wfn.org | Two more Georgia churches withholding churchwide giving, at

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

least temporarily

April 2, 1998	Contact: Thomas S. McAnally (615)742-5470, Nashville,
Tenn.		{201}

NOTE:  This story is accompanied by a sidebar, UMNS #202.

By Alice Smith*

ATLANTA (UMNS) -- Two more large United Methodist congregations near
here -- Acworth and Mt. Bethel -- have announced plans to withhold, at
least temporarily, their giving to churchwide causes.

The board of stewards at First United Methodist Church of Marietta
approved a similar move on March 22. All three churches are in Cobb
County.

The Rev. Med Roach, pastor of the 1,500-member Acworth congregation, and
the Rev. Randy Mickler, pastor of 5,400-member Mt. Bethel, said the
decisions made by their administrative councils were in response to the
verdict in a recent clergy trial in Nebraska.

Omaha pastor Jimmy Creech was acquitted March 13 of charges that he
violated the order and discipline of the denomination by performing a
covenant ceremony for two women.

The 46-3 vote at Acworth was taken at the council's March 15 meeting;
the 63-5 vote at Mt. Bethel occurred on March 29. Both councils voted to
hold in escrow the apportionments requested by the denomination for
churchwide programs while waiting to see what happens next in the United
Methodist Church regarding the Creech verdict.

Mt. Bethel's total apportionments for 1998 are $224,041, while Acworth's
are $65,100. About 30 percent of those amounts would go to churchwide
ministries.

Stewards of First Church Marietta voted to pay jurisdictional and
conference apportionments, but they also decided to "redirect" money
that would have gone to the general church to conference ministries
instead.

That decision related to problems of "doctrinal integrity" in the
denomination and not specifically to the Creech verdict, the Marietta
church board said.

In a pastoral letter to the members of First Church Marietta following
the board of stewards' decision, Bishop Lindsey Davis expressed
disappointment in the move. He said he hoped the decision regarding
apportionments would be for the short term.

"I am committed to seeking both truth and unity within our church, but I
cannot stand by quietly and allow Marietta First United Methodist Church
to proceed in a direction which I believe to be negative and contrary to
the expressed will of the North Georgia Conference," he wrote. "It is my
earnest prayer that this action of your charge conference will be
reconsidered and reversed." 

Mt. Bethel has indicated its intention to withhold churchwide
apportionments for 120 days. After that, it will decide whether to
disburse the funds or keep them in escrow.  Acworth did not set a time
limit, although the next meeting of the administrative council is set
for May.

"We are not saying we are not going to pay apportionments," Roach said.
"We are saying we want to hold payments until our church (at the
national level) has demonstrated it believes in its own Discipline . . .
(and) our denominational leaders make appropriate responses."

Acworth members "believe in the United Methodist Church and want to be
part of the connectional system," he said. "We just felt like we needed
to make a statement."

Both Mt. Bethel and Acworth expressed appreciation for Davis' leadership
in the wake of the Creech verdict. In two open letters, Davis had
expressed dismay at the outcome and stated his intention to uphold in
the North Georgia Conference the Book of Discipline prohibition against
same-sex ceremonies.

The enforceability of that prohibition became a central issue at the
Nebraska trial. The 1996 General Conference added a sentence to the
Social Principles in the Book of Discipline stating that "homosexual
unions shall not be conducted by a United Methodist minister and shall
not be conducted in our churches."

The question of enforceability has been referred by Nebraska Bishop Joel
Martinez to the denomination's Judicial Council.

Some in the denomination have said that they are gearing up to have the
next General Conference adopt a prohibition against same-sex unions that
can be unquestionably enforced. The General Conference, the church's
lawmaking body, meets next in 2000.

Mickler said the administrative council of his church "is also aware of
the attitudes and opinions of some of the United Methodist universities
and national boards and agencies, which apparently are contrary to the
one approved by the 1996 General Conference."

Mickler said the Mt. Bethel decision came after a "great debate to put
an end to paying apportionments immediately. This is a compromise . . .
(and) allows us to take a step back and wait and see before anything is
decided (permanently). Had it not been for Bishop Davis, that would have
occurred. His adamant support for the church's position caused the
cooler heads to prevail."

The Rev. Warren Latham, pastor of the 3,600-member Mt. Pisgah United
Methodist Church in Alpharetta, Ga., and a conservative voice in the
conference, said he sympathized with churches that felt a need to act
after the Creech trial. However, he said, Mt. Pisgah is not considering
withholding general church apportionments for now.

"I don't think that accomplishes what we need to accomplish . . . and is
not the right route for us to take," he said. "We're looking to the
bishop to give us leadership."
#  #  #
*Smith is the executive director of the Georgia United Methodist
Communications Council.
	

United Methodist News Service
(615)742-5470
Releases and photos also available at
http://www.umc.org/umns/

United Methodist News Service
(615)742-5470
Releases and photos also available at
http://www.umc.org/umns/