Current Issues
The New Year
Following are membership
results from the annual conferences for 2005 with changes from
the preceding year:
Annual Conference
Membership Net Change Jurisdiction*
Annual Conference Membership Net
Change Jurisdiction*
Alabama - West Florida
146,6002 +800 SEJ
North Central New York 79,049 -
834 NEJ
Alaska
Missionary 4,045 + 1
W-J North Georgia 337,635
+ 3,971 SEJ
Arkansas 138,4102
- 729 SCJ North
Indiana 99,349 - 1,978
NCJ
Austria Provisional
6861 + 27
Eurasia North Texas
159,917 + 903 SCJ
Baltimore -
Washington 198,8414 - 5,694
NEJ Northern Illinois
109,481 - 4,674 NCJ
California -
Nevada 87,747 - 1,368
W-J Northwest Texas
66,8552 - 885 SCJ
California - Pacific
88,9052 - 1,7832
W-J Norwegian 13,0871
- 1031 Eurasia
Central
Pennsylvania 149,222 - 3,405 NEJ
Oklahoma 246,0392
- 2,325 SCJ
Central
Texas 158,5531
+1099 SCJ Oklahoma Indian
Czech & Slovak Republics
1,5293 + 69 Eurasia
Missionary
6,253 + 21 SCJ
Dakotas 43,136 -
548 NCJ Oregon - Idaho
34,407 - 840 W-J
Desert
Southwest 43,979 -
814 W-J Pacific Northwest
59,141 - 1,358 W-J
Detroit 104,0273
- 942 NCJ Peninsula -
Delaware 93,7072 - 555
NEJ
East
Ohio 181,821 -
3,071 NCJ The Polish Conference
2,5281 + 19 Eurasia
Eastern
Pennsylvania 128,3392 -
2,247 NEJ Red Bird Missionary
1,385 + 18 SEJ
Florida 325,609 -
3,409 SEJ Rio
Grande 14,848 -
79 SCJ
Germany North
7,7741 - 112
Eurasia Rocky Mountain
69,1422 - 466 W-J
Greater New
Jersey 104,5262 -
3,311 NEJ Sierra
Leone 100,1021
+ 5,588 Africa
Holston 167,7132
- 4082 SEJ
South Carolina 241,6804 -
379 SEJ
Illinois Great
Rivers 152,1164 -
1,521 NCJ South
Georgia 139,1274
- 770 SEJ
Iowa 194,3074
- 939 NCJ South
Germany 15,373 + 36 Eurasia
Kansas
East 75,9014 -
4014 SCJ South
Indiana 113,3744
- 2,343 NCJ
Kansas West
86,438 -
1,086 SCJ Southwest Texas
120,0804 - 191 SCJ
Kentucky 152,109 +
222 SEJ
Tennessee 116,5934
+ 692 SEJ
Liberia 168,6181
From first time report
Texas 210,2012
+ 974 SCJ
Louisiana
127,059
+213 SCJ
Troy 52,560
- 1,886 NEJ
Memphis
88,843 -
1,077 SEJ
Virginia 341,773
- 333 SEJ
Minnesota
81,4542 -
4,618 NCJ West
Michigan 67,816
- 606 NCJ
Mississippi
189,369 -
1,103 SEJ West
Ohio 237,307 -
6,581 NCJ
Missouri
176,022
- 229 SCJ West
Virginia 105,879 -
1,336 NEJ
Nebraska 84,377 -
1,923 SCJ Western New York
58,3874 -175 NEJ
New
England 98,690 -
3,372 NEJ Western North Carolina
293,211 + 1,140 NEJ
New
Mexico 39,865 - 788
SCJ Western Pennsylvania 193,7632
- 1,774 NEJ
New
York 126,746 -
2,950 NEJ
Wisconsin 93,7542
- 3,669 NCJ
North
Alabama 155,683 -
2,179 SEJ
Wyoming 59,4902
- 1,035 NEJ
North Carolina
235,562 + 1,509 SEJ
Yellowstone 16,2912
- 679 W-J .
Change in church
membership is a decline of an estimated 80,000 people for the
year, an increase from 69,000+ this past year. UM membership is
currently just under 8.1 million. Sources: Annual Conference
Reports, Newscope, United Methodist News Service.
Jurisdictions: "NCJ"
- North Central Jurisdiction; "NEJ" - Northeastern Jurisdiction;
"SCJ" - South Central Jurisdiction;
"SEJ" - Southeastern
Jurisdiction; "W-J" - Western Jurisdiction.
Footnotes:
1 Indicates figures
that were reported last year, believed to be incorrect but no
others are available.
2 Indicates errors
in the data received; figures were estimated by Concerned
Methodists.
3 2002 figures are
shown since more current statistics were not available.
4 Figures received
differed from the computations of Concerned Methodists. The
statistics shown were those received.
96 bishops decry
'unjust and immoral' situation in Iraq
Ninety-six United
Methodist bishops have signed a statement repenting “of our
complicity in what we believe to be the unjust and immoral
invasion and occupation of Iraq.” The signers to include Bishop
Kenneth Carder and more than half of the denomination’s active
and retired bishops, both within the United States and in the
Central Conferences outside the United States. The statement
confesses “our preoccupation with institutional enhancement and
limited agendas while American men and women are 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.” The bishops committed to praying daily for the
end of war in Iraq and all wars in general, reclaiming the idea
of living “faithfully in the light of God’s new creation” and
pledging to peacemaking as an “integral component of our own
Christian discipleship.” They also called upon United Methodists
to object to “solutions of war that conflict with the gospel
message of self-emptying love” and work toward “unity in a world
of diversity."
On Nov. 4, the Council
of Bishops adopted a resolution calling on President George Bush
to draw up a plan and timeline for withdrawing all U.S. forces
from Iraq. Another statement on Iraq had been issued by the
council a year and a half earlier. The resolution stated that
“the continuing loss of Iraqi civilian lives, especially
children, and the increasing death toll among United States and
coalition military, grieves the heart of God.” The bishops said
the U.S. government’s reasons for war – “the presumption of
weapons of mass destruction and alleged connection between al-Qaida
and Iraq” - have not been verified, and that the violence in
Iraq has created a context for “gross violations of human rights
of prisoners of war.”
- United Methodist News
Service #638; Nov. 11, 2005.
* *
* * * *
The United Methodist Board
of Church and Society passed a resolution calling on the United
States to withdraw its troops from the country. “As people of
faith, we raise our voice in protest against the tragedy of the
unjust war in Iraq,” the resolution stated. “We urge the United
States government to develop and implement a plan for the
withdrawal of…troops. Thousands of lives have been lost and
hundreds of billions of dollars wasted in a war the United
States initiated and should never have fought....” The timing of
the Iraq resolution, at a moment when the Bush administration is
hoping a new constitution will start to stabilize that country,
did not concern James Winkler, the board's top staff executive.
But first, members of
the board had to work to overcome disagreement on the
resolution. Drafted during the first three days of the meeting,
the measure was tabled for a vote Oct. 15 when two board members
objected to wording they interpreted as critical of U.S. troops
and that they thought might give comfort and support to Iraqi
insurgents. Pat Curtin, a board member from Conroe, Texas, and a
veteran of the Korean War, said he remembered being shunned when
he returned from the battlefield. “They haven’t been there, they
haven’t had this stuff thrown at them,” he said of some of his
board colleagues. Howard Mason, a board member from Seaford,
Del., and a veteran of both World War II and the Korean War,
joined Curtin in pushing for changes to the original draft.
“It’s an emotional thing because we were there,” he said,
referring to wartime combat. “We’re against war, but we
appreciate the G.I.s’ sacrifice.”
- United Methodist News
Service; Oct. 19, 2005.
* *
* * * *
Editorial Note:
These statements provide insight into the priorities of some of
our bishops and other church employees, not reflective of the
entire truth nor of sound research. They also ignore the
cowardly attack against our country on 9/11 (worse than Pearl
Harbor), the global connectivity of radical Islamic terrorism,
and Saddam Hussein’s extreme brutality, WMD genocide, and
torture with the death of thousands of his own people. A
“timetable for departure” is telling the enemy when you will
leave the battle. This is an extremely unwise thing in warfare
and a recipe for defeat in the end.
These statements
undermine the efforts of our combat troops and put our brave
soldiers in greater danger by encouraging the enemy.
Some interesting
information you won’t hear on the News about Iraq
*Did you know that
47 countries have reestablished their embassies in Iraq?
*Did you know that
the Iraqi government employs 1.2 million Iraqi people?
*Did you know that
3100 schools have been renovated, 364 schools are under
rehabilitation, 263 schools are now under construction, and 38
new schools have been built in Iraq?
*Did you know that
Iraq’s higher educational structure consists of 20 Universities,
46 institutes or colleges and 4 research centers?
*Did you know that
25 Iraq students departed for the United States in January 2004
for the reestablished Fulbright program?
*Did you know that
the Iraqi Navy is operational? They have five 100-foot patrol
craft, 34 smaller vessels and a naval infantry regiment.
*Did you know that
Iraq’s Air Force consists of three operational squadrons, nine
reconnaissance and three US C-130 transport aircraft which
operate day and night, and will soon add 16 UH-1 helicopters and
four Bell jet rangers?
*Did you know that
Iraq has a counter-terrorist unit and a Commando Battalion?
*Did you know that
the Iraqi Police Service has over 55,000 fully trained and
equipped police officers?
*Did you know that
there are 5 Police Academies in Iraq that produce over 3500 new
officers each 8 weeks?
*Did you know there
are more than 1100 building projects going on in Iraq? They
include 364 schools, 67 public clinics, 15 hospitals, 83
railroad stations, 22 oil facilities, 93 water facilities and 69
electrical facilities.
*Did you know that
96% of Iraqi children under the age of five have received the
first two series of polio vaccinations?
*Did you know that
4.3 million Iraqi children were enrolled in primary school by
mid October?
*Did you know that
there are 1,192,000 cell phone subscribers in Iraq and phone use
has gone up 158%?
*Did you know that
Iraq has an independent media that consists of 75 radio
stations, 180 newspapers and 10 television stations?
*Did you know that
the Baghdad Stock Exchange opened in June of 2004 and that the
Iraqi economy is BOOMING?
*Did you know that
two candidates in the Iraqi presidential election had a
televised debate recently?
The lack of accentuating
the positive in Iraq undermines the world’s perception of the
United States and puts our soldiers at greater risk, and is
reflective of the biased reporting by some in the mainstream
media ever since the Korean War. [Note: During the Vietnam War,
what was reported in the media was biased and not always what
happened on the ground.] - Received by e-mail; personal
experience.
* *
* * * *
The producer of a new
documentary on Saddam Hussein says there is no question that the
deposed Iraqi dictator possessed weapons of mass destruction.
The question, he says, should be: where did the WMDs go? Former
real estate broker Brad L. Maaske interviewed dozens of Iraqis
in producing his DVD Weapon of Mass Destruction: The
Murderous Reign of Saddam Hussein. He says it is absurd that
the American Left continues to get away with their claims that
the former dictator did not possess WMDs. “There’s interview
after interview of people who say they saw truckloads of
something going out through Syria and into the Bekaa Valley of
Lebanon,” he recalls. “And of course we've tried to track that
as best we can. The U.S. military can’t go into Syria; it can’t
go into Lebanon. But the question is, where did those weapons
go?” Maaske says it does not take much to create a weapon of
mass destruction. “There didn’t have to be massive stockpiles of
chemicals,” he explains. “A few 55-gallon drums of a nerve gas
could kill a million people if properly dispersed, so it’s not
that difficult for him to get rid of what he had.” Maaske says
U.S. officials discovered that more than one-third of the WMDs
turned over by Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi came from Iraq.
-
Chad Groening, AgapePress; November 16, 2005.
***********************************************************************************************
United Methodist
bishops affirm membership open to all
Homosexuality is not a
barrier to membership in the UMC the bishops said Nov. 2, two
days after the church’s top court supported a pastor’s refusal
to allow a gay man to join. “While pastors have the
responsibility to discern readiness for membership,
homosexuality is not a barrier,” the bishops said in their
pastoral letter. In an October 31st ruling the
Judicial Council supported the Rev. Ed Johnson of South Hill
(Va.) UMC in his decision not to allow a gay man join his
congregation. “With the Social Principles of the United
Methodist Church, we affirm ‘that God’s grace is available
to all, and we will seek to live together in Christian
community,’” the bishops said, quoting from the Social
Principles in the Book of Discipline. “‘We implore
families and churches not to reject or condemn lesbian and gay
members and friends.’ We also affirm our Wesleyan practice that
pastors are accountable to the bishop, superintendent and the
clergy on matters of ministry and membership,” the bishops said.
The announcement of
the court's ruling caused “considerable conversation within the
council,” said Bishop Janice Riggle Huie, who led the
seven-bishop writing team that worked on the statement.
The Book of
Discipline affirms homosexuals as people “of sacred worth.”
It also holds the practice of homosexuality incompatible with
Christian teaching, and it bars the performance of same-sex
unions by the church’s clergy and in the church’s sanctuaries.
- The United Methodist
News Service (UMNS) #619; Nov. 3, 2005.
*
* * * * *
Editorial Note: On
the previous page, the bishops termed the Iraqi war, which in
reality is a military action to remove a brutal dictator and an
important component in the global war on terror, as “immoral” -
yet stated emphatically above that homosexuality is not a
barrier to membership in the United Methodist Church. The latter
ignores the central question, “Is the practice of homosexuality
a sin?” More importantly the Bible has spoken on this.
Provision in The
United Methodist Hymnal for receiving new members “Reception
into the United Methodist Church” has the following question on
page 46, “Do you truly and earnestly repent of your sins?” with
the expected answer of “I do.” How can we expect to be able to
receive with integrity new members if we overlook the obvious
conflict with this statement and homosexual practice?
Theirs is a curious
reversal of terms - calling the Iraqi war “immoral” yet ignoring
the moral question of homosexual practice.
*
* * * * *
Judicial Council
ruled properly in Virginia pastor case
A UMNS Commentary
By Brenda A. Menzies*
The UM Judicial Council
recently rendered two decisions in the case of the Rev. Ed
Johnson of Virginia, a pastor who was disciplined by his bishop
for not admitting a self-avowed, practicing homosexual into
church membership. In overturning the bishop’s actions, the
court upheld existing church law, as determined by many General
Conferences. There was nothing new in the decisions. Yet, there
has been a flurry of debate and interpretations in the church.
What do the decisions say…[or] not say? How do we process the
impact of these rulings on the nuances of the homosexual debate
in our church?
The first ruling,
Decision No. 1031, related to an administrative complaint
against Johnson that led to an erroneous ruling of law by Bishop
Charlene P. Kammerer at last summer’s Virginia Annual (regional)
Conference. In its decision, the Judicial Council found that
Rev. Johnson had been deprived of his fair process rights. Based
on the findings, Bishop Kammerer’s rule of law was rightly
reversed.
The second, Decision
No. 1032, pertained to a pastor’s authority to determine who may
be received into membership in the local church. This decision
by the council represented no change in the church’s historical
stance. Research indicates nothing in any Book of Discipline
- in 200 years of church history - mitigates against a pastor's
authority to allow, delay or refuse someone into membership.
“The 2004 Discipline invests discretion in the
pastor-in-charge to make the determination of a person’s
readiness to affirm the vows of membership (217),” the Judicial
Council said. “Paragraphs 214 and
225 are permissive and do
not mandate receipt into membership of all persons regardless of
their willingness to affirm membership vows.”
Again, the Judicial
Council rightly ruled.
We all recognize the
need to reach out to our homosexual brothers and sisters in
hospitality and ministry, and to be loving and affirming in the
faith. That is exactly what Rev. Johnson was doing. A process of
ministry was taking place. The individual whom he was counseling
was not the one who brought the complaint and was actively
participating in the life of the church. Sadly, we now have two
individuals whose lives have been impacted by the misapplication
of church law and improper disciplinary procedure: Rev. Johnson,
who by all accounts has served our church faithfully for 24
years, and a self-avowed, practicing homosexual with whom he was
ministering.
The historical
position and law of the church, set by General Conference, is
that the “practice of homosexuality is incompatible with
Christian teaching.” The question with reference to the Rev.
Johnson case is: Was there a prejudicial leaning in favor of the
practice of homosexuality placed above administering the law of
the church? If so, any pastor seeking merely to uphold
traditional church policy and the will of General Conference
would be at risk under the leadership of a bishop with differing
views. It is with great consternation and grief that I view the
current circumstances of the church. We are an inclusive church.
All are invited to participate in the means of grace, which can
transform and instill in our hearts a desire to live daily lives
under the influence of our vows of membership.
Membership in the
church is a covenant, not unlike the marriage covenant between a
man and a woman. According to the Discipline, we
“covenant together with God and with the members of the local
church to keep the vows which are part of the order of
confirmation and reception into the church ...” Two of our vows
of membership are “to renounce the spiritual forces of
wickedness, reject the evil powers of the world, and repent of
(our) sin” and to join in “professing the Christian faith as
contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.” We
would not expect our ordained clergy to knowingly receive into
membership someone who is in breach of the very church vows that
he or she is proclaiming. Our clergy have sacred and sole
discretion to make the determination as to readiness for making
this covenant; after all, the local pastor is the churches'
representative closest to the situation.
Thankfully, the
checks and balances in the United Methodist Church resulted in
the Judicial Council upholding church law as determined by
General Conference. It is disappointing that an issue so plainly
addressed in our Book of Discipline had to reach our top
layer of accountability to be recognized. While the Judicial
Council’s decisions are comforting and affirmed the relationship
between pastor and laity, the potential exists for a backlash in
the relationship between the church’s hierarchy and the pastor.
Such a backlash could result in an appointment of Rev. Johnson
outside the norm for someone of his tenure.
It is quite
disturbing that, according to the statement of facts in the
case, Bishop Kammerer explored exclusionary measures with Rev.
Johnson. The “surrender of credentials” and “early retirement”
proposed by Bishop Kammerer would have amounted to nothing less
than the exclusion of Rev. Johnson and his ordained ministry in
the United Methodist Church. The irony here is that in our
inclusive United Methodist Church, the bishop would entertain
the notion of excluding a pastor for faithfully carrying out his
ordained duties.
Hopefully, the
clarity brought to the Virginia Annual Conference by the
Judicial Council will enable Bishop Kammerer, the annual
conference, the Rev. Ed Johnson and his congregation at South
Hill (Va.) United Methodist Church to move forward in the unity
of proclaiming the grace of Jesus Christ, being true to the
Book of Discipline and to the United Methodist Church’s
written recognition of the authority of Scripture.
*Menzies, a
laywoman from Franklin, Tenn., is a two-time delegate to General
Conference and served on the assembly’s Faith and Order
Committee and Church and Society Committee.
- UMNS Commentary;
Nashville, Tenn,; Nov. 29, 2005.
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Volume 15, Number 5
Winter 2005 - 2006