wfn.org | United Methodist 1997 Year-End Wrapup

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS 97" by SUSAN PEEK on April 15, 1997 at 14:24
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CONTACT: Linda Bloom							650(10-21-71B){462}
		New York (212) 870-3803					 Nov. 19, 1997

Year-end Wrapup

In 1997, United Methodists debate same-sex
ceremonies, discuss future directions of church

A UMNS News Feature
by Linda Bloom*
				

	Debate over whether clergy should be allowed to perform same-sex covenanting
ceremonies intensified and the discussion over future directions for the
United Methodist Church continued during 1997.
	United Methodists also reached outside the church to assist those embroiled
in natural disasters, such as the Dakotas floods, and attend to human needs,
such as sending food to famine victims in North Korea.
	The same-sex ceremony debate was kicked off Jan. 1 when a group of 15 United
Methodist clergy began circulating a "statement of conscience" concerning the
denomination's position on homosexuality. Called "In All Things Charity," it
affirmed the practice of covenant commitments between same-sex couples and the
ordination of gay men and lesbians. Both currently are prohibited by church
doctrine.
	In February, evangelicals responded to "In All Things Charity" by releasing
their own statement, "The More Excellent Way: God's Plan Re-Affirmed," which
supports the church's current official positions against same-sex unions and
ordination of "self-avowed practicing homosexuals."
	Following a controversy created when Emory University President William Chace
decided to allow same-sex ceremonies on campus, its board of trustees in June
approved a motion that United Methodist pastors and chaplains that serve the
churches and chapels at Emory and the related Oxford College should have the
authority to determine which religious ceremonies occur there.
	On Nov. 13, the Emory board agreed to allow same-sex covenant ceremonies in
university chapels, but only under very narrow circumstances. Only ordained
clergy or rabbis with direct ties to Emory can officiate, and only if such
ceremonies are permitted within the polity and doctrine of their denomination
or faith group. At present, only two of the 24 religious groups on campus –
the United Church of Christ and Reform Judiasm – meet that requirement.
	In September, the Rev. Jimmy Creech, pastor of First United Methodist Church
in Omaha, Neb., conducted a covenanting service for two women who are members
of his church. Complaints that he violated the church law by performing the
service were filed with the Nebraska Annual (regional) Conference.
	Nebraska Area Bishop Joel Martinez later placed Creech on suspension for 60
days, beginning Nov. 10, while the investigation was being conducted.
	Affirmation, an unofficial caucus for gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgendered concerns, called upon the Council of Bishops to request a
declaratory decision from the church's Judicial Council on the "meaning,
application and constitutionality" of a churchwide ban on same-sex ceremonies.
It also organized the Covenant Relationships Network (CORNET) to support the
right of clergy to perform those ceremonies.
	The overall future direction of the church was tackled by the Connectional
Process Team. Created by the 1996 General Conference -- the denomination's top
legislative body -- to manage, guide and promote a "transformational"
direction for the church, the team spent 1997 in listening sessions across the
church.
	Led by Bishop Sharon Brown Christopher, the 38-member team is destined to
receive greater attention as it develops proposals for the 2000 General
Conference. The team is continuing work begun by the former Connectional
Issues Study Task Force, related to a task force on the Global Nature of the
Church. Twelve of the team members are from conferences outside the United
States.
	Another action of the 1996 General Conference regarding changes on membership
related to a report on baptism was voided by the Judicial Council in October.
The council also declared that annual conferences must maintain connectional
relationships, which affected restructuring that had been done by some
conferences.
	Concerns over the advancement of women clergy were reflected from two
sources. An official of the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and
Ministry pointed out in June that women are hitting a "stained-glass ceiling"
when it comes to appointments as lead pastors in local churches.
	A four-year study conducted by that agency and the Anna Howard Shaw Center of
Boston University, released in October, also showed that clergywomen leave
local church ministry at a 10 percent higher rate than men. The reasons given
included a lack of support from the denomination, rejection by congregations
or parishioners and conflict between family and pastoral duties.
	United Methodist clergywomen united in various groups during the year. A new
support group for "evangelical" clergywomen was formed during the annual
meeting of Good News, an unofficial caucus. The Black Clergywomen of the
United Methodist Church met for the first time in August. And the second
consultation for Hispanic clergywomen took place at Perkins School of Theology
in Dallas in September, 11 years after the first such consultation. 
 	At the seminary level, five students at Iliff School of Theology in Denver
were arrested May 14 after occupying the chapel. The protest, which included a
hunger strike, was against "authoritarian leadership and institutional
racism." After conversations among faculty, staff and students, a proposal to
create a commission on diversity was developed and approved by Iliff's Board
of Trustees on June 24.
	On a larger scale, the United Methodist Student Movement was reconstituted in
May after being dormant for three decades.
	A Pacific Islander United Methodist Caucus was launched in March. There are
77 congregations, ministries or fellowships of Pacific Islanders in the
church, representing 42 clergy and approximately 8,000 to 10,000 members.
	Mission around the world continued to be a priority for the denomination. In
October, the Advance Fund, which allows for voluntary contributions to
specific mission projects, launched its 50th anniversary celebration. During
those years, it has raised more than $700 million.
	In March, the United Methodist Northern European Central Conference raised
the status of the United Methodist mission in the former Soviet Union to
become the Russia Provisional Annual Conference. Although concerns were
expressed when Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed a restrictive bill on
religion in September, the conference -- with about 15,000 members -- has
continued its work.
	An agreement between the United Methodist Church in Norway and the Lutheran
Church, the official state church there, was celebrated in January. The two
denominations now recognize each other's baptism, administration of the
sacrament of communion and ordained ministries.
	In Africa, civil conflict -- both beginning and ending -- continued to affect
the work and ministry of United Methodists. Missionaries were pulled out of
the former Zaire in February as the conflict there intensified but most were
to return by November as the church there expressed confidence in the peace
established by the new government.
	July's presidential elections in Liberia also brought new hope for a
sustained peace in the aftermath of a civil war that began in 1989. But Sierra
Leone's elected civilian government was overthrown in a May coup initiated by
the military. As of November, a peace agreement offered hope, but the country
remained unsettled, with severe food shortages continuing.
	In Angola, conditions after a lengthy civil war have improved and all
districts were represented at annual conference in July for the first time
since 1992.
	At Africa University in Mutare, Zimbabwe, enrollment for 1997-98 reached an
all-time high of 557 students. Classes first started in 1992 with 40 students.
	The Board of Global Ministries is launching a rebuilding plan for Africa
through its new Millennium Fund and the Council of Bishops recommended a $12
million churchwide appeal, "Hope for the Children of Africa," at its November
meeting.
	Throughout the year, United Methodists responded to the famine in North Korea
by collecting food boxes for families there or contributing to shipments of
rice. After leading a National Council of Churches delegation to North Korea
in January, Bishop Melvin Talbert said Christians had a moral obligation to
respond to the famine. "As people of faith, we need to remember that when
brothers and sisters are in need we dare not limit our response to those who
think like us religiously or politically," he said.
	The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) continued to lead the
church's involvement, on both a national and local level, in relief for U.S.
natural disasters. Those disasters included a January freeze in Florida;
blizzards in the Dakotas; flooding in northwest states, the midwest and the
upper midwest; tornadoes in Arkansas, Kentucky and Mississippi and Hurricane
Danny in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana.
	Disasters receiving attention outside the U.S. included flooding in Poland
and the Czech Republic and volcanic destruction on the Caribbean island of
Montserrat.
	For the first time, UMCOR signed an official agreement with the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), allowing for a coordination of efforts to
provide humanitarian assistance during disaster or emergency situations.
	Individual United Methodists in the news included:
	* the Rev. Nathaniel Grady, Sr., whose conviction in a 1986 child sexual
abuse case was overturned by the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme
Court;
* the Rev. Joseph E. Lowery, who retired as president of the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference, which he helped found with Martin Luther
King, Jr., in 1957;
	* the Rev. James T. Laney, former president of Emory University, who resigned
as U.S. ambassador to South Korea, where he had served since 1993;
	* the Rev. Lawrence Livingston, a pastor in Wilmington, Del., who was
reportedly beaten, maced, held at gunpoint and arrested after being stopped
March 18 for an alleged traffic violation and later entering a guilty plea of
disorderly conduct in exchange for all charges being dropped, but the incident
sparked an investigation and led to the resignation of the city's police
chief;
	* Walker Railey, a former Dallas pastor, who reached a settlement with the
family of his wife, Peggy, after they won an $18 million civil action against
him. Railey had been tried and found not guilty in her attempted murder;
* Barry Bailey, a former pastor in Fort Worth, Texas, was ordered in January
by a civil court jury to pay more than $3.7 million to seven of eight women
who accused him of sexual misconduct;
* Jeff Smith, known as "the Frugal Gourmet," who was the target of a lawsuit
filed by a man who said Smith had sexually assaulted him when he was 15 years
old. Smith is an ordained pastor but voluntarily gave up his clergy
credentials in 1973.
	Deaths during 1997 included Retired Bishop William R. Cannon, 81, on May 11
in Atlanta; Eric Mitchell, 79, former bishop, Methodist Church of India, on
June 22 in Hackensack, N.J.; the Rev. Dean Kelley, 70, a religious liberty
expert, on May 11 in Swanzey, N.H.; and the Rev. David Flude, 60, a preacher
and mission interpreter, on June 15 in South Africa.
#  #  #

	*Bloom is News Director of the Washington Office of United Methodist News
Service.

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