wfn.org | Greg Dell trial: questions and answers

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

March 4, 1999 News media contact: Thomas S.
McAnally*(615)742-5470*Nashville, Tenn.  10-21-28-71BP{117}

NOTE:  Head and shoulder photos of the Rev. Greg Dell and Bishop Jack Tuell
available for use with this story.  

Questions and answers about the clergy trial of the Rev. Greg Dell,
beginning March 25 in Downers Grove, Ill., were prepared by United Methodist
News Service.  Information will be updated online as available on the United
Methodist Web site, www.umc.org/umns/99/mar/Dell.htm .

What is a church trial?  

A trial in the United Methodist Church occurs when a complaint is filed
against an individual -- in this case a clergyman -- and specified
committees have reviewed the charges and recommended a trial.  

Most complaints against clergy are resolved in the supervisory process,
making a trial unnecessary. According to the church's Book of Discipline,
"Church trials are to be regarded as an expedient of last resort." The Book
of Discipline contains the bylaws of the United Methodist Church.

While official policies and procedures are determined by the United
Methodist Church as a whole through its General Conference, clergy in the
United States are accountable to one of 66 annual (regional) conferences in
which they have membership. A jury includes 13 clergy members from the
annual conference, with nine votes necessary to convict. 

Who is charged with what? 

The Rev. Greg Dell, pastor of Broadway United Methodist Church in Chicago,
will be on trial. He is charged with disobeying the "order and discipline"
of the United Methodist Church, one of 10 chargeable offenses listed in the
denomination's Book of Discipline. 

Dell performed a union ceremony for two men Sept. 19. The denomination's top
legislative body added a statement to the church's Social Principles at its
last meeting in 1996 saying, "Ceremonies that celebrate homosexual unions
shall not be conducted by our ministers and shall not be conducted in our
churches." There were conflicting opinions about the status of this sentence
after it was adopted by the General Conference in 1996, but the church's
nine-member Judicial Council ruled in August 1998 that it is a chargeable
offense and has the force of church law. The council is the denomination's
supreme court.

Dell said he has conducted 33 services of holy union for gay and lesbian
couples during the past 18 years of his 30-year pastoral ministry. He also
declared publicly that he "will never stop doing such services as long as I
have my ordination." He contends that to refuse such services is to
discriminate against the approximately 30 percent of his congregation that
is gay.  

How does the widely publicized 1998 trial of Nebraska clergyman Jimmy Creech
relate to this case?

Before the Judicial Council issued its opinion about the statement against
same-sex unions, a church trial was held in Kearney, Neb., March 11-13,
1998, for the Rev. Jimmy Creech. He had performed a covenant ceremony for
two women at First United Methodist Church in Omaha Sept. 14, 1997.

Eight of the 13 trial jurors voted to convict Creech of violating the order
and discipline of the church. He was acquitted since nine votes were
necessary for conviction. The Dell trial in the Northern Illinois Annual
Conference will be the first since the Judicial Council issued its ruling on
the matter. Creech and Dell were friends in the Duke University Divinity
School class of 1970. Trial officer (judge) for the Creech trial was retired
Bishop Leroy Hodapp, Evansville, Ind. 

Who made the formal complaint against Dell? 

Bishop Joseph Sprague of the church's Chicago Area (Northern Illinois Annual
Conference) filed a complaint against Dell Oct. 12. Sprague has publicly
stated that he disagrees with the church's position against same-sex unions
but made the formal complaint because he felt duty-bound to do so in his
official capacity as bishop. 

When and where will the trial be held? 

The trial will begin at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, March 25, at First United
Methodist Church, Downers Grove, Ill., a suburb west and slightly south of
downtown Chicago. It is not known when the trial will end.  The Creech trial
took three days. 

The first major agenda item for the trial will be the selection of a trial
court (jury) which could take several hours. Members of the jury are chosen
from ordained elders in the Northern Illinois Annual Conference.

Who will preside over the trial? 

Presiding over the Dell trial will be retired Bishop Jack Tuell of Des
Moines, Wash. (not Iowa), who was an attorney before becoming an ordained
clergyman. Tuell has presided over several church trials. 

The Rev. Stephen Williams, pastor of First United Methodist Church in
Franklin Park, Ill., will be the counsel for the church, assisted by James
Geoly. Counsel for Dell will be the Rev. Larry Pickens, pastor of Maple Park
United Methodist Church in Chicago, assisted by Theodore M. Swain and
Atonious L.K. Porch.

Will the trial be open to spectators and the news media?

According to the church's Book of Discipline, a trial is closed unless the
respondent (defendant) requests in writing that it be open. It is expected
that this trial will be open, but no official announcement has yet been
made.   

What if Dell is found guilty? Not guilty? 

A conviction could result in penalties ranging from the withdrawal of his
ministerial credentials to a "lesser penalty."  If found not guilty, it is
likely that he would continue his ministry at Broadway United Methodist
Church, retaining all the privileges of a clergy person in full connection
with the annual conference.

What is the denomination's official policy regarding homosexuality? See the
World Wide Web site listed at the top of this story.

For assistance, news reporters may contact: 

Linda Rhodes, director of communications for the Northern Illinois Annual
Conference and key contact person,  (312) 541-1604, e-mail:
linda_rhodes@msn.com. 

Covering the trial for United Methodist News Service will be Linda Bloom
director of the agency's New York office, and Tim Tanton, news editor of the
agency with headquarters in Nashville, Tenn. Questions in advance of the
trial may be directed to the UMNS home office in Nashville: (615) 742-5470
or e-mail newsdesk@umcom.umc.org. Staff photographer Mike DuBose will be
shooting at the event.

Hour-to-hour UMNS coverage of the trial will appear on the Web site.

Spokespeople:   

The United Methodist Church is intentionally organized so that no one
individual, officer or staff member has the sole authority to speak for the
denomination. Any individual can speak for himself/herself. No single
building or office is understood to be the central headquarters of the
church. All bishops of the church have equal status. The only group that
speaks officially for the church is the international General Conference, a
legislative assembly of nearly 1,000 delegates, which meets every four
years. Its decisions and actions are recorded in the church's Book of
Discipline and Book of Resolutions. 

Bishop Sharon Zimmerman Rader of the Wisconsin Area is serving a four-year
term as secretary of the United Methodist Council of Bishops. Bishop George
Bashore, Pittsburgh Area, is serving a one-year term as president.

Members of the Judicial Council, like members of the U.S. Supreme Court, do
not comment on their rulings.  

Chicago Area Bishop Sprague has announced that he will not comment on the
Dell case until after the trial verdict. 

News media representatives looking for comments may want to contact church
leaders in their own area. Most annual conferences have staff communicators
who can help reporters and others contact appropriate people for responses.
UMNS can provide phone numbers. 

Organizations with special interest in the trial:

Leaders of several unofficial organizations that have particular interest in
this trial might be available for comment.

Reconciling Congregations, a coalition of United Methodist congregations and
organizations that publicize the fact that they are open to full
participation of all individuals, regardless of sexual orientation.
Executive director: Mark Bowman, Chicago, (773) 736-5526.

Transforming Congregations, an organization that believes the practice of
homosexuality is a sin and that individuals can be "transformed" or changed
through the grace of Jesus Christ. Executive director: Jim Gentile, Penndel,
Pa., (215) 757-5513; quarterly newsletter editor: Robert L. Kuyper,
Bakersfield, Calif., (805) 325-0785.  

Affirmation, a caucus of United Methodists for lesbian, gay, bisexual and
"transgendered" concerns. Spokespeople: the Rev. Jeanne G. Knepper,
Portland, Ore., (503)760-4215, and  Morris Floyd, Minneapolis, (612)
824-5021.

Good News, a conservative renewal movement within the church that publishes
a regular magazine by the same name. President and publisher: the Rev. James
Heidinger, Wilmore, Ky., (606) 858-4661; chairman of the board: the Rev.
Philip Granger, Kokomo, Ind., (765) 864-0655.

CORNET,  an offshoot of the Affirmation Caucus organized specifically to
"address unjust practices in the United Methodist Church concerning
same-gender covenant services (and) to educate people about this concern."
Spokesman: Morris Floyd, Minneapolis, (612) 824-5021.

Confessing Movement, an organization of individuals and congregations
launched in April 1994 who "pledge unequivocal allegiance to Jesus Christ"
and who "contend for the apostolic faith" within the denomination.
Executive director: Patricia Miller, Indianapolis, (317) 356-9729;
president: the Rev. John Ed Mathison, Montgomery, Ala., (334) 272-8622.

# # #

______________
United Methodist News Service
http://www.umc.org/umns/
newsdesk@umcom.umc.org
(615)742-5472