wfn.org | Pan-Methodist group struggles with implications of union

[NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG]

April 3, 2001 News media contact: Thomas S.
McAnally*(615)742-5470*Nashville, Tenn.     10-21-31-71B{157}

NOTE: For related coverage, see UMNS stories #155 and #156.

By Tom McAnally*

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - Cooperation is one thing, union another!  

That was the observation of church leaders attending the second meeting of a
new group bringing together two Pan-Methodist commissions, one on
cooperation that has been operating since 1985, and another on union that
began in 1996.

The 36-member Commission on Pan-Methodist Cooperation and Union includes
representatives of the three historically black denominations -- African
Methodist Episcopal (AME), African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AMEZ) and
Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) -- and the predominantly white United
Methodist Church. Black Methodists created their own denominations because
of racism that existed in the main Methodist bodies of their day. 

During their March 28-31 meeting in Nashville, the commissioners had a
lively discussion about their direction and their understanding of union.
They agreed to devote significant time during the next meeting to a
discussion of  "what union would look like."  

At the commission's organizational meeting, a subgroup was asked to come up
with some models of union. AMEZ Bishop Nathaniel Jarrett, of Tinley Park,
Ill., questioned what models might be recommended. "We all seem to embrace a
model of cooperation among our churches. ... It seems clear that we're not
talking about organic union or structural merger." He compared the status of
the churches to "households within the family, recognizing that as a family
we work together."

The Rev. George Maize IV, an AMEZ pastor from Los Angeles, expressed concern
that the black denominations would lose their cultural identity if the
commission moves toward union.  Instead of the covenant and commitment
involved in "dating and marriage," he suggested,  "Let's just be friends."

United Methodist Bishop Melvin G. Talbert of Nashville, ecumenical officer
for his denomination, said attention shouldn't be limited to what may be
lost. "We can also gain something," he observed.

Jarrett, who has been involved in pan-Methodist conversations for several
years, said he is open to possibilities of the future, but he added that
objective analysis would suggest that at this point  "merger is not a
practical option." The commission has not identified any other models of
union, he noted.

AMEZ Bishop Clarence Carr of St. Louis, serving a one-year term as president
of the new combined commission, compared the work of the group to churning
butter. With "mixing and shaking," he said, results would begin to emerge.
Several members said the commission must go forward on the journey, even
though their destination is unknown.  

In a closing meditation, the Rev. Gloria Moore, an AMEZ laywoman from
Knoxville, Tenn., asked, "Is this bigger than all of us?" Affirming the
importance of holding fast to heritage and history, she said, "Our vision
ought to be where we are going, where we go from here." 

Carr represented his denomination at an Act of Repentance for Reconciliation
during the 2000 United Methodist General Conference in Cleveland. United
Methodists apologized for historical acts of racism that prompted blacks to
leave the predominantly white denomination and also for acts of racism
within the church. 

In response, Carr reminded the delegates and visitors that a tree is known
by its fruit. "I'm not going to be a judge," he said, "but I want you to
know we will be fruit inspectors."  

In an interview with United Methodist News Service during the commission's
meeting in Nashville, Carr said he applauded the United Methodists for their
efforts to rid themselves of racism. Asked what "fruit" he has observed so
far, he cited action by the United Methodist General Conference inviting
members of the three black Methodist denominations to serve as voting
members on churchwide agencies. "I applaud that," he said. "It's an
important step."

More could be done in cooperation among the denominational publishing houses
and to provide scholarships for inner-city youngsters, he said. "That's the
generation we will have to prepare to keep this movement going."  

He also pointed to the need for cooperation among church-related colleges
and noted that cooperative campus ministry is "low fruit ready for the
picking."  

United Methodists announced that expenses would be paid for three college
students from each of the historically black denominations to attend an
annual meeting of college students this summer. The day before the
gathering, the leadership team will meet with the nine students to explore
cooperative efforts in the future.

Regarding union itself, Carr said there is an "honest recognition of issues
still before us." While some apprehension exists, he said he also sees a
"desire to move beyond."

Asked about the "journey" of the commission since its creation, Carr said,
"I must confess we are further along than when I first came in 1997. My
trust level has been enhanced by the relationships, and as I see it, that's
where it's going to really culminate in a meaningful way."   Acknowledging
hills, valleys and roadblocks, he stressed that "relationship building is
essential at all levels. It has to really reach the local level." 

During the Nashville meeting, a large, diverse congregation gathered at
Belmont United Methodist Church for a two-hour worship service featuring
music from choirs representing the denominations and a rousing sermon by CME
Bishop Paul A. Stewart of Birmingham, Ala.  

Using the story of Joseph, Stewart said Methodists must move forward despite
roadblocks such as racism. Quoting Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa,
Stewart said, "Racism is dead, but we've not been invited to the funeral nor
have we seen the corpse." Like Joseph, he called on Methodists to pull off
their shackles of defeated attitudes, hopelessness, suspicion, racism, and
negativism and move ahead.

Concern about racism and prejudice surfaced often during the commission's
business sessions. Leading one of the morning meditations, Harriet McCabe, a
white United Methodist laywoman from Naperville, Ill., gave a moving account
of her own lifelong journey with racism. Bishop Jarrett was among those who
affirmed her afterward. "Your sharing reminds me of the price everybody pays
for racism and sin," he said. "Some pay a price that is greater, but none is
exempt."

Bishops from the four denominations have supported an initiative on children
in poverty.  An offering of more than $1,300 was taken during the public
worship service for the initiative.  When the commission meets next in
Philadelphia, Nov. 28-Dec. 1, a new hymn related to the initiative will be
sung by a mass choir composed of members of the four churches. 

The commission established an award for honoring the work of pan-Methodist
congregations and leaders. The first award will be presented to Payne Chapel
AME church in Nashville for its work with at-risk children and youth.

Glenn A. Fleming, the director of the program, told the commissioners that
governmental agencies need and want the help of the church. At the same
time, he encouraged them to incorporate their ministries separately from the
local church in order to keep the government from interfering with church
matters. The program related to Payne Chapel is a 10-session early
intervention program for teen-agers referred by the juvenile courts.  

Fleming said faith-based initiatives supported by President Bush have been a
reality for years. "The government (agencies) can't do it by themselves," he
said. "They want and need our help."   

Drawing on his work with government agencies in Mississippi and Tennessee,
Fleming painted a bleak picture. "Locking up our children is not solving the
problem," he declared. "Children are raising themselves. The church is going
to have to help parents raise these children. You're all they've got.

"Churches must work together to save souls and to help our children," he
said. "We're losing them. They have no love in their lives."

Among actions, the commission members voted to:
	*	Invite U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige, an African
American and a native of Mississippi, to their next meeting.
	*	Ask denominational staff executives related to evangelism to
meet and explore possible cooperative efforts.
	*	Affirm a second national conference of black men, planned
and supported by all four denominations.
	*	Ask officials at the United Methodist Board of Higher
Education and Ministry to plan a meeting of college presidents from the four
denominations.
	*	Suggest models of cooperation that could be used in target
cities and annual conferences.  These include use of the United Methodist
study guide on repentance (see UMNS story #156), joint worship services,
pulpit and choir exchanges, combined youth events and joint vacation Bible
schools.

The members also agreed that the Lord's Supper would be observed during the
public worship at the next meeting in Philadelphia, partly as a reminder of
a racial incident at the city's St. George Methodist Episcopal Church in the
late 1700s. Former slave Richard Allen, an itinerant Methodist preacher,
left St. George's and started a branch of Methodism that practiced racial
equality. Today the denomination is known as the African Methodist Episcopal
Church. 

# # #

*McAnally is director of United Methodist News Service, the church's
official news agency, with offices in Nashville, Washington and New York.  

*************************************
United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org