wfn.org | Homosexuality, children's issues top United Methodist agendas

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

June 30, 1999  News media contact: Tim Tanton*(615)742-5470*Nashville, Tenn.
10-21-28-31-71B{359}

NOTE:  For more detailed information about each conference session, see
http://www.umc.org/umns/dailynews.html on the Internet.

By Tim Tanton*

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) -- Delegates to the United Methodist Church's top
lawmaking assembly next year will consider a host of wide-ranging changes to
the denomination's Book of Discipline.

However, if the church's recent annual conference sessions are any
indication, delegates might stand pat on some of the most controversial
parts of the book: those dealing with homosexuality. Most of the U.S.
members who acted on same-sex issues approved resolutions affirming the
Discipline's language against homosexuality and same-gender union services.
A minority adopted petitions seeking to soften or remove language against
homosexuality.

Homosexuality was a chief topic addressed during the recent annual
conference sessions, but it wasn't the only one. Others included children's
concerns and violence, racism, abortion, gambling, capital punishment, debt
forgiveness and Africa University.

During May and June, the 66 U.S. annual conferences -- regional units of the
church - met to worship, adopt resolutions on church policy, do outreach
work, and elect delegates to next year's General and jurisdictional
conferences. Petitions and resolutions adopted by the conferences will help
set the agenda for the General Conference when it meets May 2-12 in
Cleveland. After that meeting, a new Book of Discipline will be published,
with updated bylaws for the denomination, along with a new Book of
Resolutions. The General Conference meets every four years.

Many annual conferences avoided acting on same-sex issues altogether during
their recent gatherings. Of those that did take action, most adopted
resolutions or petitions asking the General Conference to maintain the
Discipline's strictures against same-sex union services and/or its current
position on homosexuality. Some asked that the wording be strengthened.

Those supporting the denomination's position on homosexuality and same-sex
unions, or that took action against changing the Discipline's wording on the
issue, included Alabama-West Florida, Baltimore-Washington, Central Texas,
the Dakotas, Eastern Pennsylvania, Holston, Illinois Great Rivers, Kansas
West, Kentucky, Missouri West, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Alabama, North
Arkansas, North Carolina, North Texas, Northwest Texas, Red Bird, Western
North Carolina, Western New York. South Georgia referred, without voting up
or down, a petition to General Conference supporting the prohibition against
such unions.

New Mexico adopted a resolution requesting that the bishops, Judicial
Council and administrative agencies of the church begin proceedings to
remove the credentials of the United Methodist ministers who helped
celebrate a same-sex union in Sacramento, Calif., on Jan. 16. 
Florida and Illinois Great Rivers also want the bishops to strictly enforce
the Discipline.

North Alabama members approved a petition for striking a sentence on equal
rights in the Discipline and inserting: "We reject, however, efforts to
extend to same-sex living arrangements those rights generally reserved to
preserve and support heterosexual marriage."

Conferences that voted to remove the Book of Discipline's language against
homosexuality, or change it to be more accepting of homosexuals, included
California-Nevada, California-Pacific, Minnesota, New York, Northern
Illinois, Oregon-Idaho and Pacific Northwest.

Same-sex issues have taken on particular importance in the California-Nevada
Conference, where an investigating committee recently received a complaint
against 68 ministers who participated in a Jan. 16 union service for two
women. The Cal-Nevada members adopted several petitions related to
homosexuality, including one asking for more inclusive language. Another
petition would have the Social Principles clearly defined as not being
church law. The principles currently state that ceremonies celebrating
homosexual unions shall not be performed by United Methodist ministers nor
in the denomination's churches. 
 
Another battleground has been Northern Illinois, where Chicago pastor
Gregory Dell was suspended from pastoral duties effective July 5 after being
convicted by a trial court for disobeying church law. Dell, who performed a
same-sex union service for two men last year, is appealing the verdict and
the penalty. Northern Illinois members elected Dell and a slate of other
General Conference delegates who largely support changing the rules that
restrict same-gender unions and the participation of homosexuals in the life
of the church. 

Northern Illinois, Pacific Northwest and Oregon-Idaho members voted to
remove exclusionary language against homosexuality and same-sex unions.
Northern Illinois also adopted a resolution encouraging members to offer
pastoral ministry to homosexuals and "to acknowledge the commitment of two
homosexual persons to be in loving and mutually beneficial relationships
with each other and with God."

Pacific Northwest members voted to offer an amendment to the Discipline that
allows pastors to rely on their individual integrity and conscience, rather
than on a mandate from the denomination, regarding homosexual unions.
Members also voted to recommend removing the rule against ordination of
"self-avowed practicing homosexuals."

New England included sexual orientation among a diversity of categories
covered in a new resolution on inclusiveness in the life of the church.
Memphis and Tennessee passed inclusiveness plans but excluded sexual
orientation. 

Troy and New York members passed resolutions supporting congregations and
individuals who choose to participate in the Reconciling Congregations
program, which publicly emphasizes openness to all people in the life of the
church regardless of sexual orientation. 

Some resolutions ask General Conference to adopt language that United
Methodists are not of one mind on the issue, but that God's grace is
available to all and that the church must be in ministry to all. Those
include Kansas East, Minnesota, Wyoming and Wisconsin.

Wyoming members, whose conference covers parts of Pennsylvania and New York,
want to amend Paragraph 65G. In their petition, they "call the church to
prayerful reflection, study, and discernment about how we minister to one
another in the midst of such disagreements." Oklahoma members accepted, by a
280-262 vote, a task force report on homosexuality calling for continued
dialogue. Likewise, a Central Pennsylvania committee reported that churches
must discuss the need to minister to homosexuals, their families and
friends. Cal-Nevada members created a committee on sexuality to promote
dialogue.

Southern New Jersey declared a one-year moratorium on resolutions dealing
with homosexuality.

Children's issues

Homosexuality aside, United Methodists presented a united front on other key
issues that came before their annual conference sessions, particularly those
relating to children. The Council of Bishops' Initiative on Children and
Poverty was very much a focal point in most sessions. Thirteen conferences
reported collecting more than $883,000 for the initiative, the Bishops'
"Hope for the Children of Africa" appeal and "Change for the Children of
Africa." 
Louisiana alone raised $233,000 for the "Hope" appeal.

"It is important for the United Methodist Church to open our churches to
children and the poor...we must confront the systems of injustice in the
church and world which do not recognize the needs of children," Bishop
Marshall L. (Jack) Meadors said in the keynote address at the New York
Conference. Meadors, of Mississippi, heads a task force guiding the
initiative. New York members passed a petition calling for U.S. support of a
global standard to protect children from war.

Several conferences addressed the problem of violence among children.
Central Pennsylvania approved resolutions encouraging broadcasters to air
positive programming on television, and calling for establishing a fund for
educating students and adults about school violence. Western New York
adopted a resolution stating, in part, that churches will "be called to
study the causes of violence and commit themselves prophetically to remedies
for violence." A 15-day "Abstain from Violence" campaign, starting July 1,
will include a boycott of violent films and TV shows.

Denver Bishop Mary Ann Swenson focused her conference's attention on
violence, asking members at one point to reflect on the kinds of labels
people use for one another. She stressed the need to refocus the
conference's work and make everyone part of the "Jesus family." Her area
includes Littleton, Colo., where 15 high school students died last May in a
shooting rampage.

Memphis members agreed to dedicate the first Sunday of every August as the
Bishop's Day of Prayer for Children, and to extend a conference task force
on violence into the year 2000. Oregon-Idaho members adopted a petition for
the denomination to advocate the elimination of violent video games in
businesses frequented by children.

West Ohio created a task force to work on "Safe Sanctuaries for Children" in
the church. Southern New Jersey approved resolutions supporting state
legislation for child-proof handguns and supporting an anti-tobacco drive
aimed at teens. 

Little Rock and North Arkansas gathered more than 4,700 school kits for
Mozambique's children and sent the items to the United Methodist Committee
on Relief (UMCOR) Depot in Baldwin, La. Desert Southwest collected more than
five truckloads of baby supplies for area agencies.

Central Texas committed to becoming a "Conference for All God's Children"
and collected more than 800 school kits for Waco-area children.

Illinois Great Rivers members collected more than $85,800 in a "Master's
Dollar" offering for the Initiative on Children and Poverty. The funds were
raised from dollar bills given to each member in 1998 for their churches to
"grow."

Detroit collected more than $40,000 as part of its effort with West Michigan
to provide 20,000 children in Haiti's Methodist schools with lunches for 180
days. Holston members prayed for more than 17,000 children by name and
raised $101,000 for children's ministries.

Baltimore-Washington members approved creating a cooperative ministry
between the conference's young people and the youth of Zimbabwe. They also
accepted recommendations that the conference produce youth-oriented TV and
radio shows and start district youth centers.

Outreach 

People attending the conference sessions didn't spend all of their time
indoors. Pacific Northwest members built their third Habitat for Humanity
home and helped construct another one.

Cal-Nevada members showed solidarity with the Jewish community, after three
local synagogues were attacked by arsonists. They joined the Bnai Israel
congregation for worship and presented $6,000 for rebuilding the
congregation's library. Cal-Pac members contributed another $5,000.

Baltimore-Washington ordinands and mission disciples gave food boxes,
hygiene kits and Scripture booklets to the homeless. Alabama-West Florida,
North Alabama, North Texas and Virginia gathered potatoes for the needy,
aided by the Society of St. Andrew hunger relief group. 

Workers at the UMCOR Depot in Louisiana must have their hands full
processing the tens of thousands of relief kits - flood buckets, health
kits, school kits, layettes and so on - that annual conferences have sent in
the last two months. Nebraska, Holston, Florida, Peninsula-Delaware and
Minnesota were a few of the contributors; those five alone sent more than
23,000 kits.

Racism

A major item on General Conference's agenda will be an act of repentance for
racism. Several annual conferences performed such acts. West Ohio members
sang spirituals, revisited the slave era through words and pictures, held
services stressing reconciliation and repentance, and apologized for
slavery. Tennessee members said a litany of repentance and adopted a
resolution asking General Conference to require that all clergy receive
training in race relations.

Western North Carolina's theme, "Unity and Reconciliation," was reflected
throughout the gathering, through a skit, a musical presentation and a
pledge by the bishop and cabinet to fight "isms" (race, gender, sex, age).
The Rev. Peter Storey, former Methodist bishop of South Africa, challenged
members to lift up the power of God's Spirit and to break down those
barriers.

Other business 

Abortion: At least seven conferences adopted petitions or resolutions to
General Conference opposing "partial-birth" abortions. Some called for
banning the procedure. South Georgia also referred, without vote, a petition
to General Conference to delete from the Discipline the position that "we
support the legal option of abortion under proper medical procedures."

Gambling: Conferences that took action against or voiced opposition to
gambling included Alabama-West Florida, Detroit, Eastern Pennsylvania,
Florida, Kentucky, North Alabama, North Carolina, North Indiana, South
Indiana, West Michigan, West Ohio and West Virginia.

Conference structure: Cal-Pac, Memphis and Wisconsin were among the
conferences that approved restructuring efforts or new structure proposals.
West Virginia adopted a vision statement for its restructuring. Missouri
West and East members approved proposals to begin work on merging by 2004.
At the Alaska Missionary Conference meeting, Portland Bishop Edward W. Paup
announced a new model of leadership: a three-pastor "superintendency team."
The pastors will still lead their individual churches but also oversee the
conference.

Clergy rights: Several conferences adopted petitions to allow all categories
of  clergy, not just full conference members, to vote for or be elected as
delegates to General and jurisdictional conferences. Some conferences also
want to remove the mandatory retirement age of 70 for clergy.

Debt relief: A half-dozen conferences supported the Jubilee 2000 debt
forgiveness effort. The campaign is lobbying the world's wealthy nations to
forgive the debts of the poorest ones.

Death penalty: Wyoming and Central and Eastern Pennsylvania called on their
state legislatures to enact moratoriums on executions. West Michigan and New
Jersey members took action opposing capital punishment in their states
(Michigan doesn't have the death penalty). Detroit decided to be a sponsor
of a Michigan coalition against the penalty.

Hate crimes: Holston and Wisconsin adopted resolutions to General Conference
supporting the Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Detroit and West Virginia took
action supporting the coverage of homosexuals by state hate crime laws and,
in West Virginia's case, people with disabilities.

Africa University: The Africa University Choir sang at conference sessions
throughout the Northeast Jurisdiction, and offerings were collected for the
United Methodist-related school, based in Old Mutare, Zimbabwe. The
Peninsula-Delaware Conference completed its two-year effort to endow a
scholarship, presenting a $67,272.63 check to the school's assistant vice
chancellor. North Indiana raised enough funds to build two dormitories.
Illinois Great Rivers began a drive to collect enough musical instruments to
start a university band and an orchestra.

Black colleges: Students from the denomination's historically black schools
spoke on behalf of the Black College Fund in several annual sessions.
Florida and New York adopted resolutions asking General Conference to have
the church's Board of Higher Education and Ministry carry out a 25-year plan
to raise a $300 million endowment for historically black United Methodist
colleges and universities. Kentucky also endorsed such a resolution. 

Africa: North Alabama gave more than $160,000 to help build a school in
Mozambique. Missouri West churches committed to supporting pastors' salaries
in Mozambique, and Missouri East completed adopting all Methodist churches
in that country in covenant relationship with conference churches. New
England approved a covenant relationship with West Angola.

Native American advocacy: Members of the Oklahoma Indian Missionary
Conference (OIMC) voted to sever ties with the Native American International
Caucus and the National United Methodist Native American Center, two
advocacy groups. The decision was preceded and followed by bitter debate in
the Indian church. The move was aimed at helping OIMC gain recognition as an
annual conference and emphasizing its readiness to make its own decisions.

Hispanic ministries: Florida and Northern New Jersey members voted to
request the continuation of the National Plan for Hispanic Ministry for the
2001-2004 quadrennium, and Texas also endorsed the plan. New Mexico wants
General Conference to give priority to the implementation of strategies for
Hispanic ministries.

Russia: Holston collected $255,000 for the Baltic Mission Center in Estonia,
for a total of $538,000 raised in two years (beating a three-year goal of
$500,000). North Georgia collected $69,267. Kansas East will ask General
Conference to create an Advance Special of $10.5 million for the quadrennium
to help Russia United Methodist Theological Seminary in Moscow and church
growth in the former Soviet Union. 

Rural issues: Nebraska called for an anti-trust investigation of the farm
crisis. East Ohio and Iowa adopted resolutions in support of family farmers.
Cal-Nevada voiced support for African-American farmers. Minnesota started an
awareness campaign on the farm crisis and its causes.

Membership: Many, if not most, conferences reported membership declines, but
there were bright spots. Membership hit an all-time high in North Texas and
a 16-year high in Louisiana. Southwest Texas celebrated seven straight years
of membership growth, while Mississippi marked its sixth consecutive year of
growth. South Georgia had a membership increase for the first time in a
decade, and South Carolina's membership reversed a six-year decline.

Giving: Sandra Kelley Lackore, top staff executive of the General Council on
Finance and Administration, praised Peninsula-Delaware for paying 100
percent of its apportionments for more than 10 years. David Lundquist, top
executive at the General Council on Ministries, thanked West Michigan for
being No. 1 in Advance giving.

Other notes:
*	At least eight conferences passed resolutions asking General
Conference to continue supporting Peace with Justice Sunday. Two others
supported the United Methodist Student Day offering, and one voted support
for Native American Awareness Sunday.
*	At least six conferences expressed support for the $32 million
"Igniting Ministry" national media campaign that United Methodist
Communications will propose to General Conference.
*	Four annual conferences voted to recommend lifting economic
sanctions against Iraq.
*	Several conferences collected money and other aid for Kosovar
refugees. 
*	Older adults were celebrated or recognized at four conference
sessions. The United Nations has designated 1999 the International Year of
Older Adult Persons.
*	Forty-eight conferences reported a total of 679 clergy members who
retired.
# # # 
*Tanton is news editor for United Methodist News Service. This report is
based on information provided by the denomination's conference editors and
communicators. 

______________
United Methodist News Service
http://www.umc.org/umns/
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