wfn.org | Religious leaders urged to say 'no more' to violence

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

April 9, 2002  News media contact: Tim Tanton7(615)742-54707Nashville, Tenn.
10-71BP{149}

NOTE: Photographs are available with this report. For related coverage, see
UMNS story #148.

By Tom McAnally*

OKLAHOMA CITY (UMNS) - The "Decade to Overcome Violence," launched by the
World Council of Churches (WCC) in January, provides a time for religious
leaders to "stop talking about conditions for violence and be witnesses for
peace and justice."

Jan Love of Columbia, S.C., called members of the United Methodist
Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns to help the
denomination challenge increasing violence throughout the world.  

Love is a member of the 40-member commission, which held its semi-annual
meeting here April 4-7. She also moderates the WCC emphasis against
violence. 

"In the United States now, there is a huge elephant in our room and it is
called 'war,' and we have to talk about it," she said. "It is getting
bigger, and it is not going away. ... The list is getting longer of where
our government is going to war."

Pointing to times in history when religious leaders have said "no more" to
violence, she asked, "Is the body count high enough yet for us to say no
more?"

Beginning with prayer and worship, people of faith must step forward to say
it is not right to beat women and children and to let gangs rule
neighborhoods, she said.

The Rev. Kathryn Bannister of Bison, Kan., a president of the WCC and a
member of the commission, said the decade-long emphasis aims to "get at the
spiritual underpinnings that help us combat violence."

"Violence is a spiritual problem," she said. "We need to be converted
again." 

On the eve of their meeting, commissioners met with Native Americans from
the Oklahoma City area who told of violence their people have experienced
throughout U.S. history.  

Members left their meeting at a Roman Catholic retreat center for an
afternoon and evening visit in downtown Oklahoma City. At the National
Memorial Center, they took a tour that led them through the story of April
19, 1995, and the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. They
also had a Native American dinner and a night session at First United
Methodist Church, across the street. The church has been rebuilt and
refurbished after being badly damaged by the explosion.

A brochure distributed at the center said, "May all who leave here know the
impact of violence."  

At the close of their sessions downtown, commissioners held a worship
service at the reflecting pool and a field of 168 empty chairs on the site
of the Murrah building. Each chair is inscribed with the name of a victim of
the explosion. Commission members had a personal connection to the site: One
of the people killed was Raymond Johnson, husband of Anne Marshall, an
executive of the church agency.

During business sessions, commissioners heard reports on mandates from the
2000 General Conference regarding racism and homosexuality.

The commission was asked to conduct a series of dialogues on issues related
to homosexuality and the unity of the church. One of five jurisdictional
"listening sessions," open to anyone, has been held regarding homosexuality
and unity. A session specifically for representatives of various caucuses
that have been involved in advocacy around the homosexual issues is set for
June 15 at Hyde Park Community Church in Cincinnati. 

In their report to the commission, Love and the Rev. Greg Stover of
Cincinnati, task force chairpersons, said they have encountered a range of
reactions.

"Some who strongly affirm the current positions and policies of the United
Methodist Church assert that the strength of the votes at the 2000 General
Conference definitively ended the need for further discussion on
homosexuality. They express distress that the Commission on Christian Unity
and Interreligious Concerns would keep the conversation alive.

"Some who strongly oppose the current position and policies ... express
anger and resentment at being asked to engage in discussions that deepen
their pain and woundedness. They also express distress that groups composed
mainly or only of heterosexuals would have dialogue about the 'issue' of
gays and lesbians."

Stover and Love reported that others have expressed confusion that so much
would be focused on this issue at the expense of other pressing demands on
the church.  

"Among the many reactions, we find heartfelt gratitude that the commission
continues to seek the unity of the United Methodist Church among those
faithful who hold strong differences on this issue. The task force will
continue its journey of living in these tensions."

In addition to the hearings, dialogues are also planned by the Council of
Bishops, General Council on Ministries, youth and young adult organizations,
and an inter-ethnic group.  Two commissioners will attend each of the four
dialogues.

General Conference delegates also asked the commission to give direction to
a churchwide study on racism, using a guide titled, Steps Toward Wholeness:
Learning and Repentance. The booklet addresses the church's role in racism
and concludes with a call for repentance. All annual conferences are also
requested to engage in a liturgical act of repentance.  

The Rev. Joy Moore of Wilmore, Ky., and Jerry Ruth Williams of Chesterfield,
Mo., reported that a number of activities are planned to involve black
United Methodists.  

After an Act of Repentance service at the 2000 General Conference, some
United Methodists expressed concern that "those who stayed" - African
Americans who had remained with the church instead of joining the
historically black Methodist denominations - were left out of the process.
Williams said a design team is being named for a consultation that will be
held in conjunction with the Black Methodists for Church Renewal (BMCR)
annual meeting next March. A pan-Methodist consultation is planned for April
2003.

Commissioners also learned that Ruth Daugherty of Lancaster, Pa., who was
co-chair of the commission's task force on the Act of Repentance during the
1997-2000 quadrennium, is working as a consultant with them.  

"Racism is being discussed in new and powerful ways" since the repentance
effort began at the 2000 General Conference, said the Rev. Bruce Robbins,
top staff executive. A greater linkage has been established among the
commission and BMCR and the churchwide emphasis on "Strengthening the Black
Church for the 21st Century."

Commissioners heard reports from the newly created Churches Uniting in
Christ, including plans for a video to interpret the new cooperative effort.
CUIC replaces the Consultation on Church Union, involving nine Protestant
denominations.   

Reports were received on bilateral dialogues with the Episcopal Church in
America, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Roman Catholic
Church.

In an effort to more effectively serve a global church, the commission has
voted to have members visit central conferences - regional units of the
church outside the United States. Small groups from the commission are
expected to accompany other church groups traveling to central conferences
this year and next. Instead of two full meetings in 2003, the commission
will meet only once: June 26-30 in Daytona Beach, Fla.

The money that would have been used for the second meeting will be applied
toward travel to the central conferences. Eliminating the meeting also will
enable the commission to meet the deadline for sending legislation to the
2004 General Conference. That date has been moved up because of the need to
translate materials into several languages before the event in Pittsburgh.
The fall 2002 meeting will be held Sept. 26-29 at Daytona Beach.

Robbins will conclude his 12-year tenure as general secretary in October.
The commission has requested that the General Council on Ministries  (GCOM)
extend his tenure until the 2004 General Conference. The tenure for general
secretaries of all program agencies is 12 years but may be extended on an
annual basis by a two-thirds vote of the GCOM. President of the commission
is Kansas Bishop Fritz Mutti. 
 
The commission received a proposal going to the GCOM later this month
calling for the replacement of individual governing boards with one
governing body for 12 of the church 14 agencies. While no action was taken,
members who responded were less than enthusiastic. Primary concerns included
less diversity in a smaller decision-making group and the time that would be
required of individual members.

The Rev. Robert Edgar, a United Methodist who is top staff executive of the
National Council of Churches (NCC), told commissioners he expects the
ecumenical organization to have a balanced budget by June. 

In October 1999, the NCC had a reported deficit of $2 million, and the
Commission on Christian Unity withheld United Methodist contributions until
changes were made. The NCC reduced its staff of 102 to 38 and made
administrative changes. Edgar expressed hope for the agency, and said there
is enthusiasm about creating a new ecumenical organization to include
mainline Protestant, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal and evangelical groups.
#  #  #

*McAnally retired Dec. 31 as director of United Methodist News Service.
 

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United Methodist News Service
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