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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
| Hoosier United Methodist News |
January 2002 |
Nation/World year-end wrap-up:
Terrorist attacks, response, capture Church focus in 2001
Condensed from a UMNS report
Steve Gill, a member of Mamaroneck (N.Y). UMC, cannot forget escaping from a restaurant in the base of the World Trade Center's second tower, then watching as the second hijacked airplane rammed into the tower. Larry McGaughey, a corporate lawyer for the UMC New York Annual Conference whose office was nearby, saw people jumping from high windows in a hopeless attempt to escape the flames.
Churches in New York, Washington and Virginia, reacted to the terrorist strikes by providing comfort stations, places for prayer and assistance to stranded travelers and by providing counseling and relief aid.
While other events and issues commanded the attention of the Church before Sept. 11, their importance seemed overshadowed in a world gripped, at least temporarily, by fear and horror. As members of a global tradition with a strong connectional structure, United Methodists and other Methodists worldwide felt the impact of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Messages of concern and support to U.S. church members arrived quickly from around the world Methodist connection.
Immediately following the attacks, the UM Council of Bishops issued a call to prayer. Across the country, local churches held impromptu prayer services, as we tried to comprehend the tragedy. By coincidence, the Church had launched a long-planned media campaign on Sept. 4 welcoming visitors to local churches with "open hearts, open minds, open doors."
UM Communications quickly changed the narration of one of the Igniting Ministry TV ads to suggest that at a time of grief and sorrow, strength can be found in a local church community. Another TV spot broadcast on CNN in late October, early November urged people to pray for safety, justice and a "change in angry hearts."
By the end of the week of Sept. 11, the UM Publishing House and churchwide Board of Discipleship had made special resources, worship and discussion purposes, available online for local congregations to use.
The UM Committee on Relief (UMCOR) raised over $5.3 million through its "Love in the Midst of Tragedy" fund. The UM relief agency began its "Honoring Differences in the Midst of Hate and Violence" grant program to encourage innovative joint projects with Islamic and Arab-American organizations and other groups of people who may be experiencing hostility and stereotyping. To assist the people of Afghanistan, suffering from hunger and oppression, UMs offered support through Church World Service.
On the political front
When George W. Bush became president on Jan. 20, he was only the third president officially recognized as a Methodist upon taking the oath of office. Among the United Methodists filling positions in his administration were Donald Evans, secretary of commerce, Norman Yoshio Mineta, secretary of transportation, and Andrew H. Card Jr., chief of staff. His wife, the Rev. Kathleen Card, is a UM clegywoman.
The resumption of bombing practice by the U.S. Navy on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques drew expressions of dismay from the Church. Both the United Methodist Church and the Methodist Church of Puerto Rico support an end to all military activities on Vieques and the return of the land to the people.
Around the globe
The Church's global nature was reinforced when UMs joined nearly 4,000 participants in the World Methodist Conference July 25-31 in Brighton, England, sponsored by the World Methodist Council with its 77 member churches in 130 countries.
On the African continent, a Board of Global Ministries delegation, led by the Rev. Randolph Nugent, chief executive, and Bishop Onema Fama of Central Congo, met in June with Joseph Kabila, president of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Discussion topics included how the Church could foster efforts toward peace and reconciliation.
Reconciliation seemed less certain in Zimbabwe, where political unrest and severe economic problems led to a currency collapse and violent land disputes between some blacks and white farmers. Concerns about the safety of staff and infrastructure at UM-related Africa University impeded fund raising for the school. However, Africa University did dedicate a new dormitory, funded by the South Indiana Conference, and a library, as well as breaking ground for a new theology building.
In Europe, the country of Macedonia - whose president, Boris Trajkovski, is a UM layman - became a place of conflict as fighting broke out between ethnic Albanian rebels and Macedonian security forces. A peace agreement was signed in August, and parliament approved a new constitution broadening the rights of the Albanian minority in November.
After two major earthquakes struck El Salvador early in the year, United Methodists and Puerto Rican Methodists joined in relief and rebuilding work there.
Leadership changes
The General Council on Ministries decided in October to extend for another year the tenure of the Rev. Randolph Nugent, who has led the Board of Global Ministries since 1981. They also elected the Rev. Jerome Del Pino as the new chief executive of the Board of Higher Education and Ministry.
In early October, the Board of Global Ministries reduced its staff by about 20 percent, citing the need to cut spending in the face of the stock market decline, an anticipated drop in church giving and unexpected program expenses. Higher Education and Ministries directors, meeting the same month, voiced concern that reduced funding, combined with the cost of new program initiatives, could bring their agency's reserve funds dangerously low within the next few years. A six-member finance team was created to find possible solutions.
On the docket
The most publicized-issue confronting the Judicial Council this year involved two Pacific Northwest pastors, the Rev. Karen Dammann and the Rev. Mark Edward Williams, who had both announced their same-gender sexual orientation. Dammann said she was living in a covenanted relationship with another woman, and Williams said he was a practicing gay man. Neither pastor then received an appointment by Bishop Elias Galvan of Seattle.
But the bishop did ask the Judicial Council, the Church's supreme court, to rule on possible contradictions within the Book of Discipline. One rule states that a "self-avowed practicing homosexual" may not be accepted as a candidate for nor become clergy; or, if a pastor, be appointed to serve a congregation. Another rule guarantees ministerial appointment to all clergy in good standing. Meeting in October, the Judicial Council said the rules are not contradictory and that declaring involvement in a same-sex relationship was enough to warrant review of a pastor's standing. However, the council also said that a bishop cannot take unilateral action to deny an appointment but must follow the "fair and due process" of a review proceeding. That process includes the right of trial by committee and of appeal.
Passings
Three retired United Methodist bishops died during 2001: Prince Albert Taylor, 94, on Aug. 15 in Somers Point, N.J.; Ernest A. Fitzgerald, 76, on Sept. 27 in Winston-Salem, N.C.; and Paul Locke Granadosin, 76, on Oct. 4 in Manila, Philippines. Other deaths included the Rev. Dennis Fletcher, 91, a longtime mission agency staff member who helped establish the Black College Fund, and Odette Kennedy, 83, a major benefactor for Africa University. Also, John W. English, 68, a leader of the UM Board of Pension and Health Benefits and William Randolph "Randy" Smith Sr., 72, chairman of the UM Publishing House board.
Last updated on January 14, 2004