UMC high court to meet in Indy this month

UMNS - The United Methodist Church's highest judicial body will consider issues related to such diverse topics as annual conference structure and homosexuality when it meets in Indianapolis April 24-27 for its spring session. The nine-member Judicial Council has approved a request for reconsidering a decision rendered in October on a case involving self-avowed gay ministers in the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference. Bishop Elias Galvan is asking the court to reconsider the part of the decision that orders a bishop to suspend a clergy person undergoing an investigation or review. The Council of Bishops has supported Galvan's request for reconsideration.

Three of the seven items on the Judicial Council's spring docket come from the North Carolina Annual Conference. In one, the Judicial Council will consider the legality of a resolution encouraging local churches to study homosexuality using denominational materials. The council will also consider two decisions of law made by Bishop Marion Edwards in response to questions concerning expenditure of funds by any UM Church unit for any organization, institution, group or caucus that allows any portion of its property to be used to celebrate same-sex unions. The other relates to the resolution of a formal complaint lodged against a clergy member of the conference.

All decisions of law that bishops make during annual conference sessions automatically go to the Judicial Council for review.

Another docket item comes from the North Central Jurisdiction's commission on archives and history which has requested a declaratory decision related to Paragraph 638 of the Book of Discipline. The commission is asking about the necessity for annual conference structures to have a means for handling archival and historical matters.

Last updated on 01/14/2004

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