wfn.org | Charges filed against Nebraska bishop

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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 (531
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Note 530 by UMNS on Jan. 6, 1998 at 15:55 Eastern (5887 characters).

CONTACT: Linda Green				3(10-21-71B){530}
	    Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470	Jan. 6, 1998

Nebraska United Methodists 
call for removal of bishop

by United Methodist News Service

	A group of United Methodists in Nebraska has called for the suspension or
removal of Bishop Joel Martinez.
	Three Nebraska United Methodist pastors, two pastor-parish relations
committees and a layman separately filed formal complaints against the bishop
last month. They charged that he failed to perform his duties, broke church
law and undermined the ministry of the pastors.
The complaints ask that Martinez be suspended or removed as bishop. He has
been the leader of Nebraska United Methodists for five years.
	According to the United Methodist Book of Discipline, the church’s book of
law, all the complaints are listed as chargeable offenses. A complaint is "a
written and signed statement claiming misconduct or unsatisfactory performance
of ministerial duties," the Discipline states.
	The complaints also charge the Rev. Francis Schmidt of Lincoln and the Rev.
Carolyn Waters, both district superintendents, and the Rev. James Brewer, a
former district superintendent, with improper supervisory actions.
	The charges were filed by the Rev. Mary McQueen and her husband, the Rev. Ken
McQueen Jr. of Fullerton, Neb.; the Rev. Jean Samuelson-Bruhn of Bennett,
Neb.; the personnel committees of the Fullerton and Genoa churches; and Jerry
Pearson, a layman of Genoa. The two towns are approximately 15 miles apart.
	The charges have been forwarded to Bishop A. Frederick Mutti of Topeka, Kan.,
president of the eight-state South Central Jurisdiction’s College of Bishops.
He is investigating the complaints. If the issues are not resolved in that
phase, the complaints would be forwarded to the Jurisdictional Investigating
Committee, which will review the case and recommend a course of action.
	"I am a servant of the church of Jesus Christ," Martinez said. "The United
Methodist Church is a faithful expression of Christ’s universal mission. As an
ordained United Methodist minister, I have always valued and trusted our rules
of order. Consequently, I have no doubt that everyone, including myself, will
be accorded a fair hearing as this matter proceeds."
	Since the charges against Martinez were made public, clergy members from
several denominations have voiced support for the embattled bishop. Those
rallying behind him have included the Rev. Rex Bivens, pastor of St. Paul
United Methodist Church in Lincoln and chairman of the Nebraska Annual
Conference Episcopacy Committee, along with leaders of the Presbyterian,
Evangelical Lutheran and Episcopal churches and the United Church of Christ.
	This the latest incident to land the Nebraska United Methodist Church into
headlines. The conference is already dealing with the case of the Rev. Jimmy
Creech, the Omaha pastor who stirred controversy by performing a same-sex
ceremony in his church in September. Martinez suspended Creech for 60 days
ending Jan. 10 for his actions. The cases are unrelated.
	In a Dec. 24 letter, the Nebraska church leaders affirmed the right of
Nebraska United Methodists to be heard, but expressed sadness that the
"difficult internal issues" had been made public and that their colleague had
been portrayed in "uncomplimentary terms."
	Martinez, they said, "is a fine Christian leader whom we know as a man of
devotions and great personal integrity." They applauded his work and devotion
to Native American and Hispanic ministries and his leadership in addressing
racism.
	In a separate statement, Bivens affirmed Martinez’s leadership and expressed
concern about the way the charges were handled by those who filed them.
	"The intention of the United Methodist Church’s formal complaint process is
to address serious breaches of clergy, lay and Episcopal duties, not as a way
to air disagreements," he said. "It is my experience that when complainants
make public what is to be a confidential matter, they are seeking to
discredit, harass and humiliate the person or persons against whom the
complaint is filed."
	Bivens said the 16-member episcopacy committee has consistently given
Martinez high marks and that the bishop has brought a "pastoral heart" to the
conference. He said Martinez "bends over backwards to be fair and just in his
administration of conference matters."
	The charges filed by the McQueens encompass alleged infractions over a
two-year period.
	Ms. McQueen asserts that her ordination as elder was delayed a year, while
Mr. McQueen complained that he was denied his ordination as elder and his
credentials as deacon were revoked.
	Samuelson-Bruhn complained that after questioning budget increases last
spring, she was removed without proper consultation from her 300-member
Lincoln church and  appointed to two small rural churches 50 miles away.
	The pastor-parish relation committees of the Fullerton and Genoa United
Methodist churches and the lay committees at Lincoln’s Calvary United
Methodist Church filed complaints against the district superintendent and the
bishop for the way the pastors were treated.
	According to Bivens, bishops within the United Methodist Church are
responsible for leading and overseeing the spiritual and administrative duties
of the church. At the same time, the denomination has a decentralized form of
administration, in which representative bodies within the conference handle or
collaborate on certain areas of decision-making. Those areas include the
appointments of pastors and ordination.
The bishop does make the final determination on clergy appointments, using
recommendations from the district superintendents. Those recommendations are
based on input from pastors and staff parish relations committees and on the
superintendents’ assessment of the ministry of local churches.
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