May 5, 2003
Council’s new president hopes to be catalyst for bishops
DALLAS (UMNS) – Bishop Ruediger Minor sees his election as president of the United Methodist Council of Bishops as an important symbol for the international body.
"Most people look at the United Methodist Church as a U.S. denomination," he said. "Now the presiding bishop is from another country." Though he is not the first bishop from outside the United States to become president, he is the first from a former Soviet bloc country.
Minor, 64, was elected president during the council’s April 28-May 2 semiannual meeting in the Dallas suburb of Addison. He had served the previous year as president-elect and succeeds Bishop Sharon A. Brown Christopher, whose one-year term ended May 2.
The new president leads the denomination’s Eurasia Area, which spans eight time zones. His offices are in Moscow.
In an interview, Minor noted that the council’s executive committee also has other members from outside the United States. "The world view has been present always, and for this year (it) may be more visible."
The council comprises 50 active bishops in the United States; 18 bishops in Europe, Asia and Africa; plus 75 retired bishops worldwide. They are the top clergy leaders in the nearly 10 million-member church.
Minor believes his personal history is important for the council.
"I hope that some of my experience and history I can bring into this service as a certain ferment, maybe even catalyst … for seeing things in different ways," he said. For example, some churches – especially mainline ones – have felt that their voice has been ignored by the political powers, but he has had experience in dealing with that kind of problem, he said. "For me, this is nothing new at all."
The bishop earned a doctorate in church history at Leipzig University in his hometown of Leipzig, Germany, and went on to the United Methodist Theological Seminary in the former East Germany. He was elected bishop in 1986. Six years later, as communism was crumbling around Eastern Europe, he was put in charge of a new United Methodist mission to the former Soviet Union. The area eventually became an annual conference.
Minor credited the denomination with opening "a window to the world" for the church in the East during the communist era. Since then, during the last 12 to 13 years, he said he has seen new activities and renewal in the church in Eastern Europe. With new tensions in the world today, it’s important that the church keep its connections, he said.
Upon being elected council president, Minor presented Christopher and Bishop Sharon Zimmerman Rader, the group’s secretary, with copies of the new Russian United Methodist hymnal, Mir Vam ("peace be with you").
At the council’s closing worship service, Minor told the bishops that rough weather might be in the forecast, but Jesus is in the boat with them. He used the story of Christ calming the storm while the disciples trembled in fear that their boat would capsize.
"Common Christian tradition has it that the boat is the church," he said. What happened among the disciples before they decided to awake Jesus? he wondered. "Would they not have had a crisis management team?"
With the boat listing because of the wind, some of the disciples would have tried stabilizing it by leaning overboard, he said, but "they could not agree if the wind was blowing from the right or the left."
In a History Channel series on shipwrecks, Minor noted that model ships were placed in a water tank to simulate wrecks. "Friends, how often do we think we are the disciples in the boat, swamped … when indeed we are just playing a simulation in the water tank?"
For the disciples, however, the need was real, and they finally awakened Jesus, who said, "Why are you afraid, you of little faith?"
"The ship of the church is a fragile little boat," he said. "However, the Lord is with it."
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May 5, 2003
Membership figures show strength outside U.S.
DALLAS (UMNS) – Numbers might never lie, but in some cases they say different things to different people.
New data on church membership trends drew divergent reactions from the United Methodist Church’s bishops during their April 28-May 2 meeting. Some bishops, focusing on the U.S. figures, expressed a sense of urgency about reversing the downward membership trend. Other bishops, noting the lack of global data, said the U.S. research didn’t necessarily reflect the strength of the denomination as a whole.
The percentage of U.S. congregations not receiving at least one member on confession of faith or "restored" status increased from 37.8 percent in 1984 to 40.7 percent in 2000, according to the report, "Making Disciples for Jesus Christ." Bishop John Hopkins, who leads the church’s Minnesota Area, presented the report on behalf of the Council of Bishops’ committee on pastoral concerns.
The committee’s Bishop Warner Brown, leader of the Denver Area, proposed that the council suspend its committees except the executive committee in the last year of the quadrennium to focus on making disciples. The executive committee would oversee the other committees’ work for that period. "We need to make priorities in how we lead the church in terms of turning around the trend of a 20-year decline," Brown said.
While acknowledging the need to address the issue, the bishops had reservations about suspending their committees and referred the proposal to the executive committee.
The report also showed that in 2002, the denomination’s membership rose over the 10 million mark for the first time since 1979. That increase was due to growth in numbers outside the United States, particularly in Africa.
Two African bishops offered a different perspective on the vitality of the church from that reflected in the U.S. membership data.
"Why are we talking about the decline of membership?" asked Bishop Emilio DeCarvalho, retired, of Luanda, Angola. "Thousands and thousands of children are attending Sunday school in Africa."
Bishop Joao Somane Machado, who leads the Mozambique Area, said he was disappointed in the proposal to suspend the committees, noting that the bishops whose areas are growing in membership have not been asked how their churches are growing while others are not.
"In Africa, we are evangelizing," he told the council. "It’s like you don’t want to hear that word anymore." How, he asked, can the bishops exchange and share information so the U.S. bishops can benefit from the experience of the African bishops?
The data shows that the central conferences have nearly 20 percent of the church’s membership, with Africa accounting for 16 percent, Southeast Asia, 2 percent, and Europe, 1 percent.
The Southeastern Jurisdiction has 28 percent of the members; South Central, 18 percent; North Central, 16 percent; Northeastern, 15 percent; and Western, 4 percent.
The report drew criticism from some bishops for its lack of data on churches outside the United States. "The strategy has to be a holistic strategy," said Bishop Mary Ann Swenson of the Los Angeles Area.
The church’s General Council on Finance and Administration has indicated there are challenges in terms of collecting some of the information for the central conferences, Brown explained.
The percentage of local churches not receiving anyone on confession of faith in 2000 was largest in the Southeastern Jurisdiction and smallest in the Western Jurisdiction. The breakdown: Southeastern, 43.5 percent; Northeastern, 42.3 percent; South Central, 40.1 percent; North Central, 36.6 percent; and Western, 26.8 percent.
However, the Southeastern and South Central jurisdictions were the only two in the United States that had increases in the numbers of people received on confession of faith in 2000 compared with 1984. The breakdown: Southeastern, up 17.4 percent; South Central, up 14 percent; Western, down 11.3 percent; Northeastern, down 14.4 percent; North Central, down 15.6 percent.
As of 2000, United Methodists represented 3.7 percent of the U.S. population, compared with 7.1 percent for the Southern Baptists and 22 percent for the Catholics.
The report also noted that the denomination has a widespread presence. "Out of the 3,171 counties in the United States, the United Methodist Church has a congregational presence in 3,003 counties, more than any other denomination in the United States."
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May 8, 2003
Church relief convoy delivers items to Iraq
By Guy Hovey*
BAGHDAD, Iraq (UMNS) – The threat of being hijacked along the highway to Baghdad is a concern shared by many people and one of the dangers the Middle East Council of Churches convoy faced as it traveled from Jordan to Iraq’s capital in early May to deliver much needed relief items.
The convoy of six trucks, driven by local Iraqis, was loaded with 250 winter tents, 19,200 cans of meat, 1,000 food packets consisting of oil, tea, beans, sugar, rice and detergents, 6,380 blankets, 2.2 tons of BP5 high-protein biscuits and a 40-foot container of medicines.
Several members of the Action by Churches Together – Norwegian Church Aid, International Christian Orthodox Charities, Church World Service – donated the relief items. The medicines, immediately delivered to hospitals in the area, were donated by Diakonie Austria, another ACT member.
The United Methodist Committee on Relief, a member of ACT, is working in Iraq through those and other ecumenical partners.
MECC coordinator Edmond Adam said the items were brought in for a pre-positioned emergency stockpile because of fear that current rations – distributed to people by the old Iraqi regime under the oil for food program – will run out by midyear.
At that point, people could start experiencing severe food shortages. "The outlook is bleak if people don’t start earning salaries soon enabling them to buy food," Adam explained. The stockpile is at the Old Ancient Church of the East in Baghdad.
The MECC stockpile is enough for 1,000 families in Baghdad and Mosul, but Adam is realistic about how far the supplies will stretch and noted that "millions of families could be without adequate food in a couple of months."
His view was reinforced by ACT Regional Coordinator Eszter Németh, who added that "as the food for oil scheme was administered by the Iraqi Ministry of Trade, the distribution system is no longer in place."
It would appear that Iraq is heading for a classic "cash famine," as families are unable to buy available food due to a shortage of work, cash and rising prices. Already, a kilo of apples can cost a month’s salary, she said.
One problem is that government work places have been destroyed. "The coalition says that people should return to work, but how can they when their places of work have been destroyed or looted? There’s nothing to go back to," Adam said.
There are also worries about possible outbreaks of disease, as already inadequate water supplies have been potentially contaminated by untreated sewage from broken-down treatment plants. Adam believes that water-born diseases could pose a threat this summer, "although reports from the north of the country say that current disease levels are not above the norm."
Németh advocates for flexible and rapid funding from ACT donors. "What is needed is the ability to be able to react immediately when a crisis is identified," she explained.
United Methodists can help through donations to UMCOR, earmarked for the Iraq Emergency Advance No. 623225-4. Checks may be dropped in local church collection plates or mailed directly to UMCOR at 475 Riverside Dr., Room 330, New York, NY 10115. Credit-card donations can be made by calling (800) 554-8583.
*Hovey works for the United Methodist Committee on Relief and is a credentialed correspondent for United Methodist News Service in the Middle East.
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May 9, 2003
New book offers variety of songs for children’s groups
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) – A new children’s songbook, FaithSongs, is coming from Abingdon Press in July. FaithSongs is designed for use by children’s choirs, Sunday school classes and other groups. The collection comprises 125 songs of various musical styles for children in second through sixth grades. The book is designed to complement a church’s denominational hymnal and create a core music collection for children’s choir programs. FaithSongs will be available in a leader-accompanist edition; a singer’s edition; and a set of three compact discs. The CD can be used as a teaching tool and an accompaniment performance track. For details, go to www.cokesbury.com. Abingdon is a unit of the United Methodist Publishing House
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May 13, 2003
Rural Life Sunday highlights ‘hands for harvest, hope’
WASHINGTON (UMNS) – "Hands for Harvest and Hope" is the theme of this year’s Rural Life Sunday celebration, through which United Methodists focus on the denomination’s rural heritage.
Rural Life Sunday may be scheduled at any time by either the conference or the local church. Besides recognizing the denomination’s rural roots, the observance addresses the ongoing crisis in rural areas of the United States and the world today, and affirms the interdependence of rural and urban communities.
"Now Thank We All Our God" is a new hymn with words written for this worship service and sung to a familiar tune found in the United Methodist Hymnal. It continues after the title phrase, "for hands of hope and harvest, Hands that plant your seed and reap your bounty marvelous."
The Rev. Don Barnett of Alabama wrote the lyrics. He also compiled the resource and wrote one of the sermon and teaching illustrations.
The Rev. Dorsey Walker of Upper Sand Mountain Parish, Sylvania, Ala., contributed other sermon illustrations. The Rural Chaplains Association produces the materials, and the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries approves the annual themes.
This year’s resource includes a greeting or call to worship, opening prayer, prayer of confession and a litany celebrating the hands of all whose work nourishes and sustains others – from farmers and miners to artists, physicians and teachers. Along with these specially written materials are a list of 15 hymn suggestions, six Scripture suggestions, quotes, facts about agriculture, a poem and information on two videos. The package includes a reproducible bulletin cover.
Worship resources for 2003 Rural Life Sunday are available for $2.50, including shipping and handling, or $1.50 each for 20 or more, from the Upper Sand Mountain Parish, P.O. Box 267, Sylvania, AL 35988; phone: (256) 638-2126; fax: (256) 638-2125; e-mail: usmp@hiwaay.net.
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May 15, 2003
Forum addresses racism, need to recognize ‘those who stayed’
By Denise Johnson Stovall*
DALLAS (UMNS) – Racism has "clogged the arteries" of the United Methodist Church, and like a heart-attack victim, the denomination must make changes in order to survive, according to an African-American church leader.
"We look good, but we’re not well," said Marilyn Magee, a staff executive of the United Methodist Board of Discipleship and former officer of the church’s Black Methodists for Church Renewal caucus.
Magee likened the denomination to a person who has a long-term illness. Black church members thought the body was healthy enough to overcome its ailment, but "they were wrong."
"They were not aware (that the) disease of racism clogged the arteries of the body called the church," she said. "A steady diet of bigotry, discrimination, and legalized segregation and racism is harmful and has not been good for the body." Heart attack victims learn that their survival depends on their willingness to change their lifestyle, and the United Methodist Church must do the same, she said.
Church leaders wrestled with the problems of racism and reconciliation during a May 2-4 dialogue sponsored by the United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns. The ecumenical agency of the church held the event, "Acknowledging the Past, Shaping the Future," as a follow-up dialogue to the denomination’s official act of repentance for racism in 2000.
Speakers at the forum emphasized the need for recognizing "those who stayed" – the African Americans who stayed in the denomination despite a history of racism.
After the Act of Repentance for Reconciliation, performed by the denomination’s 2000 General Conference in Cleveland, black United Methodists voiced concern that they had been overlooked. They noted that the apology had been directed largely at the black Methodist denominations that had formed over the years in response to racism in the predominantly white church: the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.
Those concerns were addressed during the Dallas forum.
"We all have a commitment to move forward to be the church that God calls us to be," said the Rev. Bruce Robbins, top staff executive of the Commission on Christian Unity. "We know that we are part of a broken church, and racism is a central part of that brokenness.
"We have taken some steps and stumbled some and have taken some steps forward as the whole ‘Act of Repentance’ process has gone on since 1996," he said. His agency "wants to do the best it can to enable and assist this healing, in envisioning a church that is reconciled and addresses the sin of racism."
The commission needs help as it prepares its report to the 2004 General Conference, Robbins said, asking for suggestions for additional steps that should be taken for the United Methodist Church to become whole.
Most of the denomination’s 64 annual (regional) conferences have performed acts of repentance services since 2000, at the direction of the General Conference.
The National Black Methodists for Church Renewal, a United Methodist caucus group, had taken the lead in expressing concern following the Act of Repentance service in 2000. In a letter to the Commission on Christian Unity, the caucus noted that "most of the General Conference worship and the related study material say relatively little about those African Americans who remained members of the former Methodist Episcopal Church, in spite of the racist indignities we suffered under the yoke of a racially segregated church structure. We, the members of National Black Methodists for Church Renewal, are troubled by this omission."
In a letter to BMCR this year, Jerry Ruth Williams of Chesterfield, Mo., an elected director of the Commission on Christian Unity, said the agency admitted that the Act of Repentance event "reopened old wounds and revisited unresolved issues."
"We failed to acknowledge adequately and to apologize to the African Americans who remained within the denominational bounds from the 18th century through the creation and eventual dissolution of the (segregated) Central Jurisdiction of the Methodist Church, and acquired the designation of ‘those who stayed,’" Williams said.
The agency "is acutely aware" of the need for the denomination to follow up its Act of Repentance with a similar act of repentance and appreciation for the African Americans who remained within the United Methodist Church, she wrote. "It is of paramount importance that the church express appreciation for the gifts of ‘those who stayed.’"
‘No debate’ about penance
Retired Bishop James S. Thomas of Atlanta noted that following the 2000 General Conference’s Act of Repentance, many young African Americans asked him about "the need for reconciliation."
"Biblically, there is no debate about repentance and reconciliation – none," he said. "At the heart of the biblical story is the enduring paradox of human beings who are forever seeking peace, while at the same time creating conditions that produce alienation, separation and even subjugation."
Thomas contends that the service held at General Conference was timely, "no matter how one feels about the process of repentance and reconciliation." In fact, the bishop said, "it was indeed long behind times," since services have been held by other denominations, such as the Southern Baptists, the Roman Catholics, the Presbyterians.
The United States and the international Methodist family have a long history of racial dominance, said Thomas, a Methodist historian. "Do not forget, we are encased in a racially oppressive society in the United States. Slavery entered these shores in 1619. In the year 2003, the United States is 227 years old, and the UMC is 219 years old. Black slavery was the evil institution first of state and then supported by church."
However, Methodism also has a redemptive history, he noted, citing movement founder John Wesley’s fight against slavery; early American leader Francis Asbury’s campaign against slavery in the Southern annual conferences; the long history of abolitionists in Methodism; and the founding and support of black colleges by Methodists – the largest number of black colleges by any denomination or faith group.
"So-called racism is idolatry," he said. "God made us different! Did God make a mistake? No."
Said Magee: "There are many illusions of inclusiveness in our church. Racism is a reality, even in the church. We must be wise as serpents and gentle as doves. We cannot afford nor do we have time for hate or pity."
Bishop Ernest S. Lyght, who leads the church’s New York Area, assessed the challenges facing African-American United Methodists in setting goals for the future.
"Quite frankly, I had mixed emotions about the service of repentance," said Lyght, who was a member of the Pan-Methodist Commission on Cooperation before the 2000 General Conference. "I was not sure how I felt about the matter of repentance. Who was repenting? Why? What was to be gained? What did I, as an African American, have to repent about and-or for?"
Lyght said African American United Methodists must never forget to do "what we do best."
Quoting Bishop Noah Moore, a leader of the Central Jurisdiction, Lyght said, "‘We were at our best when we helped the denomination to pray into the future, see into the future and live into the future.’
"We are not at our best when we dwell too long looking to the past and helplessly staring at our present situation in exasperation and helplessness."
Lyght challenged the United Methodist Church to open its heart to feel the pain of African Americans and other disadvantaged groups. The denomination must also be "receptive to the ideas and teachings of African Americans."
Celebrate contributions
Other participants in the consultation also offered observations. Dallas layman Joe Nash said the bishops from the historically black Methodist churches "may never come back to have their powers watered down." He feels that United Methodists should not only repent but should "celebrate" the contributions of the blacks that stayed.
"Perhaps the celebration has not been done the way it should," Nash said. "As black United Methodists, we are now in great leadership roles and are part of the influence of the church. So we need to be about empowering people – particularly the young people."
Anne Fleming Williams of Philadelphia, who was the national BMCR chairperson when the letter of concern was sent to Christian Unity, said African-American United Methodists have "whined long enough and had enough pity parties."
"We have to continue to ‘Acknowledge the Past,’" she said, referring to the conference theme, "but we don’t have to dwell there."
*Stovall is a freelance writer in Dallas.
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