Nashville Diary Day 2

Future Plans, Global Eye-Openers and Spirituality

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Thursday, Jan. 23, 8:39 p.m.

A cold and rainy Thursday brought revelations ranging from details of various separation/structure plans for the UMC’s future to an expanded understanding of and appreciation for United Methodists who serve in countries other than the United States.

Following are some highlights from the day.

Reality check: As of Jan. 23, there are 103 day until the opening of General Conference 2020.

For many, some of the biggest revelations came from a segment featuring three representatives from Central Conferences, the regions outside the United States:

  • The Rev. Ole Birch from the Denmark Annual Conference representing Europe and Eurasia;
  • The Rev. Dr. Betty Kazadi Musau from the North Katanaga Annual Conference representing Africa;
  • The Rev. Igmedio Domingo from Manila Episcopal Area representing the Philippines.

Examples of complexities being United Methodists outside the United States:

  • In Europe, there are 65,000 United Methodists compared to some 741 million Europeans, so churches there place a great value on their connectional ties. Perspectives on the acceptance of LGBTQ+ people range from complete inclusiveness in Denmark, which passed the first civil unions 30 years ago, to rejection in Eastern Europe and Russia, where homosexuality is outlawed.
  • In Africa, language poses an enormous challenge for the adaptation of the Book of Discipline to local contexts. Some African countries speak French, Swahili and 200 dialects. Some Africa conferences speak Portuguese; some speak English. African United Methodists want the UMC as a whole to develop and promote mutual listening “to maximize Methodist witness in the community in their contexts,” Dr. Kazadi said.
  • In the Philippines, which is made up of some 1,600 islands, there are three episcopal areas. The bishops there have developed a plan for UMC unity that emphasizes making their region an equal partner in UMC governance. “Central Conference perspectives should not be an afterthought,” said Rev. Domino. “We need to be an equal partner to envision the future of the UMC. Making plans demands equity and respect.”

Briefing organizers apparently heeded hopes for a deep spiritual basis for GC2020 delegates’ decisions. The day opened with worship, as is typical, but was followed immediately by a presentation from The Upper Room on prayer practices to sustain the General Conference. There have been prayer guides and efforts for past General Conferences, but Kara Oliver, executive director of The Upper Room spiritual center, said this year’s intention was to “extend daily life with God, to listen for prompting and warning of God’s Holy Spirit.” The Upper Room prayer website, umcprays.org, is being revamped as a resource for General Conference. A General Conference prayer guide useful individuals and small groups is in the works.

Separately, the Rev. Jim Haun, co-chair of the Minneapolis Host Committee for General Conference, reported that United Methodists in the Dakotas-Minnesota Episcopal Area have knitted or crocheted 13,000 purple prayer scarves to be given to all GC2020 attendees. Each scarf will be tagged with the name of its creator, who prayed for the scarf’s recipient and for General Conference.

Minneapolis hosts will be "purple-vested people," a phrase that recalled for some listeners a fun novelty song by Sheb Wooley from the 1950s, "The Flying Purple People-Eater."

Quotes from Bishop Bruce Ough’s opening sermon:

“I came to this briefing and preparation with more doubts and questions than answers and certainty. Is there anyone among us who has all the answers?

  • Will 2020 repeat 2019?
  • Is the Protocol the way forward?
  • Will new unity or new expression emerge?
  • Is there really amicable separation?
  • What will be our witness to world that needs reconciliation models?

“I assure you that your questions are OK. They are appropriate. Our faith journey courageously engages the questions.

“…Pay attention to your questions. Pay attention to others’ questions. Questions always mean that God is about to reveal Godself, that Jesus is about to be among us.

“Our future as a Methodist movement is not in our actions or beliefs but in God’s resurrection power. Is the Lord among us or not? YES! We’re seeking a future church that is fully inclusive open and welcoming of all people. You can only see that in a church that eliminates racism and white supremacy.”

All proposals for the UMC’s future were presented succinctly and competently in 20-minute segments and were received with respectful applause. Of the plan presentations, New Expressions Worldwide most challenged existing UMC structure, practices and attitudes.

Representing UMForward, the Rev. Jay Williams of Boston, the Rev Alka Lyall of Chicago, and the Rev. Alex da Silva Souto of New York, gave a well-coordinated presentation that called out American Methodism’s history of racism and sexism. New Expressions proposes to dissolve the current United Methodist Church in favor of creating four “placeholder” denominations that include a branch based on a “liberationist” theology that aspires to include all people. Boards and agencies would be spun off as separate charitable organizations that could serve multiple denominations.

During a late afternoon question-and-answer session on the future plans, Rev. Williams strongly criticized the confidential processes that created the Protocol of Reconciliation & Grace Through Separation, the Next Generation UMC Plan and the Indianapolis Plan. He asserted:

“A negotiated settlement [such as the Protocol] can’t actually reach out to offer protections for marginalized people. The plans presented offer a commentary on power and how it functions in church. We’re tired; I get that. But we must be suspicious of reaching a settlement out of exhaustion. Bishops chose a select group of folks, a plan was negotiated behind closed doors and then pumped out to media so we read about it in the Washington Post and the New York Times. Now a process is using the institutional mechanism to prioritize that plan. None of the other plans got a UMCom press conference.

“We should be very suspicious of the way power functions in the church. If the ends are determined in the means, we have a good idea [of the ends]. The Protocol excluded UMForward; [proponents of] Simple Plan [to remove the “incompatible” language] were not invited. There was no room for ethnic caucuses either.”

The Rev. Junius Dotson, chief convener of UMC Next talks and also part of the Protocol negotiations, countered that those discussions included input from racial-ethnic individuals and Central Conference representatives:

“Our agreement [on the Protocol] was to have cascading conversations with others. We also had the benefit of submitted legislation. It’s a mistake to say that people [who met] behind closed doors were doing a nefarious thing; that’s just not true.”

The Rev. Kent Millard, one of the originators of the Indianapolis Plan for Separation, also refuted Rev. Williams.

“None of us up here [on the speaking panel] was authorized to do what we’re doing. No one funded [various plan talks]. It was individual effort by people with a passion for the church to bring resolution to the challenges we face.”

Friday’s sessions: how General Conference will work; the Judicial Council’s role; the global connection; separate breakouts for communicators and delegates; presentations on racial-ethnic ministries, women’s status worldwide, young people, and the proposed Global Social Principles.

Remember: more detailed reports on the Briefing will be forthcoming when it concludes.

Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, which she founded in 2011. Associate Editor John Astle contributed to this report.