wfn.org | Judicial Council special session to be held in suburban Dallas

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June 16, 1998	Contact: Tim Tanton*(615)742-5470*Nashville    {366}

By United Methodist News Service

The United Methodist Church's highest court has set a deadline of June
30 for written briefs and requests to present arguments related to its
upcoming meeting on same-sex unions.

The Judicial Council also has decided that its Aug. 7-8 special session
will be at the Harvey Hotel DFW Airport in Irving, Texas, a suburb of
Dallas. The meeting will be closed to the public, as are all sessions of
the court.

The special session was called to deal with a request from the South
Central Jurisdiction's College of Bishops, which asked if a prohibition
on performing ceremonies uniting homosexual couples, contained in the
church's Social Principles, is part of church law. The prohibition was
added to the principles by the 1996 General Conference, the
denomination's top legislative body.
 
The College of  Bishops also asked if a violation of this prohibition by
clergy constitutes a chargeable offense.

The eight-state South Central Jurisdiction was the setting for the March
11-13 church trial of the Rev. Jimmy Creech. Creech was charged with
disobeying church law after performing a same-sex union ceremony at
First United Methodist Church, Omaha, where he was senior pastor. The
jury of 13 clergy members fell one vote short of  the nine necessary for
conviction, largely because of  such questions. 

The special session will begin with a presentation by a representative
of the South Central College of Bishops at 9 a.m. Aug. 7.

Related questions from other people or groups in the denomination will
be dealt with in the same meeting. Written briefs and requests to offer
oral arguments must be made in writing by June 30 to the secretary of
the council, Sally Curtis AsKew, P.O. Box 58, Bogart, GA 30622.

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United Methodist News Service
(615)742-5470
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