Wrap up for Tuesday, April 29: Liberian president addresses assembly

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia addresses the 2008 United Methodist General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. A UMNS photo by Maile Bradfield.

By J. Richard Peck*

FORT WORTH, Texas (UMNS) — Liberia President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, 69, spoke to the April 29 session of the United Methodist General Conference.

Liberia Bishop John Innis noted that the first woman to be elected president of an African nation is a graduate of the Methodist College of West Africa, a secondary school in Liberia. Innis introduced her to the assembly as “your daughter whom you educated.”

“I am a United Methodist and a product of United Methodist education in Liberia, and I feel at home with you, members of my United Methodist family,” said Johnson Sirleaf, who is revered as the “iron lady” of that West African nation.

Despite the fact that 85 percent of residents in the Republic of Liberia are unemployed and 63.8 percent live on less than $2 a day, “Liberia is on the way back,” she said.

In a banquet where she received the first James K. and Eunice Mathews Bridge Builder Award, she told how her country was torn apart by wars and thousands had fled the nation. She spoke of young boys who were conscripted to kill and destroy, and she said mothers and children could get neither food nor education during the conflicts.

“Today we seek to start anew,” she told nearly 1,000 attending the banquet. She said the infrastructure is being rebuilt and children are going back to school. “We turned on electricity in our capital city,” she said. “Children danced in the street.”

Johnson Sirleaf thanked the denomination for its 175-year presence in Liberia. There has been a Methodist presence in the Liberia since it was established by free American slaves in the 1820s. The church operates hospitals, schools and four mission stations in that nation.

Study of ministry

The 2008 General Conference continued a study of ministry from the preceding quadrennium. General Conference took similar action in 2004.

After four years, the Study of Ministry Commission found more questions than answers. The group said there was not sufficient time to resolve the divergent concerns around the ordering of ministry.

Delegates asked the Council of Bishops, in consultation with the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry, Board of Discipleship and Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, to establish a 28-member Study of Ministry Commission for 2009-2012. The delegates also requested $150,000 for the new commission's work.

ELCA bishop’s message

Bishop Mark Hanson, a bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and president of the Lutheran World Federation, preached April 29, a day after delegates approved an agreement establishing full communion with the ELCA. Pointing to worldwide migration caused by famine, war, poverty and national disasters, Hanson said the church has good news to share with a “rootless, restless, hopeless world.”

“That good news is the words of Jesus, ‘I am the vine, and you are the branches. I have loved you the way my Father has loved me. You didn’t choose me, remember: I chose you.’

“The choosing is not conditional upon our cooperation,” Hanson said, because the roots of Christians already “are deeply planted in God’s grace and mercy.”

Higher Education banquet

More than 1,000 people attended a banquet April 28 to celebrate the witness of the 122 United Methodist-related academic institutions. Following a performance by a 120-member student choir, Jake Schrum, president of Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas, said he doesn't worry about the “United Methodist Church's ability to share the hope of Christ with the rest of the world.”

Following the student choir’s singing of "Wade in the Water," Iowa Area Bishop Gregory Palmer said the song could be used to invite people to “wade in the water” of a United Methodist college, university or seminary.

“If we are beginning to sing in harmony ... the key to our future and the future of the world and of our planet is leadership, leadership, leadership,” he said. “I say to you … let's wade in the water.”

Some 250,000 students attend United Methodist-related academic and theological institutions in the United States. Ninety-two are four-year institutions, six are two-year colleges, 13 are theological schools, 10 are pre-collegiate schools and one is a professional school.

Hymnal revision

The assembly voted 450-336 to approve the creation of a 27-member hymnal revision committee. The committee would include three bishops, two members from each of the five U.S. jurisdictions, a representative from two groups concerned with liturgy and hymnody, three representatives from the United Methodist Publishing House, five from the Board of Discipleship and four chosen for expertise in liturgy and music.

Delegates also authorized the Board of Discipleship and the Publishing House to create a nine-member committee to determine the need for an Africana hymnal.

Other items

The Commission on Religion and Race celebrated its 40th anniversary. The agency was formed at the 1968 uniting conference in Dallas.

The Judicial Council meets during General Conference and ruled on four issues presented prior to the Fort Worth gathering. The council affirmed two bishops’ decisions of law, sustained the church trial conviction and the revoking of credentials of a pastor in the Rocky Mountain Annual (regional) Conference, and ruled that annual conference commissions on religion and race do not have the authority to investigate complaints.

The 2004 Book of Discipline says, “The mission of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ.” Delegates added the clause “for the transformation of the world” to the end of that statement. A motion to add a clause about “salvation of souls” was defeated. Most argued that the mission is defined in further statements within the Discipline. The Rev. Tyrone Gordon, a clergy member of the North Texas Conference, said people need help living in the “nasty now”; let God take care of the “sweet by and by.”

The Revs. Homer Noley and Alvin Deer were honored April 28 at a dinner celebration for their longtime commitment to Native American ministries in The United Methodist Church. About 50 Native American leaders and supporters from across the United States attended the dinner, sponsored by the Native American Comprehensive Plan.

*Attending his 11th General Conference, Peck is a four-time editor of the Daily Christian Advocate now serving as an editor for United Methodist News Service during General Conference.

United Methodists celebrate higher education

By Linda Green*

FORT WORTH, Texas (UMNS)—A 120-member student choir, college presidents and delegates attending the 2008 General Conference celebrated United Methodist higher education and church-related schools for their “open hearts, open minds and open doors.”

More than 1,000 delegates and visitors attended the banquet and program celebrating higher education on April 28 at the Fort Worth Convention Center, site of the 2008 General Conference. The event honored the institutions for educating the next generation of students that will determine the future of the United Methodist Church.

The evening included a video presentation on the 122 United Methodist-related academic and theological institutions. Openness is "not just a slogan" at United Methodist institutions, said the voiceover on a video. Students from all over the world attend church-related schools and, when they walk through "the global doors," they put a face on United Methodist education, the video said.

"Young people are the future for any organization but especially for the church," said Jake Schrum, president of Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas, and chairman of the Higher Education Night Task Force.

The student choir was under the direction of the Rev. Barbara Day Miller, assistant dean of worship and lecturer in liturgical practices at Candler School of Theology in Atlanta.

Following the choral performance featuring songs about the holiness of Jesus and how Jesus is the rock, Schrum said he "doesn't worry about the Methodist Church's ability to share the hope of Christ with the rest of the world."

Schools are superior

United Methodist education is distinctive and in many ways superior because the institutions emphasize John Wesley's charge of education for the common good, said William Lucky, president of the National Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities. "We celebrate John Wesley's vision by continuing to have open hearts, open minds and open doors," he said.

A prayer led by Stuart Gulley, president of LaGrange (Ga.) College, thanked the Methodist Church for not stopping with the establishment of local congregations and the spread of scriptural holiness across the land. He thanked the church for investing in the educational institutions.

Gulley said that in times of war, terrorism, crime, immorality, poverty, disease and depletion of the earth's resources, it is the church and its academic institutions which have "challenged minds and inspired souls to address these complicated and vexing problems."

Higher Education Night was sponsored by an 11-member task force of representatives from the National Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities; the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry, the Council of Bishops, the Council of Presidents of the denomination's historically black colleges and universities, and the United Methodist Higher Education Foundation.

Wade in the water

Following a stirring rendition of the Negro spiritual "Wade in the Water" by the student choir representing nearly 30 United Methodist academic and theological institutions, Iowa Area Bishop Gregory Palmer said the metaphor heard in the song should be a calling card for the United Methodist schools, colleges and universities.

Palmer, president of the United Methodist Council of Bishops, said the song could be used to invite people to consider United Methodist education when making decisions about where they will attend school to "wade in this water."

"Very often students make that decision with strong oversight from their parents under the misguided conception that it will cost them more to attend a private, church-related (or) United Methodist institution,” he said.

"If we are beginning to sing in harmony … the key to our future and the future of the world and of our planet is leadership, leadership, leadership. I say to you to let's wade in the water."

Across the United States, 250,000 students attend United Methodist-related academic and theological institutions. Of the total schools, 92 are four-year institutions, six are two-year colleges, 13 are seminaries and theological schools, 10 are pre-collegiate schools and one is a professional school.

*Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn

Native American leaders honored for longtime service

The Revs. Homer Noley (left) and Alvin Deer are honored at an April 28 dinner in Fort Worth sponsored by the Native American Comprehensive Plan during the United Methodist General Conference. UMNS photos by Ginny Underwood

By Deborah White*

FORT WORTH, Texas (UMNS) -- The Revs. Homer Noley and Alvin Deer were honored April 28 at a dinner celebration for their longtime commitment to Native American ministries in The United Methodist Church.

About 50 Native American leaders and supporters from across the United States -- in Fort Worth for General Conference 2008 -- attended the dinner sponsored by the Native American Comprehensive Plan.

Hymns sung in the languages of the Choctaw, Kiowa and Creek tribes set a spiritual tone for the celebration. The Rev. Kenneth Locklear, pastor of Prospect United Methodist Church in Maxton, N.C., added some levity by singing songs with special lyrics he wrote for the occasion with help from the Rev. Larry Jent, a delegate from the Virginia Annual (regional) Conference.

Noley, a Choctaw, is a retired clergyman and former executive director of the National United Methodist Native American Center at Claremont School of Theology in Claremont, Calif.

Now living in Wilburton, Okla., Noley serves as a consultant to the center and is developing a history of the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference. He is the author of First White Frost: Native Americans and United Methodism and co-author of A Native American Theology with Clara Sue Kidwell and George Tinker.

The Rev. Alvin Deer, a Kiowa and Creek, was executive director of the Native American International Caucus until he took disability leave in 2007. A member of the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference, he now fills the pulpit at Seminole (Oka.) Hitchitee United Methodist Church.

Both men are featured in the "Journey to Inclusiveness" display at General Conference, sponsored by the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race.

‘There was a time we couldn’t do this’

“They have been mentors to me,” said the Rev. David Wilson, superintendent of the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference, chair of the Native American Comprehensive Plan and a delegate to General Conference.

“I’ve watched these two men at General Conferences,” Wilson said “In Louisville, they worked until 2 and 3 in the morning when they got this program started. They have given a lot of their lives. We thank God for what He has been doing in and through them.”

The Rev. Anita Phillips, executive director of the Native American plan, organized the celebration with Wilson. She presented Noley and Deer with shadow boxes containing beautiful feathers imprinted with small warrior faces.

Both men spoke briefly at the celebration, emphasizing their pride in the progress of Native American ministries. “I have a passion for people who are hurting,” Deer said. “I want my church to be that way. We can never be complacent about where we are in ministry because we can do more.”

Noley expressed gratitude that so many Native American leaders are serving in ministry across the United States. "There was a time we couldn’t do this -- nobody showed up and we weren’t invited," he said. "We could not have done this if you hadn’t continued to work."

Anne Marshall, chair of the Native American International Caucus, said, “This is an historic event -- not only to honor Homer and Alvin, but also this is an opportunity for all of us to have a new beginning together … as Indian people moving forward.”

*Deborah White is associate editor of Interpreter magazine.

United Methodists, Lutherans take root together

Bishop Mark Hanson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America preaches at the 2008 United Methodist General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. A UMNS photo by Paul Jeffrey.

By Linda Bloom*

FORT WORTH, Texas (UMNS) — In a rootless, restless world, Christians “have a powerful testimony to give,” according to the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Bishop Mark Hanson, who also is president of the Lutheran World Federation, preached during the April 29 morning worship at the United Methodist General Conference—one day after conference delegates overwhelmingly approved an agreement of full communion with the ELCA.

Pointing to an increasingly rootless society, as well as the worldwide migration caused by famine, war, poverty and national disasters, Hanson reminded the 992 delegates and visitors that “in a rootless, restless, hopeless world, we have good news to share.”

That good news is in the words of Jesus: “I am the vine, you are the branches. I have loved you the way my Father has loved me. You didn’t choose me, remember: I chose you.”

The choosing is not conditional upon our cooperation, Hanson said, because the roots of Christians already “are deeply planted in God’s grace and mercy.”

ELCA pastors have told him about the pressure to attract members in today’s religious marketplace with a self-help, feel-good gospel, he added, but the radical gospel of Christ is all that is needed. “Lives rooted in Christ the vine will bear fruit.”

For both denominations, fruit has come from 30 years of theological dialogue. “This is why we, as the ELCA, and you, as The United Methodist Church, vote on full communion—because we believe together we might more imaginatively, evangelically, prophetically and abundantly bear fruit for the sake of the Gospel and the life of the world.”

For a vine to successfully bear fruit, it must also be pruned, the bishop pointed out. The ELCA’s membership is 97 percent white, but since the denomination was formed 20 years ago, there has been a desire for more diversity. To truly achieve a multicultural denomination, Hanson said, “We white folks must be pruned of our power and privilege. We will not bear fruit in mission if we are not pruned of the racism within ourselves, our church and our society.”

Christians must remember the “unshakable promises” of Jesus, which offer a life full of purpose, people and joy, Hanson said.

*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service writer based in New York.

Judicial Council releases rulings on docket items

By Neill Caldwell*

FORT WORTH, Texas (UMNS)—Working through a regular docket while meeting during 2008 General Conference, the Judicial Council of The United Methodist Church released rulings on four cases that emerged prior to the 10-day legislative assembly.

The church’s top judicial authority affirmed two bishops’ decisions of law, sustained the church trial conviction of a pastor in the Rocky Mountain Annual (regional) Conference and the revoking of his credentials for ministry, and ruled that annual conference commissions on religion and race do not have the authority to investigate complaints.

The nine-member council meets during General Conference to complete action on items received before the legislative gathering and to respond to requests for decisions that arrive from the floor during plenary sessions.

Cannot investigate

In Memorandum 1093, the council said that Paragraph 642.3(o) of the 2004 Book of Discipline does not grant investigatory authority to annual conference commissions on religion and race. Those bodies are to serve in “a consulting role to the bishop and other appropriate conference leadership,” the memorandum states. Furthermore, those responsibilities put forth in the Book of Discipline cannot be changed by action of the annual conference.

The case stemmed from a request for decision from the Tennessee Annual (regional) Conference as to whether its commission on religion and race could act as an investigative body following filing of a complaint against a pastor or layperson, in addition to the conference’s regular investigatory process.

“Although Paragraph 2008.6 authorizes the General Commission on Religion and Race to review, investigate and conduct hearings, no such language is present in Paragraph 642.3(o),” the memorandum states. “Paragraph 642 authorizes the conference commission on religion and race to ‘follow the general guidelines and structure of the General Commission on Religion and Race as outlined in Paragraphs 2002 and 2008 where applicable’ [emphasis added].”

No violation

Decision 1091 is a continuation of Decision 1081, in which the Judicial Council asked the council of finance and administration in the Western North Carolina Annual (regional) Conference to review whether the conference’s financial support of the North Carolina Council of Churches and the campus ministry at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro violates Paragraph 612.19 of the Book of Discipline, which stipulates that no conference funds can be used to promote homosexuality. After receiving the conference council of finance and administration report that it had reviewed the funding and it was not in violation of Paragraph 612.19, the council affirmed Western North Carolina Bishop J. Lawrence McCleskey’s decision of law.

Paragraph 612.19 of the Discipline says “no annual conference board, agency, committee, commission or council shall give United Methodist funds to any gay caucus or group, or otherwise use such funds to promote the acceptance of homosexuality.”

“The conference council on finance and administration is authorized by the Discipline and has the authority to make such determination,” the decision states, going on to include a gentle reminder that annual conference expenditures cannot violate Paragraph 612.19.

Agrees with bishop

In Decision 1092, the council affirmed California-Nevada Bishop Beverly Shamana’s ruling of law that bishops have no authority to make substantive rulings on judicial or administrative matters that are under the purview of judicial of administrative bodies. The bishop cited the council’s Decision 799 in response to a request during a session of annual conference to rule on six questions concerning the judicial and administrative process for a clergy member of the conference.

The council agreed with the bishop’s response in citing Decision 799, which says in part that the Discipline and the constitution of the church “have placed the authority to resolve such questions in these bodies. To do otherwise would violate the principle of separation and balance of powers between the legislative, executive and judicial branches as set forth in the Constitution.”

Rejects appeal

The Judicial Council rejected the appeal of the Rev. Wesley Kendall, who was convicted in a church trial. A May 22-24, 2007, trial found Kendall guilty on four counts of sexual harassment, five counts of sexual misconduct and two counts of violating the Order and Discipline of The United Methodist Church. As a penalty, the court terminated his annual conference membership and revoked his ordination credentials. The Western Jurisdiction Committee on Appeals denied his appeal and upheld the conviction. In Decision 1094, the Judicial Council agreed with both courts, saying the weight of evidence was sufficient to uphold the convictions and there were no errors that would invalidate the verdict or the penalty.

In a multiple-part opinion, the council went through each of Kendall’s objections and found only two minor errors, neither of which was sufficient to change the outcome.

Early in the process, Kendall was not given copies of the letters sent to the bishop when the complaint was first filed, but they were provided to him less than a month later and before the pastor entered into a statement of resolution, which is outlined in Paragraph 362.1(b) of the Book of Discipline. (Kendall later asked to be released from the statement of resolution, and the judicial process began at that point.) As to a question about reimbursable expenses incurred between Kendall’s suspension and his entering into the statement of resolution, the council directed the Rocky Mountain Conference to determine whether or not the expenses were reimbursable, and if so, to disburse the funds to Kendall.

Kendall also charged that the confidentiality of the process was violated when his district superintendent granted an interview to a Cheyenne, Wyo., newspaper. The council ruled that Kendall waived his confidentiality provisions when he entered into the statements of resolution, and that whether or not information concerning the case could be made public was at the discretion of the bishop.

Kendall also protested that his rights were violated when the bishop announced the trial decisions to the annual conference. In response, the council ruled, “Paragraph 2713.4 … does not prevent the annual conference from releasing a statement which factually states the outcome of any trial or appeal.”

In a concurring opinion, some of the specific instances of Kendall’s sexual harassment were detailed. “The trial court found that Dr. Kendall engaged with sexual conduct or activity while he was in a ministerial relationship with each of four different women who were either members of First United Methodist Church of Cheyenne, Wyoming, or who were on the staff of the church.” The conduct included provocative comments suggesting sexual activity and inappropriate touching, including “full frontal hugs accompanied by ‘moans’ of a sexual nature,” the opinion states.

“We … believe that the church is entitled to know both the type of conduct which we as a Judicial Council have found sufficient to sustain charges of sexual misconduct and harassment, and so the public will know the seriousness with which we regard such charges when established by clear and convincing evidence,” stated the concurring opinion, signed by Keith Boyette, James Holsinger and Mary Daffin.

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

United Methodists raise bishops’ retirement age by 2 years

Bishop Jane Middleton presides over a session of the 2008 United Methodist General Conference. Middleton, 67, is one of three bishops who will be allowed to continue to serve as an active bishop after delegates voted to raise the episcopal retirement age to 68. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose.

By Linda Green

FORT WORTH, Texas (UMNS) — The 992 delegates to the 2008 United Methodist General Conference increased by two years the mandatory retirement age for bishops.

The decision impacts three of 14 bishops who were retiring on Aug. 31 following the regular sessions of the five U.S. jurisdictional conferences in July and the central conference meetings in Africa, Europe and the Philippines in the fall and in 2009. The increase in the retirement age was proposed by a task force studying the episcopacy, and a hand vote the delegates took on April 28 made the decision effective at the conclusion of the 2008 General Conference.

Changing the retirement age from 66 to 68 reflects the way Social Security is moving in allowing people to work longer if they choose, said Peggy Sewell of the episcopal services office at the United Methodist Council on Finance and Administration.

The action also moves the bishops closer to the retirement age for ordained elders and saves costs for the Episcopal Fund, according to the Rev. Janet L. Forbes, a delegate from the Rocky Mountain Annual Conference and chairwoman of the subcommittee considering the recommendations from the episcopal study task force.

The Episcopal Fund provides economic support to bishops by paying their salaries, pensions and benefits as well as episcopal office, business travel and meeting expenses.

Bishops William Hutchinson, Jane Middleton and Solito Toquero have the option of proceeding with retirement if they choose or serving for another four years.

Prior to General Conference, mandatory disciplinary requirements stated that bishops had to retire on Aug. 31 following the regular session of the jurisdictional conference if the bishop's 66th birthday had been reached on or before July 1 of the year in which the jurisdictional conference was held.

‘Grateful to serve more’

Middleton, 67, episcopal leader of the Central Pennsylvania Annual (regional) Conference, said she is “very grateful to have another four years to serve in this way.” She was elected to the episcopacy in 2004 and never expected to be able to serve more than four years. It was after reading the recommendation to increase the retirement age that "I wondered if perhaps a door was opening that I thought was absolutely closed by the Book of Discipline," she said.

She has been engaged in a period of prayer and discernment to make herself available if she could serve four additional years. "I felt in my heart that if the door should open, I would say yes. I feel nothing but joy for this opportunity."

But Toquero, 66, bishop of the Manila Area of the Philippines, and Hutchinson, of the Louisiana Area, are considering their plans.

"I still want to retire, and I do not know how the church in the Philippines would look at this because there are many who want me to continue," Toquero said. He would need to reflect and decide before the Nov. 19-22 meeting of the Philippines Central Conference. "A few months before that I will make a decision to continue to retire or wait two more years," he said.

Hutchinson, 66, said he is "really in prayerful discernment for the future."

Bishops recognized

Bishop Violet Fisher, 68, who has to retire, said she would face a dilemma if she had the option of staying. "A part of me would love to continue to serve in this role, (but) I left my son at our home in Delaware at the age of 10 when I was elected," she said. They have been commuting six hours by car to her episcopal area in Northwest New York to see one another. Her son, Marcus will be a senior next year. "I would have to give prayerful discernment. I feel that my son is my priority right now."

During the April 27 morning session, General Conference recognized the retiring bishops, who include Fisher, Hutchinson, Middleton and Toquero, as well as Benjamin Chamness, Sharon Brown Christopher, Joseph C. Humper, Benjamin Justo, João Somane Machado, Joel N. Martinez, J. Lawrence McCleskey, Susan Morrison, Øystein Olsen and Beverly Shamana.

The conference also recognized the Council of Bishops’ new leadership team: Gregory Palmer, president; Larry Goodpaster, president-designate; Sharon Rader, ecumenical officer; Robert Hayes, council secretary; and Donald Ott, executive secretary.

*Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.

Delegates continue Study of Ministry Commission

By Linda Green*

FORT WORTH, Texas (UMNS)—A commission studying the ordering of ministry in The United Methodist Church is being continued for four more years.

Delegates to the 2008 General Conference voted on April 29 to continue the commission work authorized by the 2004 legislative assembly to study the theological, ecclesial and practical groundings of its system of lay, licensed and ordained ministry.

That commission was to bring clarity to the church's understanding of its ministry orders and make recommendations to the 2008 General Conference. However, after four years, the group found more questions and asked for more time--either by the current commission or a new one.

Delegates to the 2008 assembly directed the United Methodist Council of Bishops--in consultation with the boards of Higher Education and Ministry and Discipleship and the Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns--to establish a 28-member Study of Ministry Commission for 2009-2012. The delegates also authorized $150,000 for its work.

"I am very pleased that the delegates decided to move forward and continue the study commission," said the Rev. David Dodge, a member of the current commission and delegate from the Florida Annual (regional) Conference. "I am pleased that the legislative committee gave some direction about the categories of people who should be included on the commission."

The bishops and the three agencies are to create a guide for ongoing study and dialogue, based on the former commission's suggestions. The guide is to foster conversations on the issues among lay members, ordained deacons and elders, local pastors, bishops and cabinets, the Board of Ordained Ministries, ethnic constituencies and central conferences.

The next commission is to present the 2012 General Conference with legislation that addresses the ordering of ministry, the separation of ordination and conference membership, and the streamlining of the ordained ministry candidacy process.

*Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.

United Methodists, Lutherans look toward cooperation

Bishop Hanson and United Methodist Bishop William Oden sing a hymn. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose.

By Linda Bloom*

FORT WORTH, Texas (UMNS) — Bishop Melvin Talbert felt “a song in my heart” when the United Methodist General Conference approved a full communion agreement with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

For Bishop William Oden, April 28 -- the day the vote was taken -- was a “banner day” for The United Methodist Church.

Both bishops were instrumental in shepherding the denomination to the vote. Oden is the ecumenical officer of the United Methodist Council of Bishops and Talbert was co-chairman of the most recent United Methodist-ELCA dialogue team with ELCA Bishop Allan Bjornberg of Denver. The dialogue was facilitated by the United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns.

As part of the General Conference's traditional ecumenical day, observed on April 29, ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson preached for morning worship and a number of ecumenical guests from other denominations, faith groups and organizations were introduced.

Clare Chapman, currently the chief operating officer of the National Council of Churches, was presented with the Council of Bishops’ ecumenical award for 2008 “in recognition of her exceptional leadership” with both the council and the Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns.

A recognition, not a merger
Participants at a press conference about the full communion agreement pointed out that the new relationship is not a merger of the two denominations, but recognition of each other’s ministry and mission. It recognizes that each has “the one, holy, catholic and apostolic faith” expressed in the Scriptures and confessed in historic creeds and the core teachings of each denomination.

Under full communion, the two churches also recognize the authenticity of each other’s baptism and eucharist and the full interchangeability of all ordained ministers.

Hanson hopes the arrangement will foster an “ecumenical imagination,” with a focus on how to do things together rather than separately. “I don’t think we’ve begun to imagine what the Holy Spirit might do (through) this deepened relationship,” he said.

Talbert noted that United Methodists don’t often use the words “full communion” because “our table has always been open” to those who profess a belief in Christ.

“It’s not merger,” he added about the agreement. “It means we are open to receiving and accepting and acknowledging each other’s ministries.”

‘This was a reunion for me’
The Rev. Donald McCoid is an ELCA executive for Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations, but his grandfather was a Methodist lay preacher. “This was a reunion for me,” he said about the agreement.

Both Talbert and McCoid expressed excitement about future cooperative parish relationships for the two denominations, especially in sparsely-populated areas. McCoid added that the benefit would not just be providing enough clergy coverage for congregations but “the possibility of doing things creatively.”

Bishop Gregory Palmer, president of the Council of Bishops, noted many United Methodists and Lutherans have working relationships at the local level. “We’ll be giving, in some sense, a formal expression to what is happening on the ground already,” he said.

Relationships with other denominations also will be affected. The ELCA has a full communion agreement with the Episcopal Church, while the United Methodists have just entered an interim agreement with that denomination.

Bishop Frank Brookhart, who serves as co-chairman of the United Methodist-Episcopal dialogue with Oden, compared the ELCA-Episcopal agreement to a relationship between close friends. “In some ways, it is just getting started,” he said.

The decision by United Methodists to take the path to full communion was “a miracle,” in Brookhart’s opinion. “It’s real easy for churches to separate. It’s real hard to get back together,” he explained. “This doesn’t happen without the risen Christ among us.”

The ELCA will vote on the full communion agreement with United Methodists at its assembly in August 2009.

*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service writer based in New York.

United Methodists celebrate 40-year journey toward inclusivity

Erin Hawkins (right), top staff executive of the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race, and Bishop Linda Lee recognize the commission's 40th anniversary

Ciona D. Rouse*

FORT WORTH, Texas (UMNS) —The United Methodist journey toward inclusivity has been like a woodworker creating art out of unrefined materials, the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race said in a video which celebrated the commission’s 40th anniversary.

“Creating a masterpiece is like taking a risk-filled journey. … It unfolds at stages, requiring patience, persistence and perseverance,” said the narrator in the video shown to General Conference 2008 on April 29.

The conference celebrated the birthday of the commission and reflected on the denomination's journey of inclusivity.

“Like all journeys, it hasn’t always been easy,” Bishop Linda Lee, president of the commission’s board of directors, said to the conference. “The church has struggled with racism -- both individual and institutional. The experience of racism has caused members of the United Methodist family to march and to preach and to speak out, infused with the energy of righting long-ignored wrongs.”

The denomination created the Commission on Religion and Race in 1968 to ensure that racially segregated conferences would fully integrate by 1972, following the dissolution of the Central Jurisdiction, which was drawn by racial, rather than geographic, lines.

The 1972 General Conference voted to make the commission permanent to allow it not only to usher the denomination through integration but also to lead the transition into a racially just and fully inclusive church.

“You know, we were dragging our feet on race . . . I said, you know, we talk about it—we’re all God’s children, but we ain’t acting like it,” said Rhett Jackson of South Carolina, an original commission member who presented the proposal to merge the South Carolina conference.

Turned away from churches

The video featured retired Bishop Woodie White, who served as the first executive for the commission until 1984, when he became a bishop. White recalled life in the denomination before the commission.

“In the ‘60s there were people who were actually turned away from churches because of the color of their skin. … It’s hard to believe that that was the kind of church in which we lived,” White said.

Soon after the creation of the commission, he said, they realized that their work would go beyond issues of blacks and whites; the commission would also need to work toward multiculturalism because the denomination included Hispanic, Native-American and Asian-American members as well.

The General Commission on Religion and Race has reviewed, monitored and promoted racial inclusivity and reconciliation for The United Methodist Church in its first 40 years. Additionally, it has hosted workshops and training events and published resources to educate the denomination.

“Forty years ago, the inclusion into the Methodist Church – demanded by African Americans -- was, for many, a radical challenge,” said Erin Hawkins, top executive of the Commission on Religion and Race. “Today, in this body of Christ called United Methodists, it is a radical expectation.”

New issues to confront

The commission looks to the future, hoping to expand its work “confronting oppression that reaches past United States borders,” said Hawkins.

“We have to learn how to confront the new issues from the perspective of inclusiveness,” said the Rev. Yolanda Pupo-Ortiz, a former executive of the commission.

“The commission has guided us on our journey to inclusiveness with a bold faithfulness, and it is my prayer that their witness will continue to lead us toward God’s kin-dom,” said the Rev. Renae Extrum-Fernandez of the California-Nevada Annual (regional) Conference, a former director of the commission.

Following the presentation, commissioners hosted a birthday party in the lobby of the Fort Worth Convention Center, distributing sun catchers and birthday cupcakes to General Conference delegates and visitors.

*Rouse is a freelance writer in Nashville, Tenn.

Liberia President Sirleaf addresses United Methodists

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, president of Liberia, addresses the 2008 United Methodist General Conference. Sirleaf is a United Methodist and the first female head of state in Africa. A UMNS photo by Paul Jeffrey.

By Linda Bloom and Kathy L. Gilbert*

FORT WORTH, Texas (UMNS)—Liberia President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf told a worldwide gathering of United Methodists that her country and her church share a common commitment to eradicate poverty.

Sirleaf, a member of the Monrovia (Liberia) United Methodist Church, greeted delegates to the denomination’s top lawmaking body as “fellow Christians and fellow Methodists” many times during her April 29 address to the 2008 General Conference.

Sirleaf dances with the Hope for Africa Children’s Choir after addressing the assembly. A UMNS photo by Paul Jeffrey

“This is a special honor for me,” she said. “I am the first African leader and the first female president to address the General Conference of The United Methodist Church.”

Sirleaf, 70, was greeted with cheers, applause and “ululations” from fellow Africans in the assembly. General Conference brings together delegates from around the world every four years to decide church law. The body is meeting April 23-May 2 in Fort Worth.

Bishop John Innis of the church’s Liberia Area introduced the president to the assembly with the question, “Have you heard in Africa a woman was elected president of Liberia?”

People have hope

Liberia has been weighed down with poverty, lack of education and years of civil war, Sirleaf said.

“We need the church now as never before,” she said. “The moment has never been more opportune to collaborate with the government to improve health and education and give our people hope.”

Sirleaf became president in 2006 and has worked to restore the country’s infrastructure and to maintain peace and security.

“I am proud to say we have moved Liberia from a failed state, from an awful flicker on your television screen to a success story.”

She said when she was first elected and traveled around Liberia, children were frightened by her presidential convoy and thought she was coming to take something away from them.

“Instead of the distress of yesterday, today their eyes light up and they smile,” she said. “Liberia is on the way back.”

President honored

After her General Conference address, Bishop William Oden presented Sirleaf with an award at a dinner sponsored by the United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns. The dinner was a fundraiser for the commission’s Bridges of Unity Ecumenical and Interfaith Endowment Fund.

The James K. and Eunice Mathews Bridge Builder Award is named for the longtime United Methodist bishop and his wife—the daughter of renowned evangelist E. Stanley Jones—who “have been a team of bridge builders for unity during their entire ministry,” Oden said.

Created to honor a person “who has played a significant role in building global community and dismantling barriers that separate people,” the award’s first recipient was Sirleaf, who accepted on behalf “of the millions of Liberians who have suffered so much.”

She acknowledged the many Liberians who were forced to leave their country for their own safety, youth forced into civil war, women who were the most vulnerable but still took responsibility to lead the peace, and children who lost years of childhood and education.

“Today, we can start anew,” the president said.

She mentioned two of the programs her government has started: a Liberian education plan that is about one-third complete and calls for the renovation of 50 schools, training of 500 teachers and funding of scholarships for 5,000 girls; and a “market women” fund, now under way to provide space for women to sell their wares and have a small school for their children.

Attitudes also have changed in Liberia, as evidenced by a story Sirleaf told about a girl who was admonished by her teacher for not being ladylike in front of an important visitor. “Teacher, be careful how you speak to me,” the girl replied. “Don’t forget, a woman is president.”

*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service writer based in New York City. Gilbert is a United Methodist News Service writer based in Nashville, Tenn.

Young delegation leaders model inclusiveness for church

Matthew Johnson, 26, is leading the Western Pennsylvania Annual (regional) Conference delegation to General Conference. A student at Asbury Theological Seminary, he is one of four young adults who are delegation leaders. UMNS photos by Maile Bradfield.

A UMNS Report
By Vicki Brown*

At age 26, Matthew Johnson may be one of the younger General Conference delegates.

Even so, 2008 marks his third trip as a voting delegate to The United Methodist Church’s top legislative body, which makes him one of the most experienced members of the church’s delegation from the Western Pennsylvania Annual (regional) Conference.

Both age and experience were factors in his election to lead the delegation, according to Johnson, one of four young adults who are delegation leaders at the 2008 General Conference. All agreed that a desire to have younger faces visible and younger voices heard played a part in their elections.

All four are aware that they are having input into conversations that shape the denomination’s future as the assembly meets April 23-May 2 in Fort Worth, Texas. All four hope to represent an inclusiveness that will encourage more young adults to get involved in local church leadership. They also believe older members will see that young adults have a great deal to offer.

Johnson, a seminarian at Asbury Theological Seminary, recalled how a district superintendent mentored him when he was a 17-year-old delegate to the 2000 General Conference. “He really showed me how everything worked, took me under his wing, and taught me. He did so much more than would have been expected,” Johnson said.

Luke Wetzel is a first-time delegate and the leader of the Kansas East delegation. The 20-year-old Emory undergraduate formed a General Conference Facebook group that has 93 members. Members of the online social network group are mostly young adults.

“Many conferences, if they elect a young person, it’s as an alternate delegate,” Wetzel said. The Young Adult Committee of the Kansas East Conference successfully campaigned for one-third of its delegation to be under age 40. Three of the nine lay delegates and three of the nine clergy delegates are all under 40, said Wetzel, who is considering seminary.

Developing new leaders

The Rev. Meg Lassiat, director of Student Ministries, Vocation, and Enlistment at the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry, said the choice of young adults to lead their General Conference delegations is an exciting opportunity to develop new leaders. The board is the church agency with primary responsibility for leadership development.

“As young adults participate in and lead their delegations, they will have the opportunity to shape the future direction of our denomination,” Lassiat said. “Then, when they return to their local communities and ministries, we hope that they will also find the necessary mentoring and training there that will sustain them in their everyday leadership and service.”

Wetzel, the Rev. Molly Vetter, who leads the California Pacific delegation, and Devin Mauney, who leads the Desert Southwest delegation, all said they are conscious of the need to represent the diversity of young adults.

“I think the fact that I was the first elected clergy delegate reflects the value my conference is putting on empowering young people,” said Vetter, 31, associate pastor at First United Methodist Church of San Diego. “But I’m nervous about being asked to serve as a representative of young people because I’m not sure I am representative. I have a lifelong association with the church, and I’ve been a pastor for seven years. Young people have as much diversity and difference as older people.”

Wetzel believes it goes “a long way for older people to see young people who care about where the church is going.” But he adds that it is a bigger challenge for young people to take leadership roles in the local church.

“That’s where beliefs and practices are more ingrained. We need to go beyond asking a young person to read Scripture to having them part of the planning and mission of the church,” he said.

Empowering young voices

Vetter agrees that it is a struggle not only to invite but to empower young voices. “It’s one thing to have young adults at the table, it’s another thing to listen to them. … There is always a temptation to elect people with experience,” said Vetter, who was a reserve lay delegate in 2000.

“I’m trying to be prayerful and attentive to remaining in a conversation that’s grounded and connected to God in such a way that I’ll stay faithful to what most brings us together.”

Mauney, 21, who leads the Desert Southwest Conference, says that while he is young, he has experienced serving on the United Methodist Commission on Communication and at the 2004 Western Jurisdictional Conference.

The Arizona State student knows it is difficult to have diverse representation in his delegation when there are only two voting members to General Conference. He believes young people are calling out for the church to be more relevant in their lives and the world.

“They want the church to use more technology, to work for social justice issues. That’s why the Nothing But Nets campaign has been so important,” Mauney said of the church’s partnership in the anti-malaria initiative in Africa.

Johnson said one important lesson he learned in 2000 and 2004 was not to try to do everything.

“I need to figure out what I consider the pressing issues and use ‘my say’ to speak to those issues,” Johnson said. In 2004, as a member of the assembly’s discipleship committee, he worked hard on the issue of certification of lay speakers because he had grown up in a rural church with 40 members and believed it was especially important to rural churches.

“I also worked on allowing local pastors to be appointed to extension ministries. I knew someone who had an opportunity to work in prison ministry as a chaplain, but was a local pastor. I basically stood up and told this guy’s story.”

Johnson, a member of the Palo Alto United Methodist Church, one of six churches in the Hyndman Larger Parish, is also a youth minister at Nicholasville (Ky.) United Methodist Church.

“My work in our annual conference and at General Conference has affected the way I lead. I’ve developed a passion for The United Methodist Church as a whole,” Johnson said. “I’ve sat in lots of church and conference meetings where I was the youngest person there, and I’ve learned how to speak so what I say will be respected.”

*Brown is associate editor and writer, Office of Interpretation, United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry.

Wrap up for April 28th: Assembly tackles items with price tags

The Hope for Africa Children's Choir from Uganda performs an energetic encore at the 2008 United Methodist General Conference. Many of its members are orphans who have lost their families to civil war violence or AIDS. A UMNS photo by Paul Jeffrey.

By J. Richard Peck*

FORT WORTH, Texas (UMNS) — Still recovering from a fun-filled Sunday Area Night party and past-midnight sessions of legislative committees, weary delegates to the 2008 United Methodist General Conference assembled April 28 for a full day of legislation.

The 992 delegates had even more reasons to be tired at the end of a day when they wrestled with all proposals dealing with financial matters.

After proposals with price tags were approved, they were sent to the General Council on Finance and Administration and the Connectional Table for advice and final recommendations. These items are generally considered again on the final day of the 10-day gathering.

Delegates created a new fund for theological schools in Africa and launched two new study groups.

Africa education

Noting that United Methodist churches in Africa are the fastest-growing components of the denomination, delegates approved a request for $2 million for United Methodist theological schools on that continent.

The $2 million request for African theological schools would help seminaries across the continent train additional pastors for the growing church.

Tshibang Kasap Owan, a professor of the Mulungwishi Theological School in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, told delegates that the school receives 500 applicants each year, but because of budget constraint the school can only accept 10 to 20 students. The request for $2 million would help several African seminaries struggling in a similar manner.

Study of the world-wide church

A Task Force on the Global Nature of the Church, authorized by the 2004 General Conference, asserted that General Conference is too “U.S.-centric.” The six-member group proposed the possibility of making the United States a central conference similar to other conferences outside the United States.

The task group submitted 23 petitions that would amend the constitution to allow for the creation of a regional conference for the United States and change the name “central conference” to “regional conference.”

The group said it prefers the word “worldwide” rather than “global” since global might be associated with the “homogenization and dominance of Western economy and culture.”

In response to the proposals, delegates asked the Council of Bishops and the Connectional Table to create a 20-member committee to consider recommendations of the study group and suggested that the six members of the earlier study be included in the new committee. The new group will also consider the financial implications of proposed changes in structure and report back to the 2012 General Conference.

Arthur Jones, a lay delegate from North Texas Conference who introduced the recommendation, said the establishment of a study committee does not require the creation of a U.S. regional conference; however, if the U.S. church were to become a central conference, it would probably convene after General Conference.

New Faith and Order Committee

Delegates created a new 24-member standing committee on Faith and Order to help bishops and the church reflect on matters of faith, doctrinal teaching, order and discipline. The group will also provide study materials upon the request of the bishops, the Connectional Table or General Conference. The cost of the committee is estimated to be $287,000 to be funded through existing funds within the United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns and the Board of Higher Education of Ministry.

The Rev. James Harnish, a delegate from Florida, argued against establishing another committee, saying it just adds to the church’s bureaucracy. “God loved the world so much that he didn’t create a committee,” he said.

The Rev. Gregory Stover, a West Ohio delegate and a member of the commission, said the committee does not add to the bureaucracy; it provides an opportunity for the denomination to “draw upon the well springs of the church.” He noted that the church creates study committees every quadrennium and this standing committee might make some of those studies unnecessary.

Bishop Lyght sermon

The morning began as usual with a worship service. The April 28 sermon was delivered by West Virginia Bishop Ernest S. Lyght.

The church always must be aware of the needs of people and be ready to meet those needs with the “fresh bread” of faith, hope and love, said Lyght.

Preaching on Jesus’ parable of the man who knocks on a neighbor’s door at midnight asking for bread, Lyght said people facing their “midnight hour” are waiting at church doors for a helping hand.

The bishop listed some of the world’s problems including war, poverty and disease, and said, “Wake up, church! Get up, church! When men, women and children knock on the doors of the church, they are looking for fresh bread. They want to encounter a vibrant faith. They want to embrace hope for tomorrow. They want to experience extravagant love that includes them.”

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. portrayed the church as having three loaves of bread – the bread of faith, the bread of hope and the bread of love, said the bishop.

Lyght said the church can keep “the bread fresh” by participating in a devout prayer life, regular Bible study, worship, small groups and Christian education.

Elections

After a careful check of keypads and the electronic voting system, delegates voted for members of the Judicial Council and the University Senate.

Judicial Council serves as the supreme court of the denomination. It has been at the center of considerable controversy after ruling that a pastor had the right to deny membership to a gay man. Lay persons elected to eight-year terms on the council are Angela Brown (California-Nevada) and Ruben Reyes (Philippines). Clergy elected are the Revs. Kathi Austin-Mahle (Minnesota); F. Belton Joyner (North Carolina); and William B. Lawrence (North Texas). Council members Jon Gray, Beth Capen, the Rev. Susan Henry-Crowe and the Rev. Dennis Blackwell were elected in 2004 to eight-year terms.

The University Senate is a group of 25 higher education professionals which determines which schools, colleges, universities and seminaries meet the criteria to be listed as affiliate institutions of the denomination. Persons elected to four-year terms on the senate are Maxine Clark Beach, dean, Drew Theological School; David L. Beckley, president, Rust College; Charlene Black, retired president, Georgia Southern University; and the Rev. Maxie Dunnam, former president, Asbury Seminary.

Other items

In other action, the assembly raised the retirement age of bishops. Currently bishops are required to retire if they reach age 66 on or before July 1 in a year when jurisdictional conferences are held. The assembly raised that age to 68 effective upon the adjournment of the 2008 General Conference.

Delegates learned that church members raised $3 million for the restoration of churches damaged by Hurricane Katrina. More than $60 million was given through the United Methodist Committee on Relief for humanitarian aid in the Gulf Coast. However, Bishop William Oden, chairman of the Council of Bishops' Katrina Recovery Appeal, said “Katrina fatigue has set in.” He called for a recommitment to the rebuilding and reconstruction of the area. Elizabeth Cumbest, a teenaged church member from Ocean Springs, Miss., performed a song that she wrote to help raise funds for the Mississippi Conference’s Seashore United Methodist Assembly. About $45,000 has been raised so far.

If delegates started getting sleepy in the late afternoon, a 23-member choir of children from Uganda woke them up. South Georgia Area Bishop Michael Watson said that after hearing the children sing, his conference wanted to bring the Hope for Africa Children’s Choir to General Conference.

Delegates declined an opportunity to create a permanent site for the Judicial Council, but they did agree to provide an office for a part-time clerk who would work no more than 20 hours a week. The proposed cost of a permanent site would have added $25,000 a year to the denominational budget. It is not clear what the cost of a clerk’s office might be, but the cost is to be paid out of Council on Finance and Administration funds.

Justa Mamani came from her home in Bolivia to thank delegates for the support her community receives through the Advance. Her expressions of gratitude were part of a celebration of the 60th anniversary of that second-mile giving program of the denomination.

Delegates created a Socially Responsible Investment Task Force to establish, implement and promote a common standard for determining prohibited investments. The task force is also asked to attempt to engage in holy conferencing with identified companies.

The April 27 evening “area night” included a concert by the internationally acclaimed Texas Boys Choir, followed by food, music and fellowship in a nearby courtyard. Delegates and visitors were treated to Texas delicacies, including empanadas, quail eggs and Blue Bell ice cream.

*Currently attending his 11th General Conference, Peck is a four-time editor of the Daily Christian Advocate now serving as an editor for United Methodist News Service during General Conference

Assembly creates new study group on church structure

Delegates consider legislation during the 2008 United Methodist General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose.

By J. Richard Peck*

FORT WORTH, Texas (UMNS) — After lengthy debates lasting through the dinner hour, delegates to the 2008 General Conference took a hesitant step toward reorganizing the 11.5 million-member United Methodist Church so it does not appear to be a U.S. church with satellite communities in Africa, Asia and Europe.

The last time the quadrennial legislative assembly met in 2004, nearly 1,000 delegates from around the world created a Task Force on the Global Nature of the Church. That six-member group proposed the possibility of making the United States a “central conference” similar to other conferences outside the United States.

The group said it prefers the word “worldwide” rather than “global,” since global might be associated with the “homogenization and dominance of Western economy and culture.”

The task force submitted 23 petitions that would amend the constitution to allow for the creation of a regional conference for the United States and change the name “central conference” to “regional conference.”

In response to the proposals, delegates asked the Council of Bishops and the Connectional Table to create a 20-member committee to consider recommendations of the study group and suggested that the six members of the early study be included in the new committee. The new group will also consider the financial implications of proposed changes in structure and report back to the 2012 General Conference.

Arthur Jones, a lay delegate from North Texas Conference who introduced the recommendation from a legislative committee, said the creation of a study committee does not require the creation of a U.S. regional conference; however, if the U.S. church were to become a central conference, it would probably convene after General Conference.

The assembly offered a series of guidelines for the new study group, including a listing of powers that should be maintained by General Conference and the “duties and powers” of regional conferences.

Under the plan, the five jurisdictional conferences in the U.S. would continue, and bishops would continue to be elected in those quadrennial gatherings.

A minority report that did not provide similar guidelines was defeated. The defeated report would have allowed the study group to function “without restrictions to bind them,” and the defeated motion called for a report to be made public 12 months before the 2012 General Conference.

Proposed changes in the constitution have been reviewed by legislative committees and will be considered later in the week.

Members of the Task Force on the Global Nature of the Church were Bishop Ann Sherer, chair; Bishop Scott Jones; Bishop Ruediger Minor; Kristina Gonzalez; Forbes Matonga; and Dora Washington.

*Peck is a retired United Methodist clergyman and four-time editor of the Daily Christian Advocate now serving as an editor for United Methodist News Service during General Conference

Church votes to strengthen theological education in Africa

By Linda Green*

FORT WORTH, Texas (UMNS)—Theological education in Africa is set to get a $2 million boost thanks to the 2008 General Conference of The United Methodist Church.

The assembly’s 992 clergy and lay delegates from across the globe voted April 28 to expand and strengthen theological facilities beyond Africa University, as well as library development, scholarships, publications and logistical support of theological education during the next four years. The funding would become final with the approval of a churchwide budget later in the week.

According to the petition, approved 565-353 by delegates, there is a significant need for the church to support theological education across the continent because Africa represents nearly 26 percent of all United Methodists worldwide, or 3 million people. Leading these millions are 3,616 ordained elders in full connection, who represent 9.4 percent of all fully ordained United Methodist elders around the globe.

"Many times we are not aware of the realities in Africa," said Ilunga Kandolo of the North Katanga Annual (regional) Conference, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. "When you look at the incredible growth of the church in Africa, we forget that the church growth is the result of the gifted clergy we have."

Tshibang Kasap Owan speaks in favor of additional funding for African theological education. A UMNS photo by John C. Goodwin.

Tshibang Kasap Owan, president of Katanga Methodist University in Northwest Katanga, agreed, but added that because the continent is so vast, Zimbabwe-based Africa University is not enough. "All of our students do not have opportunity to go to Africa University, so we need to support other facilities in Africa," he said.

Before the delegates passed the measure, the Rev. Charles Boayue, a delegate from the Detroit Conference, expressed support of this initiative because Africa is a fast-growing part of the denomination. He encouraged the delegates to "not allow our budgetary constraints to be the only measure for how we treat this great need."

The $2 million approved by the delegates is not final until the churchwide Council on Finance and Administration and the Connectional Table present a quadrennial budget to the 2008 General Conference for approval.

*Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.

Assembly creates committee on faith and order

By Deborah White*

FORT WORTH, Texas (UMNS)—Creation of a study committee that will provide leadership in faith and theology for The United Methodist Church was authorized April 28 by the 2008 General Conference.

The Committee on Faith and Order was authorized by a vote of 454-360. It will reflect on matters of faith, doctrinal teaching, order and discipline. It will have three broad responsibilities:
.To lead and coordinate studies commissioned by the General Conference about matters of faith, doctrine, order and discipline of the church;
.To support and provide resources for the Council of Bishops; and
.To prepare resources and study materials for the church upon request from General Conference, the Council of Bishops or the Connectional Table.

The committee will function independently but fall under the United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns staffing, budgeting and financial affairs.

“The committee will provide a continuing arena for significant scholarly reflection,” said the Rev. Greg Stover, a member of the commission’s board of directors and a delegate from the West Ohio Annual (regional) Conference. It “will help define who we are as a church.”

The legislative assembly’s Faith and Order Committee recommended funding of $287,000, but that was amended to require that the funding come from the Commission on Christian Unity and the Board of Higher Education and Ministry.

Jim Branscome, a lay delegate from the Virginia Conference, offered the amendment “in order to keep funding in line.”

Stover said funding the new committee would take up a significant portion of the general agencies’ budgets. “A committee on faith and order would benefit the entire church, and I hope it is something that would be funded beyond two agencies.”

‘Sustained theological reflection’

The Rev. Darren Cushman-Wood, a delegate from South Indiana, was among those supporting creation of the committee. “We need sustained theological reflection on issues that divide us—issues General Conference has been confused about,” he said.

Other delegates spoke against the proposal, including the Rev. James Harnish of the Florida Conference. “I wonder if this is a super theological committee. God loved the world so much that he didn’t send a committee,” he said.

The Committee on Faith and Order, Stover said, “will be a place where conversations can be connected together in a way they are not now.”

The committee will have 24 members, at least three of whom shall be clergy actively serving full time in a local church, and three shall be laity. The entire slate of members will be approved and elected by the Council of Bishops in its fall meeting every four years after General Conference.

Members will include six bishops and six seminary faculty members nominated by the Association of United Methodist Theological Schools.

The remaining 12 members — who shall not be bishops — will be chosen by the Council of Bishops upon nomination by the Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns and the Board of Higher Education and Ministry. Six of the 12 shall come from the nominations of the commission, and six shall be chosen from those nominated by the board. Three of the members nominated by the board will be nominated from the faculties of United Methodist-affiliated seminaries in the central conferences.

*White is associate editor of Interpreter magazine.

Black Methodists celebrate unity at Africana dinner

The Africa University traveling choir performs during the Africana dinner and worship event hosted April 27 by Black Methodists for Church Renewal in Fort Worth, Texas, site of the 2008 United Methodist General Conference. UMNS photos by Mike DuBose.

By Ciona D. Rouse*

FORT WORTH, Texas (UMNS)—Black Methodists for Church Renewal celebrated unity at its first Africana dinner and worship event April 27 at the Renaissance Worthington Hotel.

The caucus, which represents black congregations in The United Methodist Church, hopes to expand its celebrations of “Ebony bishops"—traditionally African-American bishops—by creating a more global table, according to caucus president Cheryl Walker.

“We are now in the position and ready to go global,” Walker said.

The nearly 500 attendees were from the United States and Africa. Honored guests included bishops, delegates, observers and monitors from Africa. The 2008 assembly boasts the largest General Conference attendance from Africa, with 192 delegates from the continent.

Iowa Area Bishop Gregory V. Palmer gave the homily, calling the attendees to embrace unity in the midst of seeming racial, political, ideological and theological divisions. He especially encouraged delegates of the African Diaspora to remain united, even though “during this General Conference we can see attempts to divide.”

Palmer also warned delegates from operating out of a “theology of scarcity.”

“The God that we serve has more than enough mercy, justice, compassion for us to live our lives in radical ways,” Palmer said

To further emphasize unity, the leadership of the event included Bishop John G. Innis, chairman of the Africa College of Bishops, and students from Africa University reading Scripture and offering prayer.

The 16-member Africa University traveling choir provided worship music at the beginning of dinner. Diners joined the choir, dancing and singing around the ballroom during the Zulu hymn “Siyahamba.”

Bishop Violet Fisher (right) is honored, along with Bishop Beverly Shamana, in a presentation by Bishop James Swanson

The event also honored four retiring African and African-American bishops: Violet L. Fisher of the New York West Area, Joseph C. Humper of the Sierra Leone Area, João Somane Machado of the Mozambique Area, and Beverly J. Shamana of the California-Nevada Area. The bishops received $500 gift certificates to contribute to a ministry of their choice.

The caucus also recognized and honored James Salley, Africa University’s associate vice chancellor for institutional advancement, who will receive an honorary doctorate from Gammon Theological Seminary May 3.

The group also honored retired Bishop Felton E. May's request to allow lay delegate Ronald Akila Bulus Mangey of Nigeria to ask for prayer for the families of late Kefas K. Mavula and Done Peter Dabale, who have died since the last General Conference.

*Rouse is a freelance writer in Nashville, Tenn.

Uganda children’s choir awes General Conference

The Hope for Africa Children's Choir sings during the 2008 United Methodist General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. Many of its 23 members are orphans who have lost their families to civil war violence or AIDS. UMNS photos by Mike DuBose.

By Kathy L. Gilbert*

FORT WORTH, Texas (UMNS)—“I was just praying to God in my heart that I would perform well,” said Solomon Mutende, 10, of Uganda.

Thousands of teary-eyed United Methodists know God answered that prayer after watching Solomon and the Hope for Africa Children’s Choir perform before a worldwide gathering of United Methodists.

The energetic performance on April 28 was one of the most blessed moments of the 2008 United Methodist General Conference, the church’s legislative assembly meeting through May 2 at the Fort Worth Convention Center.

The appreciative crowd gave the youngsters an impromptu standing ovation after the children sang and danced to one song during a planned “celebration moment.” The audience even demanded an encore.

Bishop Sharon Brown Christopher of the Illinois Area introduced the “special guests” with a video that provided a glimpse into the children’s lives in Uganda before they became part of the choir.

Uganda Bishop Daniel Wandabula and his wife, Betty, have become “Mommy” and “Daddy” to the 23 “orphan and vulnerable” children in the choir organized by the United Methodist East Africa Annual Conference. Many of the children came from Internally Displaced Person’s Camps established by the government during 20 years of civil war that has ravaged Uganda.

The camps are hot, miserable places where thousands of people are forced to live in mud huts crammed tightly together. Many of the children are orphans who have lost their families to violence or AIDS.

“When we saw all the children and the conditions in which they were living, we had to do something,” said Betty Wandabula. “They don’t deserve to suffer.”

‘God just blesses us’

“God just blesses us more and more,” said Winifred Acibo, 11, after performing at General Conference.

“I felt they loved me,” said Sandra Namuleno, 12. “I wanted to sound good so maybe my friends at Humble School and myself could get someone to sponsor us,” she said of the United Methodist-supported school.

Asked how the experience felt, 11-year-old Sawiya Lakareber gave a broad smile. “I feel at peace,” she said.

Bishop Michael Watson of South Georgia is swarmed by Hope for Africa Children's Choir members.

Bishop Michael Watson, of the South Georgia Annual (regional) Conference, was swarmed and hugged by the children after their performance. “I am the luckiest man in the world,” he said.

Humble United Methodist School in Mukono was commissioned in August by Watson and members of the South Georgia conference. It was started in 2004 to serve children from war-ravaged areas and homes affected by HIV/AIDS. An outgrowth of the school is the recently launched Hope for Africa Children’s Choir and Academy.

The vision for the school came through a partnership of the East Africa conference and the Ugandan church, the South Georgia conference, United Methodists from Virginia and the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. After the East Africa conference purchased the land in 2001, South Georgia raised $140,000 to erect the first two buildings. Support also has come from United Methodists in Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

The South Georgia conference paid for the children and their teachers to fly to Fort Worth from Uganda. The choir will remain in the United States through July and will sing at United Methodist churches in Arkansas, Georgia, Wisconsin, Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee.

General Conference encore

“It was overwhelming,” said Tonny Mbowa, choir director, of the reaction at General Conference. “To see such audiences stand up and clap when the children walked out was so fulfilling. I just thought of all the work and all we have been through. We are so blessed.”

Choir conductor Lydia Namageme was “surprised” when the conference asked the children to sing a second song.

“I never expected that,” she said. “I wasn’t sure what to do, but we know many songs.”

The East Africa conference hopes to raise funds through the choir’s U.S. tour so more children can study at Humble School or the Hope for Africa Children’s Academy. A donation of $1,600 sponsors a child for one year and pays for education, food, medical care and room and board.

“But any amount will help,” Namageme said.

To donate, send checks to Hope for Africa Children’s Choir, United Methodist Church, East Africa Annual Conference, P.O. Box 12554, Kampala, Uganda, or e-mail infor@hopeforafricachildrenschoir.org. Checks also can be sent in the United States to Rev. Bruce Stensvaard, 2006 Pleasant View Lane, Bellevue, Neb. 68005 or to the Rev. Martin Childs, 3737 North Shermon Blvd., Milwaukee, Wis. 53216.

*Gilbert is a news writer for United Methodist News Service based in Nashville, Tenn.

United Methodists formally admit Côte d’Ivoire

By Elliott Wright*

FORT WORTH, Texas (UMNS)—The United Methodist Church in Côte d’Ivoire, the largest regional conference of the worldwide denomination with almost 700,000 members, has received its full rights and responsibilities.

The action came April 27 at the 2008 General Conference, which meets every four years to conduct the business of the church. As a result, United Methodists in the West African country, which has only two delegates at this General Conference, will receive significantly greater representation at future assemblies. Expenses related to its bishop will now be covered by the United Methodist Episcopal Fund instead of by its own conference.

Four years ago, the Methodist Protestant Church of Côte d’Ivoire, an autonomous church, was admitted to the United Methodist fold, but the Judicial Council later ruled that the decision of the 2004 General Conference was incomplete.

In practical terms, the 2004 General Conference short-circuited the process for admission outlined in the United Methodist Book of Discipline, a legal and procedural guide. The church’s highest court ruled in 2006 that the disciplinary process required that the 2008 General Conference confirm the action.

“I am very joyful today, more than yesterday,” said Bishop Benjamin Boni, leader of the Côte d’Ivoire Annual (regional) Conference. “We are today fully united in the church, and members in Côte d’Ivoire share together fully with others in The United Methodist Church.”

Historic moment

“This is an historical occasion for The United Methodist Church,” said Bishop Janice Riggle Huie of Houston, immediate past president of the denomination’s Council of Bishops. “I am excited to welcome the Côte d’Ivoire Annual Conference as a full partner. We are connected with a bond that cannot be broken.”

She noted that the Texas Annual Conference, which she leads, has a close and active partnership with Côte d’Ivoire.

Action by the 2004 assembly limited Côte d’Ivoire to two delegates to this year’s legislative meeting and required it to continue to pay its bishop. United Methodist bishops normally are paid by a churchwide episcopal fund.

In the meantime, the West Africa Central Conference, which oversees the Ivory Coast area, had recognized Côte d’Ivoire and elected Boni to lead it.

With 677,355 members, the Côte d’Ivoire conference becomes by far the largest in The United Methodist Church. By comparison, Virginia, the largest regional conference in the United States, has 341,264 lay members.

Conference representation to General Conference is based on membership. Currently, the assembly’s delegate cap is 1,000, and 992 delegates are attending this year’s meeting in Fort Worth. One measure under consideration—partly to keep down the costs of General Conference gatherings—would reduce membership to an upper limit of 600. This year’s 10-day assembly costs more than $6.6 million.

Journey to full rights

The French-speaking Methodist Protestant Church of Côte d’Ivoire became autonomous in 1985. It was founded years earlier by British Methodist missionaries.

“The church is a worldwide community, but after becoming autonomous we felt separated, cut off and turned in to ourselves,” Boni said, explaining why Côte d’Ivoire Methodists want to join the denomination.

The formerly autonomous church first became a United Methodist “mission,” relating to the denomination through its Board of Global Ministries, as required by church law. The process was expected to take at least eight years to move toward full annual conference status. However, the 2004 General Conference accelerated the process in a way that the Judicial Council ruled premature.

At this year’s General Conference, a petition to complete the membership process was reviewed and passed by a legislative committee. It came to the full body on a “consent calendar” of items agreed to by large majorities in committees. On the assembly floor, the Rev. Charles Boayue of Detroit pointed out the historic importance of the moment that was about to be passed over.

Boayue thanked God for the completion of the process and welcomed the church in Côte d’Ivoire to “full participation in the life and mission of The United Methodist Church.”

‘One family in the Lord’

Bishop Felton E. May, interim chief executive of the Global Ministries agency, was pleased that the membership process was finally complete.

“We have walked hand-in-hand with the church in Côte d’Ivoire since it became a mission,” May said in a statement. “All who have had contact with the church there have come to love the people, their spirit of hope and their zeal for proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have long awaited this day, when the membership process is complete and we are formally one family in the Lord.”

Huie said the Texas-Côte d’Ivoire partnership is a reciprocal one. It initially involves health ministries—initially mosquito nets used in malaria control. It is expected to grow to include education and communications.

“It is a fully equal partnership in which both give and both received. We in Texas have much to learn from our friends in (the Ivory Coast). They know how to grow churches, are forthright in proclamation of faith and know how to community with people. They practice personal and social holiness, establishing hospitals, schools and communications outlets. They know that Christ changes the whole person, not only the soul,” she said.

*Wright is the public information officer of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.

Church makes Malawi district a missionary conference

By Andrew J. Schleicher*

FORT WORTH, Texas (UMNS)—A United Methodist district in the African country of Malawi was elevated to the standing of a “missionary conference” by the denomination’s 2008 General Conference. Some 990 delegates to the assembly supported the measure by a vote of 92 percent.

“It opens up Malawi for church agencies to empower the local people,” said Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa, leader of the Zimbabwe Episcopal Area and the now missionary conference in Malawi. With 18,329 members and 17 pastors, there is a “tremendous level of ministry,” he said.

The United Methodist Board of Global Ministries endorsed the petition to create the missionary conference. A missionary conference functions similarly to an annual (regional) conference, with some difference, especially with regard to ministerial membership as outlined in Paragraph 586 of the 2004 Book of Discipline. The Discipline states the Board of Global Ministries provides “administrative guidance and major financial assistance” to missionary conferences. The board oversees the missionary aspects of the denomination.

Bishop Nhiwatiwa’s excitement was evident as he discussed the new missionary conference, and he extends his gratitude to the General Conference for its decision supporting the church in Malawi.

The vision for this new missionary conference, Nhiwatiwa said, “is really to push the boundaries of what the church is doing in a very positive way.” He connects the act of creating the new conference with the 2008 General Conference’s theme, “A Future with Hope,” adding, “You really have that theme being put into effect by that decision.”

*Schleicher is a member of the General Conference communications team for the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.