed onto a letter this week filing formal church law charges against U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions over his zero-tolerance immigration policy.
The Rev. James Ritchie of Monroeville, Brian Kleber of Greensburg and Murray Bickel of Butler joined more than 600 laity and clergy from United Methodist churches across the country in signing the complaint against Mr. Sessions, which was sent to his pastor at his Alabama church on Monday and could result in his expulsion — or, at least, a talkingto from church officials.
The charges, pursuant to the church’s Book of Discipline, include child abuse and immorality and racial discrimination, stemming from the attorney general’s immigration policy that has led to the separation of migrant children and their parents at the southern border. They also accuse Mr. Sessions of improperly using a verse from Romans 13 to justify the policy.
“As his denomination, we have an ethical obligation to speak boldly when one of our members is engaged in causing significant harm in matters contrary to the discipline on the global stage,” the letter read.
Rev. Ritchie, who has been retired from active ministry for three years, said he joined the effort because he didn’t want the church to overlook the treatment of children and refugees as an important issue.
He pointed to Luke 10:27 — “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself” — as justification for the movement against Mr. Sessions.
“Sessions,as with the president he represents, is wrong,” Mr. Ritchie said, referring to Donald Trump. “Before all else, we are to submitto mercy and to love.”
Formal charges against laypersons are rare in the denomination.
The Rev. William Lawrence, professor emeritus at Perkins School of Theology and an authority on Methodist history and policy, said anyone in the church can bring a charge against anyone else. While it’s not uncommon for pastors, district superintendents and bishops to get complaints about a layperson, he said a formal complaint bringing charges is extremely rare.
The Book of Discipline allows for a church trial and even expulsion of a lay member, but the first step in the long process would be for the member’s pastor and district superintendent to resolve the complaint through “pastoral steps,”Rev. Lawrence said.
“I’m not aware of any circumstance in the 50-year history of the United Methodist Church when a complaint against a layperson moved beyond the stage of its resolution by a district superintendent or a pastor,” he added.
To members who signed the letter, Mr. Sessions’ expulsion from the church isn’t a primary goal. Mr. Kleber, a layman, said a person of Mr. Sessions’ authority simply deserves to be held accountable for his actions.
“We believe that rather than just a social outcry, something formal needed to be done to bring this to the attention of his local area so that there could be some severe consequences, like his pastor talking to him, or his bishop talking to him,” Mr. Kleber said.
Mr. Kleber said the church believes in social justice and that “we have to take care of people who are less than us.”
A message to Mr. Sessions’ press team was not immediately returned. Mr. Bickel, the Butler native who signed the letter, could not be reached for comment.