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A UMNS Report
By the Rev. J. Richard Peck*
7:00 A.M. ET May 21, 2012
The 1960 Methodist General Conference took place in Denver and featured
delegates mostly from within the United States. A file photo courtesy of
the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History.
View in Photo Gallery
The 2012 General Conference was my 12th. I attended my first
conference in 1960 as a seminary student at Iliff School of Theology
and my next in Atlanta in 1972 as director of communications for the
Troy and New York Annual (regional) Conferences. I attended three as
editor of Circuit Rider and Newscope, four as the editor of the Daily
Christian Advocate, and the last three as a staff member of United
Methodist News Service.
I suspect this was my last General Conference,
but I feel especially privileged to have played a small role in all 12
of them. It is a joy to be a part of this great community of faith.
1960, DENVER
The 788 delegates to the 1960 conference celebrated a quadrennial
membership gain of 502,181, and noted the need to recruit 8,000 new
clergy each year.
Only 76 of the delegates were from 27 conferences outside the United
States, including Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Burma, Chile, China,
Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, India, Japan, Korea, Liberia, Malaysia,
Mexico, Philippines and Sweden. Churches in the Czech Republic,
Denmark, Liberia and The Philippines continue as United Methodists. The
other conferences have since become autonomous Methodist
denominations.
Delegates all had badges resembling military awards. The color on
the ribbons holding a medallion designated their role as bishop,
delegate, alternate or staff member. All badges served as passes to the
cookie tables. I can’t remember when they replaced the keepsake medals
with simple plastic nametags.
Court recorders sat up front to record every word spoken on the
floor and the words were later typeset for the Daily Christian Advocate.
As a student attending a seminary in Denver, I was excused from
classes for 10 days to attend sessions, but I had to write a long report
on debates surrounding the Central Jurisdiction.
Learning: Looking back more than 52 years, it’s hard to
believe delegates favored a go-slow and conference-by-conference
decision to eliminate the Central Jurisdiction. We forget arguments in
favor of continuing the racially constituted conference –– a guarantee
of African Americans on the Council of Bishops and a guarantee that
African Americans will have seats on the boards of directors of general
agencies (members of the Central Jurisdiction represented
one-twenty-seventh of the whole Methodist Church, but were given
one-sixth of the representation on general agencies). Not every African
American favored dissolution of the jurisdiction.
While membership gains look significant, the denomination was still losing ground as a percentage of the U.S. population.
1972, ATLANTA
Author Rich Peck flashes his “happy smile” after the 1972 United
Methodist General Conference ended. Photo courtesy of Rich Peck.
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I missed the 1968 conference that gave birth to The United Methodist
Church and the organizing conference of 1970. But in 1972, I was
serving as director of communications for the New York Area (New York
and Troy Conferences). The gathering in Atlanta created the General
Council on Ministries and approved a new doctrinal statement. The
assembly also added a sentence to a proposal from a study group on
human sexuality that declared the practice of homosexuality to be
incompatible with Christian teaching.
Jimmy Carter, then governor of Georgia, spoke to the assembly, but
the most memorable address came from the Rev. Cecil Williams, a
controversial pastor in San Francisco. He was scheduled to speak in a
local church, but the crowd was so large they moved the meeting to the
assembly hall.
Learning: Frequently what happens outside the convention
center at General Conference is more significant than what happens
inside the walls of the center. Cecil Williams was supposed to be a
minor figure for an afternoon service, but he occupied all the
headlines during and after the event.
1976, PORTLAND, Ore.
The conference established the Commission on the Status and Role of
Women, and established the office of diaconal minister. The assembly
ordered “no board agency, committee, commission or council shall give
United Methodist funds to any ‘gay’ causes or group, or otherwise use
such funds to promote the acceptance of homosexuality.”
My job at this conference was to produce Newscope Reports, a series
of audiotape reports before, during and after the assembly. Floyd Kalber
(1924-2004), news anchor for the NBC Today show, narrated the audio
tapes. We also produced a slide-tape series with highlights of the
gathering. And yes, people did purchase these now-primitive
audiovisuals.
Learning: It’s truly amazing how many United Methodists
occupy major positions in politics, the media, entertainment and
sports. In 1976, Floyd Kalber was a well-known broadcaster. I suggested
him as the narrator for Newscope Reports. I wasn’t surprised when my
publisher agreed; I was surprised that Kalber accepted the role.
The 1980 United Methodist General Conference in Indianapolis saw the
launch of “the television ministry.” A file photo courtesy of the United
Methodist Commission on Archives and History.
View in Photo Gallery
1980, INDIANAPOLIS
The assembly established the Commission on Christian Unity and
Interreligious Concerns. The gathering failed to add the phrase “no
self-avowed, practicing homosexual therefore shall be ordained or
appointed in The United Methodist Church” to The Book of Discipline.
The conference noted the denomination “has moved away from prohibitions
of specific acts, for such prohibitions can be endless.”
The assembly sent a delegation to meet with President Jimmy Carter
about the Iran hostage negotiations. Delegates also approved a “TV
Presence in Ministry" plan that ended up costing the denomination
millions of dollars.
I, again, served as writer and producer of Newscope Reports. We also
sold audiocassettes of the episcopal address and daily sermons.
Learning: The excitement of delegates allows them to avoid a
reality check. The television ministry was launched with great fanfare
but costs far exceeded benefits. It’s difficult to imagine that only
30 years ago, we were still selling audiotapes and slides as the best
way for delegates to tell church members what happened at General
Conference.
1984, BALTIMORE
Delegates celebrated 200 years of Methodist history in America with a
special service and two “circuit riders” arrived in Baltimore on
horseback. The body established a commission to prepare a new hymnal
and a committee to revise the 1972 doctrinal statement. The conference
reversed its 1980 decision to declare that “self-avowed practicing”
homosexuals are not to be accepted as candidates, ordained as ministers
or appointed to serve in the United Methodist Church.
For the first time a woman bishop –– Marjorie Swank Matthews of Wisconsin –– preached the opening sermon.
As editor of Circuit Rider, I ran a series of pro-con articles on
various issues facing General Conference, and I served as editor of
Newscope during the assembly.
Learning: I spent much of the 1984 conference learning the
ropes of becoming the editor of the Daily Christian Advocate at the
1988 assembly. While it’s tiring to be a delegate or a member of the
press corps, few people appreciate the fact that when delegates go
home, DCA staff members will work until 1 a.m. and return to work the
following morning by 8 a.m.
1988, ST. LOUIS
The conference accepted a new hymnal (including “Onward, Christian
Soldiers” after thousands of people opposed the committee’s original
decision to delete it). The body also created a committee to study
homosexuality. The biggest decision was to establish Africa University in Mutare, Zimbabwe.
We continued to sell audiotapes of sermons. “I could have danced all night” by Bishop Woodie White was a huge seller.
I was now editor of the Daily Christian Advocate. Faith
Richardson, secretary of General Conference, and I received a proposal
to begin a “Petitions Entry and Tracking System (PETS),” a legislative
tracking system to track all legislative proposals, which was put into
place in 1992.
Up to this session, only petitions from general agencies were in the
Advance DCA. This session called for all petitions to be printed in
that volume.
Learning: My mother died on the opening day of General
Conference, and I flew to Denver for the funeral. I learned that General
Conference is not really as life changing as I had presumed, and the
death of your mother changes the rest of your life. I also learned that
I was not indispensable: I missed three days of the gathering and
delegates still received copies of the DCA on time.
1992, LOUISVILLE, Ky.
Delegates created “Shalom Zones”
after riots in Los Angeles that followed the acquittal of four white
police officers accused in the Rodney King beating. Delegates opposed a
petition from the homosexuality study committee to assert that that
Christians were not “of common mind about homosexual practice.” The
conference also celebrated the opening of Africa University.
The 1992 United Methodist General Conference held in Louisville, Ky.
celebrated the opening of Africa University. A file photo courtesy of
the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History.
View in Photo Gallery
I again served as editor of the Daily Christian Advocate and I
worked with Carolyn Marshall, secretary of General Conference, to create
the position of recording secretary for each legislative committee.
That person worked with the committee secretary to enter legislative
proposals (called calendar items) into PETS system. This General
Conference, we also included persons transcribing all speeches in
plenary sessions on the DCA staff. Transcribers were aided by a spotter
on the dais who would help transcribers identify speakers, acronyms
and obscure words.
Learning: Three years of planning for General Conference
were set aside to address the riots in Los Angeles. While some regret
that the issue sidetracked the assembly, I rejoice in the fact that the
denomination set aside its carefully planned agenda to address a world
event.
1996, DENVER
For the first time, all 2,433 petitions were printed in the Advance DCA. First Lady Hillary Clinton spoke to the assembly,
and delegates created the General Commission on United Methodist Men.
Delegates prohibited clergy from conducting services of same-sex union.
The assembly
adopted a new statement of baptism and restructured ministry to create
two separate orders of ministry –– deacons and elders. Before this,
ordination to the order of deacon was a stepping stone to ordination to
order of elders.
PETS improved the accuracy of reports in the DCA. As editor of the
DCA, I asked that chairs and secretaries of the legislative committees
sign a copy of the report that would go into the DCA on the following
day. This eliminated statements from committee chairs saying the
committee actions were not reported accurately.
Learning: Personal events occur during every session of
General Conference and most of the delegates are unaware of what is
happening to the person sitting next to them. The focus is on what is
happening in plenary sessions, not what is happening in the lives of
each of the 1,000 delegates, staff or visitors.
My daughter, Heather, was serving on the DCA staff as a copy editor
at the Denver gathering. The poles and drapes defining our office space
covered some water pipes running across the floor. Heather jumped
through the curtain, caught her foot on the pipe and broke her leg.
After a run to the hospital and placing the leg in a cast, Heather
finished the rest of the conference on crutches. I’m sure anyone could
share similar personal stories about what happed to their families
during the assembly.
2000, CLEVELAND
Delegates reaffirmed the statement in the Social Principles that homosexuality is “incompatible with Christian teaching.”
Soulforce, an ecumenical group seeking full acceptance of lesbians,
gays, bisexuals and transgendered individuals, led demonstrations
outside the hall, and 191 people were arrested for blocking an exit
outside the convention center. The next day a protest resulted in the
arrest of 30 individuals, including two bishops. One demonstrator stood
on a balcony railing and appeared ready to throw herself some 20 feet
to the floor below. One unheralded usher pulled the woman back, an
action that probably saved her life.
Leaders from black Methodist denominations were invited to an Act of Repentance service
where the assembly confessed the sin of racism that had caused major
divisions among American Methodists. The body also launched the
Igniting Ministry campaign with a theme of “Open Hearts, Open Minds,
Open Doors” and authorized a study of Holy Communion.
I was again the editor of the DCA and the once-great PETS program
was on its last legs. After entering all petitions, the computers
crashed (thanks to the “Love Bug” virus that hampered everyone’s
computer that week). We had some early uncorrected versions saved on
floppy disks, and we re-entered them. That painful ordeal included one
all-night session the day before copy was due. The end result was
incorrectly entered petitions that had to be corrected on site in
Cleveland. It was clearly time to create a new program to track
legislation. The United Methodist Publishing House launched an effort to
replace the aging PETS with CALMS, a new and improved system.
Learning: We don’t fully appreciate the many ways in which
we can now save documents. This painful experience would not be
repeated in later years. Of all the memories I have of 12 General
Conference sessions, none is more compelling than the image of a woman
ready to jump from the balcony. Those 10 seconds clearly demonstrate
the emotions involved in what to some may be only an academic debate.
2004, PITTSBURGH
Delegates amended
the Constitution to create two membership categories, “baptized
members” and “professing members.” The church continues to count only
professing members in statistical reports. The body approved “This Holy Mystery,”
a theological statement of the meaning of the Lord’s Supper, and
delegates expanded the Igniting Ministries campaign. They also held a service to thank African Americans for staying with the denomination in spite of racist structures.
“Being a self-avowed practicing homosexual” became a chargeable offense for which a United Methodist clergyperson could be tried in a church court.
The assembly expanded the ministry of the denomination when it officially welcomed Côte d’Ivoire as the denomination’s largest conference.
Before the conference I served as the staff person for a Council on Ministries legislative team that proposed the creation of a Connectional Table. Delegates revised that proposal, but did create the new organization.
At this conference, I served as an editor for United Methodist News
Service and I got more sleep than I did as editor of the DCA.
Learning: This conference provided an opportunity for me to
view the conference from another position. Moving from one assignment
to another helps me appreciate how important all posts are to putting
General Conference together. It’s easy to forget how hard the host
committee, ushers, the secretaries and some 3,000 volunteers work.
Meeting for less than two weeks once every four years, the conference
rewrites nearly 2,000 pages of legislation. If state legislators were
as efficient, they would finish their work in one-tenth the time they
now gather.
2008, FORT WORTH, Texas
Delegates took the first step to amend the Constitution to make it appear less like a U.S. church with overseas satellites. They passed 23 amendments to the constitution to allow for creation of a U.S. regional conference. Members of annual conferences did not ratify the proposed changes.
Passing by gay activists lying on the sidewalk to protest church
policies, delegates continued the church's stance to deny ordination to
self-professed practicing homosexuals, denied general church funds to
programs that promote the acceptance of homosexuality and made it a
chargeable offense for pastors to conduct services of union for persons
of the same gender. They defeated a proposal that would recognize
United Methodists “deeply disagree with one another; yet all seek a faithful witness.”
Delegates also stated 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.”
At this conference, I again served as editor for United Methodist
News Service and I wrote a summary of actions at the close of each day.
Learning: God isn’t finished with The United Methodist Church. We will have to find other ways to live into being a global church.
Delegates from Cote d'Ivoire consider legislation at the 2012 United
Methodist General Conference in Tampa, Fla. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose.
View in Photo Gallery
2012, TAMPA, Fla.
Before leaving for Tampa for General Conference 2012,
we learned it was the most stressful city in the United States and it
was the site of the most lightning strikes in the 50 states. The city
lived up to both traditions. It was a stressful two weeks and lightning
hit when the Judicial Council struck down a “we-have-to-do-something-before-adjournment” structure that was painfully adopted by the assembly.
As a matter of disclosure, I served as the staff person who wrote
the legislation for the structure plan that evolved from the Call to
Action study, but I was disappointed in the way in which insightful
helps for local churches morphed into a plan to restructure 13 general
agencies.
On too many occasions, I heard accusations that general agencies
operate in competitive and uncooperative silos that do not help local
churches. If people say that often enough it sounds true, but it’s not
even close to reality. In truth, our agencies have worked closely
together to help local churches, primarily around the four areas of focus.
Learning: We do need to increase the number of vital
congregations, but that effort is not closely related to restructuring
our board and agencies; they do, however, need to find new ways to
reach across the oceans to both support them and learn from our
brothers and sisters in central conferences.
*Peck is a retired clergy member of the New York Annual Conference.
The UMNS team is doing its best to coax him into going for Lucky Number
13. The General Conference newsroom wouldn’t be the same without him.
News media contact: Joey Butler, (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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