Boston Rev. Martin McLee moving up
After more than seven years as pastor of Union United Methodist Church in Boston’s South End, during which time he made welcoming the gay community into the life of the historically black church a significant piece of his ministry, the Rev. Martin McLee has been appointed to a new position within the United Methodist Church. When McLee arrived at Union nearly eight years ago from a Dallas church, his mission was to make Union a bridge builder in a diverse community that he perceived to have "this tribalistic understanding of life - this group here, this group [over] here." McLee became Union’s pastor just after the congregation made history by voting to become a Reconciling Congregation, meaning one that advocates for the full inclusion of LGBT people into the life of the United Methodist Church, whose official doctrine holds that homosexuality is "incompatible with Christian teaching" and prohibits the ordination of openly gay ministers. Union was the first histor...