General Conference 2008

Evening Plenary: Membership Fails

Church Membership (80088-LC-¶214)

  Amend ¶214 as follows:

  ¶214. Eligibility
The United Methodist Church is a part of the holy catholic (universal) church, as we confess in the Apostles’ Creed. In the church, Jesus Christ is proclaimed and professed as Lord and Savior. All people may attend its worship services, participate in its programs, receive the sacraments and become members in any local church in the connection (¶4). Although the pastor is to educate and counsel the person seeking to unite with the local church, God’s redemptive gift is available to all persons, and the pastor is to faithfully receive all adults willing to affirm our vows of membership.  In the case of persons whose disabilities prevent them from reciting the vows, their legal guardian[s], themselves members in full covenant relationship with God and the Church, the community of faith, may recite the appropriate vows on their behalf.

The Petition is amended as follows:

Page 1329, left column, last paragraph, 7th line: replace bolded sentence with the following:

It is the responsibility of the local church, working through its pastoral and lay leadership, to educate persons on "The Meaning of Membership" as set forth in paragraphs 216-221, and to counsel with them regarding their readiness to seek membership with the local church, affirming our belief that God's redemptive gift of salvation is available to all. 

The pastor(s) and the congregation are to faithfully receive all persons who are willing to affirm our vows of membership.

Plenary Motions:
4/30/2008 9:20 PM
Vote on Main Motion REJECTED 436-448

Full story:
1207

Afternoon Plenary: Incompatibility Clause Retained

Legislative Committee Minority Report (passed):

The Petition is amended as follows:

   G) Human Sexuality-We recognize  affirm that sexuality is God’s good gift to all persons. We believe persons may be fully human only when that gift is acknowledged and affirmed by themselves, the church, and society . We call all persons  everyone to the disciplined , responsible fulfillment of themselves, others, and society in the stewardship of this sacred gift. We also recognize our limited understanding of this complex gift and encourage the medical, theological, and social science disciplines to combine in a determined effort to understand human sexuality more completely. We call the Church to take the leadership role in bringing together these disciplines to address this most complex issue. Further, within the context of our understanding of this gift of God, we recognize that God challenges us to find responsible, committed, and loving forms of expression.
Although all persons are sexual beings whether or not they are married, sexual relations are only clearly affirmed only within the covenant of monogamous, heterosexual marriage bond . Sex may become exploitative within as well as outside marriage. We reject all sexual expressions that damage or destroy the humanity God has given us as birthright, and we affirm only that sexual expression that enhances that same humanity. We believe that sexual relations where one or both partners are exploitative, abusive, or promiscuous are beyond the parameters of acceptable Christian behavior and are ultimately destructive to individuals, families, and the social order.
We deplore all forms of the commercialization, abuse, and exploitation of sex , with their consequent cheapening and degradation of human personality . We call for strict global enforcement of laws prohibiting the sexual exploitation or use of children by adults and encourage efforts to hold perpetrators legally and financially responsible. We  and call for the establishment of adequate protection ve services , guidance, and counseling opportunities for abused children.  thus abused. We insist that  All persons, regardless of age, gender, marital status, or sexual orientation, are entitled to have their human and civil rights ensured  and to be protected against violence.  The Church should support the family in providing age-appropriate education regarding sexuality to children, youth and adults.
We recognize the continuing need for full, positive, age-appropriate and factual sex education opportunities for children, young people, and adults. The Church offers a unique opportunity to give quality guidance and education in this area.
Homosexual persons no less than heterosexual  We affirm that all persons are individuals of sacred worth, created in the image of God. All persons need the ministry and guidance of the church in our struggles for human fulfillment, as well as the spiritual and emotional care of a fellowship that enables reconciling relationships with God, with others, and with self. The United Methodist Church does not condone the practice of homosexuality and consider this practice incompatible with Christian teaching. We affirm that God’s grace is available to all. and  We will seek to live together in Christian community, welcoming, forgiving, and loving one another, as Christ has loved and accepted us. . We implore families and churches not to reject or condemn lesbian and gay members and friends. We commit ourselves to be in ministry for and with all persons.^{1
   
1.  Fox, H Eddie
2.  Yoou, Dogo Jean
3.  Dunnam, Maxie D
4.  Furr, Steve P
5.  Baumgardner, Karl
6.  Arant, Turner
7.  Junk, Tom M
8.  Sikes, Marget H
9.  Wright, Kimberly (Kim) Hicks
10.  Wood, Steven D
11.  Rinehart, Jerry 
R1.  Henson, Selena}

Last Vote Action:   
Vote on Main Motion
This motion was Adopted, with 501 votes for and 417 votes against.

Plenary Motions:   
4/30/2008 5:21 PM
Vote on Main Motion ADOPTED 501-417
Vote on the Calendar item 1186 - with substitution of minority report as the new majority report.

Amended Legislative Committee Report (Failed):

¶161 G) Human Sexuality. We recognize that sexuality is God’s good gift to all persons. We believe persons may be fully human only when that gift is acknowledged and affirmed by themselves, the church, and society. We call all persons to the disciplined, responsible fulfillment of themselves, others, and society in the stewardship of this gift. We also recognize our limited understanding of this complex gift and encourage the medical, theological, and social science disciplines to combine in a determined effort to understand human sexuality more completely. For more than a generation (that is, since the 1972 Book of  Discipline),  United Methodists, along with other Christians, have struggled to find principles for applying traditional teachings to contemporary understandings of human sexuality.
We recognize that sexuality is part of the larger human mystery, to be received and acknowledged in grateful responsibility. We reject all sexual expressions that damage or destroy the humanity God has given us. We deplore all forms of the commercialization and exploitation of sexual relations, with their consequent cheapening and degradation of human personality. We call for strict global enforcement of laws prohibiting the sexual exploitation or use of children by adults and encourage efforts to hold perpetrators legally and financially responsible. We call for adequate protection, guidance, and counseling for children thus abused. We believe that the Church family should support all families in providing age-appropriate education regarding sexuality to children, youth, and adults. We challenge all members of our community of faith to commitment, integrity and fidelity in their sexual relationships.
We know that all are of God’s children and of sacred worth; ,and yet we have been, and remain, divided regarding homosexual expressions of human sexuality. Those who say we cannot condone homosexuality have a faithful witness. Those who press for total acceptance also have a faithful witness. Faithful, thoughtful people who have grappled with this issue deeply disagree with one another; yet all seek a faithful witness. We continue to reason and pray together with faith and hope that the Holy Spirit will soon bring reconciliation to our community of faith. The fire in our disagreements points to a deeper human mystery than we knew. We believe that the Spirit has brought our collective conscience to acknowledge this mystery more honestly, and to make our claims with greater humility before God and our neighbors. We therefore ask the Church, United Methodist and others, and the world, to refrain from judgment regarding homosexual persons and practices until the Spirit leads us to new insight. In the meantime, let us seek to welcome, know, forgive, and love one another as Christ has accepted us, that God may be glorified through everything in our lives.

Full Story:
1186

Morning: LGBT Results from Plenary

Increase Inclusiveness

Calendar Item:
1210
1195

Anti-Inclusive

Calendar Item:
788
1191
1196

Note: Votes were much closer with use of civil unions language.

Silent Witness in Legislative Committees

Each day teams of people sit or stand in silent witness in legislative committees. Here is the silent witness team doing initial planning and then sitting in silent witness in Church and Society 2, the legislative committee that considers human sexuality.

Photo Set

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Petition on Paragraph 161G Reaches Plenary

(Paragraph 161G) Human Sexuality.

We recognize that sexuality is God's good gift to all persons. We believe persons may be fully human only when that gift is acknowledged and affirmed by themselves, the church, and society. We call all persons to the disciplined, responsible fulfillment of themselves, others, and society in the stewardship of this gift. We also recognize our limited understanding of this complex gift and encourage the medical, theological, and social science disciplines to combine in a determined effort to understand human sexuality more completely. United Methodists, along with other Christians, have struggled to find principles for applying traditional teachings to contemporary understandings of human sexuality.

We recognize that sexuality is part of the larger human mystery, to be received and acknowledged in grateful responsibility. We reject all sexual expressions that damage or destroy the humanity God has given us. We deplore all forms of the commercialization and exploitation of sexual relations, with their consequent cheapening and degradation of human personality. We call for strict global enforcement of laws prohibiting the sexual exploitation or use of children by adults and encourage efforts to hold perpetrators legally and responsible. We call for adequate protection, guidance, and counseling for children thus abused. We believe that the Church family should support all families in providing age-appropriate education regarding sexuality to children, youth, and adults. We challenge all members of our community of faith to commitment, integrity, and fidelity in their sexual relationships.

We know that all are God's children and of sacred worth; yet we have been, and remain, divided regarding homosexual expressions of human sexuality. Faithful, thoughtful people who have grappled with this issue deeply disagree with one another; yet all seek a faithful witness. We continue to reason and pray together with faith and hope that the Holy Spirit will soon bring reconciliation to our community of faith. The fire in our disagreements points to a deeper human mystery than we knew. We believe that the Spirit has brought our collective conscience to acknowledge this mystery more honestly, and to make our claims with greater humility before God and our neighbors. We therefore ask the Church , United Methodist and others, and the world, to refrain from judgment regarding homosexual persons and practices until the Spirit leads us to a new insight. In the meantime, let us seek to welcome, know, forgive, and love one another as Christ has accepted us, that God may be glorified through everything in our lives.

Prayers Actions Outside Legislative Sessions

After the Young Adult Rally, MoSAIC and OnFire lead the crowd into the Fort Worth Convention Center to conduct organized prayer actions outside of legislative sessions.

Photo Set

Fear of Institutional Failure

From where I write right now, Spring is slow to arrive.  Patches of snow remain, and in the deep woods over brush and grasses, the snow is still quite deep, though turning slushy.  In other places, the mosses and grass are fully exposed, especially around the trees.  Nevertheless, various kinds of ducks have returned North already, expecting the ponds and lakes to be free for them to land in and not still covered by ice.  This morning I saw a pair circling the ice-covered ponds nearby, and, instead, surprisingly landing in a very large puddle of standing water from melted snow in the corner of the field next to the woods - not the expected pond and a place that will become dry for the summer as the ground gets warm enough to absorb the melting water.  Yet, land in it they did, and immediately floated in it in perfect stillness, completely content and silent.  They needed calm and nourishing waters to land in, and they found them and "thought" nothing of it.

I am absorbing the peacefulness of this place one more time before heading to Fort Worth, and working mostly via e mail on final preparations with the RMN legislative team and our allies.  Things are crystallizing.  We have talked together for hours about the theology of and urging inclusiveness, and we have worked on "arguments" that support our work for full inclusion and the end of infliction of spiritual violence on LGBT people.  This involves reason and logic on one level, but it goes much deeper than that.  We discuss the Bible, the Gospel, Jesus - what he meant, what God wants of us.  We discuss John Wesley and the foundations of our denomination.  We search the history of our faith and understand that so many of Wesley's sermons support diversity, full inclusion and not imposing one's "opinions" on others in ways that are divisive. 

But over the past week, some insight was shared with me that has caused me significant pause.  Of course this spiritual and theological searching and formulating is not new.  It seems that the movement has already put forward these insights.  We think if we are just that much more focused or bring that much more of Spirit or "something" to the discussion (or debate), we can finally break through.  But this is not, of course, the first time that we have formulated our words in this way as we urge the church to, frankly, do the right spiritual thing.  It is just that the reflective, thoughtful, and even "brilliant" theological arguments we and our brothers and sisters before us have made with great feeling and passion - and while in the hands of the Holy Spirit - have not been persuasive to the audience or carried the day at General Conference.  Instead, arguments from "the other side" based in fear - have swayed the church.  It is important to see this fact, based on a review of the past "debates" at General Conferences past, and call it what it is. 

First it was pure generated fear about homosexuals themselves - irrational and homophobic arguments, like if we were fully included and accepted, AIDS would spread at greater rates, and acceptance would lead to illegitimate children.  And most recently, the fear-based arguments grounded singly in homophobia (fear of LGBT people) kind of gave way (not totally, of course), because our movement became stronger, and more visible, and we as LGBT people could no longer be broadly dehumanized, and objectified in certain negative ways.   For this we know we have the pioneers of our movement, those who have courageously gone before us, to thank. For example, LGBT clergy who were stripped of their orders, but who stood still and strong and remained clear about their gifts and calling in the face of false rejection by the church.

Now, we are informed that the recent quadrennia have revealed the next level of fear-based approaches to continuing to deny full inclusion of all God's children: the fear that doing so will somehow destroy the institution: if we are inclusive, the church will be torn apart, the church in Africa will fail and be confused about what our missionaries taught them, the church itself will die out.  And these insulting and patronizing arguments were persuasive, got the votes and have increased discriminatory laws and rules in our church.

No one wants the church to fail or to die or to be torn apart.  Yet, isn't that what is apparently happening under the present set of principles, powers and rules (or powers and principalities, isn't that the phrase?)- that are not inclusive and thus divisive?  Perhaps the only way for true and lasting unity is to allow full inclusion with an international structure allowing regional autonomy.  This is why the Robbins/Okayama and Wulf legislation pending in the Conferences Committee is key to the future of our church.  That is my legislative digression for this blog.  (See your copy of the DCA - or see www.Generalconference2008.org)

If the church decision makers are resisting an inclusive Gospel primarily because they fear what will happen to "the institution," what does this say?  We moderates and progressives have been working the spiritual angles and communing with how Jesus loves us - and trying to get the church to remember that, but are we to now realize that the institution itself is really the primary concern?  So our passionate and brilliant theological and spiritual arguments are misdirected?  We would do better to appeal to the same fears?  This causes me great pause.  I thought I was working for awakening and enlightenment and to help the church so many love and are a part of to be more "the church" - not to stave off fears about losing "the institution" at the cost of the core of spiritual truth.  For me, at least, the Gospel comes before the institution.  This is true even though our church had and has so much promise to live the Gospel - but it refuses.  Yet, people should  not worry: the institution of The United Methodist Church is not going anywhere.  I guess that can be read two ways and both might be true - we'll see.  What I mean is, it will be around in one form or another for a long time.  What form do we want it to take?  Will it be like a still frozen pond in Spring, over which the ducks circle, but find unsuitable and inhospitable for a soft and peaceful landing? 

Strategy and God

This could also be called "Wholeness in the midst of General Conference."  I wonder if people expect the lawyer and legislative coordinator for RMN to encourage people to take a deep breath and remember wholeness and groundedness in God as the predictably difficult General Conference nears to within days. Yes, we have a well-reasoned and well-developed legislative strategy.  We have been working on it for nearly two years - even since 2004.  We have been working with an incredibly energized, skilled and highly qualified team of leaders who care about whether our church will reflect the Gospel or not, whether our church will embrace unity, whether our church will grow and thrive.  We hope it will, and that it will finally embrace its true, diverse family.  While "winning" and "losing" are included in our focus, the truth is that it isn't about winning and losing, it is about a movement that is spiritually grounded and sound as well as justice oriented.  While there will undoubtedly be challenges, and maybe some really big ones, "success" is already in hand.  As children of God, inseparable from God, we are already there, already Home, and are just waiting for the church to realize it.  Yet, as we wait for the church to awaken (or possibly to refuse awakening for now), it is true that its stances of exclusion can cause a false sense of separation, and, therefore, suffering.  This is why the Reconciling movement matters. 

I have never written a blog entry before, and had to receive instructions more than once on how to effectuate this entry.  It turns out it is quite simple.  General Conference is apparently not like that.  The systems that our church has chosen to be immersed in and attached to are cumbersome, complicated, and in all practical terms nearly unworkable.  Yet, we work them the best we can.  Even the time allotted in the schedule overall and for each day signals that many important activities and issues will be compressed so tight that even getting enough sleep is questionable.  I look forward to a blog entry about sleep while I am in Texas.  I wonder if there will be any spiritual time or space there.  Perhaps when we look back at General Conference in a few weeks, and then in a few months, we will find that it really was simple: we will remember we cannot be separated from God by any words or people or church, and we will know a little better whether the church is waking up and remembering that, too - or not.  Jennifer Soule, RMN Legal Counsel