Reports of the Legislative Committees
Church and Society (4/20/96, 4:45 p.m.)
The committee recommended concurrence:
- Reaffirming the historic United Methodist church and state positions on
public education and opposing government legislation on Constitutional
amendments to change existing First Amendment rights;
- Urging the closing of military installations;
- Lifting up the plight of "Comfort Women" or women who were
drafted as "sex slaves" by Japan during World War II;
- Adding a new resolution on Immigrants in the United States that urges
opposition to anti-immigrant legislation;
- Amending and updating current resolution on "New Issues in Human
Rights";
- Adding a resolution on "Gun Violence in the US," replacing two
current resolutions;
- Calling for actions against tobacco marketing techniques aimed at children
by Philip Morris and RJR Nabisco and requesting the General Board of Church
and Society to explore measures to stop such marketing including--"if
necessary"--a boycott. The boycott amendment passed by a 40-38-9 vote;
- Replacing the current resolution on "U.S. Agriculture and Rural
Communities in Crisis" with an updated version.
Conferences -- (4/20/96, 4 p.m.)
The committee recommended concurrence:
- Providing for "Mentally, Physically, and Psychologically Handicapping
Conditions" wording in the Discipline to be changed to
"individuals with disabilities" or "people with
disabilities";
- Adding district coordinator of Criminal Justice and Mercy Ministries to
the list of optional members of the District Council on Ministries
(¶752.2);
- Adding the words "in the episcopal area" to ¶703.7;
- Substituting new text for ¶664.7 providing for the GBGM to
administer, initiate, and coordinate a Mission;
- Authorizing a task force to examine the current jurisdictional system and
to develop a plan to improve the system and its boundaries (or propose an
alternate system) for effective, unified ministry in metropolitan areas and
report to the 2000 General Conference;
The committee recommended concurrence with amendments:
- Establishing an inclusive task force appointed by the Council of Bishops
to study and make recommendations to the 2000 General Conference regarding
Korean-American Missionary Conferences;
- Providing for each annual conference to establish a Commission on
Communications or equivalent structure as a service agency (new ¶);
- Providing for each annual conference to organize a committee on disability
concerns or equivalent structure (new wording for ¶747);
- Encouraging each annual conference to organize a committee on Criminal
Justice and Mercy Ministries (new ¶);
- Providing that the program of the annual conference include Criminal
Justice and Mercy Ministries, the implementations of which may be assisted in
by the District Council on Ministries (¶752.4);
- Providing flexibility in annual conference organization to care for its
functions around missional life, advocacy needs, and ministries, and in
maintaining the connectional relationships and in organizing for the
development of ethnic ministries, churches and concerns (¶726)
Discipleship
The committee recommended concurrence:
- To align language with proposed Baptism Study legislation;
- Clarifying qualifications for election of Jurisdictional Youth Ministry
Organization Convocation Steering committee members;
- Streamlining language regarding National Youth Ministries Organization;
- Eliminating certain mandated requirements regarding NYMO Legislative
Assembly;
- Changing racial ethnic requirements for NYMO;
- Streamlining language of Discipline regarding staffing of NYMO;
- Removing requirements for two of the adult member of the NYMO Steering
committee;
- Encouraging youth participation in the work of the church as a program
emphasis for the next quadrennium;
- Establishing a "free-standing" General Commission on United
Methodist Men, amenable to the GCOM rather than the Board of Discipleship. The
petition provides for the commission to be self-supporting in four years.
Consensus was that the men's organization should be encouraged to take more
leadership in the area of discipleship and to address a growing spiritual
hunger. Disagreement centered on the appropriate structural position for UMM
to do that.
The committee recommended concurrence with amendments:
- Changing Discipline language regarding lay preacher from
"appointed by the district superintendent" to
"assigned..."
The committee recommended nonconcurrence:
- To make the National Youth Ministry Organization into a general agency;
- To increase the number of ethnic groups as required membership components
in NYMO steering committee;
- To eliminate the Division on United Methodist Men;
- To allow for an alternate to conference United Methodist Men's structure;
- To eliminate both the women's and men's divisions to create a single
"family ministries" unit.
Global Ministries -- (4/20/96, 4 p.m., business completed)
The committee recommended concurrence:
- Dealing with the restructure of the Board of Global Ministries;
- Lifting the U.S. economic embargo against Cuba;
- Preserving Jerusalem as a city where both Palestinians and Israelis can
live equally and peacefully;
- Eradicating abusive child labor;
- Putting children and their families first on the social agenda;
- Supporting national observance of Children's Sabbath.
The committee recommended concurrence with amendments:
- Providing economic support for the Palestinian people;
- Opposing continued confiscation of Palestinian land and the building of
Jewish settlements in the Occupied Territories;
- Affirming the purpose of United Methodist Women.
The committee recommended nonconcurrence:
- Deleting World Service as the specific fund support for Health and Welfare
Ministries Department, Board of Global Ministries
Independent Commissions -- (4/20/96, Completed their business at 8:52
p.m.)
The committee recommended concurrence
- With the resolution that "Membership in The United Methodist Church
and in Supremacist Groups," which highlights the "deep
inconsistency" between the Gospel and racial and ethnic supremacist
groups. The report offers recommendations help members understand and act on
that inconsistency;
- With the petition, "Elimination of Racism in the UMC," which
provides actions to continue eliminating racism in the church, including 1)
training at the local church, district, conference, jurisdictional, and
general church levels and including as well the Council of Bishops, UM
seminaries, etc.; development of Affirmative Action policies, etc.;
- With petitions that affirmed continuation of GCORR and continue mandate
for annual conference commission or similar structure;
- With petition to encourage Board of Ordained Ministry to meet at least
yearly with the Commission on Religion and Race;
- With a petition calling for an appointment system based on gifts and
graces and not on race;
- With a petition requesting that racial groups not be "pitted against
each other" in competing for funds and resources;
- With several petitions requesting each annual conference develop specific
programs to combat racism and promote inclusiveness within local
congregations.
- Added to GCORR's responsibilities the duty of reviewing, evaluating, and
assisting institutions in every level of the church the area of equitable
compensation for ethnic minority clergy and lay staff;
- Adopted a new resolution on A program to Emphasize Inclusiveness in All
Dimensions of the church;
- Requested GBCS work with governmental groups to develop museums that
acknowledge acts of genocide toward Native Americans, African Americans and
other racial ethnic groups
- Supported a call for reparations to African Americans
- Urged Board of Church and Society to create a standing committee on Drug
and Alcohol Abuse;
- Approved a resolution on Sexism requesting that annual conferences, UM
seminaries, and all UM institutions have policies regarding sexual harassment
in place by General Conference, 2000;
- Supported the Ecumenical Decade of the Churches in Solidarity with Women.
The committee recommended concurrence with amendments:
- With the resolution that "Violence in Electronic Media and
Film";
- With resolution "Demeaning Names to Native Americans" and
"Healing the Wounds of genocidal acts toward Native American and African
American people;
- With resolution on "Racism Today," which offers new remedies for
the new face of racism today;
- With amended report of task force on "Racism in Rural Areas" as
well as amended petitions that implement report's recommendations;
- With petition, "Call for Truth, Fairness and Accuracy";
- With petition that General Commission on Communications is to be evaluated
by Council of Bishops as well as GCOM;
- With petition as amended a new statement on Affirmative Action.
The committee recommended nonconcurrence:
- Asking UMC to withdraw from National Coalition Against Censorship;
- Eliminating GCOM and other agencies and referring responsibilities to
Council of Bishops;
- Requesting the formation of a General Commission on the Status and Role of
Conservatives
Local Church -- (4/20/96, 4:45 p.m.)
The committee recommended concurrence:
- Deleting ¶¶101, 102 and 103 in favor of other statements;
- Stating the mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ;
- Specifying duties of a church historian;
- Outlining responsibilities and reporting duties of a Permanent Endowment
Fund Committee;
- Adding a ¶ of possible resources for Permanent Endowment Fund
Committee;
- Identifying responsibilities of a building committee to assure
accessibility;
- Changing terminology to "church council" in shared facility
situations;
- Recommending possibilities for organizing as an "ecumenical shared
ministry";
- Outlining property use agreements in beginning shared ministries;
- Authorizing trustees to allow certain duties to a Permanent Endowment
Committee;
- Changing terminology from "persons with handicapping conditions"
to "people with disabilities";
- Eliminating local church work area chairpersons in favor of other
provisions;
- Identifying additional persons responsible for Christian training of
children and youth;
- Deleting terminology of "Federated Church" from section on
membership records;
- Adding words "and a member of the Church Universal" to
description of church membership;
- Changing language to "church council";
- Eliminating language concerning the Administrative Board organization,
officers and responsibilities;
- Assuring UM congregations in ecumenical shared ministries will have a lay
member of annual conference;
- Adding candidates for diaconal ministry to the list of those whose
candidacy is to be renewed annually by the Charge Conference.
The committee recommended concurrence with amendments:
- Describing the "Journey of a Connectional People" but restoring
first person plural pronouns in the wording;
- Outlining procedures for cooperative parish ministries but deleting
proposed changes to ¶206.2;
- Describing an endowment fund agency but changing the title to
"Planned Giving and/or Permanent Endowment Fund Committee";
- Holding meetings of church sanctioned groups and agencies as far as
possible in facilities accessible to all as a "further sign of
inclusiveness";
- Giving encouragement to developing cooperative parish ministries,
ecumenical shared ministries or other options, including merger;
- Deleting ¶260 but keeping the first three sentences as options
(age-level, family life coordinators);
- Deleting ¶259 (work areas) but keeping a list of "ministry
group" chairs as options as outlined in the ¶;
- Eliminating local church program support personnel but maintaining church
school superintendent, health and welfare coordinator, and communications
coordinator as options;
- Naming additional persons to those who should be involved in teaching an
advanced course in Christian life for older youth;
- Outlining "Church Council" membership;
- Changing "Administrative Board" to Church Council";
- Defining the members of the Church Council and functions of the Nurture,
Outreach and Witness groups;
- Urging decision making to be based on consensus;
- Enabling the local church to participate if a shared salary option is
adopted by the annual conference.
Ordained and Diaconal Ministry
The committee worked Friday and Saturday to bring all legislation related
to the Ministry Study in line with the decisions made Friday morning to
recommend a common probationary period. The committee approved legislation
that moved away from sequential ordination to a single ordination for deacons
and elders. The committee also struggled to determine the title for a person
in probationary membership and after considerable attempts decided on the term
commissioning. Additional actions incorporate many of the suggested changes
from the Diaconal Ministers Clearness Committee into ¶¶306 through
315.
No report received: Financial Administration, General Administration,
Higher Education & Chaplaincy
General Conference Index
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Reports from Legislative Committees
1996 United Methodist General Conference