United Methodist mission statement revised
United Methodist General Conference delegates have refined the denomination’s mission statement to infuse a mission directive into the life and work of the church.
The statement now reads, “The mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” The latter phrase was added in the revision and will now appear in the United Methodist Book of Discipline, the church’s official law book.
Bishop Gregory Palmer of the Iowa Conference, newly installed president of the Council of Bishops, said the change, recommended by the Council of Bishops and the Task Force to Study the Episcopacy, gives the church a way to live out its directive to make Christian disciples.
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A banner at the 2008 United Methodist General Conference shows the denomination’s refined mission statement: “The mission of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. |
An overwhelming majority of delegates voted to make the change.
Palmer explained that when the Council of Bishops met in the fall of 2004, they asked themselves, “To what end do we make disciples of Jesus Christ? Is making disciples an end in itself, or does God have a purpose for which He redeems us, recovers us and makes us whole?” The bishops had an overall sense that the statement was incomplete.
A mission statement for the church was only added to the Discipline in 2000. The second and final sentence in the approved statement reads, “Local churches provide the most significant arena through which disciple-making occurs.”
“This is the missionary piece of our making disciples of Christ,” noted Bishop Palmer. “We seek to join God in the redemption of the whole world.”
The bishops thought that disciples of Christ should work to transform the world into a new creation.
The bishops began to use the phrase “for the transformation of the world” in relation to the mission of the church, and various annual conferences also added it to their own mission statements.
Bishop Palmer said the Council of Bishops decided to “test the waters” in 2008 to see if the church was now ready to complete its directive, “to make disciples that the world might be made new—transformed.”
United Methodist Social Creed celebrated (0549)
General Conference celebrated the 100th anniversary of the denomination’s Social Creed. “The Social Creed tradition of The United Methodist Church represents several streams of social concerns embodied today in the General Board of Church and Society,” said Jim Winkler, top executive of the board.
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The Rev. Grace Cajiuat leads a liturgical version of the United Methodist Social Creed during a celebration of the creed’s 100th anniversary at the 2008 General Conference. In the background are Bishop Beverly Shamana and Jim Winkler. |
The original creed, written in 1908, was a denominational statement decrying child labor and supporting the economic rights of workers, better workplace conditions, better wages and worker safety. “The 1908 Creed affirmed the mind of Christ as the sure remedy of all social ills,” Winkler said.
The denomination’s social action agency still advocates for the poor and working people today, he told United Methodists from around the world. The board also remains “passionately” focused on the abuse of alcohol and works for a ban on the advertising of alcohol, maintaining the beer tax and to strengthen laws and regulations on alcohol. The board also advocates for world peace.
A proposed new Social Creed for The United Methodist Church became a “companion litany” instead after action by the denomination’s lawmaking body on April 30.
A task force under the leadership of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society worked on the “poetic” 2008 Social Creed that was proposed to the denomination’s General Conference. The task force wanted to present a social creed that would be easier to use than the 1972 creed.
“The proposed Social Creed was a beautiful, elegant expression about hope, and I will be excited to teach it as a litany,” said the Rev. Neal Christie, staff on the board and a member of the task force.
The Book of Discipline, the denomination’s book of law, recommends the Social Creed be emphasized regularly in every congregation and used frequently in Sunday worship.
United Methodists reject changes to homosexuality stance
Delegates to the 2008 General Conference on April 30 rejected changes to the United Methodist Social Principles that would have acknowledged that church members disagree on homosexuality.
Delegates instead adopted a minority report that retained language in the denomination’s 2004 Book of Discipline describing homosexual practice as “incompatible with Christian teaching.”
The adopted wording in Paragraph 161G also states that “all persons are individuals of sacred worth, created in the image of God,” and that United Methodists are to be “welcoming, forgiving and loving one another, as Christ has loved and accepted us.”
Delegates also approved a new resolution to oppose homophobia and heterosexism, saying the church opposes “all forms of violence or discrimination based on gender, gender identity, sexual practice or sexual orientation.”
In its majority report, the legislative committee, chaired by Frederick Brewington, New York Conference, recommended that delegates delete the incompatibility sentence and adopt the statement, “Faithful, thoughtful people who have grappled with this issue deeply disagree with one another; yet all seek a faithful witness.”
The revision also would have asked United Methodists and others “to refrain from judgment regarding homosexual persons and practices as the Spirit leads us to a new insight.”
In presenting the minority report, however, the Rev. Eddie Fox said that any United Methodist statement on human sexuality needs to be “clear, concise and faithful to biblical teaching.”
Leaving out the statement that homosexuality is “incompatible with Christian teaching” would be confusing, especially for members of the church outside the United States, Fox said.
The delegates’ action prompted a coalition of gay advocacy groups immediately to stage a silent vigil outside the Fort Worth Convention Center. Members of Soulforce, Affirmation, Reconciling Ministries Network and Methodist Federation for Social Action lined the entrance as delegates returned from a dinner break.
In other action on sexuality issues, delegates voted to:
Add the words “sexual orientation” to an existing resolution regarding a commitment to educational opportunity regardless of gender, sexual orientation, ethnic origin or economic or social background;
Retain language of Paragraph 341.6 in the Discipline that prohibits United Methodist ministers from conducting ceremonies that celebrate homosexual unions;
Reject a proposal to add “civil unions” to a list of basic civil liberties in Paragraph 162.H because delegates felt the language was already inclusive;
Reject amending Paragraph 161.C to include “committed unions” in a section describing the sanctity of the marriage covenant.
Same-sex couple says ‘I do’ outside church assembly (0550)
Just days after their denomination reaffirmed its position against same-sex unions, United Methodists Julie Bruno, 47, and Sue Laurie, 52, held a marriage ceremony on General Worth Square, across the street from the convention center where the General Conference was meeting. More than 200 guests—family, friends and delegates—attended the outdoor ceremony on May 2. The couple are members of United Church of Rogers Park, a United Methodist church in Chicago.
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Susan Laurie (left) and Julie Bruno lead a procession through the Fort Worth Convention Center, site of the 2008 United Methodist General Conference, on the way to their marriage ceremony across the street in General Worth Square. |
“We have talked for many years about the pros and cons of a wedding. We decided to do it now while our church family is gathered,” Bruno said.
Invitations were distributed on the evening of May 1 as delegates and visitors left the convention center, but Bruno said the ceremony was open to the entire church. The couple exchanged vows, and the guests read a printed declaration of marriage in unison.
United Methodists reject divestment from Israel
General Conference rejected attempts to have the denomination endorse divestment from Israel as a way of addressing the Israel-Palestine conflict.
A number of petitions, including five from U.S. annual (regional) conferences, were folded into one petition on “divestment” that called on the denomination’s pension board and finance agency “to review and identify companies that profit from sales of products or services that cause harm to Palestinians and Israelis and begin phased selective divestment from these companies.”
A divestment petition from the Methodist Federation for Social Action (MFSA), “Promoting Peace through Ethical Investment,” also was rejected on the same consent calendar. The petition had called upon a number of United Methodist entities to undertake a “phased, selective divestment from companies that support the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and other violations of human rights in Palestine/Israel.”
However, General Conference did adopt a petition on the Middle East conflict submitted by the denomination’s Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, which calls for the church to continue “to advocate for a peaceful settlement of the conflict … through negotiation and diplomacy rather than through methods of violence and coercion.”
Delegates reject petitions on evaluation of ineffective clergy
Delegates to General Conference rejected two petitions dealing with clergy ineffectiveness and guaranteed appointments. They followed the recommendations of the ministry and higher education legislative committee and voted 824-25 to NOT amend paragraph 334.1 of The Book of Discipline. The petitions asked that bishops appoint an ineffective pastor to less than full-time service.
Because the petitions were placed on a consent calendar, delegates also voted to reject an effort involving clergy evaluations. The legislation would have allowed a district superintendent to initiate changing the pastor’s conference relationship after three evaluations found a pastor to be ineffective and not likely to become effective through training and counseling.
The General Conference also voted to keep the Clergy Retirement Security Program which was approved by the 2004 General Conference. The new pension plans provide a program that follows “the best practices of major corporations” by combining the characteristics of a defined benefit and a defined contribution plan.
Display of boots represents ‘human cost of war’ (0413)
Four United Methodist bishops and a top agency executive spoke passionately about the human cost of war April 29, calling for an end to the war in Iraq during a prayer service for the Eyes Wide Open exhibit.
The temporary display, which remained in General Worth Park until 8 p.m., included a pair of combat boots for every service person from Texas who has died in Iraq and Afghanistan. About 200 pairs of civilian shoes were also on display, representing civilian casualties. General Worth Park is across from the Fort Worth Convention Center, the site of General Conference 2008.
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Sally Graham Ernst (left) of Bethel Park, Penn, and Marilyn J. Outslay of Portland, Ore., walk among boots and shoes that symbolize service people killed in Iraq. The shoes were displayed near site of the 2008 General Conference. |
“This bears witness to the cost of war,” said the Rev. Darryl Fairchild, a delegate from West Ohio, who helped organize the exhibit and service of prayer and witness. He is a board member of the American Friends Service Committee, which created the Eyes Wide Open Exhibit.
“These are sacred boots, which elevate this parcel to holy space,” said Bishop John Schol of the Washington, D.C., Area.
The Council of Bishops calls United Methodists to be peacemakers, Schol said. “We believe war is incompatible with Christian teaching and the war in Iraq is an unjust war. We continue to call on the President and Congress of the United States and the leaders of all the nations in the Coalition Forces to begin immediately a safe and full withdrawal of all military personnel from Iraq.”
General Conference approves $642 million churchwide budget
During its final day, the 2008 United Methodist General Conference approved a $642 million denominational spending plan for the next four years. The budget was approved following a declaration that “the budget defines who we are and what we believe” as the church. It is built around the four areas of focus for mission and ministry of the church for the immediate future:
• Developing principled Christian leaders.
• Creating new places for new people by starting new congregations and renewing existing ones.
• Engaging in ministries with the poor.
• Improving global health, especially attacking the killer diseases of poverty.
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Bishops Mary Ann Swenson and John Hopkins introduce the presentation on the church’s proposed four-year budget of $642 million. UMNS photos by Maile Bradfield |
“(The budget) is our mission statement of what God is calling us as people of The United Methodist Church to be about in the world,” said Bishop Mary Ann Swenson, president of the church’s finance agency, in presenting the proposed budget.
With minimal discussion, the delegates approved the budget by a vote of 750-28 and later approved the “apportionment formula” by which it is funded through money requested of the church’s 63 U.S. annual (regional) conferences and their local congregations. Less than 2 percent of the money placed in local church offering plates goes to fund denominational ministries and administration.
The budget calls for a 1.2 percent increase over each of the four years from 2009 to 2012. Church finance leaders acknowledged this increase does not keep up with inflation projections but said it is sufficient.
Prior to the meeting in Fort Worth, the conference received 27 petitions asking for a total of nearly $50 million above the $642 million bottom line. That was pared down during General Conference to $3.7 million in unbudgeted items.
The General Council on Finance and Administration and the church’s Connectional Table worked with the general agencies to accommodate the unbudgeted requests, covering them through mostly reserve funds and some budget adjustments. Those include $2 million to support theological education in Africa; $400,000 for the African-American Methodist Heritage Center; $600,000 to study structural issues related to the church’s increasingly global nature; $290,000 for the committee on central conference affairs; $300,000 for a new committee on faith and order; $115,000 for the church’s Judicial Council; and $50,000 for the Sand Creek Massacre site.
Pension agency focuses on centennial, health initiatives
By Deborah White
Leaders of the United Methodist Board of Pension and Health Benefits told the 2008 General Conference about 100 years of accomplishments and pledged to focus on the health of clergy and lay workers in the future.
The agency’s history is a “legacy of care and concern for the welfare of those who are called to serve—clergy and lay workers alike,” said Bishop Ben R. Chamness, chairman of the agency’s board of directors. He spoke May 1 during a centennial celebration for the agency, which was created by the 1908 General Conference.
The Board of Pension and Health Benefits, one of the top 100 pension funds in the United States, cares for more than 74,000 participants. It has grown from managing $200,000 in assets to managing $16 billion today. It also has become the largest denominational investor in affordable housing in the United States, with commitments of more than $1 billion.
“We have a vision for the next century that includes implementation of pensions for the central conferences and a focus on the health of our clergy and lay workers,” Chamness said.
Health petitions approved
The centennial celebration came the same week that General Conference approved a series of health-related petitions sponsored by the Board of Pension and Health Benefits.
As a result, the agency will work to establish denominationwide wellness guidelines for clergy and lay employees.
It also will form a task force with the Board of Higher Education to examine employment systems and culture and to provide guidelines for sustaining a healthy work/life balance during ministry. Systems to be examined include itinerancy, appointment-making, supervision and processes for entering and exiting ministry.
General Conference also approved legislation to:
• Require annual conferences to share health-care data with the Board of Pension and Health Benefits to increase access to information about best practices and health-care plan designs;
• Require group health insurance plans for bishops, full-time clergy and full-time lay employees of annual conferences and general agencies;
• Require access for retired bishops, annual conference clergy and lay employees to Medicare supplemental plans and prescription drug plans.
The health petitions grew out of in-depth research by the Denominational Health Task Force, created by the 2004 General Conference to examine the feasibility of a mandatory health insurance plan for the denomination. Task force members did not recommend a mandatory plan, but instead made recommendations to deal with the root issue of health among clergy and lay employees.
Deborah White is associate editor of Interpreter magazine.
United Methodists will pledge to ‘witness’
By Elliott Wright
People who join United Methodist churches henceforth will promise to be faithful in “their witness” as well as in their “prayers, their presence, their gifts and their service.”
The 2008 United Methodist General Conference voted April 30 to add the witness phrase to the liturgy the church uses when a person makes a profession of membership.
The new phrase highlights the mission and evangelistic responsibility of church membership.
The promise to support the church by prayer, presence, gifts and service was not part of the formal baptismal vows of admission to the church, but a pledge used historically in affiliating with a United Methodist congregation.
The Rev. Taylor Burton-Edwards, director of worship resources for the United Methodist Board of Discipleship, said the phrase had remained the same since 1932.
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Delegates consider legislation at the 2008 United Methodist General Conference, where the assembly voted to add wording to the liturgy for profession of membership. Henceforth, people joining United Methodist churches will promise to be faithful in “their witness,” as well as in their “prayers, their presence, their gifts and their service.” |
There was no debate on the assembly floor on the addition of the “witness” phrase. It was reported to the full conference by a legislative committee on a consent calendar. This means there was strong support in committee and the addition was not discussed specifically by the full body of the conference.
Jay Brim, a lay delegate from Southwest Texas, called adoption of the petition to the conference’s attention.
The printed rationale for the addition says:
Membership vows of The United Methodist Church do not include “witness,” an integral part of laity’s role from earliest Methodism, in members’ participation in the church’s life. Because congregations repeat these vows along with new members, a pledge to “witness” will remind members to be witnesses in the community.
Elliott Wright is the public information officer for the Board of Global Ministries.
Demonstrators call church’s ‘anti-gay’ policies sinful
By Linda Green
In reaction to the Conference’s decision to retain the denomination’s decades-old proscription in the Social Principles and other parts of the Discipline describing homosexual practice as “incompatible with Christian teaching,” more than 200 demonstrators walked onto the legislative floor at the Fort Worth Convention Center.
Primarily dressed in black, they formed a two-lined cross around the communion table located in the center aisle and draped it in a black shroud to witness against the church’s stance on homosexual practice. They entered silently, but once all demonstrators were in place, they sang, “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?”
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Supporters of full inclusion for gays and lesbians in The United Methodist Church drape the communion table in black cloth during a time of witness at the 2008 United Methodist General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. |
Audrey Krumbach read a statement during the witness that declared the “anti-gay policies of The United Methodist Church are wrong and sinful in the sight of God” and in the act of witnessing “we reject the lie that homosexuality is a sin and that by standing, we affirm that sexuality is a good gift of God.”
‘Wrenching’ decisions
The demonstration was a compromise between General Conference officers, the Council of Bishops and leaders of groups advocating the full inclusion of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people in the church. There had been plans for a large-scale demonstration reminiscent of those at the 2000 General Conference in Cleveland, where people participated in acts of civil disobedience and were arrested.
Bishop Gregory Palmer, president of the Council of Bishops, said some decisions made by General Conference delegates have been “more wrenching than others to all the members of this body and the whole church, including your bishops.”
He read a statement on behalf of the Council stating, “It was our conviction that being in holy conferencing means listening deeply and sensitively to voices you might otherwise not hear” and “identify ways in which the votes and the desire for a witness are affecting the life of the council.”
Comparisons to Central Jurisdiction
Retired Bishop Melvin Talbert reminded the conference of the church’s 1939 action, when the denomination segregated black Methodists into the Central Jurisdiction.
“That action was wrong. That action was a sin against God,” and in making this decision the General Conference “has taken an action that is wrong,” he said.
Talbert said that those in the former Central Jurisdiction lived within a structure and were able to repair broken relationships with the church. That has not been the case with those with differing sexual identities, he said.
“We have chosen to leave them out rather than invite them in to work out our relationships. … I can do no other than to say what is on my heart. General Conference, General Conference, this is wrong. I invite you to reconsider.”
‘I make no apology’
North Georgia Bishop Lindsey Davis expressed thanks for the way the leadership team of the Council of Bishops allowed the witnesses to voice their concerns and their hurts, but he refuted Talbert’s assertion that The United Methodist Church is wrong in upholding its stance against homosexuality.
“I think the church is right. I think we are very much in sync with historic Christianity and very much in sync with 99.9 percent of Christians in the world,” he said. “I make no apology for our position. It is biblical, and it is in keeping with 2,000 years of Christian tradition.”
“I definitely disagree with Bishop Talbert on that matter. … I do not think it has anything to do with civil rights,” Davis said. He added that the church takes great strides to protect the civil rights of all people.
Linda Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.
Charlene Black and three others elected to University Senate
Dr. Charlene Black, along with three other individuals, was elected by General Conference delegates to the University Senate, the organization that determines the relationship of academic and theological institutions to the denomination.
Black is co-chair of the South Georgia delegation and is a lay member of Statesboro First United Methodist Church. 2008 was her fourth General Conference, and third as leader of the lay delegation. She is also a former Lay Leader of the South Georgia Annual Conference. Her background as a retired university president and retired vice president at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Ga. qualifies her for this position.
Also elected to a four-year term were Maxine Clarke Beach (New Jersey Annual Conference) who is vice president and dean of Drew Theological School, Madison, N.J.; David Beckley (Mississippi Annual Conference), president of Rust College, Holly Springs, Miss.; and Maxie Dunnam (Kentucky Annual Conference), former president of Asbury Seminary, Wilmore, Ky.
The senators are from five electing bodies, including the National Association of Schools and Colleges and Universities of the denomination, United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry, General Conference, Council of Bishops and the University Senate.
The University Senate, established in 1882, is one of the oldest accrediting bodies in the country. Its mission was to ensure that schools, colleges and universities related to the church were worthy of carrying the denomination’s name. In recent years, regional bodies have accredited academic institutions, and the senate has focused more on how institutions are related to The United Methodist Church.
The 25-member body of professionals in higher education has responsibility for supporting the development of institutions whose aims are to address significant educational, cultural, societal and human issues in a manner reflecting the values held in common by the institutions and The United Methodist Church.
UMC Judicial Council elects first woman president
By Neill Caldwell
The Rev. Susan Henry-Crowe is the new president of the Judicial Council of The United Methodist Church. She is the first woman to lead the denomination’s “supreme court.”
Henry-Crowe, a clergy member of the South Carolina Annual (regional) Conference, has been dean of Cannon Chapel and Religious Life at Emory University since 1991. Elected in 1992 to her first eight-year term on the Judicial Council, she was elected to a second term in 2004.
When she was ordained in 1974, Henry-Crowe was only the second woman to serve as a full-time United Methodist pastor in South Carolina. She served as campus minister at Winthrop and Furman universities and later was director of the conference’s council on ministries. In her post at Emory, she coordinates the work of more than two-dozen religious groups. She also created the Journeys program, which takes groups of students and staff into areas torn by war and violence such as Bosnia, Palestine and Northern Ireland.
The 2008-2012 council met May 1 to elect officers and organize. The other new leaders are Jon R. Gray, vice president, and the Rev. Belton Joyner, secretary. The group will have an orientation meeting in July in Chicago and will convene in late October for its first official session.
Gray returned to private law practice in Kansas City, Mo., last fall after 20 years as a family court judge.
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Members of the 2008-2012 Judicial Council of The United Methodist Church pose for a photo following their presentation to the denomination’s 2008 General Conference. From left are: Ruben Reyes, the Rev. Dennis Blackwell, the Rev. Kathi Austin-Mahle, the Rev. Belton Joyner, the Rev. Susan Henry-Crowe, Jon Gray, Angela Brown, Beth Capen and the Rev. William Lawrence. A UMNS photo by Neill Caldwell. |
Joyner, who with the other new members was elected to the council on April 28 by delegates to the 2008 General Conference, is a retired member of the North Carolina Conference now serving as an interim district superintendent.
Beth Capen of the New York Conference and the Rev. Dennis Blackwell of the Greater New Jersey Conference continue on the Judicial Council and will complete their current eight-year terms in 2012.
Angela Brown of California-Nevada, Ruben Reyes of the Philippines the Rev. Kathi Austin-Mahle of Minnesota and the Rev. Bill Lawrence of North Texas were elected on April 28 and complete the council’s roster.
Newly elected members and those who are retiring were recognized before the General Conference during the May 1 morning plenary session. Outgoing council president Dr. James Holsinger thanked those who have served during the past four-year period and gave Judicial Council lapel pins to the new members.
Neil Caldwell is editor of the Virginia United Methodist Reporter and covers the Judicial Council for United Methodist News Service.
