wfn.org | Conferences may not adopt labels of unofficial bodies council

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Nov. 2, 1998	Contact: Joretta Purdue*(202)546-8722*Washington
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HERSHEY, Pa. (UMNS) - United Methodist annual conferences may not
identify themselves with or take on the label of an unofficial body or
movement, the denomination's highest court has decided.

"Such identification or labeling is divisive and makes the official
bodies of the church subject to the possibility of being in conflict
with the Discipline and doctrines of the United Methodist Church," the
Judicial Council said in one of the more than 20 decisions reached
during the court's fall session Oct. 28-30.

This ruling, which prohibits these regional bodies from adopting such
labels as "reconciling conference" or "transforming conference," arose
out of the Northwest Texas Annual Conference's decision in June to
become a "confessing conference."

The conference's action was contained in a resolution titled "A Call to
Doctrinal Integrity." During the annual conference session, the
presiding bishop was asked for a ruling of law as to whether the
resolution was in conflict with the denomination's constitution,
"articles of religion" and "confession of faith" and other parts of the
Discipline.  He said it was not counter to these items as long as it was
interpreted as a mere expression of the opinion of the annual
conference. The Judicial Council disagreed.

In its analysis and rationale, the council noted that the Articles of
Religion, Confession of Faith and the General Rules are protected from
change, paraphrase or summary. It cited earlier decisions that specified
that annual conferences do not have authority to change the Discipline,
and one that stated, "A vote to approve implies the power to disapprove,
and is therefore not permissible."

The council said that Northwest Texas Annual Conference had affirmed
doctrinal statements in its resolution and in doing so violated the
church's constitution.

"In declaring that an annual conference may not become an unauthorized
organization, the Judicial Council is in no way limiting efforts by the
conferences to pursue principles and causes, affirmed in the Discipline
and by the General Conference," the council said. "Additionally,
reconciliation and healing is a mandate of the gospel required of the
whole church."

The decision marks a change in the council's thinking and led the
justices to reverse an earlier decision giving the Wisconsin Annual
Conference permission to become identified as a "reconciling conference"
and one that authorized the churchwide Commission on Christian Unity and
Interreligious Concerns to become a "reconciling commission."

The Reconciling Movement encompasses more than 14,000 United Methodists,
148 congregations, 23 campus ministries, 6 conferences and other groups
which publicly welcome all persons, regardless of sexual orientation.
The Transforming Congregations movement affirms "the Biblical witness
that homosexual practice is sin and that the power of the Holy Spirit is
available to transform the life of the homosexual."   The mission of the
Confessing Movement is "to enable the United Methodist Church to
retrieve its classical doctrinal identity, and to live it out as
disciples of Jesus Christ." 

 In another decision, the Judicial Council ruled that a statement in the
church's Social Principles prohibiting same-sex unions is
constitutional.  Declaratory decisions were requested by the
Oregon-Idaho and California-Nevada annual conferences. Both conferences
questioned the constitutionality of the sentence, "Ceremonies that
celebrate homosexual unions shall not be conducted by our ministers and
shall not be conducted in our churches." The statement was placed in the
Social Principles by the 1996 General Conference, the denomination's
highest legislative body.  The Rev. Jeanne Knepper of Portland, Ore.,
representing Oregon-Idaho, presented the case for declaring it
unconstitutional, in one of the three oral hearings held Oct. 29 at
Rockville United Methodist Church, Harrisburg, Pa.

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