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GC2004 Updates
NIC
VOICE General Conference Update # 12
New items are indicated as follows:
NEW!!!!
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Previous Reports:
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(Note - these reports are numbered
beginning with last Monday as Day 1)
In this
report there is a description of the
Reconciling Ministries Network worship service at East
Liberty Presbyterian Church, including the following:
Shower of
Stoles Display
Sermon by
Janet Wolf, UMC pastor, Nashville, TN which referenced
PNWC delegation letter
Baptism by
Bishop C. Joseph Sprague, Northern illinois Conference
Day 2 at General Conference
Winifred Keefer
Day 3 at General Conference
Winifred Keefer
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'Today, one senses among United Methodists a
swelling crescendo seeking a return to the sensus fidelium, the
consensus of the faithful-that is, the central doctrines of
classical Christianity. These are the doctrines that UM clergy have
said in public covenant that they have studied, embraced, and will
faithfully preach. UM pastors and theologians need to be honest with
themselves and the church if their choices remove them from the
classical Christian tradition. Such honesty may call for a change of
vocations.
The oft-cited Wesley "Quadrilater-al" has,
unfortunately, become a convenient tool for those wishing to set
aside unwanted portions of the Apostolic faith by allowing
tradition, experience, or reason to override Scripture. As William
J. Abraham has written, "Each time you shake Scripture, tradition,
reason, and experience, a different configuration emerges. The
result is doctrinal chaos and incoherence." Abraham insists the UM
Church is a confessional church. "We have a clear body of Christian
doctrine spelled out in our doctrinal standards.It is high time that
we enter into a new doctrinal reformation which comes to terms with
this historical reality."'
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NOTE: As of this morning, 5/3, some of
these links aren't working. If they aren't, check the site
later today.
NEW!!!!
May 2, 2004
URGENT need for
Prayer!
Please focus from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon on Monday, May 3,
2004, for the election of Judicial Council members. The Judicial
Council is the Supreme Court of the Church.
NOTE: There are problems with balloting
as this email report is going out (10:12 ET, 5/3) and voting has
been delayed.
NEW!!!! May 1, 2004
The Judicial Council Speaks(click here)
Judicial Council Decision No. 984(click here)
NEW!!!! April 30, 2004
Legislative Committee Updates(click here)
The Confessing Movement at General Conference(click here)
"The motion for a Declaratory Decision
from the Judicial Council yesterday reflects the effort by
United Methodists to try to understand just how the Karen
Dammann trial court's contradictory verdict could have happened.
It simply made no sense. And it left many questioning whether
commonly-understood passages in the Book of Discipline actually
mean what we thought they did."
Wednesday, April 28
Our
Differences Matter (click here)
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Methodists Federation for Social
Action (MFSA) Reports
The Daily SQBs Of General Conference 2004
(in downloadable .pdf format)
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Reconciling Ministries Network
GC2004 Articles and Reports
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NEW!!!! Pacific
Northwest Reconciling Ministries Network:
(Note - these reports are numbered beginning with
last Monday as Day 1)
In this report there is a
description of the Judicial Ruling events and more.
In this report there is a
description of the
Reconciling Ministries Network worship service at East Liberty
Presbyterian Church, including the following:
Shower of Stoles Display
Sermon by Janet Wolf, UMC
pastor, Nashville, TN which referenced PNWC delegation
letter
Baptism by Bihsop C.
Joseph Sprague, Northern illinois Conference
Day
2 at General Conference
Winifred Keefer
Day
3 at General Conference
Winifred Keefer
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NEW!!!! GC2004 Updates by Faithful
Christian Laity:
Updated May 2:
Cathy Biehler is volunteering with
Good News and is attending the entire conference.
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Previous Reports:
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Called Out
Information Service sponsored by Affirmation - includes updates on
GC2004:
"Called
Out" is an information service about LGBT
religious concerns sponsored by Affirmation: United Methodists
for Lesbian, Gay, and Transgendered Concerns.
Affirmation is not
an official body of the UMC. This is a public, read-only mailing
list. Anyone may join, no matter what their opinions. The
sponsors of this list support full inclusion and justice for
LGBT people in society and The United Methodist Church. Content
and viewpoints of materials and links will vary with the source.
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As the present General Conference
meets in Pittsburgh, however, I have found a certain peace about its
final outcome, whatever it may be. I am by no means confident that
the vote will go “our” way again. Even if it does, it only means
that The United Methodist Church will continue to limp along with
all the vibrancy of a whitewashed tomb for yet another four years,
outwardly rejecting revisionist morality but inwardly corrupted by
the very worldview which embraces it with open arms.
THE LANGUAGE OF THE SHEPHERD
Sermon by the Rev. James A. Gibson III
Marshallville United Methodist Church
Sunday, May 2, 2004
(Transcribed and Edited)
Text: John 10:22-30
The Church is in a time of
crisis. It is a crisis much deeper and a problem much more serious
than most of us realize. The issue at the heart of this crisis is
not the maintenance of some ancient code of Christian morality.
Neither is it, as some have suggested, a question about the
authority of Scripture. I would suggest, rather, that the center of
the crisis is this man we call Jesus. The question is, are we truly
being his sheep, listening to his voice, and responding to the
challenge he presents to us? It is a question of the very nature and
mission of the Church, the Body of Christ in the world today.
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The Wesleyan Christian Advocate is the
official newspaper published by the North and South Georgia Conferences
of the United Methodist Church.
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How to listen/watch GC2004 session
Bandwidth has been added to the UMC;
if you continue to have difficulties accessing video/audio feeds at the
UMC site, try these alternative links, which are now becoming busy as
well:
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