C-Mail
When is the leadership at the General Conference level going to get back to the core business of the church? The article from United Methodist News Service ["Tax codes are moral issue, United Methodists say," Dec. 31] further illustrates how out of touch the leadership seems to be. With so many other issues threatening the long-term future of the United Methodist Church (declining/aging membership, rising health care costs, the homosexual agenda, resistance to reform/change in worship styles), we don't need to waste our time and resources to study how states tax their citizens. We would be wise to follow the words of Mark 12: 13-17. The taxation system is none of the church's business! If the General Conference and Annual Conferences would put more emphasis on doing God's work and less on making political statements, we would see a turnaround in our denomination.
Besides, how can we criticize the states' taxation systems when our own taxation system (the apportionments) is regressive and penalizes churches experiencing high growth rates of young families?
Conley Underwood
Trentville UMC
Knoxville District
Based on the articles in the Nov. 5 edition ["Do we really have open hearts?"] and letters in the Dec. 3 edition ["C-Mail"] regarding Caucasian to African-American ratios, it seems that the leadership of the United Methodist Church is concerned about this as a cause of decreasing membership. I have been a member of a church in a mixed neighborhood with a decreasing membership for 20 years. I think the relationship between clergy and laity is a more significant cause for membership decrease than race relations.
In the past, some ministers have discontinued active programs that were of interest to many members. This led to loss of members that we never were able to replace. We may need a study and review of the rights and responsibilities of the clergy-laity relationships more than that of race relations.
Bill Riggins
Macedonia UMC
Knoxville District
While the article in the Dec. 3 edition on the recently held forum was timely and appropriate ["Racism forum: 'Admitting our problems in honesty and love'"], the gathering was hardly a beginning, as was reflected in the article.
In 1975, I was asked by then Chattanooga District Superintendent Kyle Tomlinson to attend a "Consultation on the Black Church" at Lake Junaluska. Notwithstanding the title, the focus was toward inclusiveness. That was during the tenure of Bishop Allen.
A few years later, during the tenure of Bishop Lee, I attended a seminar on racism for the Holston Conference at Pigeon Forge. Still later, I attended one at First-Centenary UMC in Chattanooga for a district-wide event on this subject. Certainly, as long as there is a perceived need, the subject should remain before us.
Rev. Mark Womack
Retired clergy
Chattanooga District
This is regarding the article in the Nov. 5 issue, "Do We Really Have Open Hearts?" Data is presented showing that Maryville District has .08 percent African-American members – only 10 out of 13,251 total members.
The writer clearly implies that the extremely low number of African Americans in Maryville District is a direct indication that racism exists. This is a blatant example of using basic statistics to ?prove? a thesis totally unrelated to the facts presented.
The writer should have included data on the ethnic makeup of the total populations of Blount, Loudon, and Monroe counties. In my opinion, that would show that the Maryville District statistics closely reflect the demographics of these three counties as a whole.
I have never seen or heard of a single example of "racism" being practiced against African Americans anywhere in Maryville District. I strongly resent The Call's efforts to promote this theory.
Eldon Green
First Madisonville UMC
Maryville District
In reading the letter from Chris Stafford in the Oct. 22 issue [C-Mail], which complained about an allegedly political letter in a previous issue, I was surprised to find that there is someone who does not realize that the United Methodist Church spends much more time on politics than religion. It has, among other things, been working to take away our constitutional rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment and trying to undermine America's efforts to bring peace and democracy to Iraq.
The two full pages after the one in which the letter appeared were entirely devoted to left-wing political propaganda that had nothing to do with religion ["Who's Behind the United Methodist Boycotts"].
Since Stafford threatened to cancel his/her subscription if The Call became a forum for political views, I assume he/she has done so by now in view of the emphasis on politics in the same issue as the letter.
Mel Griffith
Moore's Chapel UMC
Cleveland District
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