wfn.org | [UMNS-ALL-NEWS] UMNS# 317-Judicial Council sets docket for fall meeting

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>Judicial Council sets docket for fall meeting

>Jul. 25, 2008

NOTE: A photograph is available at http://umns.umc.org.

>A UMNS Report By Neill Caldwell*

The United Methodist Church's Judicial Council will include five new
faces when it convenes Oct. 22-25 in Minneapolis.

The meeting will be the first of the new quadrennium for the
denomination's "supreme court." Issues covered on the 13-item docket
include the ban on United Methodist clergy from performing same-sex
marriage ceremonies, questions relating to who is eligible for
membership in the local church, and the creation of a U.S. regional
conference, which was part of the debate at the recent General
Conference in Fort Worth, Texas.

New members are the Revs. Belton Joyner of the North Carolina
Conference, Kathi Austin-Mahle of Minnesota, and Bill Lawrence of North
Texas, along with lay members Angela Brown of California-Nevada and
Ruben Reyes of the Philippines.

The four returning members of the council are the Rev. Susan Henry
Crowe, the first woman president of the Judicial Council, the Rev.
Dennis Blackwell, and laypersons Jon Gray and Beth Capen. The council
has nine members, lay and clergy, who are elected every four years by
General Conference, the church's legislative body.

The same-sex marriage item follows a string of actions over the course
of the summer. After the state of California approved same-sex
ceremonies, a group of retired clergy in the United Methodist
California-Nevada Annual (regional) Conference offered to perform such
unions in spite of the denomination's disciplinary prohibition on
leading same-sex weddings or similar ceremonies celebrating homosexual
relationships.

In June, the California-Nevada Conference approved a resolution
commending those retired clergy, but following a request for a decision
of law, Bishop Beverly J. Shamana issued a ruling declaring the
statement "void and of no effect." All bishops' decisions of law are
automatically reviewed by the Judicial Council.

The United Methodist Church, while affirming all people as persons "of
sacred worth," considers the practice of homosexuality "incompatible
with Christian teaching." Its Book of Discipline prohibits pastors from
conducting such union ceremonies, and those denominational standards
were again affirmed by the 2008 General Conference.

>Questions on inclusiveness

The Alaska Missionary Conference is asking whether Paragraphs 214 and
225 in the Book of Discipline are constitutional under Paragraph 4,
Article IV, of the church's Constitution. Paragraph 4 states the
inclusiveness of the church includes all persons; Paragraph 214 deals
with the eligibility of members, saying that "all people may attend its
worship services, participate in its programs, receive the sacraments
and become members of any local church in the connection." Paragraph 225
deals with transferring into The United Methodist Church from another
denomination.

In Decision 1032, issued in 2005, the Judicial Council ruled that
"Paragraphs 214 and 225 are permissive and do not mandate receipt into
membership of all persons regardless of their willingness to affirm
membership vows." The pastor-in-charge of a local church has the power
to determine "a person's readiness to receive the vows of membership,"
the council said in Decision 1032.

Another item with far-reaching implications comes directly from the
floor of the 2008 General Conference and is related to the creation of a
"regional conference" for the church in the United States.

During General Conference, delegates passed nearly two dozen amendments
to the Constitution of the church that would allow for creation of such
a U.S. regional conference. The amendments were proposed to make the
denomination's structure more international and would combine the
church's five U.S. jurisdictions into a regional body, similar to the
church's non-U.S. central conferences. This action would separate
business that relates only to the United States away from General
Conference.

The item before the Judicial Council deals with a specific petition that
would change language in Paragraph 10, Article III, of the church's
Constitution from "central" conferences to "regional" conferences.

One other item sent to the council at the end of General Conference
referred to the meaning of Paragraph 602 of the 2004 Book of Discipline
as it relates to the new Paragraph 320.6, which outlines the status of
retired local pastors.

Paragraph 602 relates to clergy membership within an annual conference,
while the newly passed Paragraph 320.6 would let local pastors who have
completed the Course of Study choose whether to be listed as local
pastor or laity upon their retirement.

Another item related to General Conference is a request from the Kansas
East Annual Conference on Paragraph 507.2 of the Book of Discipline,
with regard to the scope of petitions presented to General Conference.
Paragraph 507.2 states that each petition must address only one issue or
one paragraph of the Discipline unless two paragraphs are so closely
related that a change in one affects the other.

>Other docket items

>Other items on the docket include:

*	A review of a decision of law by Bishop Marcus Matthews of the
Eastern Pennsylvania Annual Conference regarding the mandatory
appointment of a clergy member after a trial court decision declaring
the clergy member not guilty of the alleged offenses.

*	A request from the California-Pacific Conference related to
previous Judicial Council Decision 799 on the authority of the board of
ordained ministry or its executive committee to overturn a ruling on a
question of law by the chairperson of the board. Ruling 799 does mention
separation of powers, but primarily states that questions of law
presented to a bishop must pertain to the business being conducted by
the annual conference.

*	A request from California-Pacific Annual Conference for a ruling
on Paragraph 327.6 of the Book of Discipline, which deals with requests
of discontinuance from probationary membership.

*	A request from the West Ohio Conference for a decision regarding
Paragraph 405.2c, adopted by the 2008 General Conference, concerning the
relationship between the Interjurisdictional Committee on Episcopacy and
General Conference. The paragraph deals with the formula for determining
the number of bishops in a jurisdiction.

*	A review of decisions by Bishop Edward Paup of the Pacific
Northwest Annual Conference regarding the consultation process in the
appointment of pastors.

*	A request from the Western North Carolina Annual Conference to
rule on whether or not Paragraph 1117.9 of the Book of Discipline as
amended by the 2008 General Conference contravenes Restrictive Rule 1 of
The United Methodist Church regarding Article XVIII of the Articles of
Religion. Paragraph 1117.9 deals with training laity to take communion
elements to sick and homebound with a language change from "following a
service of Word and Table" to "as approved by the pastor."

*	A review of a decision of law by Bishop John Schol of the
Baltimore-Washington Conference on the right of the annual conference to
amend the nominations to the board of ordained ministry.

*	A review of determination by Bishop John Hopkins of the East
Ohio Conference that a motion to refer a matter to the Judicial Council
was not a request for a decision of law.

The deadline for submitting briefs to the Judicial Council is Aug. 22.
Thirteen copies of each brief should be submitted, signed by the person
submitting the brief. Rev. Joyner is the secretary of the Judicial
Council. For information, e-mail judicialcouncil@umc.org.

*Caldwell is editor of the Virginia United Methodist Advocate and covers
the Judicial Council for United Methodist News Service.

News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.

>********************

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

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