wfn.org | UMNS# 04475-'Bilingual' Judicial Council to meet in

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'Bilingual' Judicial Council to meet in Philadelphia 

Oct. 13, 2004	 News media contact:   Tim  Tanton * (615) 7425470* 
Nashville {04475}

NOTE: Additonal resources are available online at
http://www.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=2&mid=5844.

A UMNS Report
By Neill Caldwell*

The Judicial Council of the United Methodist Church will meet in Philadelphia
with a full docket of 17 cases and a new logistical challenge: a member who
speaks French and Swahili ... but not English.

The nine-member council, the denomination's supreme court, will hold its fall
meeting Oct. 27-30 at the Four Points by Sheraton Philadelphia Airport Hotel.
All Judicial Council proceedings will be closed except for the oral hearings,
set for 9 a.m. Oct. 28.  

This will be the first time when all of the council's proceedings will
simultaneously be translated into French and from French into English to
facilitate the participation of the Rev. Paul Shamwange Kyungu of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo. Elected as the first clergy alternate at
General Conference in Pittsburgh, Kyungu joined the council when the Rev.
Larry Pickens resigned to become top staff executive of the United Methodist
Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns. 

Because all of the documents involved in cases pending before the Judicial
Council are prepared in English, the court has had to address the translation
of original documents and briefs into French. The cases on the fall docket
involve hundreds of pages of briefs and other documents. Once the meeting
begins, oral hearings, all deliberations, and the drafting and refinement of
opinions will have to be translated.  

"All of us look forward to assimilating Rev. Kyungu into the council as we
all learn to function in an atmosphere requiring translation of documents,
draft decisions and discussion of the docket items," said Dr. James
Holsinger, the new president of the Judicial Council. "Those who are
appearing before the council for oral presentations will need to keep in mind
that simultaneous translation will be occurring."

Language is not the only roadblock for Kyungu's participation. The ability to
travel to the United States is also proving difficult. In his country,
obtaining a visa is a multi-day process that requires him to be personally
present several weeks before departure.

"Perhaps the most serious obstacle presented for the Judicial Council has
been ensuring Rev. Kyungu's presence at the meetings," said the Rev. Keith
Boyette, the council's new secretary. "Despite our efforts, he was unable to
receive the necessary information in a timely manner to be able to attend our
orientation session in August. Through careful planning and extraordinary
effort, we have apparently overcome those obstacles for our fall session."

This is the most international Judicial Council ever convened, court
officials said. Returning member Rodolfo Beltran is from the Philippines.

"While there are certainly unique issues presented by Rev. Kyungu's service
as a member of the Judicial Council, I rejoice that we have the opportunity
to have two members of the central conferences of the United Methodist
Church," Boyette said. "This reality reflects the increasingly global nature
of our church." The central conferences are regional units of the church in
Africa, Asia and Europe.

When the council held its organizational meeting in May in Pittsburgh,
Holsinger was elected president, Mary Daffin was elected vice president and
Boyette was elected secretary. All three are returning members but are new to
their leadership positions. Holsinger and Daffin are lay people from Kentucky
and Texas, respectively, while Boyette is a pastor in Virginia.

"I am looking forward to our fall meeting," Holsinger said. "We have several
important docket items left from the 2004 General Conference which will
consume a significant amount of time and effort."

In addition to Kyungu, other new Judicial Council members are Judge Jon Gray
of Missouri; attorney Beth Capen of New York; the Rev. Susan Henry-Crowe of
South Carolina; and the Rev. Dennis Blackwell of New Jersey.

The Judicial Council has granted requests for oral hearings to be conducted
in the following cases:
7	A request from the 2004 General Conference for a declaratory decision
on the legality and constitutionality of Petition 40325, as adopted, dealing
with the United Methodist Board of Pension and Health Benefits.
7	A request from General Conference for a declaratory decision on the
effect of Paragraph 705.3(j) of the Book of Discipline regarding the
membership of the Connectional Table. General Conference approved creation of
the table to guide the work of the denomination's general agencies.
7	A request from the 2004 General Conference for a declaratory decision
on the constitutionality of Calendar Item 1498 regarding the membership of
the Connectional Table. That and other calendar items can be found online at
http://www.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=17&mid=3433.
7	A request from the Western Michigan Annual (regional) Conference for
a declaratory decision on the addition of domestic partner benefits to the
conference's health benefits policy.

Other items on the fall docket include:
7	A General Conference request for a declaratory decision regarding
Calendar Item 1514 and the doctrinal standards of the United Methodist
Church.
7	A request from General Conference for a declaratory decision on the
constitutionality of Calendar Item 1167 with respect to lay membership on an
annual conference's committee on investigation.
7	A request from the 2004 General Conference for a declaratory decision
on the constitutionality of Calendar Item 1017 with respect to the lay
membership of annual conferences.
7	A review of a bishop's decision of law in the North Central New York
Conference concerning approval of a candidate for commissioning as
probationary member by the clergy session. The Judicial Council reviews all
decisions of law made by bishops during annual conference sessions.
7	A request from the Virginia Conference for a declaratory decision on
"Equipping The Church: An Organizational Plan for the Virginia Conference of
the United Methodist Church."
7	A request from the Virginia Conference for a declaratory decision on
the application of Paragraph 352.1(b), regarding involuntary leave of
absence, and Paragraph 356.2, on voluntary retirement, in a case where a
clergy member requested voluntary retirement but was placed on involuntary
leave of absence by the clergy session.
7	A request from the Illinois Great Rivers Conference for a declaratory
decision on the authority of a bishop to overrule the Judicial Council and
deny an individual's request for jury trial.
7	A request from the Wisconsin Conference for a declaratory decision on
the constitutionality of Paragraph 346.1 of the Book of Discipline concerning
the discontinuance of local pastors.
7	A review of the Kansas West Conference's equitable compensation plan
for women clergy as required by Judicial Council Decision 968. The court's
decisions can be found at http://www.umc.org/interior_judicial.asp?mid=263.
7	A review of a bishop's decision of law in the Troy Conference
concerning a resolution on "Providing Health Care Coverage for Domestic
Partners."
7	A review of a bishop's decision of law in the North Georgia
Conference concerning the propriety of a resolution titled, "A Resolution
from the South Georgia Annual Conference - Support for a Marriage Amendment
to the Georgia Constitution" under the Book of Discipline.
7	A review of the Northern Illinois Conference's revised plan of
structure as required by Judicial Council Decision 909.
7	A review of a bishop's decision of law in the New York Conference
concerning whether an elder's request for trial can be denied when the bishop
determines that a complaint will be handled administratively.

*Caldwell is a freelance writer residing in High Point, N.C.

News media contact: Tim Tanton, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.

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United Methodist News Service