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Bishops plan to model relationship-building at caucus events

Aug. 31, 2005

NOTE: Photographs of the bishops are available in the Photo Gallery at
http://umns.umc.org.

A UMNS Report
By Victoria Rebeck*

Amid questions and protests from United Methodists and others, Bishops
Sally Dyck, Scott Jones and John Schol will participate in a panel
discussion at an event being held by a group that advocates the full
inclusion of gays and lesbians in the life of the denomination.

The three bishops aren't stopping there, though. A few weeks later, they
will attend a conference being held by a conservative group that
advocates for doctrinal precision in the United Methodist Church and
opposes the ordination of homosexuals.

The first convocation, set for Sept. 2-5, is sponsored by the
Reconciling Ministries Network, an unofficial United Methodist group
supporting the participation of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender
people in the church.

That annual event has stirred emotions around the denomination, in part
because it's being held at Lake Junaluska, N.C., a United Methodist
facility and a bastion of the church's largely conservative Southeastern
Jurisdiction. Some United Methodists have protested the meeting being
held there, and the furor has attracted the attention of the Ku Klux
Klan, which has said it will picket the event.

The second conference is the Sept. 22-24 national gathering in
Cincinnati of the Confessing Movement, an unofficial United Methodist
group that disagrees with the Reconciling Ministries Network.

Dyck, leader of the Minnesota Area, is attending the meetings of both of
these very different groups because she believes bishops, as leaders of
the whole church, have a responsibility to "do a new thing" in response
to denominational conflict.

"The prophet Jeremiah says, in a time of religious and political
turmoil, that God is going to do a new thing," she said. "Building
bridges across divides of opinion, through conversation and listening,
is a 'new thing,' an alternate way to address division in our church.
When there is this kind of animosity toward an event, it indicates we
need to do a new thing, and that is the role of episcopal leaders."

Bridging differences

The "Bishop's Plenary" on Sept. 4 will begin with an address by retired
Bishop Richard Wilke on the Jerusalem Council, recorded in Acts 15, and
how it might serve as a model for Christian discernment and dialogue.
Afterward, bishops on the panel will respond to previously submitted
questions around the 2008 General Conference theme, "A Future with
Hope." The panel will comprise bishops Dyck; Jones, who leads the
church's Kansas Area; Schol, Washington (D.C.) Area; Susan Morrison,
Albany (N.Y.) Area; Melvin Talbert, retired, of Nashville, Tenn.; and
Minerva Carcaño, Phoenix Area.

"We will be asking these bishops questions about how we might see the
United Methodist Church having a future hope," said the Rev. Troy
Plummer, executive director of Reconciling Ministries. "How do the
bishops see their role in these times of conflict, in finding a new way,
and in being bridge builders?"

Dyck said a purpose of the panel discussion is to help bishops bridge
their own differences.

"The Council of Bishops can more effectively enhance church unity and
lead the church forward if we are able to relate and talk to each other
about matters upon which we differ, such as sexuality," she said.
"Although we differ, I believe we all sense a strong mandate to provide
leadership in unity as well as discipleship. And many of us have begun
to establish strong bonds with each other across those divisions, bonds
that I believe God will use for the good of the whole church."

Jones will be a keynote speaker at the Confessing Movement conference.
He is not a member of either the Confessing or Reconciling group, but he
is attending both meetings as a member of the Council of Bishops' Unity
Task Force, formed after the 2004 General Conference-the church's top
legislative assembly. He will also attend an upcoming United Methodist
Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns meeting, and
will convene meetings with other interest groups in the church.

"Too many people draw hard and fast lines, demonizing those who disagree
with them. That is not the spirit of Christ," Jones said. "For me to
attend both meetings doesn't mean I am in full agreement with either
group, but reflects my recognition that both groups are composed of my
sisters and brothers in the United Methodist Church, and I care about
them and want to be in dialogue with them."

The bishops believe that modeling these conversations, and meeting with
United Methodist groups that have conflicting agendas, is crucial to
their episcopal role.

Handling conflict

Conflicting theologies have been part of the church since the first
century, the bishops noted. Yet the church rarely faces those
differences in a healthy way.

"We can take three steps to deal better with conflict," Schol said.
"First, we can recognize there is ongoing conflict in the life of our
denomination. Conflict often points to growth and development.
Organizations that have no conflict aren't doing anything significant.

"Second, we need to identify and develop processes that help us engage
in conflict in healthy ways. Third, we must de-personalize conflict and
identify what the real issues are for us and work on those real issues,"
he said.

When facing conflict, "we need to take our doctrine very seriously; we
need to take the authority of Scripture very seriously, and to engage in
holy conferencing to discern God's will as revealed in our doctrine and
our Scripture," Jones said.

"Unity within the life of the church is critical and important because
we are the body of Christ," Schol said. "Unity is a critical
demonstration to the larger society. While we do not all think alike, we
can have a unity of purpose."

Pursuing dialogue

Dyck said she asked the Confessing Movement's executive director,
Patricia Miller, to meet with her during the conference to talk about
church unity. Miller agreed to do so.

Miller said she is glad some bishops are attending both events. "It is
important that the bishops know what is going on in the church."

"However, I am disappointed that bishops would participate in the
(Reconciling Ministries) event at Lake Junaluska," Miller says. "The
content of its programming is in clear violation of church doctrine and
discipline, and the bishops pledge at their ordination and consecration
to uphold the church doctrine and discipline."

The United Methodist Book of Discipline states that gays are people of
sacred worth but that the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with
Christian teaching. The book forbids the ordination and appointment of
self-avowed practicing homosexuals and the performance of same-sex
unions in the denomination's churches or by its ministers.

Plummer, of Reconciling Ministries, and Miller both expressed support
for dialogue among differing groups such as theirs - but with
qualification.

"I think there is value in dialogue if we are able to resolve
differences or to come to a meeting of minds," Miller said. "I
participated in a number of such sessions, and we have not been able to
do that. At times I felt we were so far apart, short of God performing a
miracle, we could not make that happen. But I pray that it could occur."

"I believe there is value in Christian conferencing that allows the
Spirit to move and that is open to surprises," Plummer said. "There is
no value in dialogue with people with entrenched positions who use the
dialogue to delay justice. I do believe Christian conferencing has a
place if we are willing to listen to each others' hearts."

*Rebeck is director of communication for the United Methodist Church's
Minnesota Annual (regional) Conference.

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

********************

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

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