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TITLE:	United Methodist Council of Bishops facing diversity issues at
Nebraska meeting

April 1, 1998	Contact:Thomas McAnally (615)742-5470, Nashville, Tenn.
(10-21-71B){196}
			  
by United Methodist News Service

Theological diversity -- particularly the fallout from a recent clergy
trial -- will be on the agenda for United Methodist bishops when they
meet April 25-May 1 in Lincoln, Neb.

Facing the international Council of Bishops will be proposals to:
*	call a special session of the General Conference, the top
legislative body of the church that ordinarily meets every four years;
*	call a special session of the council to discuss diversity
issues raised in an "In Search of Unity" document;
*	create an ongoing Commission on Theological Diversity.

Nebraska pastor Jimmy Creech was acquitted March 13 of charges that he
violated the order and discipline of the denomination when he performed
a same-sex ceremony at First United Methodist Church in Omaha. Eight of
the 13 jurors voted against Creech, but nine votes are necessary for
conviction in a church trial.

The case hinged on the fact that the Social Principles, which include a
prohibition against same-sex unions, is advisory, not church law.  

Groups interested in creating legally enforceable prohibitions against
same-sex ceremonies quickly called on the Council of Bishops to request
a special session of the General Conference, the only group that makes
policy for the denomination.

More recently, the executive committee of the churchwide Commission on
Christian Unity and Interreligious Conference requested that the bishops
have a special meeting to discuss issues raised in an "In Search of
Unity" document. The paper was created by participants in a two-part
dialogue on theological diversity sponsored by the Christian Unity
Commission.

Participants in the recent dialogues in Nashville and Dallas also asked
the bishops to:
*	create a 24-member Committee on Theological Dialogue;
*	conduct its own dialogues "in order to model for the church our
journey toward unity," and
*	prepare a teaching paper on the authority of Scripture and
divine revelation.

More than 100 episcopal leaders from around the world will attend the
semi-annual Council of Bishops meeting at the Cornhusker Hotel in
downtown Lincoln.

Preliminary committee meetings will begin on April 25, but the first
plenary session involving all the bishops will begin with worship at
9:15 a.m. April 28. The meeting will adjourn at noon on May 1.

The council includes 50 active bishops in the United States and 17 from
Africa, Europe and the Philippines.  About 60 retired bishops
participate but without voting.

Of the 50 active U.S. bishops, 10 are African American, nine are women,
two are Hispanic Americans, one is Japanese American and one is Korean
American.

Bishop Emerito P. Nacpil of the Philippines will preside over the
sessions. At the close of the meeting, Bishop George W. Bashore of the
Pittsburgh Area will be installed for a one-year term as president.
Serving a four-year term as secretary of the council is Bishop Sharon
Zimmerman Rader of the Wisconsin Area.

United Methodists are the second largest Protestant group in the United
States, with 8.5 million members. The church also has more than a
million members in Europe, Africa and the Philippines.

During their business sessions in Lincoln, the bishops will continue
work on a churchwide initiative on children and poverty, hear a
presentation on establishing new faith communities, and select one of
their number to deliver the episcopal address at the beginning of the
2000 General Conference.

Among issues related to the initiative on children and poverty, the
bishops will consider a proposal from the Commission on Pan Methodist
Cooperation that United Methodists jointly promote Children's Sabbath in
October in cooperation with the African Methodist Episcopal, African
Methodist Episcopal Zion and Christian Methodist Episcopal churches.

During their semi-annual meetings, the bishops often speak out on social
issues. The topics are recommended by individual bishops early in the
meetings and referred to a Committee on Resolutions for development.
Bishop Mary Ann Swenson of the Denver Area chairs the committee.  

One social issue facing the council is whether to call for the closure
of the U.S. Army School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Ga. A
resolution calling for closure came before the bishops at an earlier
meeting but was deferred until more information could be obtained. A
group of United Methodists visited the school March 10.   

The school, founded in 1946, has trained more than 57,000 officers,
cadets, noncommissioned officers, police and government civilian
personnel from 21 Latin American nations. Critics note that graduates
have been involved in human rights abuses, including the assassination
of Archbishop Oscar Romero.

Attending his first council meeting since being elected a bishop in the
Methodist Church in Puerto Rico will be Bishop Juan A. Vera-Mendez.

Special recognition will be given to Bishop Emilio de Carvalho of Angola
and Bishop Onema Fama of the Republic of Congo. Each of the Africans has
served 26 years as an active bishop, longer than any colleagues on the
current council.
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United Methodist News Service
(615)742-5470
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