Methodist Printer Cancels Book on Homosexuality

WASHINGTON —  The United Methodist Publishing House, citing the highly charged atmosphere around the church’s forthcoming General Conference, has canceled release of a book on homosexuality written by a controversial Episcopal bishop, church officials said.

“We believe that the General Conference and other groups within the life of the United Methodist Church will be best served by a moderating climate that promotes careful, prayerful and reconciling discussion of these matters,” said Robert Feaster, president and publisher of Abingdon Press, the Methodist concern.

Feaster commented in a statement announcing that the publishing house would not publish “Living in Sin? A Bishop Rethinks Human Sexuality,” by John Shelby Spong, Episcopal bishop of Newark, N.J.

However, Harper & Row’s office in San Francisco subsequently announced that it will publish Spong’s book on May 15. It was called a “prophetic book” by publisher Clayton Carlson.

In the book, Spong calls for a new moral vision that will make the church more inclusive in teaching about equal, loving, non-exploitative human relationships.

Feaster said the “intensified atmosphere” surrounding the issue of homosexuality in the weeks before General Conference makes publication of the Spong book incompatible with the publishing house’s mission of “publishing materials that encourage thoughtful discussion and understanding of issues confronting Christian people.”

The stance of the church toward homosexuality is the top issue before the nearly 1,000 delegates who will meet in St. Louis beginning April 26.