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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS 97" by SUSAN PEEK on April 15, 1997 at 14:24
Eastern, about DAILY NEWS RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (382
notes).

Note 381 by UMNS on Oct. 13, 1997 at 15:39 Eastern (3594 characters).

CONTACT:	Linda Bloom					569(10-21-71B){381}
		New York (212) 870-3803				Oct. 13, 1997

Commission plans actions
for repentance on racism

	DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (UMNS) -- A denomination-wide "act of repentance" on
racism, down to the grassroots level, has become a goal of the United
Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns.
	During its Oct. 9-12 meeting here, the commission expanded upon a project
approved last spring that called for the development of an "Act of Repentance,
Healing and Commitment" that would recognize the role racism has played in
divisions within the Wesleyan movement.
	A task force has hired Carolyn Oehler, executive director of the
Scarritt-Bennett Center in Nashville, Tenn., to write a theologically-based
study guide to go to all local churches by the fall of 1999. Discussions
generated by the guide would serve as preparation for a broader action at
General Conference, the denomination's legislative body, in the year 2000.
	Mary Love, secretary of the Commission on Pan-Methodist Cooperation, outlined
how the three black Methodist denominations -- African Methodist Episcopal
(AME), AME Zion and Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) -- historically were
detached from what is now the United Methodist Church.
	The three denominations all were formed not because of doctrinal
disagreements but because African-American church members were not being
treated equally, she said.
	She gave several examples of how that racism continues today. "The key is
behavior," Love pointed out. Any act of repentance "will not make a difference
unless behavior is changed" at the local church level.
	Commission members also discussed the need for more bi-lateral dialogues with
other denominations. A dialogue currently is ongoing with the Roman Catholics
and is "in pause" with the Lutherans, the last round having concluded in 1989,
according to the Rev. Bruce Robbins, the commission's general secretary.
	A recommendation to reopen dialogue with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA) and to initiate a dialogue with the Episcopal Church USA --
both with goals of attaining full communion with those denominations -- was
referred to the commission's executive committee for further action.
	A dialogue with representatives of Pentecostal and Wesleyan Holiness
traditions, such as the Nazarene and Free Methodist, also is being planned for
the winter or spring of 1999.
	The Rev. Tweedy Sombrero, a commission member, reported on Native American
issues, including the use of gaming as a means to provide better housing and
health care and the increasing loss of sacred sites.
	Sombrero, a Navajo, noted that Native-American spirituality touches on all
parts of life. "No one really understands what it means to have a land base
and be a part of the land," she said, referring to sacred land sites.
	In other business, the commission:
	* approved updating and revising two documents -- "On the Ecumenical Road"
and "Called to be Neighbors and Witnesses;"
	* acted on a request from the East Ohio Commission on Christian Unity and
Interreligious Concerns and will analyze the theological and ecumenical
implications of United Methodist practices regarding ordination and conference
membership;
	* was led by Loretta Williams, a consultant on anti-racism  and Boston
University professor of social work, in community-building exercises;
	* heard an update from Robbins regarding developments for the Consultation on
Church Union (COCU).
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