wfn.org | Presiding officer says trial was fair, honorable

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

March 23, 2004 News media contact: Linda Green 7 (615)742-5470 7 Nashville,
Tenn. 7 E-mail: newsdesk@umcom.org 7 ALL-GLBT {121}

NOTE: A head-and-shoulders photo of Bishop William Boyd Grove and audio are
available at http://umns.umc.org.

A UMNS Feature
By Linda Green*

The recent not-guilty verdict in the case of the Rev. Karen Dammann has
resulted in anger and confusion for many United Methodists.

Bishop William Boyd Grove, the trial's presiding officer, acknowledged the
emotions people are feeling - especially people who were not at the trial and
have misunderstood the verdict or are upset by it.

"I believe that we conducted the trial fairly and honorably according to the
provisions in the United Methodist Book of Discipline," Grove said.   

"I understand that many, many people are upset by the decision and disagree
with it. If they had been there, even though they disagree, they would
respect the decision."

Many people are viewing the verdict by the clergy jurors of the Pacific
Northwest Annual Conference as an action by the entire United Methodist
Church.

In an interview with United Methodist News Service, Grove said it is
important for people to distinguish the difference between an annual
conference and the denomination in understanding the verdict.

First, he said, a clergy person is a member of the annual conference, and the
conference is responsible for determining the "suitability" of clergy or
candidates for ordination and conference membership. The decision about
suitability is made at the annual conference level. 

"It is not appealable," Grove said, "which is one reason why people who
disagree with the decision and hold a point of view on the issue of
homosexuality are upset."  

They are upset because there is no other place outside of the annual
conference itself for determining if a clergy person is suitable for
ministry, he said.

The trial followed a directive Bishop Elias Galvan received from the
denomination's Judicial Council to bring a complaint against Dammann on the
basis of her disclosure in 2001 that she is a practicing homosexual. The
directive came when Galvan asked the council for a declaratory decision on
whether two paragraphs in the Book of Discipline were in conflict: one
stating that "self-avowed practicing homosexuals" shall not be appointed to
church ministries and another stating that all clergy in good standing are
entitled to an appointment.  

The council ruled there was no conflict and directed Galvan to bring a
complaint, which went to the Pacific Northwest Conference Committee on
Investigation. The committee dismissed the complaint, and counsel for the
church appealed to the Western Jurisdiction Committee on Appeals, which
upheld the lower committee's decision. 

Counsel for the church appealed again, returning the case to the Judicial
Council. The denomination's "supreme court" remanded the decision back to the
committee on investigation, directing that a new hearing be held and that
committee members who could not apply the Book of Discipline for reasons of
conscience step aside. After further hearings, the committee called for a
clergy trial.

Before the proceedings, Grove questioned the clergy of the Pacific Northwest
Conference who made up the pool of potential jurors "to determine if they
would be able and willing to set aside any personal convictions or feelings
(and) apply the relevant portions of the Book of Discipline." 

Some who felt they could not set aside their feelings were excused.  Those
remaining in the pool "committed themselves to abide by the provisions of the
Book of Discipline, which I believe they did," Grove said.

He said he does not think the trial court was insincere in its efforts. "This
is why I think the decision should be respected, even if it is not agreed
with."

He said the trial court found Dammann not guilty based on the testimony heard
about Paragraph 304.3 in the Book of Discipline, where the phrase, "since the
practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching," is found.
"They received testimony that caused them to doubt whether the paragraph has
force given the fact that the word 'since' refers back to the Social
Principles," Grove said. 

The 2000 General Conference declared that the Social Principles represent the
official position of the church "but they are not church law," Grove said. 

The court also brought a not guilty verdict based on Paragraph 2702.b. The
jurors, in their interpretation, could not find that "declaration ... but as
I understand their interpretation, they said that while they found those
words in the Discipline, they did not find the declaration which is referred
to."

Before the 13 members of the trial court began deliberations, Grove ordered
that after they reached their verdict and before they reported it, they must
draft a statement explaining their decision to help the church understand
their reasoning.

"If we look at their statement, it indicates that they did not believe that
there is in the Book of Discipline itself a declaration but a reference to
one because of the word 'since.'" He said testimony indicated that the
declaration is in the Social Principles, which have been ruled as not being
law but an instructional guide with prophetic statements that represent the
church's position on social issues.

Grove faced two major challenges as the presiding officer. The first was to
form a trial court that would not block the implementation of church law
because its members might disagree with it, he said. "I feel that was
achieved."

The second challenge was to ensure that he provided the court with "relevant
church law on the subject," he said.

"I have no question that I overcame those challenges," he said.

The bishop also noted that the trial has raised even more questions about the
verdict and the process.

"I feel absolutely at peace with myself and with God and with the United
Methodist Church that the process was a fair process as defined in the Book
of Discipline." He said he hoped that the denomination would come to believe
that "in these highly emotional and highly divisive issues like this one,
that there are no winners and losers. We all win and we all lose."

Grove said he was impacted by the sense that everyone involved in the trial,
including the secular media, had a passionate commitment to "get it right."
"That was very powerful," he said.

"People have their own convictions on this issue," Grove said, "but I do
believe that the people who were a part of the trial process in Bothell,
Wash., wanted to do what they understood they were charged to do, what the
church was asking them to do."

To the critics of the trial and to those questioning the process, Grove
replied: "As the presiding officer who has no opinion to give about the
verdict and who has no opinion to share on the issue of homosexuality, at
least in this setting, I believe that the process had integrity, the trial
court was committed to uphold the Discipline, and even those who disagree
with their verdict should respect what they did and how they did it."

# # #

*Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville,
Tenn.

 
 

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United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org