« April 13, 2008 - April 19, 2008 | Main | April 27, 2008 - May 3, 2008 »
Affirmation celebrated the Out Awards awards at the 2008 General Conference. The mission of Affirmation: "As an independent voice of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer people, Affirmation radically reclaims the compassionate and transforming gospel of Jesus Christ by relentlessly pursuing full inclusion in the Church as we journey with the Spirit in creating God's beloved community."
According to the Christian Post:
Hundreds of United Methodists have begun looking over some 1,500 petitions that have been proposed by those seeking change in church policies and structures, among other things, during the church's quadrennial gathering.
Much of the media spotlight, however, has fallen on two submitted petitions aimed at changing the United Methodist Church's current position on homosexuality. The church body holds that the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching.
One petition would state that homosexuality is a subject about which Christians disagree and the other would define marriage as the union of two loving adults.
To support gay and transgender church members, young Methodists from the Mosaic Youth Network are holding a 24-hour "drumming and rally," which began Friday at noon, outside the Fort Worth Conference Center in Texas, where the United Methodist General Conference is taking place. Recent General Conferences have seen protests by gay-rights advocates, some of whom were arrested for disrupting proceedings.
Full story:
Transgender Talks Begin at United Methodist Meeting
Click here
Joey Heath talks about rejection as a member of the church because he is gay, and about Judicial Council decision 1032.
Click here
Gay rights rally held across from the convention center. Report from Mike Hickcox. [Audio: Miriam, Shaun Delmorre, Joey Heath]
Click here
According to the United Methodist News Service:
“Change is coming,” says one young adult leader who says The United Methodist Church is getting closer to welcoming everyone regardless of their sexual identity.
“Don’t worry; it will happen because nothing can stop the force of this generation,” said Rachel Birkhahn-Rommelfanger, chairperson of the United Methodist Student Movement.
Rachel Birkham-Rommelfanger speaks at a rally at First Christian Church. A UMNS photo by Maile Bradfield.
Birkhahn-Rommelfanger was among speakers who addressed more than 200 people gathered for a noon rally on April 26 to support inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons in the denomination.
The rally took place outside of the Fort Worth Convention Center, where the 2008 United Methodist General Conference is meeting April 23-May 2. The church’s top legislative body will decide policy for the denomination for the next four years and is expected to vote on legislation dealing with membership and ordination of homosexuals.
The church’s law book states “the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. Therefore self-avowed practicing homosexuals are not to be certified as candidates, ordained as ministers, or appointed to serve in The United Methodist Church.”
The Division on Young People, United Methodist Board of Discipleship, is sponsoring one resolution that asks the denomination to offer membership “to all who have been baptized and those who have professed their faith regardless of age, class, ethnicity, gender, race, and sexual orientation.”
“We are offering bold pieces of legislation,” said Theon Johnson III, co-chair of the division. “We are not called to do church but to be the church.”
Supporters of Reconciling Ministries Network march in downtown Fort Worth, Texas. A UMNS photo by Maile Bradfield.
Shalom Agtarap, a member of Young Adult Seminarians Network, Board of Higher Education and Ministry, asked the young people to remember that General Conference is a “family meeting.”“How would you speak to your mother or your father?” she asked. “In our discussion, remember you are talking to members of the same family.”
“We all have a special interest in God’s justice,” said Bryan Schlemmer, coordinator of On Fire, a young adult group within the Methodist Federation for Social Action. “My salvation depends on your salvation.”
Young people drummed for 24 hours leading up to the noon rally. After the event, participants went inside the convention center and prayed outside of conference rooms as delegates worked on legislation.
Full story:
Rally urges inclusion regardless of sexual identity
Click here
The United Methodist News Service reports:
Delegates to the 2008 United Methodist General Conference have called for the establishment of an ethics committee after hearing concerns about gifts given to central conference delegates.
On April 26, a motion from Ralph R. Oduor, a lay member of the New England Annual (regional) Conference and retired attorney, asked the Commission on General Conference to establish a General Conference ethics committee to address those concerns. The 992 delegates overwhelming approved the motion, asking the current commission to propose to the 2012 General Conference guidelines for such a committee, including its composition, scope and authority.
The Renewal and Reform Coalition, an entity that comprises the Confessing Movement, Good News/Renew, Transforming Congregations and UMAction, provided free cell phones to more than 150 African and Filipino delegates to use during General Conference. Officials with the coalition have said the cell phones were given to the delegates with no strings attached.
Some church leaders and delegates questioned whether democratic processes had been compromised. Church officials and delegates expressed concern that the coalition might use the phones to offer suggestions on how to vote on particular issues. Coalition officials have denied that, stating instead that the phones were given as an act of kindness and to give the central conference delegates equal access to technology.
Oduor said he "was deeply troubled" by the reports concerning the "possibility that gifts were given to certain delegates in what may have been an attempt to improperly influence their voting stance.”
He said there is no place in the current structure for possible violations of the covenant to be fairly revealed. "It is damaging to the body to have suspicions, charges and countercharges flying in all directions without a means to address the possible offense."
Oduor told the General Conference that an ethics committee is an essential "venue where such concerns can be raised and acted upon."
Gail Murphy-Geiss, chairperson of the General Conference Commission, said an ethics committee would be welcome. "An ethics committee would be an appropriate addition to the commission, and although it would not be working on establishing new rules, it would work on establishing a spiritual statement on holy conferencing and fair play," she said.
The commission already has subcommittees and creates them as needed. The ethics committee would be a subcommittee for the upcoming 2009-2012 General Conference Commission, whose members will be elected by the delegates at the 2008 session.
She said the conference "does not have to legislate ourselves up to the gills," but it would be beneficial to have a statement around which people could covenant and build relationships, "as opposed to having statements on what can or can't be done. The statement would be something from the heart and not from the head."
General Conference is the top lawmaking assembly of the 11.5 million-member United Methodist Church. The central conferences are regions of the church in Africa, Asia and Europe.
Full story:
Delegates seek General Conference ethics panel
Click here
Additional coverage:
Ralph Oduor: "I am deeply troubled."
Windows Media | QuickTime
Young Adults marched to General Worth Park to hear four speakers: Brian Schlemmer, Joey Heath, Mirriam Wood and Sean Delmore. After the rally, they conducted their first direct action at General Conference and prayed in the front of legislative sections.
Photos:
YouTube: Joey Heath
YouTube: Sean Delmore
Click here
YouTube: Mirriam Wood
Click here
YouTube: Brian Schlemmer
Click here
MoSAIC and OnFire finalized preparations for their young adult witness at General Conference and conducted their first speak out at First Christian Church today.
Photos:
YouTube: Rachel Birkhahn-Rommelfanger:
YouTube: Theon Johnson III:
Click here
YouTube: Shalom Agtarap:
Click here
RECONCILING MINISTRIES NETWORK – Mosaic Youth Network
3801 North Keeler Avenue, Chicago, IL 60641
Contact Persons:
Ann Craig, Media Coordinator
craig@glaad.org, 213-703-1365, cell
Rev. Troy Plummer, Executive Director
troy@rmnetwork.org, 773-315-9225, cell
Monica Swink, Board Chair
monicaswink@cox.net, 405-473-3942, cell
YOUNG METHODISTS SPEAK OUT AT 24 HOUR DRUMMING AND RALLY
Drums pulsed the air for 24 hours and culminated in a young people’s rally calling for the church to listen to the Gospel’s message of inclusion in the United Methodist Church as it votes on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender welcome at its General Conference.
Every four years, elected delegates from around the world gather to set the policy of the church. United Methodists have debated issues relating to sexual orientation for more than thirty years and the votes are gradually moving toward inclusion.
The drumming intensified as young people and delegates gathered for a noontime rally in the General Worth park. When the drumming stopped, young speakers went to the microphone.
Rachel Birkhahn-Rommelfanger said, “Young people have chosen a future of hope. That hope is that all people will be welcome. Today we claim our voice, our future and our place in the church. As the younger generation is elected to General Conference, it will change. It is changing. We have already accepted LGBTIQ friends and want to bring them to church; a church where they will be accepted for who they are.” Rachel Birkhahn-Rommelfanger is the co-chair of The United Methodist Student Movement.
Brian Schlemmer, coordinator of On Fire, a young adult group within the Methodist Federation for Social Action, reminded those in attendance “God’s yes is always bigger than the Church’s no.”
The rally leaders led the way back to the convention center and prayed for the delegates as they returned to their meetings. The General Conference will take most of its votes on these controversial issues midweek.
Miriam Wood said, “It is time for The United Methodist Church, the church that I love, to include. I feel so strongly. It will happen in my lifetime, and I will feel comfortable being called a United Methodist.”
Rev. Troy Plummer, executive director of RMN, reflected, “Young people know gay people and are leaving anti-gay churches. The recent Barna research revealed that 80% of young people, 16-29, with church homes are embarrassed by anti-gay policies and reluctant to invite friends. If United Methodist seek to have a vital church in the future in the US, they must pay attention!”
The monitoring team issued the following statement in The HERO Report about IRD (UMAffirm) and Good News' practice of providing cell phones to Central Conference delegates:
"It has come to our attention that at least one group present at General Conference is distributing free cell phones to a select group of delegates. This is inappropriate behavior, and it destroys community. We have gathered for Christian conferencing which requires trust, honest, openness, and respect. Whenever there is an imbalance of power relationships with the expectation of reciprocity, this behavior gives the appearance of paternalism, manipulation, exploitation, and of course, racism."
The United Methodist News Service reports:
Delegates and church officials attending General Conference are wondering if democratic processes have been compromised because a renewal group provided some African and some Filipino delegates with cell phones.
The Renewal and Reform Coalition created myriad conversations among delegates, church leaders and visitors after they learned that the Confessing Movement, Good News/Renew, Transforming Congregations and UMAction provided free cell phones to more than 150 African delegates to use during the General Conference.
Some delegates and officials expressed concern that the coalition is trying to sway the votes of African delegates who are typically more conservative than their U.S. counterparts. They fear the coalition might use the phones to offer suggestions on how to vote on particular issues.
An April 23 letter from the coalition announces the cell phone give-away as a service “that might be helpful to delegates.” That letter also invites the delegates to a “free breakfast” where they can have “fellowship with other like-minded delegates,” and receive “information about the important issues that are coming before the conference.” The letter concludes with a request that they consider voting for a slate of members for Judicial Council.
"It is very important that we elect people who will be fair and who will uphold the Book of Discipline,” said the letter. “The coalition is supporting a great group of persons who are diverse in terms of culture, ethnicity and gender. But all of them are united in the belief that the Bible is God's word and that we must maintain biblical standards for theology and morality."
Bishop Felton May, interim top executive of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, found the cell phone gifts “surprising and puzzling. I would like to have an answer to the rationale. The last paragraph (of the letter) intrigued me in that there was direction given in relationship to the election of Judicial Council."
Rob Renfroe, a member of the Confessing Movement and a coalition member, said the cell phones were provided to give the central conference delegates the same access to communications and material that U.S. delegates have. "We thought the gift of a cell phone would be beneficial."
The provision of cell phones "crosses the boundaries of what is appropriate in this kind of community, and I hope that it would cease," said Bishop Kenneth Carder, a professor at Duke Divinity School, Durham, N.C. Everyone, he said, needs to trust the integrity and the autonomy of a democratic process. "This seems to be an undue influence and violates the very essence of what it means to be Christian community."
A joint monitoring team from the Commission on the Status and Role of Women and the Commission on Religion and Race said the giveaway “is inappropriate behavior and it destroys community. We have gathered for Christian conferencing, which requires trust, honesty, openness and respect. Whenever there is an imbalance of power relationships with the expectation of reciprocity, this behavior gives the appearance of paternalism, manipulation, exploitation and of course, racism."
Jim Winkler, top executive at the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, said some renewal groups have journeyed across Africa "providing deliberately distorted and inaccurate information to African United Methodists." He views the distribution of cell phones "in the context of a pattern of manipulation of the African delegates, and that is what really, really troubles me.”
However, Renfroe said it is "demeaning to the African delegates to think that a gift of a cell phone would change their vote." He said the coalition is showing hospitality to many people who have traveled a great distance to attend General Conference. "They are highly educated, aware of the issues and supremely principled in their beliefs, and to think that the gift of a cell phone would change their view is demeaning to them."
‘No strings attached’The Rev. Tom Lambrecht, chair of the Renewal and Reform Coalition, said his group was “deeply disturbed by the charges that are leveled by the various church leaders.”
“We find the charges to be totally outrageous, and we lament the fact that no one who is making these charges contacted us to share their concerns or to ask for an explanation,” he said. “We find this to be a violation of the covenant of holy conferencing.”
Rose-Marie Jalloh and other delegates from Sierra Leone received cell phones. "There were no strings attached to the cell phone," she said. "We appreciated it because it was a gift for us while we are here. We will use it to call friends in the United States. I do not know if it will work when General Conference is over."
"The African delegates are mature people who make value judgments," said Liberian Bishop John Innis. He wants General Conference delegates to know that the African bishops have not encouraged the cell phone gifts for their delegates. "We want to be very clear about that. The delegates are mature people who have read all of the material sent to them regarding General Conference and read all petitions and will vote their conscience.”
James Harris of the Liberia Annual Conference found the receipt of a cell phone helpful in communicating with his colleagues and committee members. "It is a great help for me." He asserted that there were no conditions related to receiving the phone. "We were told that the phones are to be used for local connections in the United States and to contact my fellow delegates."
"They did not give us conditions. It was free," said Rosen Mwenze, a delegate from North Katanga. "We were given cell phones to use for the time we are here."
But Abraham Sellu, an East African delegate, declined a cell phone because he did not want to be lobbied. "Coming here, you see a lot of people outside giving you papers with agendas up their sleeves." He said he was told during April 23 orientation that there are strings attached to gifts given during General Conference. "Not knowing much about who was giving me this gift, I refused to go for one," he said.
Gifts raise concernsThe giving of cell phones exclusively to people of color outside the United States raises some concerns about racial paternalism. Early colonialists used the same sorts of tactics -- giving of gifts with intention for self-profit or gain in some sort of way, said Erin Hawkins, top executive of the church's Commission on Religion and Race.
"My hope is that the white leadership of the church would be mindful of the actions in light of the history of exploitation of people of color in this church. I hope they would not willingly engage in any sort of behavior that would undermine the humanity of people of color whether they are in the United States or other countries," she said. “This action of giving cell phones to buy or manipulate people can be interpreted as a return to that sort of racist behavior."
Lambrecht said that was a misconception. “The cell phones were not given exclusively to people of color; they were to be given to any central conference delegate who had a need,” he said. “It just so happens that out of financial necessity and technological situation, most of the recipients were people of color. And we felt like we were doing an act of kindness to people to make them feel welcome” and to enable them to participate on a more equal basis.
The Rev. Alex Vergara, president of the National Association of Filipino-American United Methodists, described the gift of cell phones as "vote-buying” and “bribery.”
"We believe everyone has the right to advocate (his or her) position to other people to gain the latter’s favor. But this giving of gifts is nothing but vote-buying, which is a perversion and abuse of a democratic and sacred act,” said Vergara.
However, Lambrecht said the gifts were given with “no expectation on our part. … No questions were asked on our part, and we find no difference between our giving of these gifts and the gifts that are given by general boards and agencies and other groups to the delegates of General Conference.”
He said the implications leveled by the church leaders were “completely untrue,” as well as “hurtful and destructive to the building of community.”
Bishop Gregory Palmer, president-elect of the Council of Bishops, said he was saddened if any group is attempting to influence the votes of delegates in "an unhealthy and manipulative manner. That grieves me for the whole church." He said people have a right to their own opinions and perspectives and they may share how they will cast their vote; however, the sharing should be done in a way that makes it clear the gift is not given in exchange for a vote.
“The hospitality that we offer should be the hospitality that is offered to everyone,” said M. Garlinda Burton, top executive of the Commission on Status and Role of Women.
Full story:
Doubts arise following gifts of cell phones
Click here
