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July 7,  1998	Contact: Linda Green*(615)742-5470*Nashville, Tenn.
10-21-71BP{395}

NOTE: Photographs are available with this story.
 
By Linda Green*

Issues related to homosexuality, particularly same-sex unions, attracted
attention at most of the recent meetings of 66 United Methodist
annual(regional) conferences in the United States, but major emphasis
was also placed on children, poverty and Africa.

The conferences - composed of an equal number of clergy and lay members
representing every local congregation - meet annually to address social
issues and determine programs and financial needs. All clergy receive
their annual appointments, new clergy are ordained, and others retire.
The series of conferences begin in early May and continue through June.

The focus on children was prompted by the Bishop's' Initiative on
Children and Poverty and a related campaign to provide "Hope for the
Children of Africa.  During their sessions this year the conferences
gave at least $264,000 to the initiative on children and poverty and
more than $46,000 to the African campaign.

Other matters addressed included the needs of older adults, special
giving through the church's Advance mission program, the status of the
School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Ga.

Homosexuality issues

The same-sex union issue was on the docket of numerous conferences as a
result of the March 11-13 church trial in which a clergyman was
acquitted of disobeying the order and discipline of the United Methodist
Church. The church charged the Rev. Jimmy Creech of Omaha, Neb., with
violating the Social Principles and creating unauthorized liturgy.
However, Creech and his counsel argued that the Social Principles are
not binding law.

The 1996 General Conference added a sentence in the Social Principles
asking that clergy not perform same-sex ceremonies and that United
Methodist churches not be used for such services. The Social Principles
are a section of the denomination's Book of Discipline. Debate in the
church has centered around whether the principles carry the weight of
church law or whether they are only advisory. 

The nine-member Judicial Council, the supreme court of the United
Methodist Church, will meet in Dallas in August to deal with issues
related to same-sex unions and the Social Principles.

The United Methodist Church has struggled with issues related to
homosexuality for more than 25 years. The first public debate on the
topic began at the 1972 General Conference, four years after the
Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren churches merged to form the
denomination. General Conference is the United Methodist Church's top
legislative body and meets every four years.

This year, 39 annual conferences dealt with the homosexuality and
same-sex issues by passing resolutions affirming the Book of Discipline
and Social Principles; sending requests to the Judicial Council to rule
the Social Principles are binding law at the court's August meeting; and
affirming the Council of Bishops' pastoral letter issued April 30.

Other conferences tabled discussions on homosexuality-related issues for
another meeting or declared moratoriums on discussions related to that
topic. One conference dealt with 55 action requests surrounding
homosexuality and same-sex issues.

Several conferences adopted identities as reconciling, transforming,
confessing or welcoming organizations. Each of those labels reflects
where the conference stands regarding sexual orientation.

A reconciling conference accepts all people, regardless of sexual
orientation, as full participants in the life of the church.

A transforming conference supports gays and lesbians who want to leave
the homosexual lifestyle. Participants believe that through God and the
power of the Holy Spirit, homosexual people can be transformed.

A confessing conference pledges its unequivocal support to Jesus Christ
and the doctrinal position of the United Methodist Church.

The Northwest Texas Conference agreed to become both confessing and
transforming. Members also voted to request a special session of the
General Conference to address the issue of homosexuality if the Judicial
Council rules that the Social Principles are advisory.

South Georgia agreed to become a confessing conference. The Illinois
Great Rivers Conference did not approve becoming a transforming or
confessing conference but voted to continue dialogue already under way
on issues of homosexuality and inclusiveness. 

A resolution for New England to become a reconciling conference failed
by 10 votes to receive a required two-thirds majority (462 yes, 246 no).
Members of Oregon-Idaho deferred voting on whether to become a
reconciling conference until the 1999 session.

California-Pacific Annual Conference members pledged to make their local
churches "welcoming" to all people without regard to sexual orientation.
The choice of the word "welcoming" represents a new way of identifying
how a conference is approaching the issue of homosexuality. By not using
some of the other labels, they avoided saying they accepted or rejected
a particular sexual orientation.

Delegates at the Alabama-West Florida Annual Conference unanimously
reaffirmed the Social Principles with regard to homosexuality and
same-sex unions. Conference members agreed that violating the principles
would be considered disobedience to the order and discipline of the
United Methodist Church. They also supported the bishop and district
superintendents in taking steps to ensure that same-sex unions are not
conducted by conference clergy and in conference churches.

Memphis Conference delegates voted to request that the 2000 General
Conference enact unmistakable prohibition of same-sex union ceremonies.
Meanwhile, the Oregon-Idaho conference adopted a petition to General
Conference to remove the prohibition against ordaining or appointing
self-avowed practicing homosexuals.

Pacific-Northwest members tabled several proposals dealing with same-sex
unions in favor of a process of discernment and dialogue around the
issues of homosexuality. The members created "Guidelines for
Bridge-Building Dialogue and Discerning God's Will," a document to guide
future discussions.

Without specifically addressing same-sex unions, South Indiana delegates
approved a "No Lines in the Sand Family Covenant," declaring their
intent to remain a denominational family in spite of divisive issues.

California-Nevada delegates took no action related to the call by a
conservative group to separate from  the conference.

Focusing on children

Forty annual conferences affirmed the Council of Bishops' Initiative on
Children and Poverty.  Many addressed the initiative by collecting
offerings, having children lead services, offering workshops to help
local churches develop individual programs, and holding festivals, fairs
and plenary discussions on poverty-related issues. 

The Florida conference raised more than $91,000 for the initiative, and
members of the Northern New Jersey supported the emphasis with a walk
raising more than $4,000 for scholarships for poor children in day care.

North Carolina delegates participated in a walk-run-a-thon in an effort
to raise $50,000 for conference ministries to children and the poor. 

The Academy for Servant Leadership of the Illinois Great Rivers
Conference distributed about 2,000 $1 bills to members, encouraging them
to grow the dollars until the 1999 session, where an offering would be
collected for ministries with children and the poor.

At the West Virginia conference, $80,849 for the initiative was
presented from conferencewide events, and $28,000 in grants to 14
ministries to children and youth was awarded. Virginia had an offering
of $310,000 for children's ministries.

The week before the annual session of West Ohio, the conference ministry
team took part in "Jungle Gym Jamboree," a project  to build play space
for children of an inner-city Columbus, Ohio, church and its community.
South Georgia delegates asked that, when discussing and implementing the
initiative, references to children be understood to include the
"unborn."

Aid for Africa

Southern New Jersey delegates participated in a 30-block walk that
netted $9,392 for children's ministries and the "Hope for the Children
of Africa."

In addition, eight other conferences took action on the "Hope for the
Children of Africa" initiative, in which the bishops are seeking to
raise $12 million during the next three years. Mississippi received an
offering of $45,384 for the emphasis, and each of the 752 churches in
the Texas Conference will receive a $2 bill from Bishop J. Woodrow Hearn
and his wife, Ann, to be designated for the hope initiative. Central
Texas, Desert Southwest, Kansas West and Illinois Great Rivers also
collected offerings for the effort.

The South Indiana Annual Conference voted to raise $750,000 by the year
2000 to build a dormitory at United Methodist-related Africa University
in Zimbabwe. The Wyoming conference raised $40,000 to complete an
endowed scholarship at Africa University and to provide salary support
to pastors in Malawi. The Detroit conference signed a covenant
relationship agreement with Liberia and Central Texas agreed to
establish an African Congo Mission Initiative.

Western Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Alabama-West Florida, Holston (which
includes parts of  Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia) and North
Carolina will send more than 65,000 pairs of tennis shoes to Africa for
children in need. Rocky Mountain delegates also gathered shoes.

The Missouri East conference gave fiscal endorsement to a continuing
program promoting covenant relationships with local churches in
Mozambique, which is an outgrowth of the conference's relationship with
that conference. The Germany North Conference, a central conference in
the denomination, endorsed two missionaries as teachers at the United
Methodist Cambine Bible College in Mozambique.

Anniversary for The Advance

At least 21 annual conferences celebrated this year's 50th anniversary
celebration of The Advance  for Christ and His Church, a voluntary
giving program that supports nearly 2,000 projects in dozens of
countries. Each hosted celebrations prompting greater recognition of
mission work by United Methodists around the world.

At the 1998 session of the South Georgia Annual Conference, the Advance
was celebrated by the offering of more than $45,000 for the Baltic
Mission Center in Estonia. The Holston Conference gave $180,000 to the
center, and Red Bird Missionary Conference, which covers Appalachia,
also contributed to it. 

During 1997, the West Michigan Conference led Advance giving with a
contribution of $1.62 million. West Michigan's per capita giving average
was $19.29, compared to the denominational average of $2.97. North
Indiana was second with per capita gifts of $8.58, followed by the
Dakotas with $7.61. All three conferences are part of the North Central
Jurisdiction, which led the other jurisdictions with per capita giving
of $5.61. The Western Jurisdiction gave $3.81; Northeastern, $2.47;
Southeastern, $2.22; and South Central, $1.54.  

Annual conferences also responded to the bishops' initiatives and The
Advance by bagging more than 119,999 pounds of sweet potatoes during
sessions to help feed the hungry in the United States and throughout the
world. The Society of St. Andrew, a national, non-profit hunger relief
ministry, delivered 40,000 pounds of the potatoes each to the Holston,
Mississippi and Virginia conferences to be bagged by delegates, youth
groups and church members. Dozens of agencies will provide the potatoes
to hungry children, adults, senior citizens and the homeless.

In other relief and assistance matters, the Illinois Great Rivers
Conference collected 78,000 pounds of red beans and rice for the
hot-lunch program in Methodist schools in Haiti. After sending three
cargo containers, the conference voted to send an additional 60,000
pounds of  food. West Michigan also sent $10,000 in monetary relief to
Haiti.

California-Nevada collected more than $12,000 to create a new Ethelou D.
Talbert Shelter for Girls in Manila, the Philippines. The
Pacific-Northwest conference also sent financial and material offerings
to the Philippines.

At least 15 annual conferences voted to focus on the needs of older
adults in 1999, which has been designated by the United Nations as the
International Year of the Older Adult. Earlier this spring, the
denomination's Committee on Older Adult Ministries called on the church
to join with other religious bodies in focusing on the needs of older
people and planning ministries for them.

Conference reorganizations

The 1996 General Conference gave annual conferences permission to
restructure in ways that benefited their mission and ministry, but the
Judicial Council has declared in recent decisions that many annual
conferences' reorganization efforts are against the Book of Discipline.
At least 12 annual conferences dealt with structure, strategies and
restructuring issues during sessions.

As a result of the council's decision, the restructuring plans for the
Oregon-Idaho Conference had to be reconfigured before adoption. The
Kansas West conference will have a new structure beginning Jan. 1. The
1997 conference-approved structure was declared unconstitutional, and
the conference approved a revised structure to include four ministry
councils -- nurture-outreach-witness; leadership development;
administrative ministries; and marketing and communications. South
Georgia put its restructuring plans on hold in light of the recent
Judicial Council ruling.

As a way of restructuring their ministries and becoming more effective
in mission, the Northern New Jersey and Southern New Jersey delegates
voted to merge into one new annual conference. The Kansas East and
Kansas West Conferences are moving toward possible merger talks. The
east delegates accepted a proposal to meet in joint session with the
west delegates in 2000. Missouri East and Missouri West conference
delegates voted to continue merger discussions and study for another
year.

At least 15 annual conference adopted efforts to begin new churches and
congregations into the new millennium. Baltimore-Washington chartered
First India United Methodist Church of Washington and established 14 new
churches and mission initiatives, including Russian-speaking, Korean,
Hispanic and deaf ministries. Desert Southwest launched an effort to
start 75 new churches in the next 12 years, revitalize existing churches
and expand opportunities for outdoor/retreat ministries. The
conference's goal is to have 210 churches by the year 2010. As part of
its goal to start 100 new congregations by 2020, the North Texas
conference will launch six new congregations during the coming year.

The School of the Americas

At least seven annual conferences took action regarding the School of
the Americas, a military training site in Fort Benning, Ga. The recent
Council of Bishops' meeting called for closing the school, which has
been criticized for several years because its graduates have reportedly
perpetrated some of the worst human rights abuses in Latin America. The
bishops adopted a resolution urging President Clinton and Congress to
close the school as an act of solidarity with the poor and marginalized
of Latin America.
 
Following the bishops' lead, the North Georgia, Nebraska,
California-Nevada and Pacific Northwest conferences also called for the
school's closure. 

North Texas defeated a call to close the school with a resolution to the
U.S. government to "assume a leadership role in providing military
training to the civilized societies  of the world by demonstrating that
militaries exist to protect  and serve citizens, not to destroy and
terrorize them." West Ohio asked Congress to change the school's
curriculum to include more emphasis on human rights or to close it. Red
Bird expressed support to two local people convicted of protesting the
school.

Other social concerns

At least 28 annual conferences addressed human rights abuses, gun
control, economic sanctions, landmines, partial-birth abortions,
gambling, persecution of Christians and other issues.

The New York Conference condemned armed groups that have claimed
responsibility for crimes against humanity in Algeria, condemned nuclear
tests and the arming of missiles, and asked President Clinton and
Congress to halt military aid and arm sales to Indonesia. North Central
New York and California-Nevada called on the government to end economic
sanctions and military action against Iraq.

East Ohio called for reforms of sweatshop conditions in apparel
industries and for the adoption of  non-offensive logos by professional
sports teams now using caricatures of Native Americans.

West Ohio adopted a "Resolution for an Apology for Slavery," encouraging
the conference to ask for forgiveness from the descendants of slaves for
participation in the national sin of slavery and to commit to overcoming
racism in all of its forms.

Little Rock called for a ban on partial-birth abortions and petitioned
the United Methodist Board of Church and Society not to defend, support
or lobby in any way on behalf of partial-birth abortions. The central
conference of Switzerland/France opposed a law allowing the termination
of pregnancy within the first months, and Poland opposed gene
manipulation, cloning and abortion.

Virginia called on its five conference colleges and one preparatory
school to "discontinue use of alcohol in any form or place by any
personnel on campus."

At least 600 pastors retired from active ministry. The largest groups of
retiring pastors were from West Ohio, with 35, and Illinois Great
Rivers, with 33.
# # #
*Green is news director of the Nashville, Tenn., office of United
Methodist News Service.