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GC2004 Updates

NIC VOICE General Conference Update (#50)

 

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NIC VOICE is a network of laity in the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church.

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If you have links to GC2004 Reports that may be of interest, please send the link to:  nicvoice@nicvoice.org.  If you are unable to read this update, please go to www.nicvoice.org where the reports are being posted on-line.

 

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Follow the Episcopal Elections - The Episcopal elections occur in five geographic conferences across the United States. When delegates in those jurisdictional conferences gather July 14-17, they could elect as many as 20 U.S. bishops. 

 

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ALL ITEMS ARE NEW or UPDATED!!!!  ****************** 

UMNS:
 
Bishop Christopher to lead Connectional Table transition team
Bishop Sharon Brown Christopher, a former president of the United Methodist Council of Bishops, has been designated to lead the team that will coordinate the process creating the new Connectional Table to oversee coordination of mission, ministries and resources across the denomination.
In addition to Bishop Christopher, of Springfield, Ill., who leads the Illinois Great Rivers Annual Conference, the transition team includes:

· Bishop John L. Hopkins of Minneapolis, a Council of Bishops appointee;
· Leveeda Morgan Battle of Birmingham, Ala., a General Council on Finance and Administration appointee;
· Mary Hayenga of Andover, S.D., a General Council on Ministries appointee;
· The Rev. Marilynn M. Huntington of Pasadena, Calif., a General Council on Ministries appointee;
· Patrick Streiff of Neuchatel, Switzerland, a Council of Bishops appointee;
· Gerald “Jay” Williams of New York City, a General Council on Ministries appointee; and
· The Rev. J. Philip Wogaman of Washington, D.C., a General Council on Finance and Administration appointee.  Read More

 
 
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The United Methodist Reporter is recognized as a source of international religion news and a national forum for United Methodist opinion about faith issues.
Reporter Interactive -Letters to the Editor (most commenting on GC)
 
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There has been a lot of ink spilled about the 2004 General Conference. You may have read about demonstrations, legislation on homosexuality, the establishment of a common table to coordinate the work of general agencies, the continuation of the Igniting Ministry welcoming and television ad initiative and the positions taken on social justice issues.

Most United Methodists find these stories interesting, thought-provoking, inspiring or disturbing. But finally we ask, “What difference will these actions make in my local church?”

Very important: there was no official action to divide the church. Just the opposite happened.

The delegates ended their April 27–May 7 session in Pittsburgh by committing themselves to unity. The assembly overwhelmingly affirmed a pledge to “remain in covenant with one another, even in the midst of disagreement.”

Your congregation will not have to decide which new group to join—there are no new denominations. Your church may, however, experience other changes.

Communion Study <snip>

New Optional Positions <snip>

Care for Children and College Students <snip>

Confirmation May Be Repeated <snip>

Membership Clarified <snip>

Change in Function of Church <snip>

Boycotts of Taco Bell and Pickle Company <snip>

Several changes in the Social Principles will interest your congregation. Members are encouraged to study them as “instructive and persuasive in the best of the prophetic spirit.” They are not binding on individual United Methodists.   Read More

 
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COMMENTARY BY REV. DANIEL TILLY (published with permission)
I am generally an optimist, and, of course, there is much to be optimistic about at this GC. Nevertheless, the victories we are winning are like covering a deep wound with a band-aid, while allowing the wound to continue to fester and infect underneath.

We will never win this battle as long as we merely fight moral/social issues. It is very easy to see how conflicted we are. We fight against homosexuality, yet we continue to pass legislation that permits the killing of the unborn. We overwhelmingly support marriage, yet we want to go four more years discussing the 'great divide' over sexuality.

In short, I don't think this GC has accomplished much at all. And if we are unable to get our theological roots corrected, in time, we will slide with the culture. Our youth are learning more theology from the sit-coms and network news broadcasts than they are from church...and sadly, much of the theology that they DO learn at church re-inforces what they learn from the culture around them.

As these youth mature, their world-views will shift us in the wrong direction. In fact, IMHO, many of our delegates who are now voting on the "right" side of the homosexual issue, are doing so, not because they have a thoroughly Christian worldview of things, but because they grew up in a world which held more "Christian" ideals than the one which is emerging. Or to phrase it another way, they hold to Christian fruits, but do not have the Christian roots which support those fruits.

Now we are raising a generation which is building on a completely non-Christian foundation. They will have no reason to support Christian "values".

The only answer is to restore sound Christian doctrine to our seminaries and pulpits. We need the long, tedious, careful teaching of Christian foundations and Christian world-view in our churches, homes, and schools.
And we need a fresh breath of God on our efforts to make them effective.

As I see things, we must have a true revival in our church and in our land...otherwise we will continue to slide downward, until, like Sodom, God, in order to cut out the gangrenous cancer, will judge us severely. A civilization cannot hold up long on such sandy foundations as we are now laying. ... Nor can a church.
 
Dan Tilly
Pastor, Rehoboth/Center United Methodist Churches
Newbern, TN
Memphis Conference
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NIC VOICE Reports on GC2004 are on-line with descriptions at:  General Conference Reports.
 

NIC VOICE Reports

The following NIC VOICE GC2004 reports link to reports, articles and commentary, including UMNS, Reporter Interactive, Good News, Confessing Movement, Institute for Religion and Democracy, Reconciling Ministries Network national and PNW, Affirmation, CorNet, SoulForce, links to various video, audio and transcripts and more:

 

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This amazing collection of information has links to a collection of news articles, audio clips, video clips and full transcripts and has been recently updated.  It is provided by Gateway Church.
 

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