Although I know that I will be processing General Conference (both the feel of it and the outcome of it) for some time, I did promise to post some reflections after arriving home. The return from Fort Worth was without incident. There were a number of us sitting in the airport waiting for the same flight to/through Minneapolis: Bishop Dyck, one of the bishops from the Philippines and his wife, Mary jo Dahlberg, David Bard, Otis Anderson, Becky Sechrist, Dwain & Carol Peterson, Lynn Scott from Wisconsin, Sandra Brands headed to Albany, NY via MSP, and myself. Here’s what I got out of our conversations and my further reflection after the conversations.
The tone of General Conference was much better. People worked very hard to remain civil and polite, however, this should not be mistaken for Holy Conferencing. Tom Albin (Dean of the Upper Room Chapel) and I had occasion to talk about this on Friday. There was not enough time for silence and prayer and possibly conversation without legislation. The conversations that took place during the last 72 hours of General Conference between the bishops and representatives of the GBLTQ community will continue. It is important that the bishops participating in that conversation represent the theological spectrum, not just a part of it. There is a thought already circulating that General Conference 2012 might well use the model that we did in 2007 of holy conferencing without immediate legislation. There is the distinct possibility that the conversation would be followed the next day by voting on these petitions without individual debate on each one. They could be grouped so that apples and oranges aren’t put into the same vote. I think this is very promising.
There is an increased recognition that the global nature of our denomination requires us to be structured somewhat differently although there is no commonality as to what that structure should look like. The next General Conference will have almost 1/3 of the delegates from the Central Conferences – this year it was approximately ¼. Because of the increased cost of General Conference, serious attention needs to be paid at how we do it. I believe the gathering needs to be smaller and shorter. This will take a lot of work and convincing of many people, but it is important. Several times we were reminded about how many malaria bed nets could be purchased with the price tag for a variety of other items.
As we were winding down on Friday night with about an hour of work left, we took a fifteen minute break. I commented to an old friend who had just told me he didn’t think he’d be back to another general conference, that I was becoming more and more convinced that if we just didn’t meet the next time, the world would not notice. There is a growing understanding on the part of many who are delegates at General Conference that the real work of the church takes place where the people are – in local settings across the world – not in large gatherings of leaders. That is not to say that important things don’t happen in those gatherings, but they cannot be the focus of our ministry.
The cynic in me says probably more persons lose their faith while attending general conference than are brought to Christ! Yet, I can point to a number of times during General Conference when my faith was deepened and strengthened. Sometimes it happened as we heard some great preachers. Sometimes it happened while we watched wonderful videos of the presence of the Church around the world, including Hubbard UMC and Recovery Church here in Minnesota. Sometimes it happened in brief but important conversations around the edges. OK, maybe I’m a General Conference junkie! I will probably be retired by the time United Methodists gather in 2012 in Tampa, FL, but I’m already thinking about what I might do as a volunteer to help it work better. I guess it’s that way when it’s the Church you love and have given most of your life to. As a friend of mine has said more than once when we have gotten a little critical of the Church, “Remember the Church is like your mother, kick her very gently!”
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Friday, May 2, 2008
Headed for the barn
Although there have been times in the last ten days when it was so cold in the Ft. Worth Convention Center that it may have felt like a barn (an empty one) in March in Northern Minnesota, this is not my sense. Instead, because we are on the last day of General Conference things are picking up speed. Rules have been changed to allow for fewer and shorter speeches prior to voting on an item. I think all of us are ready to come home although the wonderful warm weather would be nice tucked into our suitcases in place of the clothes that are being put there. Work began today with great music and preaching once again. Music came from The Festival Choir of Christ UMC in Sugar Land, TX, St Luke Community UMC Choir in Dallas, the Mark Miller Worship Band of greater New York/New Jersey and Dr. Eugene Lowry and his jazz piano. In addition, Tongan UMs from across the country gathered and formed a choir who sang the invocation, a Tongan tradition. The preacher of the day was Bishop Hope Morgan Ward of Mississippi who preached on the theme of The Release of Hope! If there was no other witness for the global church in which we participate, it would be through the rich worship experiences we have had here.
The morning session, presided over by Bishop Tom Bickerton of the Pittsburgh Area, focues on financial legislation. Although there were several items that were brought forward that asked for funding outside of the budget preparation process, the items that General Conference decided needed to go forward were able to be incorporated into the budget as proposed so that there will not be the need of annual conferences to adjust their budgets from the amounts that were tentatively given out by GCFA earlier this spring. In essence, the budget was approved as it was presented.
The afternoon session, presided over by Bishop Charlene Kammerer of the Richmond Area, spent the first half of the afternoon deliberating over whether or not to affirm our membership as a denomination in the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. By a margin of 52% to 48% the delegates voted to continue as a full and sponsoring member of the organization. The body also expressed support for Taiwan, no change was made regarding a clergy responsibility around issues of homosexuality, amended the definition of family, passed a resolution regarding evolution and intelligent design, rejected removal of some of the chargeable offenses, rejected marriage and covenants between same-sex couples. A couple of these resolutions may have been adopted during the evening session. (I failed to draw a line in the list when I went to dinner!)
The evening session was presided over by Bishop William Hutchinson of the Louisiana Area. Two historic decisions were made during the evening session: deacons have been granted sacramental authority either through permission of the district superintendent or the lead pastor of the church, and laity may now distribute communion elements previously consecrated by a pastor in areas where there is no pastor to distribute the elements on a reasonably regular basis. This is intended to be used in remote areas or areas where there is a great shortage of clergy. There are parts of Alaska where there are UM groups that have not had communion for many years.
At 9:45, with all calendar items limited to one speech for and one speech against with a limit of one minute per speech, there were still 40 items left to be considered. The body is operating under an 11 pm deadline for completing business so that closing worship may begin. I’m not sure what items remain so I don’t know if there are significant items left to be considered. It appears that as many as 100 delegates have left and about half the bishops are no longer on the platform. Everyone I see, including myself, is suffering from sleep deprivation. It isn’t bad enough for us to be hallucinating, yet at least!
As we began the day, it was noted that the legislative committees have been upheld 98.6% of the time. It appears that this high percentage has continued throughout the day and is probably a little higher by now. Over the last three or four days there has been bidding going on over a basketball to raise funds for Nothing But Nets. It appears, if all bids are paid, the General Confernce has raised more than $300,000 which translates into 30,000 bed nets to protect children from malaria. The highest bid is $50,000 which Bill Gates, Sr. promised to match with a contribution from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. During this day since we convened fourteen hours ago, 1,000 children in Africa have died from malaria.
I’m going to post this blog now. Sometime later this weekend I will post a wrap-up blog entry that is more reflective than I can be tonight or when things are happening so quickly on the floor. All I can say is that your Minnesota delegates and the reserves here have taken their task very seriously and have done us proud!
The morning session, presided over by Bishop Tom Bickerton of the Pittsburgh Area, focues on financial legislation. Although there were several items that were brought forward that asked for funding outside of the budget preparation process, the items that General Conference decided needed to go forward were able to be incorporated into the budget as proposed so that there will not be the need of annual conferences to adjust their budgets from the amounts that were tentatively given out by GCFA earlier this spring. In essence, the budget was approved as it was presented.
The afternoon session, presided over by Bishop Charlene Kammerer of the Richmond Area, spent the first half of the afternoon deliberating over whether or not to affirm our membership as a denomination in the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. By a margin of 52% to 48% the delegates voted to continue as a full and sponsoring member of the organization. The body also expressed support for Taiwan, no change was made regarding a clergy responsibility around issues of homosexuality, amended the definition of family, passed a resolution regarding evolution and intelligent design, rejected removal of some of the chargeable offenses, rejected marriage and covenants between same-sex couples. A couple of these resolutions may have been adopted during the evening session. (I failed to draw a line in the list when I went to dinner!)
The evening session was presided over by Bishop William Hutchinson of the Louisiana Area. Two historic decisions were made during the evening session: deacons have been granted sacramental authority either through permission of the district superintendent or the lead pastor of the church, and laity may now distribute communion elements previously consecrated by a pastor in areas where there is no pastor to distribute the elements on a reasonably regular basis. This is intended to be used in remote areas or areas where there is a great shortage of clergy. There are parts of Alaska where there are UM groups that have not had communion for many years.
At 9:45, with all calendar items limited to one speech for and one speech against with a limit of one minute per speech, there were still 40 items left to be considered. The body is operating under an 11 pm deadline for completing business so that closing worship may begin. I’m not sure what items remain so I don’t know if there are significant items left to be considered. It appears that as many as 100 delegates have left and about half the bishops are no longer on the platform. Everyone I see, including myself, is suffering from sleep deprivation. It isn’t bad enough for us to be hallucinating, yet at least!
As we began the day, it was noted that the legislative committees have been upheld 98.6% of the time. It appears that this high percentage has continued throughout the day and is probably a little higher by now. Over the last three or four days there has been bidding going on over a basketball to raise funds for Nothing But Nets. It appears, if all bids are paid, the General Confernce has raised more than $300,000 which translates into 30,000 bed nets to protect children from malaria. The highest bid is $50,000 which Bill Gates, Sr. promised to match with a contribution from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. During this day since we convened fourteen hours ago, 1,000 children in Africa have died from malaria.
I’m going to post this blog now. Sometime later this weekend I will post a wrap-up blog entry that is more reflective than I can be tonight or when things are happening so quickly on the floor. All I can say is that your Minnesota delegates and the reserves here have taken their task very seriously and have done us proud!
An up and down day...
The day began with music provided by the Christ UMC of the Deaf Choir in Baltimore, MD and Grace Notes of First UMC in Plano, TX. The worship service was the memorial service in which the bishops who have died since the last General Conference were remembered. In addition, there was a time in the service to remember delegates who have died in the past four years as well as a time for individuals to remember persons dear to them who have died recently. The preacher for the day was Bishop Hee-Soo Jung of the Chicago Area who preached on “Jesus, Remember Me” based on selected verses from Luke 23 and Luke 24. Bishop Jung was very clear in stating that he believed Jesus would accept everyone into the kingdom and thus, shouldn’t we in the church be as open? It was a powerful sermon.
The morning session was presided over by Bishop J. Lawrence McCleskey. The retiring members of the Judicial Council were recognized as were the newly elected members (including our own Kathi Austin Mahle) and the officers of the new council: President is Susan Henry Crowe; Vice-President is Judge Jon Gray; Secretary is J. Belton Joiner. I believe the new Judicial Council has selected three very competent persons as its officers. When the monitoring report was made this morning, Minnesota was represented again! This time it was Rev. Dennis Oglesby. (Later in the day, I discovered an old friend of mine from Troy (my former) Conference is a friend of Dennis’. We were talking to each other and getting caught up with each other when Dennis came walking along!) Even at General Conference, like Annual Conference, there is a flavor of a family reunion – it is just quadrennial, not annual, in nature.
The morning session was interrupted with a scheduled "recess" in the form of a silent protest or demonstration by the GBLTQ community their family and friends. (I wrote a small report that is posted on the conference website www.minnesotaumc.org and the video of the 15 minute demonstration can be found on the general conference website (go to www.umc.org and click on the General Conference logo at the top of the page). This was a painful time but it was also the beginning of what could be profound healing within our denomination because of the leadership of our bishops.
Virtually every piece of legislation dealt with Thursday was a constitutional amendment. While you might say, “Yuck, that must be as dry as dust!” Au contraire! Many of them dealt with the Global Nature of the Church and, as the evening drew on, the voting rights of Local Pastors, associate members and provisional members (what will become the new name for probationary members). If the constitutional amendment passes, Local Pastors who have served two years following completion of the course of study or M.Div. degree or provisional members who have completed their educational requirements for ordination, along with Associate Members will be able to vote for General and Jurisdictional Conference delegates although they will not be able to serve in that capacity. It will help them feel that they are being represented during these two conferences that are so much a part of our connection.
What was most troubling to this writer, and I checked this out with several other veterans of numerous general conferences to be sure I wasn’t off on my own, was the way in which many folks just love to parade to the microphone and add no light (or even heat) to the discussion at hand. While I’m sure it is a variety of these, all of these motivations seemed to be at work: inept and/or inattentive delegates who prefer to come to the microphone instead of asking their seatmate their question, those who possess enough ego that they want to see their name in print in the verbatim of the session, or and this is the most troubling to me, what can be seen as a carefully orchestrated attempt to block legislation by raising all kinds of questions and parliamentary maneuvers.
The evening session was presided over by our own Bishop Sally Dyck. Her style, which we have become used to in Minnesota, was a breath of fresh air. She kept things moving and maintained her own sense of humor while keeping everyone else in good humor. If you looked for this post late Thursday evening or early Friday morning, I apologize. I have been writing this sitting in the press section. While I have internet connection, I have no power source. About half way through this post my computer told me to shut down or lose my work. Thus, I shut down to avoid disaster. When I got back to the hotel at 11:30 p.m. I was too tired to keep writing and do this post. Oh well, one more day. I mean, only one more day!!!
The morning session was presided over by Bishop J. Lawrence McCleskey. The retiring members of the Judicial Council were recognized as were the newly elected members (including our own Kathi Austin Mahle) and the officers of the new council: President is Susan Henry Crowe; Vice-President is Judge Jon Gray; Secretary is J. Belton Joiner. I believe the new Judicial Council has selected three very competent persons as its officers. When the monitoring report was made this morning, Minnesota was represented again! This time it was Rev. Dennis Oglesby. (Later in the day, I discovered an old friend of mine from Troy (my former) Conference is a friend of Dennis’. We were talking to each other and getting caught up with each other when Dennis came walking along!) Even at General Conference, like Annual Conference, there is a flavor of a family reunion – it is just quadrennial, not annual, in nature.
The morning session was interrupted with a scheduled "recess" in the form of a silent protest or demonstration by the GBLTQ community their family and friends. (I wrote a small report that is posted on the conference website www.minnesotaumc.org and the video of the 15 minute demonstration can be found on the general conference website (go to www.umc.org and click on the General Conference logo at the top of the page). This was a painful time but it was also the beginning of what could be profound healing within our denomination because of the leadership of our bishops.
Virtually every piece of legislation dealt with Thursday was a constitutional amendment. While you might say, “Yuck, that must be as dry as dust!” Au contraire! Many of them dealt with the Global Nature of the Church and, as the evening drew on, the voting rights of Local Pastors, associate members and provisional members (what will become the new name for probationary members). If the constitutional amendment passes, Local Pastors who have served two years following completion of the course of study or M.Div. degree or provisional members who have completed their educational requirements for ordination, along with Associate Members will be able to vote for General and Jurisdictional Conference delegates although they will not be able to serve in that capacity. It will help them feel that they are being represented during these two conferences that are so much a part of our connection.
What was most troubling to this writer, and I checked this out with several other veterans of numerous general conferences to be sure I wasn’t off on my own, was the way in which many folks just love to parade to the microphone and add no light (or even heat) to the discussion at hand. While I’m sure it is a variety of these, all of these motivations seemed to be at work: inept and/or inattentive delegates who prefer to come to the microphone instead of asking their seatmate their question, those who possess enough ego that they want to see their name in print in the verbatim of the session, or and this is the most troubling to me, what can be seen as a carefully orchestrated attempt to block legislation by raising all kinds of questions and parliamentary maneuvers.
The evening session was presided over by our own Bishop Sally Dyck. Her style, which we have become used to in Minnesota, was a breath of fresh air. She kept things moving and maintained her own sense of humor while keeping everyone else in good humor. If you looked for this post late Thursday evening or early Friday morning, I apologize. I have been writing this sitting in the press section. While I have internet connection, I have no power source. About half way through this post my computer told me to shut down or lose my work. Thus, I shut down to avoid disaster. When I got back to the hotel at 11:30 p.m. I was too tired to keep writing and do this post. Oh well, one more day. I mean, only one more day!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)