wfn.org | United Methodist Judicial Council releases docket for special

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

session

July 8, 1998	Contact: Joretta Purdue*(202)546-8722*Washington
10-21-28-71B{405}

By United Methodist News Service

When the United Methodist Judicial Council, the denomination's supreme
court, meets in special session Aug. 7-8 in Dallas, it will consider
several aspects of the church's legislation on ceremonies uniting
same-sex couples.

Four denominational bodies have asked for decisions interpreting parts
of the church's Social Principles and the Book of Discipline. The
remaining docket item is the review of a ruling on a related resolution
made by a bishop during a recent annual conference session.

This special session follows the church trial of the Rev. Jimmy Creech
in March for performing a celebratory ceremony for two women in First
United Methodist Church in Omaha, Neb., last September. In that trial,
the 13-member clergy jury came one vote short of convicting Creech on a
charge of disobeying the order and discipline of the United Methodist
Church.

Questions raised in the requests before the Judicial Council were a
factor in the trial. However, the council will not deal with the trial
or the verdict at its meeting.

The council decided to hold a special session in response to a request
from the College of Bishops of the South Central Jurisdiction. The
bishops have asked the court for a decision on whether the language,
"Ceremonies that celebrate homosexual unions shall not be conducted by
our ministers and shall not be conducted in our churches," in paragraph
65 of the 1996 Book of Discipline, constitutes a chargeable offense
against a minister under paragraph 2624.

The language in paragraph 65 was added by the 1996 General Conference,
the highest legislative body of the United Methodist Church and the only
entity that can change the rules and policies contained in the Book of
Discipline. Paragraph 65 is part of the church's Social Principles,
which are contained in a section of the book. A current debate - and a
key issue in the Creech trial - centers around whether the Social
Principles are enforceable, like the main body of the Book of
Discipline, or whether they are only advisory.

Paragraph 2624 in the Book of Discipline lists chargeable offenses for
which a clergy person or a lay member may be brought to trial within the
church.

The Judicial Council also will consider related requests from three
annual conferences:

*	The Nebraska Annual (regional) Conference has asked whether the
performance of a ceremony celebrating a homosexual union or a same-sex
covenanting service by a United Methodist pastor in a United Methodist
Church is a chargeable offense.

*	The Illinois Great Rivers Annual Conference has asked for a
decision on whether the Social Principles are to be understood as law
for United Methodists, and a ruling on the relationship between the
Social Principles and chargeable offense.

*	The North Alabama Annual Conference has requested a declaration
that all homosexual union services are illegal under paragraph 15 of the
1996 Book of Discipline. That paragraph is the part of the church's
constitution dealing with the powers of  General Conference. Included in
this 15-item list is the General Conference's power to "to define and
fix the conditions, privileges and duties of" the church's bishops,
other clergy and lay people.

The remaining item on the Judicial Council's docket is the review of a
bishop's decision in the Wisconsin Annual Conference that a resolution
titled "Resolution Prohibiting 'Homosexual Unions'" was out of order
because it added to the Book of Discipline. Each decision on a point of
law made by a bishop during an annual conference session is later
reviewed by the council.

One or more representatives of the South Central College of Bishops will
make an oral presentation when the council convenes at 9 a.m. Aug. 7.
Only the oral presentation will be open to the public. The council's
deliberations will be closed, as always.

"The council does not anticipate releasing its decision immediately at
the close of the special session on Aug. 7-8 in Dallas," council
President Tom Matheny said in a prepared statement. The decision or
series of decisions will be released through United Methodist
Communications when ready, he said.

Briefs from more than 30 United Methodist individuals and organizations
are being circulated to the nine council members in advance of the
meeting. The council had set a June 30 deadline for briefs related to
the special session.
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