Site
Contents
 |
General Information about the Area Office
North Indiana Conference Office
South Indiana Conference Office
Prayer Guides
(Courtesy of the NIC Prayer Team)
Area United Methodist
Foundation
For resources to assist your congregation in welcoming guests,
click here
Seashore District Volunteer Center VIM project -- Completed
Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
| Hoosier United Methodists together |
May/June 2004 |
United Methodists affirm their unity
By Daniel R. Gangler
PITTSBURGH - The nearly 1,000 delegates of The United Methodist General Conference overwhelmingly approved here May 7 a Resolution of Church Unity.
In a vote of 869 for, 41 against and 8 abstentions, delegates affirmed this resolution of unity that stated: "As United Methodists we affirm in covenant with one another, even in the midst of disagreement and reaffirm our commitment to work together for our common mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ throughout the world."
General Conference is the only body that speaks on behalf of the whole church.
The resolution was brought to the floor by half a dozen very diverse delegates from around the world and across the United States in a show of unity. It was introduced by the Rev. John Schol of the Eastern Pennsylvania Annual Conference.
"It's important to send a clear message that we are unified, a United Methodist Church which is not splitting," Schol said after the vote. "I have a great deal of relief that we have affirmed our covenant, and that delegates will not leave this place divided. I believe we will come back in four years as a stronger denomination."
Schol said he felt moved to do something after receiving phone calls from people back home who had heard the church was about to split. He felt the passage of the unity resolution was a clear signal to block "a movement to drive a wedge in our denomination."
The Rev. Darren Cushman-Wood, senior pastor of Speedway United Methodist Church and a South Indiana Conference delegate, was one of four speakers in support of the resolution as it approached the vote on the floor of the conference.
He said all this talk about schism disturbed him greatly. "For myself I don't know where I would choose. Maybe I need to have an adjustment in my heart between my doctrine and my ethics, but that kind of surgery needs to be done by whom John Wesley called the great physician. I do not trust the surgeons who are in this room to perform that surgery on me or on my local congregation, so I urge us to send this very clear message of unity back to our local churches."
The idea of expressing affirmation for unity was praised by several delegates before the vote. "This has been monumental for our church," said the Rev. Stanley Copeland from North Texas. "In the course of our legislative committees and debate on this floor, I've found myself in a sea of distrust . and drowning."
The Rev. Bill McAlilly of Mississippi asked that the moderate voices of the church - a group he called the "Methodist Middle" - be represented in future discussions about unity. "The faithful United Methodists, who are not represented or identified with any coalition group, those of us who are neither on the right or on the left, must be included at the table. More often than not, we are silent, and perhaps that's our sin. But we fear that if we speak, we will be labeled as 'the opposition.' If those of us in the middle can contain those on either side, maybe we can find the unity we seek," he said.
No one spoke in opposition to the resolution.
Clarifying events
Before the motion was made, the Rev. Bruce Robbins, former top staff executive for the United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, and the Rev. Bill Hinson, president of the Confessing Movement, spoke to delegates and tried to clarify the events of the day before.
They outlined a meeting held earlier in the week among members of Good News and the Confession Movement within the United Methodist Church, both conservative groups, and Affirmation (a gay and lesbian caucus) and the Methodist Federation for Social Action, both liberal groups that support gays and lesbians within the life of the church. Robbins said that meeting came to no decision and recognized their deep differences.
Hinson, former pastor of First United Methodist Church of Houston, Texas, said he had no intention of bringing to delegates a petition of schism. A May 6 two-page letter written by Hinson was circulated at General Conference called for an "amicable and just separation" within The United Methodist Church.
Hinson denied charges that he personally is behind efforts to divide the denomination. "I don't see myself as schismatic," Hinson said. "My ancestors heard (John) Wesley preach in Savannah. I am a seventh-generation United Methodist. I do have a deep sense of sadness over our church and its brokenness. Does that mean there are no bridges? Absolutely not."
Amicable separation up for discussion
The May 7 action was in response to the circulation of a document the day before suggesting the formation of a task force to study splitting the church. The statement, crafted by conservatives, was never introduced on the floor of the conference.
In a May 7 newsletter for conference attendees, the Rev. James V. Heidinger II, president of Good News, wrote that "no such resolution will be brought before this General Conference." But he added that "the matter of amicable separation is now on the table for discussion by United Methodists." Good News is an unofficial United Methodist evangelical group.
After the Resolution of Church Unity was approved, delegates sang as a prayer "bless be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love," a familiar hymn of the church.
Robbins said the result of the morning's vote was that the 10 million member denomination has not considered any split. "The United Methodist Church strives and is determined to seek unity," he said. "That is the goal for all of us. The question is how do we discern ways to build bridges over our differences? I do believe that God has a greater imagination than we do."
Conservative leaders say most members are unhappy about the church's direction, especially with regard to issues like homosexuality. "Local churches are increasingly expressing their pain," Hinson said.
The Rev. Kathryn Johnson, executive director of the Methodist Federation for Social Action, said she found any suggestion of a split "absolutely devastating. . Theologically and politically, we differ greatly, but we all share a love for the church."
"Any talk of divorce is premature because we have not gone through counseling," Johnson said. "We haven't talked. We haven't had honest dialogue yet."
The United Methodist News Service contributed to this report.
Last updated on May 17, 2004