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By United Methodist News Service*
7:00 A.M. ET Jan. 25, 2012 | TAMPA, Fla.
The Rev. Jay Williams (left) listens during a panel discussion about
clergy effectiveness at The United Methodist Church's Pre-General
Conference news briefing at the Tampa Convention Center in Florida. With
him are the Revs. Tom Choi (center) and Amy Gearhart. UMNS photos by
Mike DuBose.
View in Photo Gallery
Editor’s note: This is a look at issues explored at a recent Pre-General Conference News Briefing in Tampa, Fla. A separate story, Preview to church restructuring debate, focuses on the proposal to restructure the church.
Diverse issues presented at a recent three-day briefing signaled
the workload ahead for the lawmaking body of The United Methodist
Church, which meets this spring.
More than 300 delegates, communicators and others who will be part of the 2012 General Conference
met Jan. 19-21 at the Tampa Convention Center, site of the legislative
assembly, for a preview of some of the issues they will face April
24-May 4. United Methodist Communications sponsored the event, with
involvement and support from other agencies and ministries of the
church. This is a brief look at the issues explored.
Leading vital congregations
Proposed changes to the ordination process will eliminate guaranteed
appointments, streamline the ordination process and sharpen the focus
on making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the
world, said members of the Study of Ministry Commission in their
presentation on clergy effectiveness proposals.
The Rev. Jay Williams, pastor of Glendale United Methodist Church,
Everett, Mass., endorsed the plan, which would eliminate the
commissioning step, create an orientation to ministry and require
conferences to have vocational discernment coordinators.
Guaranteed appointments were introduced in the 1956 Book of
Discipline as a way to protect women who received the rights to become
ordained at that General Conference, said the Rev. Tom Choi, Hawaii
District superintendent, California-Pacific Annual (regional)
Conference.
“Racism and sexism haven’t gone away, but we’re in a different place than we were 56 years ago,” Choi said.
Leadership needs to be creative and nimble, said the Rev. Amy
Gearhart, senior pastor of Missouri United Methodist Church, Columbia,
Mo. She said security of appointment for elders in good standing has
become a “barrier to mission.”
In 2010, the United Methodist Sustainability Advisory Group released
a report saying there are 784 more pastors than appointments in the
denomination. Clergy retirements by 2013 will leave drastically low
numbers, if younger clergy are not recruited and encouraged.
Set-aside bishop
Bishop Larry Goodpaster, current Council of Bishops president,
discussed the proposal to create a “set-aside bishop” without
residential responsibilities.
“It is nearly impossible to be president of the Council of Bishops and lead an episcopal area,” he said.
Some delegates questioned whether a new bishop position, along with
the elimination of guaranteed appointments, would shift too much power
to the bishops.
Goodpaster emphasized that the General Conference will still be the
only voice that speaks for the entire denomination and bishops will
remain bound by The United Methodist Book of Discipline.
Ethnic initiatives
Representatives of the United Methodist ethnic/racial ministries
asked news-briefing participants to see and hear them because often
they feel “invisible.”
The Rev. Francisco Cañas introduces speakers during a breakfast with
leaders of The United Methodist Church’s ethnic initiatives.
View in Photo Gallery
The denomination’s ethnic initiatives help start new churches and
cultivate new leaders to draw more people of color into The United
Methodist Church.
“It is our mission to be the church for all people and to
bring the great news to each in their own language,” said the Rev.
Francisco Cañas, speaking for the ethnic/racial ministries. Cañas is
national coordinator of the National Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministry.
The group expressed concerns with a proposed restructure of The
United Methodist Church, which includes a plan to consolidate nine of
the denomination’s 13 general agencies into a new United Methodist Center for Connectional Mission and Ministry.
The ethnic initiatives said there was little or no consultation with
them about the new structure proposed by the Interim Operations Team,
which developed the restructure proposal endorsed by the Connectional
Table and Council of Bishops. The Connectional Table drafted the
legislation.
“We should have some direct say-so about where we are placed and
financed,” said the Rev. Fred A. Allen, national director of
Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century.
“Pacific Islanders will give their last dollar before they see a
church die,” said Monalisa Tui'tahi, executive director of the Pacific
Islanders National Plan. “We need your partnership to be part of the
family.”
Representatives of the United Methodist Council on Korean American
Ministries, Asian American Language Ministry, and Native American
Comprehensive Plan also spoke.
Trail of repentance and healing
“What if your greatest hope was also your greatest fear?”
The Rev. Anita Phillips, executive director of the Native American
Comprehensive Plan, softly asked that question and stilled the room of
General Conference delegates, communicators and agency staff.
An Act of Repentance and Healing for Indigenous Persons will be part of 2012 General Conference on April 27.
A ceremonial space honoring indigenous people by artist Bob Haozous
graces the Riverwalk in Tampa, Fla. The United Methodist Church is
planning an “Act of Repentance and Healing for Indigenous Persons,”
during its 2012 General Conference.
View in Photo Gallery
“I have two identities. I am a Christian, and I am Native American,” said Phillips.
“It is with fear and trembling that I say, ‘yes,’ repentance is possible, and it can be genuine and honest.”
Not far from the Tampa Convention Center, where the legislative
assembly of nearly 1,000 delegates from around the world will meet, is a
marker in honor of the remains of a small Native American tribe
uncovered when the center was constructed in 1987.
“A temple mound stood five stories high and existed before the time
of Christ,” said the Rev. Stephen Sidorak, top executive of the United
Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns.
Tampa was also the deportation center for Native Americans and African slaves, he said.
“We have to repent of what we have done and what we have left undone,” Sidorak said.
The committee working on the service has been to the Philippines and
other places to gather stories from indigenous persons “wherever
United Methodism has spread its blanket on the land,” Phillips said.
“My hope rests in Christ. I claim you as a brother or sister in
Christ and ask that you claim me as a representative of the Native
American nation,” she said. “It is one of the most important things you
will do at this General Conference.”
Worldwide nature of the church
A 20-member Committee to Study the Worldwide Nature of The United
Methodist Church considered how to forge deeper connections, establish
greater local authority and create a more equitable sharing of power
and representation, reported Kansas Area Bishop Scott Jones, who
chaired the committee.
The process included consultation with United Methodists from around the world.
“Part of what we heard everywhere was … a desire to have
greater equality across the church,” said the Rev. Cathy Stengel, a
district superintendent from the Upper New York Annual Conference.
The Rev. Forbes Matonga of Zimbabwe, the committee vice chair, said
the denomination must make some changes to bind its members together.
“As we were listening, it was very clear that people we met want to
remain United Methodist,” he added.
Central conferences outside the United States have the right to
adapt the Book of Discipline for their own use, but “nobody knows what
is adaptable and what isn’t,” Jones pointed out. The committee has submitted legislation to solve that problem.
The committee’s other legislative petitions focus on the duties of
general agencies to be responsive to the world church and continued
conversations about a global model for the denomination.
Changes to clergy pensions
General Conference will consider two proposals that would change
clergy pensions, shifting more of the risk in retirement preparation
from annual conferences to individual clergy.
Mike Bella (left) and the Rev. Maidstone Mulenga join in worship during
The United Methodist Church's Pre-General Conference news briefing. A
UMNS photo by Mike DuBose.
View in Photo Gallery
The United Methodist Board of Pension and Health Benefits
is asking the denomination’s top lawmaking body to choose between the
two options. The first would combine a defined benefit component with a
defined contribution component, like the clergy’s current retirement
program but with a reduced benefit for clergy and, consequently, a
lower contribution for conferences. The second option would be a
defined contribution-only plan.
A defined benefit plan provides a monthly pension payment for life,
with the employer assuming the bulk of the investment risk. A defined
contribution plan — like the 401(k) plans most corporate employees now
have — provides an account balance to use during retirement, with the
clergyperson assuming most of the risk that the money will not run out
in his or her lifetime.
The pension board recommends the first option, which combines a
reduced defined benefit component with a defined contribution
component.
Either option would reduce the costs to conferences overall by about 15 percent.
“We have a theology of hope, but we try not to build that into our
actuarial projections,” said Barbara Boigegrain, the pension board’s
top executive.
The proposed changes would not reduce benefits for retired clergy
that already are being paid or reduce what active clergy have already
earned.
Church budget
As the U.S. economy improves, more than 40 percent of United
Methodist congregations “describe their financial health as good or
excellent,” reported John Goolsbey, a staff executive with the
denomination’s Council on Finance and Administration.
Still, all levels of the church responded to the recession, he said,
by cutting staff, freezing salaries and re-aligning ministries. The
downturn affected church endowments and savings, capital projects and
giving to mission work.
At General Conference, the finance and administration agency’s main
task will be to present a proposed church budget for 2013-16. The
agency also submitted 43 petitions.
To facilitate the budget process, the agency established an economic
advisory committee, which created three economic scenarios and worked
with the projections of denominational agencies, explained the Rev. Pat
Youngquist, staff executive.
At $603 million, the recommended budget reflects general reductions
of 6.6 percent and marks the first time a budget smaller than that for
the previous quadrennium will be presented.
The World Service Fund represents 52 percent of the budget, at
$311.6 million. Other categories are Ministerial Education, $105.6
million; Episcopal (the bishops), $90.3 million; General
Administration, $8.2 million; Black College, $42.1 million; Africa
University, $9.4 million; and Interdenominational Cooperation, $8.2
million.
“Great ministries cannot be done without your support for the
apportionments,” A. Moses Kumar, top staff executive of the Council on
Finance and Administration, reminded the delegates.
Holy conversation
Leading a session on “Holy Conversation about Challenging Issues,”
Minnesota Area Bishop Sally Dyck said, “For many people, General
Conference is dread-full.
“As a people of The United Methodist Church, we can demonstrate a more excellent way.”
Holy conferencing, or holy conversation, she said, “sets a tone for
respectful dialogue and relationship building.” The goal is to
have dialogue instead of debate and to find consensus around important
matters rather than have “winners” and “losers.”
Minnesota Area Bishop Sally Dyck speaks about the importance of “holy conversation” about contentious issues.
View in Photo Gallery
“We do more political conferencing than holy conferencing,” declared
the Rev. Mike Slaughter, lead pastor of Ginghamsburg United Methodist
Church, Tipp City, Ohio. Paraphrasing John 16:13, he expressed hope
that “the Holy Spirit will lead to things to come.”
The Rev. Bruce W. Robbins, pastor of Hennepin Avenue United
Methodist Church, Minneapolis, agreed. “The challenge of holy
conversation can be a source of frustration and despair,” he said. He
cited the dilemma of being asked to conduct same-sex marriage
ceremonies and the two covenants to which he is called — “as an
ordained clergy and as a disciple of Jesus Christ.”
The Rev. Thomas Lambrecht, vice president and general manager of
Good News, said he experienced holy conferencing in the Wisconsin
Annual (regional) Conference’s study of homosexuality and called it
“next to impossible at General Conference.”
While some issues may seem impossible to resolve, he said, “it is
important to remember how we treat one another, with respect and
understanding. Holy conferencing allows us to talk about our deeply
held convictions and the reasons we hold them.”
Erin Hawkins, who leads the United Methodist Commission on Religion
and Race, said, “We are tasked with sustaining a difficult conversation
every day.
“Holy conversation is a commitment to see equity, participation and access to participation.”
Approaching General Conference, said the Rev. Stephanie Hixon, it is
normal to feel anxious and somewhat fearful. She is co-executive
director of the denomination’s JustPeace Center for Mediation and
Conflict Transformation.
“My prayer,” she said, “is that we may know God’s embrace is strong
enough, wide enough and tender enough to carry the important
conversations that are put before us.”
Asked what they hope to experience about holy conversation from
presiding bishops, other delegates and themselves, panel participants
listed courage, fairness and respect, honesty, humility and openness to
others in the Spirit.
“Will General Conference be dread-full or will it be hopeful?” Dyck asked the audience. “It’s up to you.”
Worship
Gathering participants with rousing, contemporary music was the worship team from Van Dyke United Methodist Church, Lutz, Fla.
In his sermon, the Rev. Tom Albin, dean of the Upper Room for the
United Methodist Board of Discipleship, focused on the importance of
prayer before, during and after General Conference.
“We need the church united in prayer,” he said.
He introduced a resource, “50 Days of Prayer Before & During General Conference 2012.”
Electronic communication will make it possible for every local
congregation in every part of the world to pray with and for the 988
delegates. Using the Internet and free, downloadable files, every
United Methodist will be able to read the same Scripture, share the
same insights and pray the same prayer for 40 days before General
Conference as well as pray through each day of the conference, April 24
through May 4.
“I know if we listen and God speaks, there will be transformation,” Albin said. “God can answer in amazing ways.”
Preaching on the second day of the news briefing, the Rev. Francisco
Cañas challenged participants to find “new forms of being the church.”
Calling for diversity, he said, “To continue perpetuating the old
rule of inviting only the people we know, who look and behave like us,
will not produce the vitality and diversity that by nature belongs to
God’s kingdom.
“As United Methodist people, we find the solid ground of our mission
in God’s trust, love and compassion for the entire breadth of
humankind.”
*Linda Bloom, Joey Butler, Barbara Dunlap-Berg, Kathy Gilbert and Heather Hahn contributed to this report.
News contact: Maggie Hillery, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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