UMW leader issues 'open letter' to RENEW network

By Linda Bloom

NEW YORK (UMNS) - The leader of United Methodist Women has sent an "open letter" to an organization that has been critical of some of its work and theology.

In her letter to the RENEW Network, Jan Love said she would try to address the unofficial caucus's concerns and questions. Love became chief executive of the Women's Division of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, last August. The division is the administrative arm of United Methodist Women.

RENEW, led by Faye Short, is a support network for evangelical, orthodox women within the United Methodist Church "providing a voice for their concerns, supplemental program resources for their program needs and a place for them to share ministry with other women." It also considers itself a voice for "renewal and accountability" relating to the Women's Division.

Love's March 28 letter welcomed "every opportunity to hear, understand and respond to the concerns and perspectives of United Methodist Women," along with being able to "interact with, respond to and learn from others in our denomination."

She also welcomed an invitation to meet with leaders of the RENEW network.

In a response made available to UMNS, Short acknowledged the invitation. "We are pleased and will be working with the Women's Division to determine guidelines for this meeting," she wrote.

Love's letter noted that the denomination has excellent resources for dialogue over "deeply held" differences. "The reason that I recommend these materials to you is that, from our point of view, your criticisms of the Women's Division seem to distort our work and portray us as less than the conscientious Christians we all strive to be," she wrote.

Love pointed out that different perspectives do not necessarily imply a difference in commitment to Jesus Christ. "We do not call into question or imply any doubt about the basic integrity of your faith commitment. We ask you to grant us the same courtesy and respect."

Short disputed that RENEW's criticisms distort the division's work, adding that it is the group's opinion that the division "has failed to answer with integrity" the concerns RENEW has raised over the past 15 years.

Love's letter questioned whether RENEW is merely in disagreement with actions of the Women's Division or with the official positions and policies of the denomination itself. "In all that we do, the Women's Division abides by the decisions of General Conference (the denomination's top legislative body) as recorded in the Book of Discipline and Book of Resolutions," she wrote.

Love stressed that the division must remain focused on those mandates. "Most importantly, our priority as women organized for mission must remain on witnessing in proclamation and practice to the love, grace and salvation of Jesus Christ," she said. She noted that UMW supports mission programs and personnel in nearly 120 countries.

Both Love's letter and Short's response included answers to six questions that RENEW had earlier posed to Love on issues ranging from ecumenism to homosexuality. Love's full open letter can be found at http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/wdnews.cfm?articleid=3110, and Short's response can be found at www.renewnetwork.org.

Last updated on 25 Apr 2008

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