wfn.org | Daily Wrap-up: Church calls on U.N. to lift sanctions against Iraq

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CLEVELAND (UMNS) - The United Methodist General Conference meeting here May
6 called on the United Nations to lift the 10-year-old economic sanctions
against Iraq.

The sanctions are the "most severe penalty ever imposed on any nation," the
resolution stated.  The "burden of these economic sanctions falls squarely
on the shoulders of the poor, the elderly and the children of Iraq."
According to UNICEF estimates, the sanctions "are directly responsible for
the deaths of five to six thousand children every month...," the resolution
stated.

The Clinton administration is asked to help in getting the sanctions lifted
and "assist in restoring Iraq to its previous status as a respected and
prosperous member of the international community."  

The resolution received a three-fourths majority vote by the 992 clergy and
lay members of the General Conference. No debate occurred.

In another action, the conference offered prayers for peace in the
Philippines and Sierra Leone. Rebel groups in both countries have seized
hostages, according to news reports.

Delegates also offered a prayer in which they remembered last year's
shooting tragedy at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., and in
"thousands of other places in the world where our children are being
slaughtered."

Taking up internal matters, the delegates rejected by a substantial margin a
proposal to limit bishops to one term of eight years. Currently, bishops are
elected for life and must retire between ages 66 and 70. They normally spend
eight years in one assignment.

A report from the General Council on Ministries related stories of the
church's many mission activities. Programs cited ranged from a church in
Columbus, Ohio, serving breakfast between 1 and 3 a.m. to Ohio State
University students, to the removal of land mines in Mozambique.

Delegates also heard an extensive report on the growth of ministry among
Korean Americans. The denomination has 500 Korean-American pastors and more
than 400 Korean-American congregations.  

The church's ministry to Korean immigrants began in l903 in Hawaii. A task
force is recommending a six-part program to strengthen the ministries. The
proposal carries a price tag of about $3.2 million.

At noon, a gathering of about 400 people held a rally at the Cleveland
Convention Center, where General Conference is under way, and vowed to open
the total United Methodist Church to gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and
transgendered people. The rally was sponsored by the Reconciling
Congregations Program, a national network of United Methodist churches and
organizations that welcome people regardless of sexual orientation.

After singing, taking communion and cheering a handful of speakers, the
gatherers formed a "circle of love" around the building. The circle,
speakers said, was a reminder to the delegates working inside that "we are a
part of this church, and we've been invited to God's table." Several United
Methodist bishops and other church officials participated. 

During a May 5 dinner, leaders of the United Methodist Church and its
related higher education institutions strengthened their commitment to
provide quality education and supportive faith communities as they prepare
students for life.

The covenant emerged as the result of conversations with bishops, college
presidents, campus ministers and conference boards of higher education and
ministry.  The Rev. Roger Ireson, top staff executive of the United
Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry, said the document is a way
of affirming the denomination's 250-year-old tradition of church-related
education.

Many of the 992 delegates will attend church services May 7.  More than 30
delegates are preaching in Cleveland-area churches.

That evening, the Ohio East Area, host to the conference, will sponsor music
by the United Methodist-related colleges in Ohio in the famed Severance
Hall, home of the Cleveland Orchestra.

On May 8, the delegates will dig into more than 2,000 calendar items
carrying legislative proposals that must be acted on before final
adjournment May 12.
# # #
--Robert Lear

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United Methodist News Service
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