wfn.org | Iraq, North Korea draws attention of mission agency

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

April 11, 2003	 News media contact: Linda Bloom7(212) 870-38037New York
10-21-31-35-71BI{217}

NOTE: This report is accompanied by two sidebars, UMNS stories #218 and #219.

By Linda Bloom*

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (UMNS) - Current events in Iraq and North Korea commanded
attention when the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries met April
7-10.

Board directors also forwarded a raft of social resolutions to be considered
by the denomination's top legislative body next year and decided to have a
first-ever telethon to raise money for mission projects.

As the war in Iraq continued, directors adopted a resolution affirming the
belief that war is incompatible with the teachings of Christ but
acknowledging "the divisions within the household of faith in time of war." 

Looking toward the war's end, the resolution supported the distribution of
humanitarian aid primarily through non-military channels and called upon the
occupying powers to work with the United Nations. The governments involved
are asked to respect international agreements, such as the Geneva Convention;
devote sufficient resources to cleaning up land mines, toxic wastes and other
dangerous legacies of war; and let the Iraqi people determine their own
system of government.

Churches are encouraged to continue engaging in interfaith dialogue, "create
sanctuaries where all are welcome, even in our differences," and support
humanitarian aid through the United Methodist Committee on Relief's "Iraq
Emergency" Advance No. 623225-4.

In a resolution on North Korea, directors affirmed the longtime relationship
between the Board of Global Ministries and the Korean Christian Federation of
the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as well as the denomination's
continuing work toward a peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula.

They urged the United States and North Korea "to reopen a dialogue to resolve
all issues related to nuclear proliferation and work toward a non-aggression
pact." The U.S. government also was urged to lift economic sanctions against
North Korea and provide humanitarian assistance there.

United Methodist congregations are invited to join in the humanitarian aid
efforts as well and to work closer with Korean United Methodist congregations
in that effort. Funds can be directed to UMCOR Advance No. 226435-0, "North
Korea Emergency."

The telethon, to be filmed as a live show but broadcast later, would be used
to raise funds for mission initiatives begun by the New York-based Board of
Global Ministries since 1989. Those new mission projects are in Cambodia,
Cameroon, Honduras, Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Mongolia, Nepal, Russia, Senegal
and Vietnam.

Directors approved a transfer of funds from money currently in reserve for
the recently postponed Global Gathering to cover the cost of the telethon,
budgeted at $239,840. The Global Gathering was to have been held in
Birmingham, in conjunction with the board meeting.

The Rev. ST Kimbrough Jr., staff executive for mission evangelism and
telethon director, told directors that more than 320 faith communities had
emerged from the new mission initiatives since 1989. But the cost of
maintaining those programs in 2003 is estimated at $1.78 million, and current
funds are about $1 million short, he said.

A fund-raising goal of $2 million has been set for the telethon. Broadcasting
possibilities include the Inspiration Network, which recently acquired access
to Direct TV. The program also may be distributed on CD-ROM.

Board members devoted part of their meeting to an exploration of Birmingham's
place in the history of the civil rights movement. It was in that city that
Eugene "Bull" Conner led violent attacks on civil rights protesters and where
four young girls were killed when the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church was
bombed in September, 1963.

Doug Jones, an active layman from the United Methodist Church's North Alabama
Annual (regional) Conference, spoke to directors about how he built cases
against two of the three men eventually convicted in the church bombing. As a
U.S. attorney, Jones led the prosecution against Thomas Blanton and Bobby
Frank Cherry, found guilty in 2001 and 2002 respectively. Both cases
currently are under appeal.

Directors also heard a reflection on the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther
King Jr. and the civil rights movement from a theological context by the Rev.
Josiah Young III, professor of systematic theology at Wesley Theological
Seminary.

A re-creation of the cell where King wrote his famous "Letter From a
Birmingham Jail" can be found at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute,
across the street from both the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and Kelly
Ingram Park, once a starting point for many civil rights marches. Board
directors toured the institute, which also includes information on the role
that the Rev. James Lawson, a United Methodist pastor, played in the
movement. Lawson, a former missionary and Board of Global Ministries
director, is retired and living in Los Angeles.

In other business, the board considered resolutions to be submitted to the
2004 General Conference, the denomination's top legislative body, which meets
April 28-May 7 in Pittsburgh.

Twelve new resolutions were approved. A "Mission Plan for Restorative Justice
Ministries" outlines actions related to the criminal justice system that
United Methodists should take at various levels of the denomination. A
resolution on peace and justice in Okinawa focuses on relations with the U.S.
military there. The board also updated a resolution regarding U.S. policy
toward asylum seekers from Haiti.

The board continues to call for an end to the U.S. embargo on Cuba. A
resolution focusing on "Africa Reconstruction and Development" encourages
United Methodists to increase their support of church programs for the
continent as well as deal with specific issues such as HIV/AIDS and land-mine
removal. Another resolution gives guidance to local churches facing the
situation of a child sex offender returning to or joining the congregation.

A resolution on "Drugs and AIDS" reaffirms the church's commitment to a
holistic approach to problems involving alcohol, drugs and HIV/AIDS. Another
resolution recognizes the need to care for a variety of population groups
suffering with HIV/AIDS in the United States. Congregations and other
church-related groups are encouraged to adopt policies dealing with issues of
"Violence Against Women and Children."

Other new resolutions recognize the problem of binge drinking on college
campuses; discuss the implications of "charitable choice" and deal with
issues related to immigrants and refugees.

Board directors approved re-submitting eight resolutions currently in the
Book of Resolutions with no changes and approved another 11 current
resolutions with slight revisions.

Legislative proposals for changes in the Book of Discipline also were
considered and approved. A proposal to study the possibility of offering a
minimum survival allowance for people appointed in charge of congregations in
the denomination's central conferences outside the United States is being
recommended to General Conference.

# # #

*Bloom is United Methodist News Service's New York news director.

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United Methodist News Service
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