Church attorney: Keep politics out of the pulpit

A UMNS Report By Linda Green*

As election season intensifies and politicians line up at the church door to shake hands and stump for their campaigns, an attorney for The United Methodist Church advises churches and clergy against endorsing or opposing candidates for elected office.

Jim Allen, general counsel of the United Methodist Council on Finance and Administration

"Churches should take stands on appropriate issues, but it cannot be a substantial part of their ministry," said Jim Allen, general counsel of the United Methodist Council on Finance and Administration.

In the United States, candidates from all political parties often are seen in pulpits or at church functions delivering their messages or seeking endorsements.

However, after investigating numerous complaints of inappropriate political activity by nonprofits during the 2004 presidential campaign, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service has stepped up efforts to enforce laws that limit churches and charities from involvement in partisan campaigns.

In 2005, the IRS began warning churches and nonprofits that political campaign activism could endanger their tax-exempt status.

The tax agency unveiled its Political Activity Compliance Initiative to expedite investigation of claims of improper campaigning in churches. Thus, the IRS no longer is waiting to probe a church's activities after it files an annual tax return or for the end of a tax year. A three-member committee reviews complaints and votes whether to investigate.

Tax Code enforcement
The restriction for churches engaging in political activism is not based on the First Amendment clause that is the basis for separation of church and state, but rather the result of a 1954 Tax Code provision championed by then-U.S. Sen. Lyndon Johnson as a way to stop political rivals from using nonprofits to campaign against him. The restriction has been amended to ban opposing political candidates as well.

In the early years, the IRS did not seriously enforce the provision but periodically issued guidelines for churches and political activity.

The 2006 IRS guide is designed to clearly define the role that churches, hospitals, universities and other entities can play in political matters. It states the rules are "not intended to restrict free expression on political matters" by organizational leaders who speak for themselves as long as they say that they are not speaking in behalf of their group.

The guide also makes clear that, under 501(c)(3) of the IRS code, violating such prohibitions "may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise taxes" - issues of obvious importance to churches and other charitable organizations.

"The mission of our church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ," said Allen. "We try to maximize the church's resources to fulfill our mission, and one way we do that is by legally minimizing our income tax burden."

What's allowed, what's not
Allen said clergy should avoid political activism from the pulpit. "My first piece of advice would be to not invite candidates to speak in the pulpit, if the church is in the United States," he said.
Any statement interpreted as either endorsing or opposing a candidate is against IRS guidelines, regardless of whether a name is mentioned. For instance, a pastor declaring that "all good Christians should go to the polls and vote for the Christian candidate" would be improper if one candidate is known to be a Christian and the other is not, he said.

The prohibition extends beyond the pulpit into other church-sponsored events. "It does not matter if the activity is in the pulpit, fellowship hall, the vestibule or newsletter," he said. "It also does not matter whether the person doing or permitting the endorsement on behalf of the church is the pastor or a member."

Churches and tax-exempt organizations can hold voter education activities, including public forums and publishing voter education guides, if conducted in a nonpartisan manner. They also may encourage people to register to vote in a nonpartisan manner.

The guide cautions churches and nonprofits about their use of the World Wide Web as well. "If an organization posts something on its Web site that favors or opposes a candidate for public office, the organization will be treated the same as if it distributed printed material, oral statements or broadcasts that favored or opposed a candidate," the guide states.

The same is true for any links listed on a church Web site, even if the church has no control over the content of the linked site. A church is responsible for the consequences of establishing and maintaining that link and may reduce its risk by monitoring the linked content and adjusting the links accordingly.

The church's stance
The United Methodist Church's stance on political activism can be found in its Social Principles and its Book of Resolutions.

The Social Principles speak to human issues in the contemporary world from a political and theological foundation. Its section called "The Political Community" says the church must hold governments responsible for protecting the rights of people to fair and free elections. It also says the church should continually "exert a strong ethical influence upon the state, supporting policies and programs deemed to be just and opposing policies and program that are unjust."

The Book of Resolutions addresses a wide range of social issues and concerns and says churches have the right and duty to speak and act corporately on matters of pubic policy involving basic moral or ethical issues and questions.

In the wake of the divisive 2004 elections, many Christian leaders expressed that the church must guard its autonomy in political matters so as not to distract from its primary mission of proclaiming Jesus Christ to the world, making disciples and serving as an agent of love, peace and forgiveness.

Allen advises churches to understand clearly the IRS guidelines and even to seek legal counsel when faced with issues that could violate those guidelines.

Also, while no United Methodist church has had its tax-exempt status revoked, the pastor and elected local church leadership should respond quickly to any complaint of inappropriate political activism.

Allen acknowledges that it is a difficult tightrope to walk, but an important one - both for the purposes of following U.S. law and staying true to the church's core mission.

"Churches should take stands on appropriate issues, but that should be an insubstantial part of their ministry," he said.

*Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.

Consider contacting your elected state officials and supporting a small increase in per child funding for care of low income children

Many church and other not-for-profit childcare providers provide essential care for low income children at a vital developmental time in their lives. However, the increasing cost of providing quality care and meeting strict regulations is making it difficult for them to continue to do so with current per child funding from the State of Tennessee.

Please read the information below and consider contacting your elected state officials and supporting a small increase in per child funding for care of low income children.

You can find your elected officials with links to their contact information by entering your home address at http://www.umc-gbcs.org/siteapps/advocacy/search.aspx?c=fsJNK0PKJrH&b=475829

Thanks!

Rev. Jason Brock
Dir. Love and Justice,
Cood. Disaster Response


Sample Letter

Sen. ___________________

Please support low income children and families in Tennessee by lending support to the appropriations amendment proposed by DHS to increase Families First/DHS per child funding of child care certificates (increase to 45th percentile of current market rate per child).

This vital issue to the well being and developmental potential of Tennessee’s children is currently being considered by the Senate Finance, Ways and Means. I have included more complete information on this issue below, provided by a coalition of not-for-profit providers who recently met with Gov. Bredesen and the DHS Commissioner.

Name
Address
Phone number
Email


Infant Care Community Task Force

The Infant Care Community Task Force is a group representing not-for-profit early child care providers, community volunteers, and other community agencies concerned about the need for quality infant and toddler child care slots for low income families.

Here are points we wish you to consider regarding our suggestion to amend the Department of Human Services’ budget to include an increase in State funding for child care certificates.

Key Points:

1. We support an increase in State funding for child care certificates (child care support for Families First recipients through child care block grant and the Department of Human Services.)

+Infant and toddler waiting lists are at an all time high
+Some agencies providing infant and toddler care have already had to severely restrict and/or terminate the availability of services for those agencies to remain financially viable.
+Costs have risen and the value of certificates has declined substantially relative to market charges for care.
+DHS has recommended an increase in State funding - $14.5 million; the Governor is considering supporting an appropriations amendment to include funding to raise certificates for low-income families based. This sum would raise the certificates for child care to 45th percentile of the current market.

2. We support the development of the whole child from 0 – 5 years

+The Governor’s expansion of Pre-K classrooms across the State is an integral part of this development
+Bio-medical research shows that the “hard-wiring” of a child’s brain occurs between 0-3 years of age. During this time the brain develops critical pathways for learning, including language and social development.
+Longitudinal studies support that at-risk children who receive quality child care from the beginning of their lives are more likely to graduate from high school, obtain gainful employment and not enter the justice system as compared to those who do not.

3. We support the economic return to business and society as a whole which quality early child care produces

+New parents who are unable to find affordable quality child care may turn to informal care givers, either family or someone in the neighborhood. This care is often unreliable. This in turn may lead to new parents’ absenteeism from work and eventually needing to leave their jobs. Businesses feel the impact in loss of employee productivity and potential turnover. Meeting child care needs will also help the State meet Workforce Development goals to reduce the numbers on Families First assistance.

Lent Television Campaign Starts Today: New Commercial Focuses on Self-Discovery

NASHVILLE - A new television message entitled “Finding Yourself” recognizes that what people show on the outside is not always what is happening in our hearts.

The commercial is the latest component of The United Methodist Church’s “Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors.” media campaign, and airs for the first time today.

“Through this commercial, we are encouraging people to find themselves as they show others what’s really going on inside. In doing so, they can find a path to God within a loving community – the people of The United Methodist Church,” said the Rev. Larry Hollon, chief executive of United Methodist Communications.

The commercial features various people exhibiting one face to the outside world, but wearing a screen that functions as a window to their hearts and shows what they are really feeling.
The national ad campaign will run now through Easter on the following cable networks: BET, CNN, Animal Planet, CNBC, Hallmark, CNN Headline News, HGTV, MSNBC, Oxygen, SciFi, TBS, TVLand, USA, the Food Network, and the Weather Channel. The commercial will air 963 times at a cost of nearly $1.5 million and is expected to reach 55 million adults 25-54 years of age.

Designed to appeal to thoughtful, intentional spiritual “seekers” 25-54 years old, the advertising spot provides the basic theme, illustrated in various ways, for complementary advertising for radio, print, outdoor and other media.

The commercial and all related collateral pieces are available free at www.IgnitingMinistry.org . United Methodist Communications offers $1 million in matching funds annually to local churches, districts and conferences to aid in community advertising efforts.

The “Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors.” campaign, now in its seventh year, was designed to raise awareness of The United Methodist Church.

Discipleship University to train church leaders

By Linda Green*

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - The discipleship agency of The United Methodist Church will open a "Discipleship University" this fall to instruct teams of pastors and lay members on ways to revitalize their local congregations.

A part-time, two-year learning experience, the school will launch in October in the board's Nashville headquarters as part of the agency's efforts to renew existing churches and help leaders of those congregations be more effective in their ministries, said the Rev. Karen Greenwaldt, the agency's top executive.

"Discipleship University, a groundbreaking new initiative, will directly address the leadership needs of today's changing church," Greenwaldt said in her "state of the board" address.

The initiative was announced during a March 14-17 meeting in Nashville of the governing members of the Board of Discipleship, whose primary purpose is to help annual conferences, districts and local churches to win disciples to Jesus Christ and to help those new Christians grow in their own discipleship.

Greenwaldt said the board continuously searches for "ways to engage the peoples of the world with deep resources of Christian faith and practice. Our work continues to deepen and to change" and "our initiatives focus on the clarion call in the church for effective leaders who will lead vital and vibrant churches."

Bettering the community, growing the church
The Rev. Vance P. Ross, a staff executive who will be dean of the university, told United Methodist New Service he envisions the university as a place for people to "learn how to become a disciple-making congregation for the betterment of their community and growth of their church."

Just as college and university students study and learn in a higher education setting, enrollees in Discipleship University will come to Nashville to study discipleship in an academic setting at the board's headquarters and at nearby Scarritt-Bennett Center.

Ross said formational experiences will help teams of pastors and lay members examine identity, mission, vision, values and implementation.

Helping teams determine their local church identity is an important part, he said, because people often mistake "the church as being the place you go rather than the thing you live" or a "club where people are exclusive members rather than the body of Christ where we are including members."

Ross said leaders of each church must have a sense of who they are in the body of Christ and their distinct vision for ministry in that community.

Curriculum and learning
Pastor and laity teams will commit for two-year periods of accountability to learn, study, practice, worship, pray and build ministry plans.

Agency staff members, with assistance from consultants, will serve as faculty to instruct about:

+Worship as central to the life of the body of Christ
+Evangelism
+Mentoring of young people
+Small groups and Sunday School as the binding agent of faith formation, practice and accountability
+Spiritual leadership development of clergy and laity
+Stewardship of life, call and gifts

"Interwoven through each of these tracks will be the practice of the Wesleyan means of grace and the understanding of the church's basic evangelistic task of reaching out to engage the peoples of the world," Greenwaldt said.

Ross said the common thread running throughout all Discipleship University curricula is "that we are called to make disciples of Jesus to change the world … to help people become change agents in spirit, in home, in community, in their state, nation and the world. We want love to take over."

The board is doing a "new thing to make a new and different church," Ross said. "God's church can change this world … and Discipleship University will be critical and pivotal to that change."

In a presentation to the board's governing members, Carol Krau, an agency staff member and university department chairwoman, defined the university as an "organized system" to help local church teams experience "the use of specific practices for producing followers of Jesus."

The school will combine theory and Wesleyan heritage with an emphasis on practical application in today's context using Exodus 3 - the story of Moses' encounter with God in the burning bush - as the centerpiece.

The burning bush is an opportunity "to see where God is active in the world and where we can pay attention and be a part of God's work in the world," said Krau. Just as the burning bush was on fire but not consumed, this initiative "wants people to be on fire but not be burned out" while making disciples for the transformation of the world.

Bishop D. Max Whitfield, of the Northwest Texas and New Mexico annual conferences, expressed excitement about Discipleship University. "This is something that is vital," he said.

"It has all the elements that are needed. … It has the elements of spiritual formation, peace and justice, the ongoing biblical foundations, the various aspects of disciple-making."

Criteria for enrollment
Classes of up to 150 students will come from churches with an average worship attendance of 100-250 people. Church teams of three to five members, both pastors and lay, will spend three to five days in academy module settings five times in two years in Nashville, and a new semester will begin every six months for team-based learning. During sessions, the students will perform assignments on site and also will engage in practical applications at home. Tuition costs are still being analyzed by the agency.

Many students will be nominated from the annual conferences, from agency solicitation and from the agency's Roman's 12 project, a year-long research endeavor to discover best practices in local congregations to mine ideas, concepts, practices and principles that help form vital churches. Those best practices will be incorporated into the curriculum of Discipleship University.

Ross said the university will help churches learn "what are their possibilities" rather than focusing on their deficiencies.

"There are congregations where people go to church but do not necessarily understand themselves to be the church," he said. The university seeks to "deepen your sense and understanding of what the church is so that it becomes more than a place where you go. It becomes a lifestyle that you live."

For more information, contact Jeanette Pinkston, director of media relations for the Board of Discipleship, by e-mailing jpinkston@gbod.org or by calling (877) 899-2780, ext. 7017.

*Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.

Discipleship Agency to Shift Focus to Grow Leaders and Churches

NASHVILLE, Tenn., March 20, 2007 /GBOD/ --An agency of The United Methodist Church, GBOD will concentrate its work in the areas of leadership development, church growth, ministry with the poor and new church starts, the agency announced during its board of directors meeting in Nashville last week.

In response to the Bishops' Four Program Priorities, GBOD will center its work in the area of leadership development with plans to strengthen successful programs currently in place and by launching new initiatives that will lead to exponential growth in the United Methodist denomination through new churches and impact on church leadership.

“GBOD is in a unique position to address the church’s leadership needs and partner with the Council of Bishops, The General Board of Global Ministries and other strategic partners to develop strategies that lead to the creation of successful new church starts in the U.S.,” said the Rev. Karen Greenwaldt, top executive for GBOD.

In the area of leadership development, the agency presented a ground-breaking new initiative, which will directly address the leadership needs of the church.

Discipleship University will offer church leaders two-year learning experiences patterned after the Upper Room Ministries’ successful Academy for Spiritual Formation.

Based on best practices in local churches and drawing on more than thirty-five years of local church experience, the initiative will provide skills and models that will help reverse the decline in United Methodist church growth and membership.

Present staffing efforts will move and be reworked as Discipleship University, which will consist of a full range of course offerings on the GBOD’s Nashville campus and in local churches, as launched.

Consultation support by GBOD staff and other experts, peer learning groups, Web-based courses, learning communities and regional introduction events are major components of the initiative.

“New church starts will also be a major new initiative that we will collaborate on with our strategic partners, using research-based best practices,” said Greenwaldt.

By collaborating with the Council of Bishops and other United Methodist agencies, 650 new congregations and a pool of 1000 qualified “church planters” are projected by 2012 with the goal being to re-evangelize America.

GBOD will also work with leaders in Central Conferences (countries in Africa, Europe and the Philippines) to develop sustainable church resources that will be created and made available for use in local contexts.

In addition to strengthening and continuing ministry efforts related to new congregational development and church revitalization, GBOD will increase its work in ministry with the poor and global health, primarily through young people’s ministry initiatives.

GBOD’s mission is to support annual conference and local church leaders for their task of equipping world-changing disciples. An agency of The United Methodist Church, GBOD is located at 1908 Grand Ave. in Nashville, Tenn. For more information, call the Media Relations Office toll free at (877) 899-2780, Ext. 7017.

Christians arrested in march to end Iraq war

By Melissa Lauber*

WASHINGTON (UMNS) - Nearly 3,000 Christians united around the cross to protest U.S. involvement in the war in Iraq at an event that included worship, a four-mile candlelit procession to the White House and the arrest of more than 100 people in an act of civil disobedience.

"We are here tonight simply and resolutely to begin to end the war in Iraq," said the Rev. Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners/Call to Renewal at the worship service March 16 at the National Cathedral. "This is not a protest. It is an act of faith. It will take faith to end this war."
March 19 marks the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq.

Wallis was applauded when he declared the war "morally wrong" and "an offense against God." However, it was the witness of Celeste Zappala, a member of First United Methodist Church in Germantown, Pa., and founding member of Gold Star Families Speak Out, who brought quiet tears to the crowd gathered in the cathedral's Gothic nave.

Zappala's son, Sgt. Sherwood Baker, died April 26, 2004, in Iraq, guarding a team that was searching for weapons of mass destruction.

She stood in the pulpit of the National Cathedral where President Bush, a United Methodist, had stood after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and called for a war on terror. Zappala shared how that war has shattered her heart, killed 3,210 American soldiers and wounded more than 25,000 people.

"The National Cathedral is the altar of the nation," she said. "Here, we lay before God the sorrows in the lives of all of us."

A member of the Pennsylvania National Guard, Baker was a husband, father and case worker with retarded adults. He was 30 years old.

His mother recalled how it was raining the night she became "part of the sad fellowship of families that have met their worst fear when they opened their front door."

Zappala said she fell to the floor when told of her son's death. But she also talked about other casualties of the war: of children and old people in Iraq; of people being broken by the horrors that war brings, and of 1,950 children who have lost parents.

"A wail rises from the throats of all who love these people," Zappala said. "We're here tonight at the church, each of us a witness to the war and our own complicity in it." War, she concluded, is our failure to love God, whose commandment is peace.

Discerning God's call
Other speakers at the Christian Peace Witness for Iraq event talked about hope and discovering what the Holy Spirit is saying to churches about war.

"There is a concern that America may lose the war," said the Rev. Raphael Warnock of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. "As people of faith, we need to reframe that question. The real danger is that America may lose her soul."

Warnock said it was sinful for the U.S. government to commit resources to the bombing of Iraq and ignore the plight of Hurricane Katrina victims and poverty that casts one of every five American children into poverty. "America's soul is in danger," he said.

Several United Methodists including the Rev. Kathryn Johnson of Methodists for Social Action, a sponsoring organization, and the Rev. Jim Winkler, top executive of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, lit candles for peace and placed them on the altar.

"This war is nothing short of evil," said Winkler, who expressed dismay that President Bush cannot hear his own people's dissent over U.S. involvement in Iraq. "The right thing to do is to bring our troops home," he said.

Bishop John Schol, of the Washington Episcopal Area, lamented the failure of Christians to be peacemakers.

"The bishops of The United Methodist Church have committed ourselves to pray daily for the end of the war in Iraq, and we have committed ourselves to acts of prophetic witness on behalf of peace," Schol said.

United Methodists "cannot remain silent while American men and women in increasing numbers are being sent to Iraq to kill and be killed, while thousands of Iraqi people needlessly suffer and die, while poverty increases and preventable diseases go untreated," he said.

Candlelight vigil
The candles from the altar were used to light the candles of more than 2,000 people who then marched through the streets of Washington and arrived at the White House shortly before 11 p.m.

Following a candlelight vigil in Lafayette Park, more than 100 people marched across the street and stood on the sidewalk in front of the White House. In an act of civil disobedience, they refused to move at the request of police from the National Park Service and were arrested.

Rain, snow and sleet mixed with freezing temperatures dramatically decreased attendance at both the worship service and the march. Organizers had anticipated more than 700 people would choose to be arrested. However, they insisted the event is the start of a movement of people of faith that will result in U.S. troops being withdrawn from Iraq.

"Wars make for poor chisels for carving out tomorrows," said the Rev. Rick Ufford-Chase, one organizer, quoting the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"War is never the answer," said Wallis. "America says it is a light to the nations and the hope of the world. But that is wrong. Christ is."

*Lauber is editor of the UMConnection, the newspaper of the Baltimore-Washington Conference.

Church must use gifts of older adults, leader says

By Jeanette Pinkston*

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - The world's elderly population has nearly quadrupled in the last 50 years, and The United Methodist Church needs to find a way to use "this incredible resource," said the Rev. Rick Gentzler Jr.

The elderly population increased from 130 million in 1950 to 419 million in 2000, according to a report by Gentzler, director of the Center on Aging and Older Adult Ministries of the United Methodist Board of Discipleship.

He outlined the trends in aging that will impact the global church and society during the United Methodist Committee on Older Adults meeting March 8-12.

Gentzler suggested that The United Methodist Church identify a modern purpose of a longer, healthier old age and seek to answer the questions: "To what use do we put the incredible resource of elderhood, and what are the new models of old age for our coming maturity?"

Two key proposals in the Comprehensive Plan for Older Adult Ministries for the 2009-2012 period include training a cadre of volunteer caregivers to interact with the growing number of older adults, and modeling intentional intergenerational ministry, in which older adults serve as mentors or coaches to young people.

From a global standpoint, the world's population is aging at an accelerated rate due in part to declining fertility rates and improvements in life expectancy.

"Over the next 14 years, the number of people over 50 in the U.S. will grow 74 percent, while people under 50 will increase by only 1 percent," according to research conducted by Edwin J. Pittock, president of the Society of Certified Senior Advisors.

Sixty-two percent of The United Methodist Church's members are 50 years old or older, while nearly 50 percent are 60 or older, Gentzler said.

Trends in aging
The plan highlights the following trends that will impact the global church and society.

+More people are living longer. The population of those 65 and over will increase from 35 million in 2000 to 72 million by 2030.

+Current markers of old age are changing, which means that increasing longevity will not only postpone the arrival of old age but will also cause all of the stages of life to shift significantly.

+As people are living longer, there will be a pandemic of chronic disease, which will result in increased need for community-based services.

+Dementia is expected to increase, with Alzheimer's disease potentially affecting 11 million to 16 million people by 2050.

+With fewer children being born and more older adults living longer, the U.S. could experience a crisis in family care giving. Globally a growing number of grandparents are raising grandchildren.

+Increasingly, the growing cost of health care has led to discussions about limiting the health care of older adults through rationing.

+Financial insecurity brought on by challenges to Social Security and Medicare and changes in pensions could lead to a future with massive elder poverty. (Most U.S. seniors are neither wealthy nor living in poverty.)

+Many older adults will continue to work long hours after "the normal" age of retirement because of career interests, a desire to stay productive, fear of unstable Social Security coverage, dwindling retirement investments and the fact that some simply can't afford to retire.

Addressing the needs
Intergenerational equity is paramount to address ageism and the belief that all generations should be given the chance to express concerns about their stage of life with equal weight and power, Gentzler said.

Declining church attendance, in light of the myth that older adults have a mature Christian faith, points to the need to get people involved in care giving and religious education, he said. Only 42 percent of older adults in the United States attend religious services on a regular basis.

In other action, the committee approved grants, prepared for a symposium and worked on legislation for the 2008 United Methodist General Conference.

The Committee on Older Adult Ministries provides a forum for information sharing, cooperative planning, and joint program endeavors in collaboration with participating boards and agencies. It serves as an advocate for older adult concerns and issues and supports ministries by, with and for older adults throughout The United Methodist Church and in the larger society.

*Pinkston is director of media relations for the United Methodist Board of Discipleship.

COSROW calls for work against racism, sexism

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (UMNS) – A commitment to justice for all and continued efforts to exorcise sexism and racism are needed if The United Methodist Church is to meet new mission goals.

That is the opinion of the 45-member United Methodist Commission on the Status and Role of Women (COSROW).

During its Feb. 22-24 meeting in Myrtle Beach, the commission affirmed “in spirit” a proposed four-pronged mission emphasis by which the United Methodist Council of Bishops and worldwide Connectional Table would set the future course of the denomination’s work and life.

However, the church’s women’s justice organization reminded denominational leaders that “making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world” – what the church understands as its “primary task” – must include working to end worldwide racism and sexism, beginning in the hearts of each church member and in the “bones” of each congregation.

Transforming the church and the world
The bishops, the executives of churchwide agencies and the Connectional Table have proposed that all levels of the denomination work together to transform the church and the world by promoting leadership development, starting new congregations, addressing global heath concerns and tackling root causes of poverty.

Members of the women’s commission said those strategies should include:

+Offering ministries with the poor that address systemic political and social concerns and recognize that most of the world’s poor are women and children;

+Making deliberate efforts to include women’s expertise, styles and perspectives in developing effective leadership as laity and clergy;

+Recognizing young women, women of color and poor women as gifted and essential to the growth and effectiveness of the church’s life and work;

+Countering sexism and sexual misconduct in the church through dialogue and training about power dynamics and the rights and responsibilities of leaders;

+Respecting cultural contexts of communities and churches, along with committing to cross-racial and interracial evangelistic and discipleship opportunities;

+Allocating financial and other resources to empower ministries in rural and urban poor communities, as well as middle- and upper-income suburban areas;

+Including women and people of color at all levels of planning, ministry and leadership development; and

+Insuring that Christian education stresses the sacred worth and gifts of all people.

“A congregation that doesn’t invite and welcome people from other races can’t transform the world,” said M. Garlinda Burton, COSROW’s top executive. “A disciple who rejects a pastor just because she’s a woman is not following Christ.

“United Methodist Christians have nothing transforming to offer the world if we continue to cling to sexism and racism,” Burton added.

The Rev. Rosetta Ross, a United Methodist clergywoman and professor at Spelman College in Atlanta, echoed those sentiments. “Getting people to come to church is one thing. But the church must also foster compassionate justice in disciples and ask what it means to be responsive and responsible Christians.”

A look at South Carolina
Commission members heard from a panel of South Carolina clergy and laity that opportunities for African-American women in the state have expanded, and two of them now serve on the annual (regional) conference cabinet.

However, black women still face challenges including a lack of cross-racial pulpit assignments, racist stereotyping and resistance to woman pastors – often by lay women, panel members said.
The United Methodist South Carolina Annual Conference historically has boasted one of the largest black memberships of any region in the United States. At the same time, while the rest of the denomination banned racial segregation in 1968, a few Southern conferences, including South Carolina, remained segregated until the early 1970s.

Today, however, racial and gender inclusiveness in leadership are evident in congregations and other church agencies. Of the 780 pastors serving churches in South Carolina, more than 19 percent (155) are women, according to Bishop Mary Virginia Taylor, president of COSROW. And nearly one-fourth (24 percent) of those women pastors are African American.

“Folks are learning in our churches that women can count money and preach, that women can chair the trustees, women can scrape paint off the walls,” said Geneva Stafford, pastor of two United Methodist churches, Jeremiah and Mount Seal, in Hemingway, S.C.

Laywoman Evelyn Gethers Burwell of North Charleston, S.C., agreed. “Black women are now represented at almost every level of work and life in South Carolina,” said Burwell, a member of New Francis Brown United Methodist Church. “Our unique gifts and approaches to leadership are being recognized, and we are pushing for more and more inclusion of women and people of color.”

Panelists said roadblocks remain for racial-ethnic women with leadership gifts. “Women, especially black women, are penalized if we’re not ‘nice’ enough,” said the Rev. J. Jeannette Cooper Dicks, pastor of Cumberland United Methodist Church in Florence, S.C.

Along with fostering more dialogue and “sister-circles” of support among black clergywomen and laywoman and mentoring younger women into church leadership, the panelists encouraged the women’s commission to push for cross-racial appointments and support for financially or spiritually struggling congregations.

*Information for this story was provided by the Commission on the Status and Role of Women.

Military chaplains retreat strengthens 'wounded healers'

By Hilly Hicks and Kathy L. Gilbert*

Oftentimes the most powerful person on the battlefield is an unarmed, praying chaplain.

Military chaplains live side-by-side with soldiers. They eat, sleep and work with young men and women in dangerous and uncomfortable conditions thousands of miles from family, friends and their United Methodist connections.

Circuit riders in Humvees, they bring a Bible as their only weapon.

The strain of seeing many members of their extended congregation die or receive horrific wounds is challenging, and chaplains have little or no time to tend to their own wounded souls.

Once a year, however, the "wounded healers" come together in Germany for a retreat sponsored by the United Methodist Endorsing Agency, part of the Board of Higher Education and Ministry. This year's gathering was Feb. 16-21 in the little village of Ettal, Germany.

Twelve chaplains and many of their wives and children spent the retreat in periods of worship, round-table discussion and relaxed times of fun and fellowship.

Retired Bishop Woodie W. White came as a special guest to preach, serve communion, counsel and listen to the chaplains. He also joined the Rev. Patricia Barrett, head of the Endorsing Agency, on a visit to the Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl where the war wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq are evacuated for medical attention before being flown back to the United States for further care.

White took his turn with chaplains walking around the medical center - offering prayers with and for the soldiers.

"I could hardly hold back the tears," White wrote in a column following his visit. "Then it was difficult to contain my rage. I was standing with a U.S. chaplain at the bedside of a wounded soldier recently evacuated from Iraq. The soldier was horribly burned over more than 40 percent of his body. Frankly, it was difficult for me to look at him. Then we moved to another bed. Here was a soldier who had both legs blown off."

Refueling and replenishing
United Methodist Chaplain David Smith was one of the U.S. Army chaplains attending the retreat in Germany. Each chaplain was given an opportunity to tell their own stories and to hear from church leadership that they were cared for and prayed for.
Smith recalls the "footlocker counseling" he did everyday with the military police in Fallujah, Iraq.

A simple request, "Hey, chaplain, would you mind stopping in to visit the platoon? They had a really rough day," became a ministry for Smith who came under attack many times himself on his rounds to see his "flock."

As part of a 54-unit ministry team in a task force scattered over an area the size of the U.S. state of Idaho, Smith traveled by vehicle or air to visit the troops. "It was critical for me to be their pastor," said Smith.

As part of Operation Iraqi Freedom during the initial occupation of Iraq, Smith described the experience as very dangerous at the beginning, followed by a period of stability. Then came the 30 days of Ramadan, a religious month of fasting for Muslims and a time of heightened danger for the troops.

"I was traveling prior to and during Ramadan in my Humvee with no doors, sandbags on the floor and really with a fear of God every time I left what I thought was the security of our forward operating base."

Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) are a constant threat in Iraq. Smith went weekly to visit soldiers at a military medical facility and he recalls one period of three close calls with IEDs exploding near his Humvee.

A hospital chaplain and friend suggested he try flying in the next weekend.

"I put an air request in to fly from our headquarters to the hospital, and on the way back that night to the headquarters the engine went out in the helicopter and we caught a hard landing. ... It was like a crash landing," he said. "I'm thinking, 'Lord what are you trying to tell me? Three weekends in a row.' But it was something that I felt was important to visit our wounded soldiers in the hospital."

Like many other soldiers, Smith has never really shared his stories. But sharing them with other chaplains at the retreat was "dynamic, personal and inspirational. It has been a healing experience."

Living with stress
Spouses and families of the chaplains also come to the retreat. Wartime stress for them is very real.

"You'd think that as a chaplain's wife that I'd have this faith that would keep me from feeling fear or feeling worried," said Karen Smith, David's wife. "But the truth is that I had to struggle with those feelings just like any other wife whose husband was deployed to Iraq."

Another Army Chaplain, Scott Weichl, told the group that "being able to reflect on my experiences in Iraq with people I know and trust makes being here at this retreat worth it."

Air Force Chaplain Joel Warren is stationed at Ramstein (Germany) Air Base and greets C-130 aircrafts when they touch down loaded with injured troops from Iraq or Afghanistan. What he has seen as he boards those aircrafts weighs heavily upon him.

"The war does not go away," Warren said. "I can't tell you the importance of sitting down with my fellow United Methodists and being reminded of who we are."

Bishop White said he "gained strength from the experienced, sensitive, compassionate chaplain" at his side in the hospital.

"I shall long remember being with those pastors, talking late into the night, singing songs of the faith, joining together in prayer and Holy Communion," White said. "The moments of deep sharing - and the tears."

*Hicks is director of United Methodist Productions; Gilbert is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.

Shared Roots of Christianity, Judaism Explored in Major Exhibition at Emory's Carlos Museum

Emory University's Michael C. Carlos Museum will open a major traveling exhibition tracing the shared roots of Judaism and Christianity, bringing to the United States for the first time the most significant biblical artifacts ever found, including the Temple Scroll, among the most important of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

"Cradle of Christianity: Jewish and Christian Treasures from the Holy Land" explores aspects of early Jewish life and the concurrent birth of Christianity by presenting artifacts drawn from the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, which houses the foremost collection of biblical archeology in the world. Organized by the Israel Museum, the exhibition will be on view at the Carlos Museum from June 16 through Oct. 14, 2007. Groups (10 or more) can make reservations now; individual tickets go on sale April 1.

Using dramatic installations to incorporate original objects excavated in Israel over the last century, "Cradle of Christianity" offers an unprecedented opportunity to examine two periods of major consequence for modern religious history. The first era explores the final days of the Second Temple (the Herodian Period and the 1st century), the time when Jesus of Nazareth lived. The second period examines the concurrent development, side by side, of formative Judaism and Christianity in the Holy Land (4th - 7th centuries). All of the objects are from Israel, the majority of them unearthed in excavations, and some displayed publicly for the first time.

For the Atlanta presentation, Emory scholars in the Department of Religion and Candler School of Theology have come together to enhance the visitor's experience of these ancient treasures, offering their insights and commentary on the audio guide to the exhibition. An array of community educational programs, including lectures, panel discussions and family events featuring Emory experts and others from around the world is planned to inspire further discovery and dialogue. A calendar of these events will be available beginning April 2007 at http://www.carlos.emory.edu. Emory faculty members also are planning undergraduate- and graduate-level coursework in conjunction with the exhibition.

"The need to better understand our great religions has never been more important," says James W. Wagner, president of Emory. "We are proud to bring this pathbreaking exhibition to Atlanta, providing people throughout our region with the opportunity to explore Jewish and Christian traditions and their common roots through ancient works of art. Both the exhibition and the educational opportunities it provides are part of Emory's commitment to build bridges of understanding that will make a difference in the world."

"The very foundation of the Carlos Museum, reaching back to the 1920s, grew from the work of Emory theology faculty and their interests in building resources for teaching biblical history," says Bonnie Speed, director of the Carlos Museum. "Cradle of Christianity renews the museum's early emphasis on the exploration of religious history through compelling works of art. We are thrilled to be able to share these magnificent artifacts with our audiences."

"The archaeological holdings of the Israel Museum represent the world's most significant treasures from the formative period of Judaism and Christianity in the Holy Land. We are pleased to have this opportunity to showcase our Biblical treasures at Emory University to promote intercultural understanding through the shared history of the Christian and Jewish faiths," said James S. Snyder, Anne and Jerome Fisher director of the Israel Museum.

"'Cradle of Christianity'" seeks to synthesize literary sources with finds that have been excavated in Israel, particularly over the past 50 years: architectural remains, liturgical objects from churches, personal belongings of the Christian inhabitants of this land, and souvenirs made for pilgrims.


In the Time of Jesus -- The Second Temple Period
The first section of the exhibition is devoted to the Holy Land at the time of Jesus, presenting important events of his life in the context of first century Jewish life. Unique archaeological finds excavated in Israel portray the world in which Jesus lived, as described by the scriptures and writings of Jewish historian Josephus Flavius. Extraordinary finds from the Temple in Jerusalem as well as stone ossuaries bearing the Hebrew names of Jesus and members of his family and circle will be featured in the exhibition, suggesting how commonplace these names were among the Jewish community in ancient Israel. Also included are artifacts characteristic of the period in which the Last Supper, trial and crucifixion are believed to have taken place, which will provide a new perspective on these events in the New Testament.

Artifacts will include:

+The Temple Scroll (Dead Sea Scroll)
Its scale and subject -- calling for a new legal interpretation of the Torah -- make the Temple Scroll one of the most historically important of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

+The burial ossuary of Caiaphas the High Priest, who, according to the New Testament, delivered Jesus to the Romans and a commemorative inscription bearing the name of Pontius Pilate, representing the only surviving physical testimony of these two prominent figures from the story of the trial of Jesus.

+A burial ossuary inscribed "Judah son of Jesus (Yeshua)" from the East Talpiot tomb in Jerusalem.

+Heel bone of Yehohanan son of Hagkol punctured by an iron nail (replication) -- the only tangible evidence of the practice of crucifixion to have been discovered in archaeological excavations.

+A Graffito of the Menorah, the oldest representation of the menorah that stood in the Temple of Jerusalem, found in the excavations of the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem and dating to the first century BC (the Second Temple period).

+A stone inscription from the Temple Mount reading "To the place of trumpeting..."


The Rise of Christianity

Because of the scarcity of artifacts that can be firmly connected to Jesus and his activities associated with Christianity in the first centuries, knowledge of the first chapter in the history of Christianity is based primarily on sacred writings. However, there is a wealth of objects dating from the period in which Christianity developed -- the 4th through the 7th centuries. In telling the story of early Christianity and its emergence as a religion, the artifacts included in this section illustrate the religious activities of the Byzantine period: the intensive building of churches, the sanctification of holy shrines associated with Old and New Testament stories, mass pilgrimages. These objects, together with contemporary literary sources, present a rich picture of Christian life in the Holy Land during the Byzantine period, an important chapter in the history of Israel.


Artifacts will include:

+The remains of excavated churches, monasteries and other religious sites, including furnishings, dedicatory inscriptions, reliquaries and liturgical objects.

+Souvenirs and mementos from early Christian pilgrimages to the Holy Land, including vessels for oil and water from holy sites and amulets and tokens bearing religious motifs.

+A full-scale reconstruction of the Chancel of a Byzantine Era church comprised of an original altar, chancel screens, Baptisterium, reliquary and pulpit, and adorned by mosaics.


Early Synagogues and Jewish Symbols

With the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E., the Jews lost their central place of worship and were forced to find alternatives. It took more than two centuries for synagogues to evolve into what people are familiar with today. These houses of prayer where people gathered to study and analyze the scriptures would become the center of the community's spiritual life. Dozens of synagogues, most of them dating from the 4th to the 7th centuries C.E., have been excavated in Galilee, in the Golan and in Judea.

Artifacts will include:

+The remains of excavated synagogues, including capitals, mosaics and marble furnishings, all adorned with Jewish symbols.

+Daily objects decorated with Jewish symbols.

+The two largest three-dimensional Menorahs ever found in excavation


Exhibition Organization
"Cradle of Christianity" is organized by the Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Support for the exhibition in Atlanta was provided by Emory, the CF Foundation, Inc., a friend of the Michael C. Carlos Museum, an anonymous donor and Ferdinand and Monique Seefried.

Lenders to the exhibition include The Israel Museum, Jerusalem; Israel Antiquities Authority; Staff Archaeological Officer in the Civil Administration of Judea and Samaria; David Jeselsohn Collection, Zurich; Wolff Family Collection, Jerusalem; and Deutsches Evangelisches Institut fur Altertumswissenschaft des Heiligen Landes, Jerusalem.

The exhibition is presented in collaboration with The Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage, Cleveland, the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale and the Michael C. Carlos Museum of Emory.

It is curated by David Mevorah, curator of Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine Archaeology, and Yael Israeli, senior curator (emeritus) for archaeology and ancient glass, with a contribution by Adolfo Roitman, head of the Shrine of the Book and curator of the Dead Sea Scrolls. All artifacts are on loan from the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, and the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The Michael C. Carlos Museum brings visitors in contact with masterworks from Egypt, the Near East, Greece, Rome, the Americas, Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, as well as prints and drawings from the Middle Ages to the present day, all housed in the stunning spaces of a building by world-renowned architect Michael Graves. An exciting array of special exhibitions, lectures, concerts and programs for children and families make the Carlos Museum a dynamic destination to experience the world's great art.

Emory University is one of the nation's leading private research universities and a member of the Association of American Universities. Known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities, Emory is ranked as one of the country's top 20 national universities by U.S. News & World Report.

Wesley Seminary Program Seeks To Meet Crucial Need in Suicide Prevention

A major step in bringing the vast resources of religious groups to bear on the task of suicide prevention has been launched by Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC. Beginning with the 2007 fall semester, Wesley will offer a six course certificate program in Suicide Awareness Ministry.

Faith-based communities can play an essential role in suicide prevention. That reality becomes increasingly clear as suicides have reached 30,000 a year, with nearly one million suicide attempts.

"We are convinced that laity, clergy and non-professionals working in suicide prevention can be trained to create teams within each local congregation," said Professor Susan Willhauck, Director of the Equipping Lay Ministry program at Wesley. She added, "Washington is an excellent location for the studies to take place. Over a dozen organizations in the area are at work on various phases of research, clinical, pastoral care and advocacy related to suicide prevention."

Students will have the opportunity to learn directly from members of these groups as they probe biblical, historical, theological and ethical perspectives. They will also become better informed with their own community's stand on suicide.

Among the program planners and instructors is Dr. James T. Clemons, author of What does the Bible say about Suicide? and editor of Sermons on Suicide. He is Professor Emeritus of New Testament at Wesley, where he taught for twenty-eight years.

Details, Application and Registration on the Equipping Lay Ministry Program are at www.wesleyseminary.edu. For more information about the certificate program, contact Sula Tyler at 202-885-8720 or styler@wesleyseminary.edu.

Church helps teens become better moms

WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana (UMNS)-Instead of finishing her senior year in high school with friends, Jamie Hurst, 18, has some new responsibilities-caring for her infant daughter and working to help pay the bills for her family.

Jamie Hurst, 18, feeds her daughter, Taelor, who was born prematurely last May. UMNS photos by John Gordon.

"There are times where I just go, 'Man, I wish we would have waited,' because I don't know how I'm going to get through this next step," said Hurst.

Her daughter, Taelor, was born prematurely last May. Hurst, then 17, took time off from school to care for her child, and she and her husband live with his parents while the young couple works at a fast-food restaurant.

Hurst is not alone as she struggles to raise her daughter. She and about two dozen teen moms and mothers-to-be get help and encouragement from the Teen MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) program at First United Methodist Church in West Lafayette.

"They get funny looks in the grocery store-the 'babies having babies' comments that people make," said Melissa Garcia, a church member who coordinates the ministry. "So it's nice for them to know that there are people out there that do want to help them."

MOPS members attend weekly meetings and learn about writing job resumes, performing CPR on infants and balancing their family budgets. They also enjoy dinner and arts and crafts.

For attending the meetings, members earn credits that can be used to shop at the MOPS Mart for diapers, toys, clothing and other baby items donated by church members.

"We couldn't afford a lot; we don't make that much money," said Hurst. "If it wasn't for MOPS, we wouldn't have half the stuff we do."

Seeking a better life
Hurst is taking correspondence courses from her high school and is determined to return to classes and earn her degree. After that, she plans to attend a business school and, one day, start her own business.

"The one thing that helps me is I look at that little girl and I know that I need to do things that are going to get me to a place where I can afford everything that she needs," said Hurst.
The church provides transportation for the teen moms, and church volunteers also serve as "mentor mothers."

"Just having someone to talk to makes a difference, especially if they've stopped going to school and they're at home with that baby all the time," said Garcia. "… A lot of them have very low self-esteem. And they don't have good role models to learn from."

Overcoming fear of judgment
Garcia believes some teen moms are nervous about coming to a church for the program.

"I think that they're afraid of being judged," she said. "And if I were 16 and pregnant, a church might not be the first place I would want to go either."

MOPS member Candice Pigee, a 10th-grader who cares for her 18-month-old Angel, said the program has given her good advice as well as clothes and diapers.

"It's nice to actually talk to other teens that have kids, too, kind of going through the same problem you are-being pregnant, young, trying to get through school, and actually understand," said Pigee, who lives with her mother and wants to finish high school, attend college and become a nurse.

Garcia says many teen moms face rejection from their families, making raising their children even more difficult.

"For them to want better is often a big step outside of their comfort zone," she said. "We want to help them be the best mothers they can be."

Teen moms often were seeking love and affection when they became pregnant. "They still need that," said Garcia. "If you see a young mom in the grocery store, just smile at her. Sometimes that makes a big difference."

*Gordon is a freelance producer and writer based in Marshall, Texas.

Controversial Native American mascot retired

By John Coleman*

United Methodist Janet E. Super demonstrates against the Cleveland Indians baseball team for using a Native American image as a mascot. A UMNS file photo by Paul Jeffrey.

WASHINGTON (UMNS)--The recent retirement of Chief Illiniwek, the University of Illinois' controversial athletics program mascot, has drawn intense reactions from both fans and opponents, including affirmation from many Native American United Methodists.

Trustees of the university, located in Champaign, bowed to pressure from the National Collegiate Athletics Association, which in 2005 barred teams with nicknames and symbols considered offensive to Native Americans from hosting or competing in its lucrative postseason tournaments.

The regulatory body banned Chief Illiniwek as a "hostile and abusive" image of American Indians and rejected the university's appeal in 2006, while allowing the school to continue using the nickname "Fighting Illini," named for now-extinct Indian tribes that once populated the area.

Nearly a dozen NCAA-member schools have retired their Native American names, symbols and/or mascots since the prohibition, although dozens more have done so since 1969 when Dartmouth University became the first. Trustees at United Methodist-related McMurry University in Abilene, Texas, voted last October to stop calling its teams the Indians.

Chief Illiniwek's fans, including many United Methodists, ardently defend his halftime dancing performances at home games as a source and symbol of intense school pride. Some see him as depicting a proud Native American warrior and celebrating what they believe are Native American traditions.

Thirty-five white students have portrayed the chief since 1926, wearing imitation buckskin garb with a feathered headdress and facial paint. Two current portrayers have filed a right-to-free-speech lawsuit to prevent the university from discontinuing his appearances and to end NCAA sanctions against the school.

However, many Native Americans and advocates of all races view such portrayals as exaggerated misrepresentations of Native tradition and they deplore the disrespectful behaviors that they inspire among some fans.

Hostile environment
"These mascots treat Native people as things and give the impression that they are less than human and less than worthy of respect," said Suanne Ware-Diaz, a staff executive of the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race in Washington. "They also create a hostile environment for Native American students on campus and too often lead to threats and violence."

Ware-Diaz said she and other Native American staff of Christian agencies are discussing ways to address threats and violence committed against Native students at Illinois and other schools facing the mascot issue. Reports of those incidents have increased since the school retired the chief on Feb. 21.

"Preliminary research suggests the level of (hate) crime is higher than (in) comparable schools without Native American mascots," reported the Center for the Study of Sport in Society, a respected research and advocacy organization established in 1984 at Northeastern University in Boston. According to statistics generated by the U.S. Department of Justice, Native Americans are four times more likely than any other race or ethnic group to be victims of violent hate crimes.

"Schools should do away with Native American mascots not just because their use is demeaning and creates an unsafe environment for people," said center director Peter Roby, "but it sends the wrong message about values, which is inappropriate given the setting it is used in, which is education."

Painful history
"Native people have spoken out for years about the damage done by mascots in sports, media and advertising," said Ware-Diaz, a member of the Kiowa tribe in Oklahoma.

"Others keep saying it honors our people, but we've been telling them for years that it dishonors us. Chief Illiniwek dances up the football field and basketball court doing a high-kicking dance that you would never see done at a powwow by real Indians. Our dances and regalia are sacred and based in prayer; they are not intended for entertainment and sporting events."

Bishop Sharon Brown Christopher, leader of the Illinois Great Rivers Conference, responded to the Illinois decision by citing resolution 130 passed by the denomination's 2004 General Conference. It described the use of Native American names and images in sports as "demeaning and racist" and urged their abolishment.

"The action taken by the trustees of the University of Illinois regarding the retirement of Chief Illiniwek is a positive response to the recommendation passed by the 2004 General Conference of The United Methodist Church," said the bishop. "The church's resolution approved at that time states, 'We support efforts throughout our society to replace such nicknames, mascots and symbols.'"

"I'm sure it wasn't easy for the Board of Trustees, but it's the right thing to do," said the Rev. Sylvester Weatherall, pastor of Grace and Kumler United Methodist churches in Springfield, Ill., and chairman of the conference Commission on Religion and Race.

"For many people, the chief is the face of the university; removing him means removing the school's image. But I come down on the side of our Native American brothers and sisters who have suffered the consequences of this mascot."

Sparking debate
The controversy ignited in 2001 when the Commission on Religion and Race gave a $10,000 grant from its Minority Group Self-Determination Fund to the Illinois chapter of the National Coalition on Racism in Sports and Media to aid in its campaign to retire Chief Illiniwek. Both the agency and the conference received irate letters and phone calls from Illinois fans.

"Surely there is a consensus among us that racism in all its forms must be eradicated from our civil and faith communities," wrote the bishop and cabinet in a letter to conference members.

The controversy prompted 90 United Methodists to gather at a church in Champaign that spring to worship, listen and dialogue in a "Talking Circle." There they learned about Native American culture, spirituality and the pain caused by racial stereotypes and misappropriated symbols.

The Rev. Carol Lakota Eastin, then a local missionary, co-led the event. Now pastor of the new Dayspring Native American Fellowship, a United Methodist church outside of Peoria, she remembers the discord and divisiveness that led Chief Illiniwek supporters to express their anger, leave churches and withhold offerings.

"The listening event was positive for those who came to listen, but some came with their agendas and didn't want to hear us," she said.

Eastin, like others contacted for reactions to the mascot decision, was cautious in responding.

"This issue has been a very divisive one in our community and in the church," she said. "It has challenged us to listen and to articulate, to be educated about the power of images for both the chief fans and the Indians. It has forced us to deal with a wounding past and continued grief, and to ask the question, 'What is all this emotion, all this anger about?'

"It's been wrenching to see church members pitted against each other over a sports icon," she added. "Now, after the (chief's) last dance, perhaps the healing can begin. For Christians on both sides of this issue, the love of Jesus Christ must prevail."

*Coleman is a communications specialist for the General Commission on Religion and Race in Washington, D.C.

Jones to leave Commission on Religion and Race

A UMNS Report By John Coleman*

WASHINGTON (UMNS)--The Rev. Chester Jones, top executive of the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race, plans to leave the agency to return as a district superintendent in the Arkansas Annual (regional) Conference.

On July 31, he will leave behind the agency that advocates and monitors the denomination for racial inclusiveness.

The Rev. Chester Jones is leaving his job as top executive of the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose.

An Arkansas native, Jones accepted the invitation of Bishop Charles N. Crutchfield to join his cabinet and provide leadership in a conference created in 2004 from the merger of the Little Rock and North Arkansas conferences. He will supervise about 70 churches as superintendent of the South Central District, based in Hot Springs, Ark.

"I'm overjoyed that Dr. Jones has accepted my request to join us," said Crutchfield, "because for years, he has been one of the premier leaders in the Arkansas Conference, with a tremendous reputation among pastors and laity here for his leadership and pastoral skills.

"He will add the important perspective of the African-American experience to our cabinet and contribute from his own experience in helping to foster racial/ethnic diversity throughout our denomination."

Jones was superintendent of the Pine Bluff District in the Little Rock Conference for six years before becoming the commission's third general secretary in 1999.

"I consider this a Macedonian call, like that experienced by the Apostle Paul," said Jones, "to come home and help our newly merged conference develop a unified culture of discipleship, congregational vitality and leadership development."

Jones previously was pastor of the then-predominantly white Hunter United Methodist Church in Little Rock-the conference's first cross-racial appointment for a senior pastor. Prior to that, he worked for the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries as a field representative for its Office of Town and Country Ministries and as a consultant for its Ethnic Minority Local Church missional priority work.

Bishop Linda Lee, president of the commission, thanked Jones for his service and leadership, while affirming the significance of his new appointment.

"Dr. Jones has enriched our ministry with his keen theological perspectives on race and racism and with the articles, booklets and other resources he has developed on cross-racial appointments, the ministry of racial reconciliation, multicultural concerns, old and new manifestations of prejudice and other key topics," Lee said. "We are grateful for all he has done in his ministry with us, and we appreciate the great need for his gifts in his home conference at this critical time in its development."

The commission is scheduled to meet March 15-17 and will assign a committee to begin a search process for a new general secretary.

*Coleman is communications specialist for the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race in Washington.

Division Examines Danger of Mercury-Containing Vaccines, Drugs

United Methodist Women members and friends from across the United States are invited to attend a conference to raise awareness about mercury as a preservative in some vaccines and other drugs. The Women’s Division of the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries will sponsor “The Truth is Coming to Light” event June 6-7 at Simpsonwood Retreat Center near Atlanta.

The event will educate the faith community about the dangers of vaccines and other drugs that contain the mercury-preservative Thimerosal as a step toward protecting children from this toxin.

At the conclusion of this educational event, two grassroots organizations, Moms Against Mercury and the Coalition for Mercury-free Drugs (CoMeD) will hold a rally at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a press conference nearby in Atlanta.

“We are absolutely not opposed to vaccinating children,” said Julie Taylor, Women’s Division executive. “We think vaccinations are important to the health and safety of children, but even a trace amount of mercury, a known neuro-toxin, should not be injected into our bodies. If there is mercury in any medicine we are given, we should know about it.”

The Women’s Division is sponsoring this educational event and will support the coalitions in their public witness and press conference. The division calls for informed consent whenever persons receive vaccinations that contain mercury and also advocates that mercury be removed from all medicines.

In April 2006, the Women’s Division Board of Directors called on the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to take action to protect children from mercury-containing drugs.

United Methodist Women have established a legacy of advocacy for children. Some of this work has taken place through the Campaign for Children. The campaign has focused on improving the lives of children in their communities, safety and well-being of children, and access of all children to quality public education.

“The children and families that are affected by mercury- poisoning are marginalized in their efforts to uncover the truth about this toxin,” Ms. Taylor said. “They are individuals questioning large agencies of the government and pharmaceutical companies about the use of mercury.

“We hope member of United Methodist Women will come to this event to be informed and become a part of the effort to raise awareness about this issue in their communities.

To register for this event, contact Beverly Irving. Call: 212-870-3751. Email: jbirving@gbgm-umc.org. The registration deadline is April 1. For information on the history of United Methodist Women’s work with issues related to mercury poisoning and children’s health, visit www.umwmission.org.

Consultation examines court ruling on pastoral authority

A UMNS Report
By Linda Green*

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)-A ruling about pastoral authority by the highest court of The United Methodist Church revealed conflicts over church membership criteria, ecclesiology and the authority given to appointed leaders.

Those conflicts were explored as pastors, bishops, theologians, seminary deans and denominational staff members gathered Feb. 15-16 in a consultation over implications of Judicial Council Decision 1032 in the case of a Virginia pastor who blocked a homosexual man from church membership. The consultation was sponsored by the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry, which oversees the church's licensed and ordained leadership.

The Rev. Edward H. Johnson, senior pastor of South Hill (Va.) United Methodist Church, was placed on involuntary leave of absence in June 2005 by a vote of fellow clergy of the Virginia Annual Conference after he refused to receive the homosexual man into membership, saying the man would neither repent nor seek to live a different lifestyle. The Judicial Council ruled in October 2005 that United Methodist pastors have authority to decide who becomes a member of a local church and reinstated Johnson. Johnson has since been appointed pastor at Dahlgren (Va.) United Methodist Church.

Specifically, the Judicial Council ruled that "the pastor in charge of a United Methodist Church or charge is solely responsible for making the determination of a person's readiness to receive the vows of membership." The word "solely" has especially generated emotionally and politically charged conversations throughout the church about pastoral authority and the power of United Methodist bishops.

The Rev. Jerome King Del Pino, top executive of the Board of Higher Education and Ministry, said the heated debate highlights the need for focused, careful and continuing dialogue about the theological, ecclesial and pastoral implications of the council's action.

"The church craves clarity about how to understand and live out its mission that is at once coherent and compelling for an unbelieving world," said Del Pino. "Judicial Council 1032 has created a defining moment in the life of people called United Methodists."

Florida Conference Bishop Timothy Whitaker said reactions to the ruling have exposed "weaknesses in the life of our church" and declared that "we have much work to do in examining and renewing our discipline of membership in the church."

Church-wide conversation
The consultation was called to provide a "hospitable space" for church-wide conversation on the issue. Discussions centered on theological implications of how the decision relates to United Methodist understanding of membership, pastoral authority, the nature of the church and the role of Scripture.

Participants sought to model civil discourse and offered position papers to clarify the council ruling in relation to the denomination's Book of Discipline, Constitution and Social Principles-all of which govern the church and its members.

The Rev. Robert Kohler, a staff member with the Board of Higher Education and Ministry, said the constitution is fundamental to United Methodist identity and cited Article IV's emphasis on church inclusiveness. He said the article "takes precedence over everything else that you see in the Discipline which covers the authority of the pastor and the responsibility or the bishop or anything else."

Kohler said there are "fundamental ecclesiological conflicts" over membership and inclusiveness. One perspective receives a person into a community of faith if they repent of their sins, are affirmed by the fellowship and promise to grow in faith. Another view welcomes a person into the fellowship in hopes that, over time, that person will learn what it means to be Christian.

The Rev. Martin McLee said African-American churches have a different perspective on the meaning of fellowship based on black culture. During worship, the invitation declares that the church's doors are open. Anyone seeking redemption through a leading of the Holy Spirit may come forward, receive the right hand of fellowship with the pastor and gain entrance into the faith community after taking their membership vows.

"Judicial Council Decision 1032 robs people of potential to be in community," said McLee, pastor at Union United Methodist Church in Boston.

The Rev. Elaine Robinson, a professor at Brite Divinity School in Forth Worth, Texas, said The United Methodist Church differs from other denominations because it "does not have clear ecclesiological standards." In some traditions, "canon law is the equivalent of Scripture in authority," she said.

Robinson said the Book of Discipline also contains conflicting criteria for membership. "We don't have the clarity in hierarchical lines of authority as do some traditions," which can be both a weakness and strength, she said.

The Rev. Cheryl Jefferson Bell, a district superintendent of the Kansas West Annual Conference, said church membership means belonging to or being part of a body. "It is the place people come to give their lives to Christ … (and) experience the real love of God."

Bell said the idea of a pastor denying fellowship to an individual "scares me" and called the denial "a sin." She said Scripture suggests the criteria for membership are belief in the heart and confession by the mouth.

Added Robinson: "John Wesley would have found the idea of denying membership foreign."

Theological context
Presentations to the group sought to bring theological light to the consultation, which participants said was not designed to be a "referendum on homosexuality" but rather a focused debate on the nature, practice and integrity of the church's leadership. There was consensus that church membership is a means or form of grace and that the church exists by the grace of God.

The Rev. William (Billy) Abraham said the controversy suggests the court ruling represents "a vision of holiness that is rejected by a passionate minority within the church as a whole."

Professor of Wesley Studies at Perkins School of Theology in Dallas, Abraham compared holiness with the denomination's 30-year proscription that the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. "Holiness rules out the practice of homosexuality," shifting the debate to readiness for membership, executive authority of pastors and "rival visions" for the authority of power of bishops, he said.

The Rev. Pamela Lightsey, dean of students at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Ill., asked what inclusiveness means. "Is it receipt of all people or receipt of all behaviors?" This, she said, points to biblical authority.
Lightsey said homosexual practice "points our church to the greater issue: What is the role of biblical authority in informing and in shaping the way we go about doing the business of the church?"

Lightsey, who supports welcoming homosexuals into membership and ordination of gay clergy, said she believes an "understanding of the Bible and the use of the Bible in conjunction with our canon law helped to inform and shape" Johnson's decision to block a homosexual man from church membership. That decision, she said, "was not arbitrary, capricious or was done with ill intent."

So it is, she said, the understanding of biblical text that is the "heart" of current and historic "discrimination" against homosexuals. Unless the role and use of biblical authority is examined, "we may very well find ourselves turning to the 'listing' of sins to determine a person's readiness for membership."

The Rev. Gregory Stover, pastor of Armstrong Chapel United Methodist Church in Cincinnati, said the pastor's authority to use responsible judgment in determining readiness for local church membership "plays a critical role in the pastoral work of providing spiritual guidance and counsel." Without opportunity for discernment, he said, the local church is directed by the intentions of the individual seeking membership, opening the door to possibly compromising the integrity of membership and the covenant of the church.

McLee said the decision does not define "reasonable pastoral judgment" in giving the pastor discretion to determine membership readiness. Giving sole power to pastors is "troubling," he said, because it disconnects the long-held partnership between laity and clergy.

"The United Methodist Church is a laypersons church. Ours, as clery, is itinerant," McLee said. "Pastors come and pastors go. Laity holds the church together."

What happens when the pastor makes a mistake? "Who are we to know the heart of another," Bell asked. "The church does not belong to the pastor, members, district superintendent or bishop. The church belongs to Christ, (and) the Scriptures tell us that God shows no partiality."

A 'flashpoint' for other issues
Abraham said the court ruling has become a "flashpoint" for other issues in the church. "We have got to grow up and realize that we are a church; we are not a movement," he said.

Abraham said United Methodists are "ambivalent" about their status as a church, while priding itself on placing spirituality above institutions. "We live and act like a church or a denomination, but we are not too sure we are one, or even want to be one," he said, adding that Judicial Council Decision 1032 "explodes this mythology about ourselves."

The Rev. Leicester Longden, a professor of evangelism and discipleship at the University of Dubuque (Iowa) Theological Seminary, said United Methodists often think of themselves "as a movement of reformers, prophets and evangelists rather than a church institution with its own canonical agreements on doctrine, liturgy, sacraments, polity, membership and so forth."

Ruling 1032 is forcing the church to face up to its confusion, recover its ecclesial character of church membership, and "reform our lax habits of membership reception," Longden said. This reformation requires confronting "our cultural accommodation and fear of being judgmental."

Longden said the Discipline contains "chargeable offenses" for lay people in the church and the provision of trial. While not used, their inclusion indicates that violating those restrictions can result in removal from the membership rolls.

Membership, he said, "has never been an end in itself-an achieved status. It has always been seen as participation in a journey of discipleship on the way (to) holiness."

Hendrick Pierterse, director of scholarly research at the Board of Higher Education and Ministry, hopes the consultation prompts United Methodists around the world to engage in similar theological conversations. To facilitate further discussions, consultation presentations and related issues are accessible at www.gbhem.org/asp/resourceLibrary.asp.

*Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.

Movie, campaign link past and present slavery

A UMNS Report
By Linda Bloom*

The last letter that John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, wrote before his death was to William Wilberforce, a member of Parliament fighting to end the British slave trade.

Dated Feb. 24, 1791 - six days before Wesley died - the letter warned Wilberforce about battle fatigue but offered encouragement: "Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be fore you, who can be against you? Are all of them together stronger than God? O be not weary of well doing! Go on, in the name of God and in the power of his might, till even American slavery (the vilest that ever saw the sun) shall vanish away before it."

Sixteen years later, in 1807, Wilberforce finally achieved his goal when Parliament voted to abolish slave trade.

The movie "Amazing Grace," opening Feb. 23 in U.S. theaters, chronicles his efforts, and a related campaign focuses on ending modern-day slavery in the world.

The film's title refers to the famous hymn by John Newton, a former slave trader who converted to Christianity and became a priest in the Church of England. In the movie, Wilberforce visits Newton twice and, in one scene, climbs atop a table in a pub and sings the hymn's first verse.

The National Council of Churches and Asbury College and Seminary have endorsed the movie, along with diverse partners such as the British Royal Navy, CARE, Sojourners, the New Jersey Association of School Librarians and the U.S. State Department Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.

In conjunction with the movie is "The Amazing Change" campaign to continue Wilberforce's work. Launched by Walden Media, the effort is designed to raise awareness of slavery and other forms of oppression in today's world, and to encourage involvement in and funding for organizations working to abolish slavery.

One of its funding partners is RugMark, a global nonprofit organization working to end illegal child labor in the carpet industry and offer educational opportunities to children in India, Nepal and Pakistan. RugMark is supported by the Women's Division of United Methodist Board of Global Ministries and was endorsed by the United Methodist Bishops' Initiative on Children and Poverty.

The campaign has designated Feb. 18 "Amazing Grace Sunday," encouraging churches to sing the well-known hymn and pray for the end of slavery.

Portrayed by the actor Ioan Gruffudd, Wilberforce was known as the "conscience of Parliament" as he accumulated evidence against the slave trade, collected some 390,000 signatures supporting its end, and introduced numerous anti-slavery bills.

According to John Wesley: Holiness of Heart and Life, a spiritual growth resource from the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, Wilberforce was converted to Christianity under the ministry of Wesley, a lifelong opponent to slavery.

Wilberforce eventually became a member of the Clapham Set, an evangelical group within the Anglican Church.

Other historical figures in the film include Newton (Albert Finney), Prime Minister William Pitt (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Olaudah Eqiano (Youssou N'Dour), who wrote an eyewitness account of his life as a slave and his work in the anti-slavery movement.

Erik Lokkesmoe, project manager for the movie, said few Americans know about Wilberforce and the story of how the British slave trade was abolished or about his other contributions to social justice issues, such as animal welfare, prison reform and the needs of the poor.

He called Wilberforce "a remarkable example for this generation" of how someone inspired by faith can change the world.

"It's no longer a movie; it's really a movement," he said, noting that young people, in particular, seem drawn to the challenge of taking on slavery "in their time."

The Church of England is marking the 200th anniversary of the end of the slave trade with a March 24 act of repentance. Marchers from throughout Britain are expected to meet in London for a procession led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, and the Archbishop of York, the Ugandan-born John Sentamu.

Marchers will carry a giant cross as African drummers beat a lament through the British capital, according to Ecumenical News International. During an open-air service in Kensington Park, participants will be invited to sign a petition calling on the government to take more action to end modern-day slavery in the world.

The "Amazing Grace" Web site says an estimated 27 million slaves are in the world today. "William Wilberforce's work is far from finished," the site proclaims. "… Modern day slavery can come in many different forms. Entire families may work long days in rice-mills, brick kilns or on plantations. Children may be abducted and forced to fight in a rebel's army. All of the people in these examples are slaves - they cannot come and go as they please and are often beaten or threatened with violence. They have no autonomy in their day-to-day lives and deserve the right to be free."

Downloadable versions of an "Amazing Grace" study guide for high school students and faith guide for church leaders can be found at www.amazinggracemovie.com under the resources tab. Visit www.theamazingchange.com for information about the campaign.
*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service writer based in New York.