Two Sections

Section A

079000

Vol. 160 No. 1

May 3, 2013

Burning Questions with Bill Dobbs‘Do I Really Have to Go to Conference?’ | 4A

Crossing the Finish LineKimberly Grauer was plagued with uncertainty regarding the fate of her loved ones | 8A

The United Methodist Reporter (USPS 954-500) is published weekly by UMR Communications, 1221 Profit Drive, Dallas, TX 75247-3919. Periodicals Postage Paid at Dallas,Texas and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to The United Methodist Reporter, PO Box 660275, Dallas, TX 75266-0275.

2013 Annual Conferences: A Preview

By Erik Alsgaard, Paul Thomas, and Mark Doyal

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, kept a profusejournal. One day he wrote: “In June 1744, I desired my brotherand a few other clergymen to meet me in London, to considerhow we should proceed to save our own souls and those whoheard us. After some time, I invited the lay preachers that werein the house to meet with us. We conferred together for severaldays and were much comforted and strengthened thereby.”

In that tradition and spirit, the Detroit and West Michiganconferences will meet in the coming weeks to do much thesame. There will be preaching, Bible study, prayer, reports, thesetting of clergy appointments, singing—ah yes, thesinging!—worship, ordination and commissioning, andabundant time to “confer together.”

The Detroit Conference will meet in Adrian, Mich., fromMay 16–19, on the campus of United Methodist-related AdrianCollege. Opening worship is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on May 16in the Herrick Memorial Chapel.

The West Michigan Conference will meet May 29 throughJune 1, on the campus of Calvin College in Grand Rapids,Mich. Opening worship is scheduled for 7 p.m. on May 29, inthe Covenant Fine Arts Center (CFAC).

Bishop Deborah Kiesey—who will be convening her firstconferences in West Michigan and Detroit since beingappointed episcopal leader of the Michigan Area in September2012—will be preaching the opening worship service and theservice of Ordination and Commissioning for both conferences.

Bishop Kiesey has selected one over-arching theme for thenext four years of annual conference sessions: “Disciples:Made in Michigan.” Each of the next four years, at both annualconference sessions, will highlight a sub-theme. In the WestMichigan Conference, it will be “Inspire,” and in Detroit, it willbe “Lead.”

Bishop Kiesey has chosen 2 Timothy 1:3–7 as the biblicalcenter of the conferences. “During these holy days of AnnualConference,” the bishop wrote, “as we worship, work, andfellowship together, let’s remember that the sincere and deepfaith that brought us here—the ‘faith that lived first in yourGrandmother, Lois, and your mother, Eunice, and now, I amsure, lives in you’ (2 Tim. 1:5)—is still strong.”

In line with the Detroit Conference’s sub-theme of “Lead,”the Rev. Adam Hamilton, pastor at Resurrection UMC in

Leawood, Kansas—a 16,000 member church—and well-known author, speaker, and preacher at the Inaugural PrayerService at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington,D.C., earlier this year, will be leading three, 90-minuteinteractive sessions on leadership on May 16 and 17.

Hamilton has received the Denman Award in Evangelism,and the Circuit Rider Award for excellence in churchleadership. He was named Distinguished Evangelist of theUnited Methodist Church by the Foundation for Evangelism,and he was named one of the “Ten People to Watch inAmerica’s Spiritual Landscape” by Religion and EthicsNewsweekly.

Preacher for the Detroit Conference will be the Rev. DottieEscobedo-Frank, pastor at CrossRoads UMC in Phoenix, Ariz.,and the author of “ReStart Your Church.” Escobedo-Frank willbe preaching on May 17 and 18.

“We are excited to be bringing Dottie Escobedo-Frank asour conference preacher during this year when we focus onleadership in the local church,” said the Rev. Marsha Woolley,chairperson of the Detroit Conference Program Committee.Escobedo-Frank grew up on the border between Arizona and

Mexico, and has worked as a social worker and pastor. Authorof several books, she recently graduated with a Doctorate ofMinistry from George Fox Evangelical Seminary.

“Our worship services are being shaped around the themesof ‘ReMember,’ ‘ReCall,’ ‘ReKindle,’ and ‘ReClaim,’ all of whichare images taken from 2 Timothy,” said Woolley.

A highlight of the West Michigan Annual Conference willbe a one-day event, “Inspire Saturday,” a special drive-in dayon June 1 in VanNoord Arena on the Campus of Calvin College,inviting churches to bring their emerging visionary leaders togather for worship, fellowship, and learning. About 1,500people are expected to attend.

The keynote speaker for thisevent will be Dr. Lovett H.Weems, Jr., who will provide thehighlight of this year’s focus onadaptive, principled leadership.Dr. Weems is recognized as oneof United Methodism’s visionaryvoices and is a professor ofchurch leadership and directorof the Lewis Center for ChurchLeadership at WesleyTheological Seminary inWashington, DC. A respectedpastor, educator, author andleader.

The author of several bookspublished by Abingdon Press,Weems’ recent offering, “BearingFruit: Ministry with RealResults,” is recommended forstudy prior to AnnualConference. In it, Weems asserts,“The church exists to change theworld. Our work matters, and wedare not engage it without an eye toward the quantifiablecontribution we are making.” Books will be provided forAnnual Conference members free of charge; all others areasked to purchase the book from Cokesbury or Amazon.

For people attend just the special drive-in day, “InspireSaturday,” registration is open online at

Continued on back page

The Rev. DottieEscobedo-Frank will bethe guest preacher at theDetroit AnnualConference.

The Rev. Lovett Weemswill help the WestMichigan Conferencefocus on adaptive,principled leadership,during a special drive-inday session on June 1.

The Rev. Adam Hamiltonwill lead three sessionson leadership during theDetroit AnnualConference.

THE UNITED METHODIST REPORTER May 3, 2013

GOOD WORKSGreen Garden UMChelps Harvest 2020On Sunday, April 14, GreenGarden UMC, a small con-gregation in Manhattan, Ill.,presented a check of $7,938to the Rev. Diana Facemyer,Aurora District superinten-dent, and the Rev. MartinLee, director of congrega-tional development, for Har-vest 2020, the NorthernIllinois Conference’s church-planting initiative. The churchwill also give nearly $4,000a year for the next 8 years.The money came from Wil-fred Belsner, who passedaway in 2008, leaving 80acres of farmland to sevenchurches including GreenGarden and Peotone UMC.

St. Luke in Dallasmarks 80th yearOn March 19, both housesof the Texas Legislature rec-ognized St. Luke “Commu-nity” United MethodistChurch in Dallas for 80years of service to the city,state and nation. Churchmembers along with seniorpastor, the Rev. Henry Mas-ters, traveled to Austin for St. Luke Day at the Capitol.The church was organized inApril 1933 as Saint Paul Mis-sion, to minister to the needsof the southeast Dallas com-munity. It eventually becameSt. Luke Methodist Church;“Community” was lateradded to the name to signifythe church’s civic mission. St. Luke marked its 80th an-niversary with a special wor-ship service on April 28.

UM agency namesadvancement directorThe Rev. Neil Blair has beenappointed executive directorof Institutional Advancementfor the UMC’s GeneralBoard of Higher Educationand Ministry, with responsi-bility for developing afundraising program for theagency. Mr. Blair will alsosupport existing programssuch as Africa University andthe Black College Fund. Mostrecently, he served as presi-dent of The Foundation forEvangelism in Lake Ju-naluska, N.C. Mr. Blair is anordained elder in the Dako-tas Annual Conference.

—Compiled by Mary Jacobs

NEW YORK—United Methodistsin New York were counting on the re-gional shipments of 15,000 floodbuckets that they distributed to Hurri-cane Sandy survivors last fall.

But they didn’t expect the morethan 11,000 blankets from a farawaysource, said Bishop Martin McLee,leader of the denomination’s New YorkConference.

“There was this wonderful call,asking if we would receive blanketsfrom Russia,” Bishop McLee told di-rectors of the United Methodist Gen-eral Board of Global Ministries onApril 11 as he recounted the confer-ence’s relief efforts. The UnitedMethodist Committee on Relief(UMCOR) is a part of the missionboard.

Both Bishop McLee and BishopJohn Schol, leader of the Greater NewJersey Conference, spoke to the mis-sion agency about the challenges andopportunities that have arisen sincethe hurricane turned “superstorm”made a significant impact on theNortheast coast.

In New Jersey, where 253,000households sustained damage andtens of thousands of homes were leftuninhabitable, Sandy was the mostdestructive storm in the state’s history.In the New York area, 269,640 applica-tions have been made to FEMA forfederal assistance.

To help meet these needs, UMCORhas allocated much of the $8.35 mil-lion it had received in Sandy dona-tions by early March.

On April 12, UMCOR directors ap-proved $3 million grants to both theNew York and Greater New Jersey con-ferences, to be delivered in six-monthinstallments. The Peninsula-DelawareConference received $500,000 for itsSandy recovery work in SomersetCounty, Md. Another $500,000, not yetapproved, has been earmarked for theMethodist Church of Cuba, which ispreparing its grant proposal.

In addition, UMCOR allotted$825,759 to New Jersey and $42,000 toPeninsula-Delaware for repairs tochurch property damage from Sandy.Those grants represent 10 percent ofthe funds raised for Sandy relief.

In a further gesture of solidarity,the mission agency’s directors tookpart in a Sandy workday April 13, as-sisting at two sites in New Jersey andin New York.

Greater New Jersey has established

UMCOR makes grants for Sandy recoveryB Y L I N DA B L O O M

United Methodist News Service

PHOTO COURTESY GREATER NEW JERSEY CONFERENCE

Directors of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) have approved $3 million in grants forHurricane Sandy recovery in New York and New Jersey. The work will require help from thousands ofvolunteers through the UMC’s volunteer-in-mission networks.

a comprehensive long-term Sandy re-covery plan overseen by a nonprofitorganization, with a projected budgetof $21.8 million. In addition to sup-port from UMCOR, the conference hascreated its own fundraising appeal.

Repair, rebuild, renewDuring the relief phase, the confer-

ence distributed food, clothing andbasic supplies, including flood buck-ets, to more than 10,000 people, alongwith daytime or overnight shelter tosome 5,000 affected by Sandy.

The larger task is now beginning,Bishop Schol pointed out. “The long-term recovery is where we really beginto put our efforts,” he said.

Greater New Jersey’s recovery min-istry focuses on three goals: to repair,rebuild and renew, in cooperationwith churches, community residentsand nonprofit groups as well as local,state and federal agencies. state andfederal agencies.

The repair of 300 to 500 Sandy-damaged homes, particularly for theelderly, disabled and low-incomehouseholds, is expected to require as-sistance from more than 20,000trained volunteers.

“We are the biggest player [for re-covery work] in New Jersey,” thebishop said, noting that Habitat forHumanity has committed to 150

houses. The conference’s Sandy proj-ect would not be possible, he added,without the support of UMCOR andthe church’s volunteer-in-mission net-works.

Rebuilding will extend beyondhomes to community centers andchurches. Other direct assistance to themost vulnerable will be provided inthe form of materials, donations andservices. “Rebuilding the social fabricof a community is essential,” the con-ference’s grant proposal declared.

Renewal will focus on the emo-tional and spiritual toll that Sandytook on people’s lives. Greater New Jer-sey expects to provide case manage-ment and counseling for more than500 families during the next severalyears.

‘Holy moment’In the New York Conference,

United Methodists and related volun-teers—nearly 2,000 of them—alreadyhave prepped more than 300 housesfor repairs or rebuilding by pumpingout water, removing debris and moldand replacing insulation and flooring.

New York’s project goal for the newgrant is to help about 500 families,with “a specific target” of 175 house-holds. Five recovery sites—in Mass-apequa, Freeport and Rockville Centeron Long Island, on Staten Island and

in Brooklyn—have been established.The conference also wants to set up asite in Connecticut, where more than13,000 homes were damaged.

New York will use the grant to sup-port its disaster recovery ministriesand staff as it provides case manage-ment; restores, repairs and rebuildshomes with the help of volunteers-in-mission and offers ongoing spiritualcare to persons in the affected areas.

“A case manager will engage eachsurvivor and will sit and be like afriend,” said the Rev. Joseph Ewoodzie,New York Conference disaster coordi-nator.

UMCOR staff and consultants haveworked closely with the New YorkConference on its Sandy response, thereport said, and “see opportunity” forprogram expansion if the recoverywork is successful and more funds be-come available.

The Peninsula-Delaware Confer-ence will use its grant to help 50 to100 families in the town of Crisfieldand Somerset County, Md., rebuildtheir homes and their lives. UnitedMethodists there, working throughthe conference’s volunteer-in-missioncoordinator, they hope to support anddeploy 175 teams with a total of 3,000volunteers during a two-year periodfor the Sandy recovery work in Mary-land.

U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T R E P O R T E R | M AY 3 , 2 0 1 3

HISTORY OF HYMNS

Food is a big deal in our society,but even more important are the spir-itual “meals” that we share. One oftenhears phrases such as, “They are hun-gry for the gospel,” and as Jesus said,“It is written: ‘Man cannot live onbread alone.’” (Matt. 4:4)

We are reminded that truth, aswell as sustenance, is found in thegospel. Charles Wesley’s hymn,“Come, Sinners, to the Gospel Feast”is an invitation to that table and a re-iteration of that truth.

The younger brother of Method-ism’s founder, John Wesley, Charles(1707-1788) wrote 6,500 hymns, andpreached as an itinerant minister ofthe Church of England. To put this inperspective, if we assume that hewrote hymns from the time he startedschool up to his death, it averages outto 97 per year, or one hymn every

B Y B E N J A M I N H E N S L E YSpecial Contributor

B Y A D E L L E M . BA N K SReligion News Service

“Come, Sinners, to the GospelFeast”Charles WesleyUM Hymnal, No. 339 &

No. 616

Come, sinners, to the gospel feast;let every soul be Jesus’ guest.Ye need not one be left behind,for God hath bid all humankind.

3A

Wesley hymn invites all to ‘the Gospel Feast’

U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T R E P O R T E R . O R G

three to four days. Wesley wrote manyof the most important Methodisthymns, 41 of which remain in the lat-est edition of the UM Hymnal (1989).

His hymns were examples of finepoetry married to a rich, biblicallybased theology. Wesley scholar ErnestRattenbury onceobserved that “askillful man, ifthe Bible werelost, might ex-tract much of itfrom CharlesWesley’s hymns.”

Our hymnfirst appeared in24 stanzas inHymns for ThoseThat Seek and Those That Have Re-demption in the Blood of Jesus Christ(1747). Nine stanzas were later cho-sen for the Wesleys’ famous Collectionof Hymns for the People CalledMethodists (1780). In the 1980s the

Wesley Consultation of the HymnalRevision Committee decided to maketwo hymns out of the original one;the other hymn is found at No. 616 inthe UM Hymnal.

“Come, Sinner, to the GospelFeast” makes an important theologi-cal statement. Our participation inchurch is more than a weekly obliga-tion or chore. Perhaps we can viewchurch as a family meal where all arewelcome. The first stanza bids us to“let every soul be Jesus’ guest,” andadds, “Ye need not one be left behind.”It is this joyful message of welcomethat as parishioners we should seekand embrace, and as ministers weshould promote and foster in ourchurches.

The gospel feast is also a feast ofsalvation: “Come and partake thegospel feast, / be saved from sin, inJesus rest.” When we participate in theEucharist, we are reminded of thesacrifice our Savior made for us. The

Eucharist should be as inclusive asthe gospel demands that the min-istries of the church be. Just as we tellothers of the good news, we should beeager to share both the food we eatand the truth we cherish.

Another interesting aspect of thishymn is its urgency, as Wesley soundsan eschatological note: “This is thetime, no more delay! This is theLord’s accepted day.”

However, there is another way tosee this—perhaps even simultane-ously—as a call of eagerness: “Cometo the feast, be saved from sin.” Whyshould we not be excited and a littleemphatic to share the gospel? There isa sense of urgency and excitement inthis hymn that can influence how welive and share the gospel in our lives.

Wesley also likens the gospel feastto a place where one finds relief:“Come, all ye souls by sin oppressed, /ye restless wanderers after rest.” Whatcatharsis can be found in the joyful

sharing of food and conversation withothers! We are social creatures wholove sharing our lives over a mealwith those we care about. We shouldbe able to pass on the gospel to thosewho are hungry for it, as easily as wepass the sweet potatoes to our neigh-bor at the table.

Mr. Hensley, a Master of SacredMusic student at Perkins School of Theology, Southern MethodistUniversity, studies hymnology with Dr. C. Michael Hawn.

Charles Wesley

Shea remembered as voice of Graham crusades

George Beverly Shea, whose signa-ture baritone voice was a standardfeature of Billy Graham crusades formore than half a century, died April 16at age 104.

He died after a brief illness, theBilly Graham Evangelistic Associationannounced.

Shea, who was 10 years older thanMr. Graham, met the famous evangel-ist seven decades ago when he wasworking at Chicago’s WMBI, a MoodyBible Institute radio station. The evan-gelist heard him singing on the pro-gram Hymns from the Chapel, andasked Shea to sing on his new radioprogram.

“I’ve been listening to Bev Sheasing for more than 70 years, and Iwould still rather hear him sing thananyone else I know,” the ailing Mr.Graham said in a statement. “I havelost one of the best friends I have everhad, but he and I look forward to see-ing each other in Heaven relativelysoon.”

Shea, who lived about a mile fromMr. Graham in Montreat, N.C., sangbefore the evangelist preached as theytraveled the globe, often “I’d RatherHave Jesus” or “Victory in Jesus.”

“I have sometimes said that Iwould feel lost getting up to preach ifBev were not there to prepare the waythrough an appropriate song,” Mr.

Graham said in his autobiography, JustAs I Am.

In 1955, Shea made a couple ofwording adjustments to the classichymn “How Great Thou Art”—one ofMr. Graham’s favorites—that have en-dured. He changed “consider all theworks thy hands have made” to “con-sider all the worlds thy hands havemade” and modified “I hear themighty thunder” to “I hear the rollingthunder.”

“I got a bang when I used to hearElvis Presley sing my two words,” hetold Religion News Service in a 2004interview.

Graham spokesman A. Larry Rosssaid Shea—who was the oldest livingrecipient of a Grammy LifetimeAchievement Award—sang “HowGreat Thou Art” during each crusade,accompanied by a choir.

“He had his albums but he wasprimarily known for singing one songat each Billy Graham service,” saidGraham biographer William Mar-tin. “That endeared him to every-body who went to his services orwho saw them on the broadcasts forall those years.”

Shea, who won his first Grammyin 1965 and was a 10-time nominee,recorded more than 70 albums ofhymns. He was inducted into the Re-ligious Broadcasting Hall of Fame in1996, and the “Hall of Faith” of theConference of Southern BaptistEvangelists in 2008.

Shea’s love for music shonethrough in the RNS interview, withhis deep voice sometimes driftinginto song as he discussed the range ofhymns featured in his book HowSweet the Sound: Amazing Stories andGrace-filled Reflections on BelovedHymns and Gospel Songs.

He also put down the phone andplayed a few notes for a listening re-porter on his 800-pipe, three-manualorgan in his home.

In the same book, he recalled theGraham crusades’ unofficial anthem,“Just As I Am,” and a harrowing flightout of Newark, N.J., in 2000 when he

wasn’t sure if he would ever touch theground again.

Clutching his wife’s hand, hestarted to pray the text of the hymn.“If this was our time to meet the Sav-ior,” Shea wrote, “that’s the song Iwanted to be singing.”

Born in Winchester, Ontario, Sheawas raised on church music, with his

mother singing it as he awoke onschool days. He took the bass linearound the dinner table when hisfamily sang the Doxology—begin-ning with the words “Praise God fromwhom all blessings flow”—in har-mony. As his father, a WesleyanMethodist minister, preached in theirHoughton, N.Y., church, he would flipthrough the pages of the church hym-nal.

“The rustle of the pages mighthave been a little distracting, but Iknow he forgave me,” Shea wrote in

his book.At age 23, he wrote the song “I’d

Rather Have Jesus,” which became an-other staple of Graham crusades. Afew years later, the song’s message in-spired him to decline an offer to singwith a secular singing group.

Franklin Graham, who succeededhis father as the president of the BillyGraham Evangelistic Association, re-called how “unassuming” the musi-cian was.

“Even though Bev was 10 yearsolder than my father, he never actedhis age,” said Franklin Graham. “Hewas absolute fun to be with.”

In 2004, when he was sidelinedby a heart attack, Shea had to missGraham’s evangelistic event inKansas City, Mo. It was the first timein 57 years that he had missed acrusade.

One of his last public appear-ances with Graham was in 2010,

when the ministry celebrated its 60thanniversary, Mr. Ross said.

Even in his later years, Shea awedlisteners with his continuing ability tosing his signature songs. Dr. Martinheard him sing in Dallas in 2002,when he would have been 93.

“I commented on how remarkableit was,” Dr. Martin recalled, “and hesaid, ‘I think I sounded better when Iwas 90.’”

Kevin Eckstrom, editor in chief ofReligion News Service, contributedto this report.

PHOTO COURTESY BILLY GRAHAM CENTER/WHEATON COLLEGE

George Beverly Shea in themid-1940s.

MAY 3, 2013THE UNITED METHODIST REPORTER4A

It has been awhile since we met in thisplace. Janice and I took some time to be awayand allow God to refresh and restore us forthis work which we love, and to which we havebeen called.

I highly recommend the practice of Sab-bath keeping. Rest and renewal is a good andGodly thing and, when I was younger andfresher in ministry, I didn’t do nearly enoughof it. I pray that is not the case for youngerclergy now, but I’m not sure we are all thatmuch different today from generations past.

When last I wrote, I mentioned that therewas another burning question which I wantedto address. Since then, a second question hascome my way.

First: “How do I get a chance to be a part of the Annual Con-ference leadership? It seems like it is always the same peopledoing the work.” And second: “As a clergy person with a verybusy local church and a young family, do I really have to attendAnnual Conference? What does the Bishop expect of me?”

I know that the Annual Conference can seem like a mysteryto those who attend but do not have contact with the conferenceleadership in any other way. How does one get to be in a leader-ship role?

From my perspective in this office, it looks very much likethe leadership of the local church. To those whose only contactwith the church is the occasional Sunday morning worshipservice, the leadership team may seem like a closed opportu-nity—something that “others” do, but “not me.” If your onlycontact with Annual Conference is in Grand Rapids or Adrian,

I’m sure it seems like there is no place for you to be a part. If you want to be part of the team, you begin by learning

what your spiritual gifts are. You want to know what God hasgiven you for the good of the whole church. We all have some-thing we are called and equipped to do. We don’t always knowwhat that is.

(By the way, the Detroit Conference Nominations Team hasdeveloped a wonderful tool which is available to anyone andeveryone at www.detroitconference.org. This Passions & SkillsSurvey can be taken online and is a good first step toward help-ing individuals and local churches match passions and skillswith ministry opportunities.)

Once you know what your gifts are, then you can identify, inyour Conference Journal or at your local church, the placeswhere you can plug in which will be the biggest blessing to bothyou and the church at the local or conference level. And, if youare not sure who to call, contact your pastor or your district su-perintendent. They will know the name of the person youshould contact.

The thing you need to remember is that you are welcome andneeded. You have a gift from God which your church or your an-nual conference needs to be as fruitful as God intends in mak-ing disciples for Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

And yes, Bishop Deb knows how busy you are and how hardit can be to balance all the priorities in your life. But she expectsall the clergy of the Michigan Area to attend their annual confer-ence session.

The expectation makes itself known on a couple of levels. First, it is part of the covenant we make with one another to

attend and take part in our gatherings as community and con-ference. The 2012 Book of Discipline says that “it is the duty of

every member and all provisional members and local pastors ofthe annual conference to attend it sessions and furnish such re-ports in such form as the Discipline may require. Any such per-son unable to attend shall report by letter to the conferencesecretary, setting forth the reason for the absence.” (¶602.8)

But it is not just a matter of law and discipline. The confer-ence is not the same without you! We are composed of many dif-ferent people with many different gifts, and when one part ofthat whole is not present, it is not whole.

If you are a clergy person, your congregation is missing oneimportant part of its voice on the floor of the conference.

If you are a lay person, your church and our connection aremissing a very important part of what makes us unique.

On behalf of Bishop Kiesey, clergy: please make every effortto attend and participate in your annual conference session inits entirety. Please don’t schedule conflicting engagements inyour local church for those few days and, if your conference is insession on Sunday, please make arrangement for someone tocover your pulpit for that day. It really is that important!

Until next time, please know that you are in our prayers as,together, we prepare to gather in Adrian and Grand Rapids forwhat we are planning to be a very high point in our lives to-gether as The United Methodist Church in the Michigan Area.

However, they won’t be what they can be without yourprayerful support. Please pray for those who gather and for thework we do in Jesus’ name, that we might truly be the Body ofChrist together. Please pray for those who will not be able to at-tend, and for all those whose lives will be affected by the deci-sions we make.

And don’t forget that I always want to hear about your Burn-ing Questions.

‘Do I Really Have to Go to Conference?’

BURNINGQUESTIONSWITH BILL

BILLDOBBS

These have been difficult days—forour country, for our state, and even forthe world. It seems as though sometimesno matter where we turn, we encountertragedy: the Boston Marathon attack; theexplosion in West, Texas; the earthquakein China; an avalanche in Colorado; evenflooding in our own state of Michiganand surrounding states, to name just afew.

I felt my heart break as I saw the pic-ture of the little boy killed in themarathon bombing holding up a sign hehad made a year ago that read, “No morehurting people. Peace.”

As I said, these have been difficultdays—days when our tears have mingled with those around thecountry and the world. Times such as these shake us to the verycore and cause us to search deep within ourselves, not just foranswers, but also for strength and faith to help us through.

As hard as these days are for us, we are not the first to experi-ence such times. The disciples that gathered around the crossmust have felt some of the same emotions we have been feelingthis week. As they watched Jesus suffer, surely they, too, musthave wept—not only for the agony and loss of their friend, butalso for what they feared would be the loss of the dreams theyhad shared together—the hope of a better future.

And yet…something happened to those disciples thatturned them away from their anguish and changed them intomessengers of hope to the rest of the world.

What happened? What made the difference between hopelessness and hope-

fulness?The difference came when the disciples were touched by the

presence of the Risen Christ.

When they truly believed Christ had defeated even death,then they could no longer remain in despair. They could nolonger keep that message to themselves, and they were trans-formed—and through them, the world was transformed as well.

Christ had turned the Cross—the instrument of death—intoa symbol of life over death. He had turned the darkness oftragedy into a message of hope in life eternal.

That is the message and the strength of Christ we need to re-member today.

As we experience loss and fear—let us remember that the Risen Christ walks with us.

As we share tears of grief and frustration—let us remember that the Risen Christ weeps with us.

As we live in a world where acts of terrorism bring calls forrevenge and retribution—

let us remember that the Risen Christ—the Prince ofPeace—speaks to us words of peace and healing: “Loveyour enemies;” “Do unto others.”

Friends, may the presence of the Risen Christ be with usduring these uncertain days. May we, like those disciples of old,carry that message to all who need to hear it. And may our livesreflect the power and hope of a faith that is greater thananything of this world.

“I will not leave you orphaned. ... Peace I leave with you; my peaceI give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not letyour hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”

John 14:18a, 27Peace to you all.

Bishop Deb

A Faith for Hard Times

MICHIGANMEANDERINGS

BISHOPDEBORAH KIESEY

“Across the Midwest, rivers, lakes and streams areoverflowing their banks, the result of record rainfall in ourregion. As the waters rise, thousands are being displacedand millions of dollars in damage willbe left behind. Flooding has destroyedhomes, businesses, farms, and evensome houses of worship.

“Right now, members of ourMichigan Area United MethodistCommittee On Relief Early ResponseTeams are formulating a plan torespond to this natural disaster andwe have received a grant fromUMCOR for clean-up efforts.

“Scripture reminds us that even in

times of natural disaster, God is always at our side: “Fearnot, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; Iwill strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with

my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah41:10).

“Please join me in praying for all ofthose suffering from this flooding andfor the protection of the tirelessvolunteers and first responders,working together to keep waters atbay. We especially pray for the watersto recede so that recovery and healingcan begin. For those affected by thistragedy, may God keep you, watch overyou and protect you.”

Statement From Bishop Kiesey on Area Flooding

An aerial view of the flooding in Lowell,Mich.

5A

U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T R E P O R T E R | M AY 3 , 2 0 1 3U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T R E P O R T E R . O R G

B Y L I N DA B LO O M

United Methodist News Service

B Y L I N DA B LO O M

United Methodist News Service

Christians in Middle East endangered, priest warns

INDIANAPOLIS—Religious free-dom has become “a luxury” in theMiddle East and western Christiansneed to be concerned about what ishappening to Christians living in theregion.

That was both the message and aplea from Father Nabil Haddad, apriest in the Melkite Catholic Church,to members of the Religion Commu-nicators Council and AssociatedChurch Press who were meetingjointly.

Fr. Haddad was part of an April 4discussion on “Faith-based Peace-building in the Social Media Age.”

He was joined by A. Rashied Omar,research scholar of Islamic Studies atthe Kroc Institute at University ofNotre Dame; Lindsey Mintz, executivedirector of the Indianapolis JewishCommunity Relations Council; and, asmoderator, Verity Jones, executive di-rector for the Christian TheologicalSeminary Center for Pastoral Excel-lence.

Christian populations in Iraq,Syria and other countries, often ableto quietly co-exist in the past, are nowendangered, noted Fr. Haddad, who isfounder and executive director of theJordanian Interfaith Coexistence Re-search Center in Amman, Jordan.

Being set aside from other groupsis a problem, he explained. “Theminute we talk about Christians in myregion as a community, we isolatethem and put them in a ghetto.”

In Iraq, for example, 75 percent ofthe Chaldean Christians have left.“They did not do anything to the Sun-nis, they did not harm the Shiites, butnobody was able to help them,” Fr.Haddad said.

In Egypt, a clash between Chris-tians and Muslims escalated into anattack on the main Coptic ChristianCathedral April 7, the New York Timesreported.

Acts of intolerance against Mus-lims elsewhere can mean retributionagainst Christians in the Middle East.“Every time we see [that]minarets”—towers on a mosque—“are banned in one country . . . Chris-tians in some countries, they pay aprice,” he explained.

Fr. Haddad said he is part of a“spoiled minority” in Jordan, where heunderstands, studies and lives withIslam and where his center has spon-sored three initiatives of what he calls“interfaith diplomacy.” That ability tolive peacefully together needs to beprotected, he added, and religious mi-norities must reach out and not be

isolated.Fostering peace also means fight-

ing against stereotypes, said Dr. Omar,who also serves as imam at the Clare-mont Road Mosque in Cape Town,South Africa. The terrorist attacks ofSept. 11, 2001, and continuing war onterror have reinforced widespreadperceptions that the Islamic faith andMuslims “have an inherent predilec-tion for violence and terrorism, morethan any other faith,” he noted.

The Quran considers justice to be avalue—“Be just, that is the closestthing to pious faith” (Chapter 5, Verse8)—but the concept of compassion isthe most important value, Dr. Omarsaid, equivalent to the Christian un-derstanding that “God is love.” With-out compassion, struggles for justicein a particular country, for example,“invariably end up mimicking the re-pressive regime,” he explained.

While painfully acknowledgingthat there are some “extremists in ourranks,” Muslims “must not becomeweary” of stating that acts of terror-ism and barbarism are not part of theIslamic faith, Dr. Omar said. The newsmedia must help get that messageacross as well, he said.

Holding to hopeMs. Mintz, who spent a year at He-

brew University in Jerusalem in 1996and returned to Israel in 2000, ac-knowledged that her optimism aboutachieving peace in the Middle Easthas faded over the years.

But, she said, participating in thepanel made her more hopeful, espe-cially after learning about “promisinginitiatives [by interfaith groups]around the world.”

Peace-building efforts often aremissing the religious voice, she noted.“We have to make sure we are at thetable.”

To foster understanding, Fr. Had-dad encouraged his audience to comeand visit Jordan. “Your brothers andsisters in that region need your voiceand your support,” he said.

NEW YORK—Signing a peace ac-cord is just the first step in reuniting acountry where conflict has dividedthe population.

The Methodists of the East BelfastMission in Northern Ireland havebeen living into that reality ever sincethe 1998 Good Friday agreement de-clared peace between Catholics andProtestants there.

The Methodist mission can offerthose in other countries a template forthe daily work needed to reintegrate asociety, said the Rev. Gary Mason,whose leadership on the mission’s be-half was recognized by Queen Eliza-beth II when he was awarded aMember of the Order of the BritishEmpire in 2007.

With the opening of its Skainoscommunity center last November, themission has continued to work on is-sues of employment, homelessnessand community and family support,along with “social enterprise” projects.

The mission’s programs allow it toconnect with several thousand peoplea week and provide further support tothose who need it. A missionary cou-ple, Allison and Britt Gilmore, is as-signed to East Belfast by the UnitedMethodist General Board of GlobalMinistries.

“The model we have, worldwide,has a lot to offer,” Dr. Mason said.

During an April 11 visit to the NewYork offices of the Board of GlobalMinistries, Dr. Mason, mission super-intendent, and Gary Crooks, the mis-sion’s lay leader, explained that asuccessful peace process demandsthree key steps—demilitarization, de-commissioning of weapons and rein-tegration of combatants and society.

Mission in Northern Irelandstands as example for others

But in many places, they pointed out,the process stops after the first twosteps.

The biggest issue in reuniting a so-ciety is handling the legacy of the dis-pute and the danger of passing alonggrievances to the next generation.

“How do you take people frombeing prisoners of history to beingprisoners of hope?” Dr. Mason asked.The story of the past must be told, headded, but the framework of how it istold is important.

‘Never an empty bed’Mr. Crooks, a part of the mission

for 30 years, said he has “had the greatprivilege of watching it grow.”

The homeless ministry startedwith one man from Scotland whostayed in the choir room and a secondman from Bosniawho slept in the of-fice. It soon becameclear that this wasan acute need inthe community.The temporary ac-commodationsprovided throughHosford House atSkainos average 30people at any one time and addresssocial needs and drug and alcoholstrategies. “From Day One, we’venever had an empty bed,” Mr. Crookssaid.

Through a relationship with theBelfast City Council, a focus on rub-bish removal has led to a project re-furbishing and selling discardedfurniture and bicycles. “It’s now a verybig part of our income,” he noted.

Forty meals a day are delivered toshut-ins through a meals-on-wheelsprogram.

Living out Wesleyan theology is

not just about proclamation of theword, Dr. Mason declared. “It’s alsoabout presence.” Skainos Center has aworship space, and the congregationserves as the “spiritual heartbeat” ofall that happens there.

That heartbeat has been felt byothers. A woman named Sandy, forexample, who had no previous reli-gious affiliation, first came to theirchurch “because no one else wouldbaptize her baby,” Mr. Crooks recalled.She now is a valued member of thestaff.

Both men agree the violentprotests that grew out of the BelfastCity Council’s decision late last yearregarding a flag were a wake-up call.Legacy issues or symbols, like a flag,“can actually derail a peace process,”Dr. Mason noted.

On Jan. 17,church, communityand paramilitaryleaders joined in is-suing a statementsupporting peacefullegal protests, butalso calling for anend to the “pointlessviolence, fear andwanton destruction

being caused by a few.”The protests have dwindled. Dr.

Mason hopes, in the future, that peo-ple will register and use the power ofa vote. “There’s a democratic frame-work that allows them to have a say,”he said, but does not promote vio-lence or destroy the economy.

The larger lesson learned from theflag protests: “You have to take thetemperature on a daily basis after thepeace process,” Dr. Mason said. “Theremust be constant check-ins.”

Dr. Mason and Mr. Crooks can bereached by email at info@ebm.org.uk.

UMNS PHOTOS BY MIKE DUBOSE

LEFT: Gary Crooks of Belfast has served 30 years with the East Belfast Mission, which is affiliated withthe Methodist Church in Ireland. RIGHT: The Rev. Gary Mason, superintendent minister of the mission,reads Scripture during a worship service.

Father Nabil Haddad

‘The model wehave, worldwide,has a lot tooffer.’

—Gary Mason

FILM REVIEW

B Y R E B E C C A C U S E YSpecial Contributor

B Y E R I C M E TA X A SReligion News Service

M AY 3 , 2 0 1 3 | U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T R E P O R T E R

6A

U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T R E P O R T E R . O R G

Malick’s concept of lovestill shrouded in mystery

COMMENTARY

Jackie Robinson’s faithmissing from 42 movie

In the New Testament there is aletter from the Apostle Paul to achurch he founded in the city of Eph-esus in Asia Minor. It contains a pas-sage that is cause for much debate andangst in the church, a passage thatcompares a husband to Christ and thewife to the church.

Paul writes, “For this reason a manshall leave his father and mother andbe united to his wife and the two willbe one flesh. This is a profound mys-tery, but I am talking about Christ andthe church.” (Ephesians 5:21-32)

This “profound mystery” lies at theheart of writer-director Terrence Mal-ick’s exposition of love and marriage,To the Wonder. Or, at least, I think itdoes. With Malick films, one feels shyabout making absolute statements.

Mr. Malick, reportedly a Catholic,poured his faith out in the profoundThe Tree of Life, a movie that movedme so much, it inspired a tattoo on myarm.

Tale of two marriagesIn To the Wonder, he weaves to-

gether the story of two marriages thatinform each other, both of them flow-ing from and to the love of God, theultimate bridegroom. Parisian Marina(Olga Kurylenko) marries AmericanNeil (Ben Affleck) after a weighty andconfusing courtship, made more com-plex by an unresolved love betweenNeil and Jane (Rachel McAdams). Thesecond marriage is of Marina’s priest,Father Quintana (Javier Bardem), toGod.

The two marriages run in roughlythe same course. First, there is an un-deniable, life-altering love—a lovethat changes everything, recasts theuniverse and reshapes the people onwhich it falls. Before the love, life wasMarina’s own, Father Quintana’s own.After the love, they must rework theirlives to be with the beloved, to reflectthe new reality.

Although the love changes every-thing, the euphoria fades. Marina isleft with a man who seems distantand unreachable. Father Quintana isleft with a God that seems distant andunreachable.

And that is when love is tested,

when the reality of love is either be-lieved and held or lost. The two typesof love flow from the same source, “theLove that loves us,” as Marina puts it.

Mr. Malick tells his stories inunique ways. He cares much moreabout the cries of the heart and thewhispers of the mind than everydaydialogue. So the prayers and unspokenlongings of the characters are told inwhispered voiceovers while the detailsof their lives are hard to know. Thismakes the movie almost unbearablyquiet, still, nearly silent, like a cathe-dral in the middle of the day, holy butineffable.

Sometimes this approach worksand his style delivers profound truths,but other times it just leaves theviewer feeling quietly lost. It doesn’thelp that many of the voiceovers hereare in French and Spanish.

Lack of resolutionStill, you get the sense that love is a

real thing, more real than we often be-lieve. And that is, paradoxically in oursex-crazed world, a message the worldneeds. But you don’t know what thatmeans for life, for love, for a soul, bythe end of the movie, because part ofthe conflict is left unresolved.

And a little unresolved for a Ter-rence Malick film is, let’s just say, wayunresolved for a normal film.

The scenes of the priest made meweep at times, for a man who so lovedhis God as to dedicate his life to Him,but then loses all sense of his lover. Itis beautiful, his tired faithfulness, hisdesperation for the God he knows isthere somewhere. Father Quintanaknows God is there because of the love

that changed everything and remainsundeniable, even in the past.

And yet, I ended the film wishingthere was more. This juxtaposition ofmarriage and relationship with Christfascinates me. I want to see, to feel, toknow how Mr. Malick’s theology re-flects his ideas of love and marriage. Isuspect he may be one of the few film-makers who actually has somethingprofound to say about it.

And yet, I felt he teed up the ballbut didn’t swing. In his other films,you have to dig for truths but they’rewaiting to be discovered. I felt likethere was less here.

Also less was the cinematographicwonder. Mr. Malick chooses beautifulshots of water, nature, rocks, streamsand beaches, and lingers on them. Yet,in The Tree of Life, many of his frameshad theological implications in them-selves. They meant something, theimagery was alive. They were dream-like, creative, alternate realities thatexpressed his truth. This film doesn’thave the same level of forethought ortheology in the very images.

Sometimes a stream is just astream, I guess.

On one level, I love that Mr. Malickhad the courage to address love as aprofound mystery rather than a greet-ing card comedy—which is what weget every month or so at the theater.But in this case, I wish he’d been a tadless profound and a tad more ap-proachable.

Ms. Cusey is a freelance writerin the Washington, D.C., area. This review first appeared onPatheos.com. Reprinted bypermission.

To the WonderRated R for some sexuality/nudity

Karl Downs convinced him thatChrist’s command to “resist not evil”wasn’t a cowardly way out but a pro-foundly heroic stance.

When he met Rickey, Robinsonwas prepared for what lay ahead andagreed. But it was a brutally difficultundertaking. Robinson got down onhis knees many nights during thosefirst two years, asking God for thestrength to continue resisting thetemptation to fight back, or to saysomething he would regret.

But the filmmakers of 42 were evi-dently uncomfortable with all thisand, to put it in baseball terms, theydecided to pitch around it.

Of course, Hollywood has beenskittish about faith and religion sinceat least the late 1960s. Even when it’salmost impossible to avoid, filmmak-ers find a way. The Johnny Cash biopicWalk the Line omitted the central roleChristian faith played in how Cashovercame drug addiction. Even in2007’s Amazing Grace, about Britishabolitionist William Wilberforce, thestory of his conversion and the hugerole faith played in his political effortsis essentially left out.

And now in 42, Hollywood’s doneit again. Omitting the role of faith inthis story does a serious disservice tohistory—and to the memories ofRobinson and Rickey. But it’s also fi-nancially foolish. The recent mega-success of The Bible miniseries andthe cool $600 million earned by MelGibson’s The Passion of the Christ in2004 are just two reasons why. The au-dience for faith-friendly films is hugeand growing.

Which brings us back to anotherreason Rickey did what he did. He be-lieved bringing African Americansonto the baseball field would bringthem into the stands, too, and ticketsales would increase. Which is pre-cisely what happened.

So isn’t it time Hollywood inte-grated faith into stories where it right-fully belongs? Why should such storiesbe excluded from the mainstream in anation that’s filled with people offaith? If filmmakers do the rightthing—and break the “God line”—they’ll find there are countless mil-lions who’d cheer stories like that. Andwho’d pay to see them too.

Mr. Metaxas writes about JackieRobinson in his new book SevenMen and the Secret of theirGreatness. This column appearedfirst in USA Today.

PHOTO COURTESY MAGNOLIA PICTURES

Writer-director Terrence Malick (The Tree of Life) explores romanticand spiritual love in his new film To the Wonder, starring OlgaKurylenko and Ben Affleck.

A new film about Jackie Robinson,titled 42—the number he wore duringhis historic career—tells the tri-umphant story of how the civil rightsicon integrated professional baseballby playing for theBrooklynDodgers. Butthere’s a mysteri-ous hole at thecenter of this oth-erwise worthyfilm.

The man whochose Robinsonfor his role, andmastermindedthe whole affair, was Dodgers GeneralManager Branch Rickey, played byHarrison Ford. In their initial meeting,the cigar-chomping Rickey makes itclear that whoever will be the firstAfrican American in major leaguebaseball will be viciously attacked,verbally and physically. So Rickey fa-mously says he’s looking for a man“with guts enough not to fight back.”

Where did Rickey get that crazyidea and why did Robinson go alongwith it? The film doesn’t tell us, butthe answers to these questions lie inthe devout Christian faith of bothmen.

For starters, Rickey himself was a“Bible-thumping Methodist” who re-fused to attend games on Sunday. Hesincerely believed it was God’s willthat he integrate baseball and saw it asan opportunity to intervene in themoral history of the nation.

And Rickey chose Robinson be-cause of the young man’s faith andmoral character. There were numer-ous other Negro Leagues players toconsider, but Rickey knew integratingthe racist world of professional sportswould take more than athletic ability.The attacks would be ugly, and thepress would fuel the fire. If the playerchosen were goaded into retaliating,the grand experiment would be setback a decade or more.

Rickey knew he must find some-one whose behavior on and off thefield would be exemplary, and who be-lieved “turning the other cheek” wasnot just the practical thing to do butthe right thing. We know that Robin-son’s passionate sense of justice hadgotten him into trouble earlier in life.But the patient mentoring of pastor

Eric Metaxas

B Y K A R A W I T H E R OW

Special Contributor

B Y BA R B A R A D U N L A P- B E R G

United Methodist News Service

7A

Georgia couple finds calling in Scout leadership

The Boy Scout motto is, “Be Pre-pared.”

But Cathy and Travis Shepherd ofWhigham, Ga., weren’t quite preparedfor the new path God took them downnearly 20 years ago.

When their son Bobby, then a firstgrader, brought home a slip of paperinviting him to join a new Cub Scoutpack, Travis accompanied him to aninformational meeting.

Of the adults in attendance, onlytwo had ever been involved in scout-ing. Travis was one. He volunteered tohelp and ended up becoming the newgroup’s leader, or Cubmaster.

Nearly 20 years later, scouting hasbecome an integral part of the Shep-herd family’s life.

“I was a Scout when I was a kidand had a great time and a lot of goodmemories,” Travis said. “So we wereasked if we would be willing to helpstart it, and I said yes.”

Back then, the Shepherds had justone son, Bobby, now 26. In the yearssince, they’ve had Kevin, 21, andThomas, 16. All three have earned theEagle Scout rank.

“Travis was a Scout in Thomasvillewhen he was a kid,” Cathy said. “It wasa very big part of his life. I was in GirlScouts when I was young, and whenwe got married and ended up havingall boys it was really a no-brainer forus.”

Sponsored by Whigham UnitedMethodist Church, Whigham’s CubScout troop was started by Travis anda group of dedicated parents. But afew years later, Travis was disap-pointed to learn that the older boysdidn’t have a Boy Scout troop to moveup to.

That’s when Cathy, an obstetricsnurse, stepped in to lead the CubScout pack so Travis could start a newBoy Scout troop in Grady County.

“I started as the Cubmaster with a5-months-old on my hip,” said Cathy,who completed her bachelor’s andmaster’s degrees while working fulltime, leading the Cub Scout pack andraising three boys.

Scouting has given the Shepherdfamily time together and the opportu-nity to go places and do things theymight not otherwise have gone anddone. They camp, hike and serve to-gether, and most of Travis and Cathy’svacation time is spent travelling withthe Scouts.

“Scouting has allowed me to be re-ally close with my boys,” Travis said.

It’s also strengthened their faithand deepened their relationship withJesus Christ.

Before volunteering to work withthe Scouts, the Shepherds weren’t at-tending church. As a child andteenager, Travis was active in a Baptistchurch, but had drifted away.

A few months after volunteering tobe Cubmaster, though, Travis toldCathy that Whigham UMC was host-

ing their annual Scout Sunday thenext weekend.

“I said, ‘What are we going to do?’And she said, ‘Well, I guess we’ll go tochurch there!’”

That Sunday they attendedWhigham UMC for the first time.They wore their scout uniforms andsat on the back pew.

“We went to church that Sundayand the next,” Travis said. “From thatday forward we have gone. My familyand I have been going to church thereever since.

“Scouting brought me back in towhere I should have been all along. Iwas raised in church and knew thatmy kids needed to be.”

In addition to teaching boys andyoung men about first aid, fire safety,leadership, responsibility and count-less other life skills, scouting goeshand-in-hand with faith, Cathy said.

“This isn’t an organization thatskirts faith,” she said. “It’s added an-other dimension to our walk withChrist, and this is just another facet toour Christian walk; it’s that rooted inthe values of our faith and thechurch.”

Not only has the Shepherd familydeepened their faith and found achurch home through their involve-ment with Whigham UMC’s scoutingministry, so have several young men.

One 8-year-old boy calls WhighamUMC “his church” even though he andhis family don’t attend worship serv-ices there.

“One year we had Scout Sundaycoming up, and I was reminding theboys to wear their Scout shirt to theirchurch on Sunday,” Cathy said. “We al-ways invite them to our church, and Iasked one boy which church he wentto. He looked at me and said, ‘MissCathy, this is my church!’ He had neverbeen to church on Sunday—our CubScout program was his only exposureto church.”

Even though two of their sons areadults and their youngest will soongraduate from high school, the Shep-herds say they have no plans to stepaway from scouting.

“I keep going even without a kid inCub Scouts because it’s that impor-

tant,” Cathy said. “It’s that vital to ourchurch and to our community to havea place for these boys.”

Travis says he can’t just walk awayfrom the 70 or so young men who area part of their Cub Scout and BoyScout troops.

“I just can’t walk away from thesekids,” he said. “When God wants me todo something else, He’ll make itknown.

“A lot of people go through lifewondering what God wants them todo. I know that this is exactly what Hewants me to do.”

Ms. Witherow is editor of theAdvocate, the newspaper of theSouth Georgia Conference.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CATHY SHEPHERD

Travis, Thomas and Cathy Shepherd celebrated earlier this yearafter Thomas, 16, earned his Eagle Scout rank.

Fire destroys church’s building, but not its spirit

Sally Curtis AsKew was in Seattle,getting ready for a United MethodistJudicial Council meeting, when shelearned about the fire that consumedher beloved church—Oconee StreetUnited Methodist in Athens, Ga.

The fire, detected around 10 p.m.April 15, gutted the 111-year-oldstructure. The cause has not been de-termined. The blaze apparentlystarted in the basement of the woodstructure, Ms. AsKew said.

“I am sitting in a hotel room inSeattle, still crying so hard I have tostop to wipe my eyes often,” the Judi-cial Council clerk said.

Gathering on the church lawn theevening after the tragedy, the congre-gation joined for a prayer vigil.

“The building is so visible,” Ms.AsKew said, “up on Carr’s Hill. Whenyou come across the river from down-town, you see the lighted cross.”

That cross has beckoned a diverse,“very welcoming” congregation—uni-

versity professors with Ph.D.s, unedu-cated people and everyone in be-tween—to worship and to witness.

Oconee Street, Ms. AsKew said, is“a perfect example of a church that‘reimagined itself ’ many years agoand continues to press forward today.”

About 30 years ago, the member-ship had shrunk to the point that thecongregation could no longer supporta full-time pastor. So when a new non-profit, Action Ministries, was gettingoff the ground, Oconee Street becamea partner with the group.

Today, the congregation of 125 isflourishing, and Action Ministries—an independent, faith-based corpora-tion affiliated with the UnitedMethodist Church—furnishes food,legal assistance, educational servicesand nursing care.

The Our Daily Bread soup kitchenis housed in the former parsonage, ad-jacent to the historic church.

According to the Athens Patch, OurDaily Bread provides more than60,000 meals a year and collaborateswith more than 70 volunteer groups,

small-membership church—TempleUnited Methodist, out in the countryeast of Athens—stepped right up andis bringing breakfast today.”

Oconee Street’s pastor of 13 years,the Rev. Lisa Caine, said the Athenscommunity and the UMC’s NorthGeorgia Conference have reached outto the congregation, donating spacefor worship and various ministries.

“Although the church building isgone, and some planned projects areon hold for now, the church will re-build and move forward with the helpof God and many humans,” Ms.AsKew said.

Young Harris Memorial UnitedMethodist Church in downtownAthens already has opened its facilityto its Oconee Street sisters and broth-ers. The congregation will worship inthe Young Harris gym.

Ms. Caine’s outlook is positive.“We’ve been so blessed by so manypeople in so many ways,” she said.

“This isn’t what we had planned,but we are going forward with faithand trust in God.”

both church-related and secular. Theprogram serves breakfast and lunchseven days a week. Because it receivesno federal funds, Ms. AsKew said, it“serves not only people below thepoverty level but also the working

poor.”She said that since the fire, the out-

pouring of love and offers of help hasbeen overwhelming.

“Local groups have stepped up toprovide breakfasts all week. Another

UMNS PHOTO COURTESY OF OCONEE STREET UMC

The 111-year-old main sanctuary at Oconee Street United MethodistChurch in Athens, Ga., lies in ruins following an April 15 fire.

U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T R E P O R T E R | M AY 3 , 2 0 1 3U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T R E P O R T E R . O R G

MAY 3, 2013THE UNITED METHODIST REPORTER8A

The Michigan Area Reporter is the official newspaper of theMichigan Area of The United Methodist Church, serving the Detroitand West Michigan Annual Conferences.

Bishop: Deborah L. Kiesey

Editor: Rev. Erik J. Alsgaard ealsgaard@gmail.com

Directors of CommunicationDetroit—Paul Thomas West Michigan—Mark Doyal

The Michigan Area Reporter is printed by UMR Communications,Dallas, Texas. We’re online at www.westmichiganconference.org, andwww.detroitconference.org.

Continued from front page

I’m United Methodist.

I’M CURING MALARIA.

www.imaginenomalaria.org

Love Crosses the Finish LineBy Kay DeMoss

Where does Kimberly Grauer plan to be on April 21, 2014?In Boston. At the finish line.Kimberly and her running mates reached Mile 25 in this

year’s race when they were intercepted by a row of police. “Theytold us the entire finish line has been blown up,” she said. “Weheard that and we all screamed. I didn’t care about themarathon any more. My family was to meet me at the finishline at 2:30.”

Kimberly’s family—her mother, Pat Grauer, and brother,Jordan— were standing between the two bombs when theywent off. Another friend, Jennifer, was on the other side of thestreet, directly across from the first bomb blast.

“We were separated,” Pat said. “We were in front of a smallalley and we walked away as fast as we could and tried toestablish communication.”

They knew that Kimberly was at a safe distance thanks to theelectronic marking of the runners.

“Jordan and I were fortunate because we were together,” Patcontinued. They then established phone contact with Jen andlearned she was alive. “We couldn’t get to each other but weagreed to all get away from the site and figure it out later,” Patsaid.

Meanwhile, Kimberly was plagued with uncertaintyregarding the fate of her loved ones.

“The police took all the runners under escort to a temple,”Kimberly said. Ten days earlier, Kimberly had been in churchattending the memorial service of her father, the Rev. CharlesGrauer. Now, with her cell phone making no connection, her firstthought was, “Oh, my God! I just lost more of my family!”

Kimberly was among 60 runners given sanctuary. “Thetemple just opened their doors,” Kimberly said. “They broughtus water and granola and made their phones available to us.”

Chilled in her running shorts, a doctor made Kimberly askirt out of a blanket. Remembering the trauma, she said, “Thishad to be a little what 9/11 must have felt like.”

It was an hour-and-a-half before she would know, throughconnections made via Facebook, that her family was safe

downtown. Eventually, busses delivered the runners to reunionswith others around 6 p.m., about three hours after the tragedybegan.

Pat stood within 250 feet of the both explosions and “saw,heard and smelled” the aftermath. Yet she asserted, “Thebombing is significant but that’s not the note we want to ring.”

She told how her son’s instincts provided proper motivation.“Jordan is a 747 pilot and he just said, ‘Go! Go! Go!’” Pat

said. And down an alley, away from the “awful surge,” they wentas fast as they could on the cobblestones.

“We did a half-marathon ourselves going back and forth, upand down,” Pat remarked.

They received assistance from “one of the amazing people ofBoston,” who offered his phone and private bathroom. He evenoffered them a place to spend the night if their room was notavailable and called them to make sure they were all right oncethey reached the hotel.

“For someone to have your back in a city with no transport,communication, and public toilets was great peace of mind.”

Kimberly was “adopted” by a kind couple just minutes beforeshe reached her family that evening. “They saw me waiting andasked if I was all right,” she remembered. “When I told them Ijust talked to my brother, they said, ‘If it’s OK, we will just standhere with you until they come.’”

The Grauer’s had planned to fly out of the city Mondayevening, but that was not to be. After her reunion with herfamily, Kimberly continued to experience the support of herrunning community.

Awake at 1 a.m. and unable to sleep, Kimberly receivedmessages from other runners. Many said, “Your dad is so proudof you! Don’t ever forget that!” It was wonderful encouragementfrom persons who had been strangers just hours before andtransformed the “sad ending to what was to be a very happyday.”

Kimberly was in Boston running to honor her father, whodied April 3 after suffering immensely from liver disease.

“Chuck was a model for how you deal with the worst pain,”said Pat. “He was always positive and did what he needed to do.”

A veteran of 42 previous marathons, Kimberly signed onmonths ago to run the Boston Marathon on the American Liver

Foundation Team to raise money forresearch. While “shaken up” by hisdeath, Kimberly was determined tokeep her promise to her dad.

Kimberly felt his presence evenbefore she took her first step on theBoston pavement. Kimberly hadbeen asked to do the blessing of therace for the 200-member team. Soshe told Chuck’s story just prior tothe start of the race. “I told them thatit was hard to be in Boston right now.I have to be very brave but Ipromised to do this for liver diseasethe morning Dad died. Then theSuper Bowl of all races startedperfectly.”

Throughout the race herteammates stopped her to thank herfor her words. There were photo oppsat each check-point. All of whichslowed Kimberly down. Soon shesaid to herself, “Oh, my gosh, I’m 45minutes behind!”

Still, she felt her dad running with her, especially when shehad to stop for an additional two minutes to attend to hernecklace.

“He had given me the cross that he wore every day. It is verydear to me. It broke as I ran and I pulled out to fix it.”

Kimberly is convinced that her father “did things to stall me”throughout the race. She was one mile from the finish line whenthe explosions occurred.

Kimberly admits to a lot of guilt for having placed her familyin harm’s way but refuses to give the bomber control of her life.

“After an hour-and-a-half of terror, that my family was safewas better than any photo finish,” she admits. “I got threemedals in the moment I saw their faces.”

Reported by Kay DeMoss, West Michigan Weekly News SeniorWriter

2013 Annual Conferences: A Previewhttp://www.westmichiganconference.org/pages/detail/2806.

Four amendments to the church’s Constitution will also beup for approval. The United Methodist Church and itspredecessor bodies have only amended the Constitution 32times in the past 200+ years. To go into effect, theamendments must be ratified by two-thirds of the aggregatenumber of voting annual conference members.

Proposed Amendment I would change Division One, ArticleVI of the constitution to add the word “pray” to the list ofactions the denomination will take in relationship to otherMethodist and non-Methodist denominations in itsecumenical efforts.

Proposed Amendment II would change Division Two,Section II, Article II to remove April and May as the specificmonths when the General Conference will be convened. Anadditional sentence was added making the change effective atthe close of the 2016 General Conference.

Proposed Amendment III would change Division Two,Section VI, Article I. The amendment removes references tothe director of Lay Speaking Ministries and changes it to thedirector of Lay Servant Ministries.

Proposed Amendment IV would change Division Two,

Section VII, Article I in the constitution. The amendmentdeals with the authority of the jurisdictional and centralconferences to establish the number, names and boundaries ofthe annual conferences and episcopal areas and the authorityof the College of Bishops to arrange a plan of episcopalsupervision.

(The full text of the Constitutional Amendments may beseen online at http://detroitconference.org/pages/detail/2004.)

Erik Alsgaard is editor of the Michigan Area Reporter. PaulThomas and Mark Doyal are Directors of Communications forthe Detroit and West Michigan Conferences, respectively. KayDeMoss also contributed to this report.

In addition to the Constitutional Amendments, many other items, including budgets for bothConferences, will be voted upon during both Annual Conference sessions. For a full listing,visit http://www.westmichiganconference.org/pages/detail/2779, or http://www.detroitconference.org/pages/detail/2010.

PHOTO COURTESY WEST

MICHIGAN CONFERENCE

Kimberly Grauer ranin the BostonMarathon lastmonth, and she andher family, thoughnot hurt, experiencedthe trauma of thebombings, and theamazing hospitalitythat followed.

Collectivegrief

Bob Edgar

Mixedverdict

The independent source for news, features and commentary about the United Methodist Church

THE UNITED METHODIST REPORTER

UM clergyman led Claremont,NCC and Common Cause | 2B

Judicial Council rules onEast Africa Conf. complaint | 2B

Tragedies merit honesty aboutfeelings and reliance on faith | 7B

May 3, 2013 Section B

� See ‘Hagiya’ page 8B

Greater Northwest Area BishopGrant Hagiya earned a third-degreeblack belt in karate, as well as a mas-ter of divinity and a doctorate in or-ganizational leadership. His newbook Spiritual Kaizen: How to Be-come a Better Church Leader (Abing-don Press) draws on this variedbackground.

Bishop Hagiya answered ques-tions by email from managing editorSam Hodges. Here’s an edited ver-sion of the exchange.

Can you sum up, in a sentenceeach, how your faith, leadershiptraining and martial artsexperience are guiding you as youserve the UMC in a difficult time?

My core belief is that God is incharge of all of life, and, like Job, myresponse is reduced to humbleness

in awe.In leadership training, as Jim

Collins reminds us with his “Stock-dale Paradox” [concept], we must al-ways confront the brutal facts, butnever lose hope.

My martial arts training has beeninstrumental when a crisis situationarises in slowing down all that swirlsaround me, and enabling me to focuson the most efficient course.

Explain “spiritual kaizen,” and whyyou think it’s a key idea for clergyand committed laity.

The Japanese word “kaizen”comes from the root words “kai”meaning “change,” and “zen” trans-lated as “good” or “better.” In businessmanagement it is often translated as“continuous improvement.” I wouldadd the description of “slow, steady,

continuous improvement.” When youadd the adjective of “spiritual,” it re-inforces John Wesley’s personal disci-pleship movement from prevenientgrace to justification and on to sanc-tification.

As United Methodists, we mustrecover this lifelong spiritual journey,and enter into a continuous growthin love of God and neighbor. Steadyimprovement in our leadership skillsand abilities is also a lifelong process,as I believe leadership is not an in-nate quality, but rather learned.

How much trouble is the UMC—all mainline Christianity—in? Andof the causes of the trouble, whatstands out as most important, inyour view?

We are in huge trouble and wehave been in trouble for decades, but

out of hubris we have believed likesome secular organizations that wewere “too big to fail.” Now reality iscoming home to roost in the form ofour secular Western society movingto a “post-religious institutional soci-ety,” where one in five Americanshave absolutely no religious prefer-ence whatsoever. There is a complexset of causes and challenges, but tomention just one: The systems, struc-tures and processes of our UnitedMethodist Church worked well for theAmerican culture 40 years ago, butare out of touch with our contempo-rary American culture. In order to berelevant, we must adapt and change.

You write that the UM seminariesand UM churches and conferencesaren’t serving one another well.

Bishop’s book draws on faith, leadership theory, martial arts� See ‘Bush’ page 4B

DALLAS—Southern MethodistUniversity played happy backdrop tothe dedication of the George W. BushPresidential Center on April 25, an oc-casion that brought together all fourliving former U.S. presidents, theirFirst Ladies, and President BarackObama and his wife Michelle.

A crowd estimated at 10,000, in-cluding Bush administration alumni,family members of former presidentsand numerous foreigndignitaries, gathered outside in mildweather by the $250 million facility, anew anchor for the east side of theSMU campus in Dallas.

“Whatever challenges come beforeus, I will always believe our nation’sbest days lie ahead,” a choked-up for-mer President George W. Bush saidin finishing his eight-minute-long

PHOTO COURTESY ABINGDON PRESS

Bishop Grant Hagiya, authorof Spiritual Kaizen: How toBecome a Better ChurchLeader.

B Y S A M H O D G E SManaging Editor

Bush Centerdedicationbig for SMU

PHOTO COURTESY SMU

The April 25 dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Center at Dallas’ Southern Methodist University made for a historic gathering ofU.S. presidents and First Ladies.

M AY 3 , 2 0 1 3 | U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T R E P O R T E R

FAITH focus2B

Vatican workers don’t get bonusPope Francis has decidedagainst giving Vatican em-ployees the raise that is typi-cal upon the death of onepope and election of hissuccessor, the AssociatedPress reported. The newpope is known to be frugal,and the Vatican posted alarge deficit in 2011. “It didn’t seem possible or appropriate to burden theVatican’s budget with a considerable, unforeseenextra expense,” said the Rev. Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman.

Man charged withChristmas bombingA man has been charged byNigerian authorities with or-ganizing the Christmas Daybombing of a Catholicchurch at the edge of thecountry’s capital city, Abuja.Reuters reported that Niger-ian security forces capturedKabiru Sokoto, and he haspleaded not guilty tocharges of terrorism. The at-tacked killed 37 people. TheIslamist militant group BokoHaram claimed responsibil-ity.

Still in pulpitat age 105Wayman African MethodistEpiscopal Church in Min-neapolis often has in its pul-pit a true voice ofexperience—105-year-oldNoah Smith. The Rev. Smithdidn’t begin preaching untilage 49, after working invarious occupations, includ-ing shining shoes and play-ing music. “I said,‘Minister?’ I’m 49 years old.God wanted me to be aminister. Why didn’t he tellme before now? He said,‘He did tell you, you wastoo dumb to listen,’” saidMr. Smith.

—Compiled by Sam Hodges

FAITH WATCH

U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T R E P O R T E R . O R G

THE UNITED METHODIST REPORTER has provided denominational news coveragesince its beginning as the Texas Methodist newspaper in 1847. The Reporter has noofficial ties to the United Methodist General Conference or to any of the denomination’sgeneral boards or agencies. This newspaper aims to provide readers with a broadspectrum of information and viewpoints consistent with the diversity of Christians.

All material published in this newspaper is copyrighted by UMR CommunicationsInc. unless otherwise noted. Reprint of material from this newspaper must be au-thorized in advance by the Managing Editor, and fees are assessed in some cases.To request reprints, email news@umr.org, or fax a request to (214) 630-0079.

Alan Heath, CEOSam Hodges, Managing EditorBill Fentum, Associate Editor

Mary Jacobs, Staff WriterCherrie Graham, Advertising Manager

Dale Bryant, Senior Designer

www.unitedmethodistreporter.orgnews@umr.org

Please recycle. We do!

Board of DirectorsTom Palmer, Chair

Brad Bowen, Vice-ChairMichael Schaefer, Treasurer

Karla Abernethy-Thetford, Secretary

John AllenCharles Carnahan

Lynn HamricMichael Heiskell

Nathan KirkpatrickLisa Neslony

Arthur McClanahan

Scott ReeseGavin Richardson

Hiram SmithMartha Taylor

Eradio ValverdeKristin Van Nort

Kim Wheless

B Y A D E L L E M . BA N K SReligion News Service

Edgar recalled as progressive Christian leader

The Rev. Bob Edgar, a Democraticcongressman and United Methodistminister who went on to lead the Na-tional Council of Churches through apainful series of restructuring cuts,died suddenly on April 23 at age 69.

The man religious leaders remem-bered as a “bridge builder,” suffered aheart attack and had been exercisingon a treadmill in his home in Burke,Va., said Mary Boyle, spokeswomanfor Common Cause. Edgar becamepresident of the Washington-basednonpartisan advocacy group in 2007after serving two terms as the generalsecretary of the NCC.

“He was a man of great capacitywho understood the importance ofcross-cultural and religious dynam-ics,” said the Rev. Carroll Baltimore,president of the Progressive NationalBaptist Convention, who recalled trav-eling in a Common Cause interfaithdelegation Edgar led to Vietnam in2010 to learn about continuing effects

of Agent Orange.Dr. Baltimore said Edgar brought

together Christians, Buddhists, Confu-cians and political leaders.

“He was able to link all of thosepieces together and just remind usthat we’re all made from the samecloth,” he said.

Elected to Congress from south-eastern Pennsylvania in 1974, Edgarwas one of the reform-minded wave ofDemocratic “Watergate babies” whoswept Capitol Hill in the wake of theWatergate scandal. After losing a Sen-ate race in 1986, he was president ofClaremont School of Theology for 10years before he started leading theNCC in 2000.

At the NCC, his tenure began withintense news media attention duringthe Elian Gonzalez case as he helpedferry the boy’s grandmothers to andfrom Cuba.

He soon turned to dealing with theNCC’s growing multimillion-dollardeficit.

“This is the hardest job I’ve everhad,” Edgar told Religion News Service

early in his NCC tenure. “About everyother day it’s the most fun I’ve everhad, but it’s the hardest job.”

Early on, Edgar sensed that thevenerable ecumenical agency was los-ing its public voice, and was one of theearly supporters of ChristianChurches Together in the USA, whichbrought the NCC’s mainline Protes-tant, Orthodox and black churches to-gether with evangelicals and Catholicsfor the first time.

The conservative Institute on Reli-gion and Democracy often criticizedthe NCC and issued a 2006 report thatclaimed Edgar tried to help save thestill-troubled NCC with donationsfrom liberal philanthropists.

IRD President Mark Tooley said hewas saddened to learn of Edgar’sdeath.

“Although IRD was frequently crit-ical of the NCC’s policies under hisrule, he was always cordial in our per-sonal interactions,” Mr. Tooley said.“Edgar did temporarily revive theNCC, but, as the NCC has recently fur-ther shrunk and still struggles, it ap-pears that revival could not besustained after Edgar’s departure.”

Former NCC co-workers and col-leagues, who remembered Edgar’sfondness for running, noted his senseof humor and penchant for bad puns,his support of the “What Would JesusDrive?” campaign and his boundlessenergy.

“I thought that should be everyaging person’s goal—to be as physi-cally fit as Bob Edgar,” said PhilipJenks, retired communications officerfor the NCC, who was four yearsyounger than his supervisor. “Some-times God’s sense of humor catchesup with us.”

The Rev. Leslie Copeland-Tune,former assistant director of justiceand advocacy at the NCC, added: “Hejust really was a true believer and abeliever in making sure that peoplewho were the least of these did notsuffer because of our selfishness.”

Edgar, who wrote the 2007 bookMiddle Church: Reclaiming the MoralValues of the Faithful Majority fromthe Religious Right, was known for ac-tivities ranging from protesting theIraq war to a coordinated arrest insidethe U.S. Capitol in 2011 for praying tostop Republican budget cuts.

“That was the strength of theman,” said the Rev. Barbara Williams-Skinner, president of the SkinnerLeadership Institute. “He was a bridgebuilder in the truest, most powerfulsense of the word. He took the gospelseriously, the gospel of peace and thegospel of love.”

Edgar became top executive ofCommon Cause, a national advocacygroup with more than 400,000 mem-

bers and 35 state organizations, in2007. While there he “oversaw the re-launching of at least seven state chap-ters, traveled tirelessly to meet withand recruit Common Cause support-ers, and raised the organization’s na-tional profile and its critical missionto strengthen our democracy,” Com-mon Cause said in a news release an-nouncing Edgar’s passing.

“We are deeply saddened andshaken today by the passing of BobEdgar,” said Common Cause boardchair Robert Reich. “Bob will be re-membered for his decency, kindness,compassion and humor. His deepcommitment to social justice andstrengthening our democracy is hisgreatest gift to Common Cause andthe nation. Our hearts are with Bob’sfamily, his wife Merle, and sons An-drew, David and Rob, and their fami-lies.”

Jim Winkler, top executive of theUnited Methodist General Board ofChurch and Society, was a close friendand colleague.

“Bob Edgar was a close personalfriend of mine. I cannot believe wehave lost him,” Mr. Winkler said. “Hewas a great servant of Christ, posses-sor of a magnanimous and positivepersonality and a faithful UnitedMethodist. Those of us who knew himhave been sharing our sadness andour fond memories of him all day.”

The Rev. Larry Hollon, top execu-tive of United Methodist Communica-tions, was another saddened by thenews of Edgar’s passing.

“Bob was a valued friend, socialprogressive and committed Christianleader,” he said. “He brought a wonder-ful sense of humor to any gathering in which he was present. He was atireless defender of the poor andan advocate for justice.”

United Methodist News Servicecontributed.

UMNS FILE PHOTO BY RYAN BEILER/SOJOURNERS

The Rev. Bob Edgar spoke at the National Cathedral inWashington, D.C., on Jan. 1, 2003, at a prayer service for apeaceful solution to the Iraq crisis. The UM clergyman then was topstaff executive of the National Council of Churches.

Rev. Bob Edgar

CORRECTIONIn the April 12 “FaithWatch,” we misspelledthe last name of aninfluential Washington,D.C., pastor who diedMarch 20, at age 95. He was Gordon Cosby,credited with inspiringchurches to becomemore mission-focused.

FAITH focus 3B

Northwestern prezto speak at GarrettMorton Schapiro, presidentof Northwestern University,will give the commencementaddress at Garrett-Evangeli-cal Theological Seminary.Garrett, a UMC-affiliatedschool, is located on theEvanston, Ill., campus ofNorthwestern. Graduationevents begin with SeniorChapel on May 16 at 7:30p.m., at the Chapel of theUnnamed Faithful at Garrett-Evangelical. Commencementwill be on May 17 at 10a.m., at First UnitedMethodist Church inEvanston.

Virginia Conf. pushesOlder Adult SundayAt General Conference2008, delegates adoptedlegislation encouragingcongregations to observeOlder Adult Recognition Dayany Sunday in May. TheVirginia Conference haschosen May 5 for itschurches to have the day,and issued this statement tothem: “As you celebrate thisspecial Sunday, let it be anopportunity for thecongregation to focus on theneeds of older adults. Use itas a time to address theaccessibility of the churchbuildings, to look moreclosely at programs andministries, and to listen . . .to listen to the voices of theolder adults as they sharetheir dreams and visions for the church.”

Lugar to addressIndiana ConferenceThe Indiana Conference andCommunity Prayer Breakfastwill be held on June 8, from8-9 a.m., at the IndianaConvention Center in down-town Indianapolis. Thekeynotespeaker will beformer U.S.Sen. RichardLugar. He willspeak on howUnitedMethodists canbe in prayerfor the world.Sen. Lugar, afifth-genera-tion United Methodist fromIndiana, was the longestserving member of Congressin Indiana history before los-ing his seat last year.

—Compiled by Sam Hodges

UM CONNECTIONS

U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T R E P O R T E R . O R G U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T R E P O R T E R | M AY 3 , 2 0 1 3

Council rules on WPA/East Africa dispute

SEATTLE—A 10-year financialdispute between the United MethodistWestern Pennsylvania Conference andthe East Africa Conference thatwound up before the denomination’stop court has ended with a split deci-sion that likely will not please every-one.

The Judicial Council agreed withonly one of Western Pennsylvania’sthree questions—an item concerning$3,000 owed to a pastor in SouthSudan, a fraction of the more than$100,000 involved in the overall dis-pute.

In Decision 1238, the council saidthat a question about the outcome ofa complaint filed against East AfricaBishop Daniel Wandabula still was hy-pothetical “because there is no evi-dence in the record that the complaintprocess has concluded.”

Bishop Wandabula told the councilin October that the complaint hasbeen dismissed and promised to pro-vide documentation to prove his con-tention. But the council said nodocumentation has been received norwas provided during a second oralhearing April 17. “The Judicial Coun-cil, therefore, understands that thecomplaint process is continuing,” theruling says.

In the larger question—whetherdesignated funds donated to the EastAfrica Conference have been used asintended—the decision offered amessage of donor beware.

“The projects were not managedthrough the connectional system inthe General Board of Global Min-istries or authorized as an ‘Advance’ ofthe denomination,” the decisionstates. “Members of the WesternPennsylvania Annual Conferenceraised the funds, transmitted thefunds to the East Africa Annual Con-ference, visited locations in Uganda,and negotiated the terms with churchleaders in East Africa. . . . [It is notclear] from the record whether anyspecific officers within the WesternPennsylvania Annual Conference hadthe authority to adjust expenditureplans in cases where the property hadbecome too expensive or too cumber-some, where construction proved tobe too inferior, or where the waterwell was to be bored.

“The record indicates that theWestern Pennsylvania Annual Confer-ence now seeks supervisory action bythe General Board of Global Min-istries to help remedy errors that theannual conference finds in the man-agement of this mission,” the JudicialCouncil added.

The ruling did direct that the$3,000 in funds intended as compen-

sation for Pastor Isaac Sebit should bepaid to him by Jan. 1, 2014, or re-turned to the Western PennsylvaniaConference.

An oral hearing on the matter washeld April 17, primarily so that NancyDenardo of the Pittsburgh East Dis-trict of the Western PennsylvaniaConference could speak to the JudicialCouncil. Ms. Denardo, who super-vised the mission project and filed theoriginal complaint against BishopWandabula, was ill during the Octo-ber meeting and could not attend.

‘Plans never realized’ Ms. Denardo spoke of her shock in

going to Uganda expecting to see anew church and seeing only a founda-tion constructed. “Our plans havenever been realized,” she said. “No re-ceipts were ever made available andno explanation given by BishopWandabula. . . . Because of the consis-tent corruption in Uganda and SouthSudan, I felt compelled to write acomplaint against the bishop.”

In his own comments, BishopWandabula said that it was “impor-tant to note that my office did notmisuse any ‘designated’ funds offeredfor particular ministries, nor have Imismanaged any funds given for mis-sion and ministry. Believe it or not, wehave many Christians both withinand without the East Africa AnnualConference praying for accountabilitywith a ‘human face’ balanced withtransparency.

“Terrible mistakes are being madein dealing with East Africa,” he added.“Please note that both the WesternPennsylvania Annual Conference andGBGM were told about their mistakeseven as the mistakes were beingmade. It is so enraging that they re-fused to listen! . . . GBGM is mis-guided, and I have been framed forwhatever reason.”

The Rev. Robert Zilhaver, a clergymember of the Western PennsylvaniaConference, also spoke at the oralhearing. “This dispute has crippledour work in Uganda and our workfighting malaria,” Mr. Zilhaver said.

Case of former bishopIn another case, the council upheld

a 2012 decision of law by BishopThomas Bickerton that rejected argu-ments by the Rev. Hae-Jong Kim thatsought to reverse his 2005 resignationas a bishop.

Mr. Kim resigned Sept. 1, 2005, inthe midst of a complaint against him.

In January 2007, he wrote to theCouncil of Bishops asking that his res-ignation be rescinded. The Council ofBishops, citing no provisions in theBook of Discipline to deal with such asituation, decided they had no juris-diction to consider his request. Mr.

Kim then appealed to the Northeast-ern Jurisdiction Committee on theEpiscopacy for help, but the commit-tee did not act on his request.

During the 2012 Northeastern Ju-risdictional Conference, a clergy dele-gate offered a five-point appeal for adecision of law based on whether Mr.Kim had received fair process. BishopBickerton was presiding when the re-quest was made. The Judicial Councilaffirmed Bishop Bickerton’s responsesto all five points.

The council said that its ruling wasonly in regard to the fair process ques-tion and would not be drawn intoother areas “where the Judicial Coun-cil has no disciplinary authority.” Thatincluded Mr. Kim’s appeal to theUnited Methodist General Commis-sion on Religion and Race for an in-vestigation into his treatment, arequest that was made 10 weeks afterhis resignation.

After his resignation, Mr. Kim wasreturned to status as a retired elder ingood standing in his home GreaterNew Jersey Conference.

“The Judicial Council acknowl-edges that this matter has causedmuch pain and suffering among thoseinvolved, the community and the en-tire church,” Decision 1239 read.

An oral hearing on this matter alsowas held April 17.

Mr. Kim, making a brief commentbefore the Judicial Council, remem-bered that he was first ordained 50years ago this year and asked “that thechurch I love, and gave my life for,treat me fairly.”

More decisionsIn other rulings the Judicial Coun-

cil:• Remanded a question of law

made during the Western Jurisdic-tional Conference back to the presid-ing bishop for a decision after thebishop had rejected the question as

moot because it had a typographicalerror. The Judicial Council has ruledseveral times in previous decisionsthat such an error in a question does“not necessarily negate the legitimacyof the questions.”

• Deferred a decision on a questionfrom the Congo Central Conferenceuntil it receives the minutes of the rel-evant session of the election process.

• Refused jurisdiction in an epis-copal election dispute between annualconferences in Nigeria because thegroup submitting the request waswithout the proper disciplinary stand-ing to do so.

• Said it lacked jurisdiction in aquestion of an inclusiveness resolu-tion in the Desert Southwest Confer-ence because the request for a bishop’sdecision of law was not properly pre-sented during the business session ofannual conference.

• Denied a request to reconsiderDecision 1230, the decision on rein-stating Bishop Earl Bledsoe, alongwith Memorandums 1213 (WesternJurisdiction Committee on Appeals)and 1217 (North Alabama and theCoalition for Reproductive Choice).

The Judicial Council is next sched-uled to meet Oct. 23-26 in Boston.

Mr. Caldwell is the editor of theVirginia United Methodist Advocateand is a correspondent for UnitedMethodist News Service.

B Y N E I L L C A L DW E L LSpecial Contributor

RichardLugar

PHOTO BY NEILL CALDWELL

Nancy Denardo of the Western Pennsylvania Conference addressedthe UMC’s Judicial Council on April 17, elaborating her complaintagainst East Africa Bishop Daniel Wandabula over alleged misuseof mission funds.

Order at www.faithvessels.com417-840-9693 Local Pastor/Potter Hue Parnell

Got MemorialFunds?ContemporaryHandcrafted Porcelain

M AY 3 , 2 0 1 3 | U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T R E P O R T E R U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T R E P O R T E R . O R G

FAITH focus4B

remarks.The Bush Center includes a mu-

seum and library, housing officialrecords and artifacts of the 43rd presi-dent. It also is home to the George W.Bush Institute, a public policy center.

The dedication was, to no smalldegree, a United Methodist event,given that Mr. Bush and his wife Lauraare active United Methodists; thatthey chose to put the facility at aUnited Methodist school (Mrs. Bush’salma mater); and that their pastor, theRev. Mark Craig of Highland ParkUMC (right by the campus) gave theinvocation.

“We have gathered today, O God, togive thanks for the life and legacy ofPresident and Mrs. George Bush,” Mr.Craig prayed. “We are thankful fortheir distinguished leadership to ournation.”

Earlier this week, Mr. Craig said inan interview: “The Bushes are verystrong church members. Every SundayI look over to my left, and they’re sit-ting there. . . . They love their churchand they love the Methodist Church.”

SMU President Gerald Turner saidthe Bush Center will raise the school’sprofile and strengthen it academically,through collaborations involving stu-dents and professors.

“The most obvious thing is it’llbring 400,000 to 500,000 people a yearhere, and many of them wouldn’t havebeen on campus otherwise,” he said.“But the [academic] programs arewhat we’re most interested in.”

In his remarks at the dedication,Mr. Bush said: “President GeraldTurner runs a fantastic university.” Headded that SMU has “a student bodythat is awesome,” prompting a roarfrom students gathered for the event.

Former presidents Bill Clinton andJimmy Carter both lauded Mr. Bushfor his work on global health, particu-larly providing drugs to Africans bat-tling HIV/AIDS. Mr. Carter said Mr.Bush, more than anyone, deservedcredit for ending civil war in Sudan.

President Obama too praised Mr.Bush for his work in Africa, as well asfor backing immigration reform.

“Mr. President, for your service, foryour courage, for your sense of humorand most of all for your love of coun-try, thank you very much,” PresidentObama said at the dedication.

Mr. Bush’s father, former PresidentGeorge H.W. Bush, merely thanked thecrowd, but moved many by risingfrom his wheelchair briefly.

Strong resourceGeorge W. Bush’s presidency was,

as he acknowledged at the dedica-tion, controversial, including his deci-sion to go to war in Iraq after the 9/11attacks, and his handling of HurricaneKatrina and the economy, which wentinto a deep recession late in his sec-ond term.

Though the Bushes made clearthey would return to Dallas after hispresidency, SMU had to compete tobecome home to the Bush Center.

SMU also had to win approval fromthe UMC’s South Central Jurisdiction.

Some within the SMU communityand the denomination lamented theschool’s aggressive bid, particularlysince the arrangement required a pub-lic policy center that they predictedwould reflexively defend Mr. Bush’slegacy and promote his philosophy ofgovernment.

Critics remain, including the Rev.Bill McElvaney, a retired UnitedMethodist pastor and professor emer-itus of SMU’s Perkins School of Theol-ogy. He joined in an interfaith serviceof lamentation on April 22 in Dallas,one of a number of protest eventstimed to the Bush Center dedication.

“My view has not shifted about thewar in Iraq,” Dr. McElvaney said in arecent interview. “This was an illegalwar. It was unnecessary. It was takenon false premises. Our president livedabove the law on that.”

But Dr. McElvaney volunteeredthat the Bush Institute, already in op-eration, has had some worthy initia-tives, including building leadershipskills among women in the MiddleEast—a Laura Bush priority.

“Those are things we can be grate-ful for, as far as we know,” said Dr.McElvaney, an SMU alum. “We’ll seehow this plays out.”

United Methodist Bishop ScottJones, an SMU board member, said it’s

understandable that there would beopposition to the Bush Center withinthe UMC, given the size and “big tent”character of the denomination.

But he praised the Center, includ-ing the Institute, as a strong new re-source for SMU.

“The predictions of great harm andpolarized political activity raised bycritics in 2007 and 2008 have not cometrue,” Bishop Jones said. “The Institutehas conducted itself with academic in-tegrity and been a strong contributorto the university’s mission.”

The Rev. Stephen Rankin, a UMelder and chaplain of SMU, also calledthe Bush Center an asset for theschool and said the Institute can be aplace for rigorous, fair-minded policydebate.

“I’m not suggesting some mushymiddle-of-the-road default,” he said.“We United Methodists go there al-most unthinkingly. I long for honest,pointed discussions with charitablejudgments about each other’s motives,rather than the political tit-for-tat thathappens too often.”

Twisted beamThe Center opens to the public

May 1, and visitors will encounter a226,000 square foot structure whoseexterior complements SMU’s Geor-gian architecture, while includingmodern touches. The interior walls in-tegrate Texas pecan paneling withTexas limestone.

The solar panel-equipped building

� BUSH Continued from page 1B

PHOTOS COURTESY GEORGE W. BUSH PRESIDENTIAL CENTER

ABOVE: The 15-acre park setting of the Bush Center features native Texas plants and landscape. RIGHT: President andMrs. Bush in front of the Bush Center.

UMR PHOTO BY SAM HODGES

The Rev. William McElvaney, a UM pastor and professor emeritus ofSMU’s Perkins School of Theology, spoke at a service oflamentation, one of a number of protest events tied to the BushCenter dedication.

U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T R E P O R T E R | M AY 3 , 2 0 1 3U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T R E P O R T E R . O R G

FAITH focus 5B

earned LEED Platinum certificationfrom the U.S. Green Building Council,and the 15-acre urban park that sur-rounds it, which Mrs. Bush consultedon closely, features native, drought-tolerant plants landscaped to maxi-mize water conservation.

Freedom Hall provides the “wow”of the Center, with its elevated ceilingand a 360-degree video screen ofamazingly high definition.

The Museum begins with exhibitsdepicting Mr. Bush’s early policy ini-tiatives, such as tax cuts, the No ChildLeft Behind education program andfaith-based initiatives.

But around the corner, the unex-pected events dominate, namely the9/11 attacks, the Iraq War, HurricaneKatrina and the recession.

“You can see the way our liveschanged, and the way the lives ofeveryone in our country changed,”said Mrs. Bush at a media preview onApril 24.

The Museum includes a twistedbeam from the World Trade Centertowers, flanked by panels offering thenames of those killed in the 9/11 at-tacks. Visitors can use interactivetechnology to hear the recorded ad-vice Mr. Bush was given aboutwhether to go to war in Iraq, and canregister their own calls on whatshould have been done.

“You get to decide how you wouldhandle the crisis, and you’re invited todisagree with him,” said Mark Lang-dale, president of the Bush Center.

There are many lighter touches, in-cluding gowns worn by Mrs. Bush,displays of gifts given to the Bushes byforeign countries and bronze statuesof the Bush’s pet dogs. The Museumoffers a replica of the Oval Office, dec-orated as it was in Mr. Bush’s time.

There’s even a Rose Garden, albeitit with Texas plants, and a view of theDallas skyline.

The Bush Library, formally handedover to the National Archives andRecords Administration on April 24,offers scholars 70 million pages ofpaper records, 200 million emails andfour million digital photographs.

The building also houses the BushInstitute, whose policy areas includeeconomic growth, global health, edu-cation reform and human rights. Mrs.Bush noted the Institute’s work on im-proving treatment for cervical cancerin Africa.

She also praised the Center’s col-laboration with SMU.

“It’s fun to be here,” she said dur-ing the media preview. “I went to col-lege here. I’m back on my old

campus.”At the dedication, the former pres-

idents and First Ladies—MichelleObama, Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton,Barbara Bush and Rosalynn Carter—sat together on the raised platform.Dignitaries in the front rows includedformer Vice President Dick Cheney.

The strict security measures ac-companying the dedication promptedHighland Park UMC to shut down formuch of this week.

But Mr. Craig said the church willsee visitors and other benefits fromthe Bush Center. He plans to spendtime there in his retirement, whichhe’s beginning this spring.

“I wouldn’t mind being a docent,”he said.

shodges@umr.org

PHOTO BY PETER AARON/OTTO FOR ROBERT A.M. STERN ARCHITECTS

ABOVE: Freedom Hall at the George W. Bush Presidential Centerfeatures a 360-degree high-definition video wall. BELOW: Twistedbeams from the World Trade Center are a centerpiece of the 9/11exhibit in the Bush Center Museum.

UMR PHOTO BY MARY JACOBS

FACTS AND FIGURES� The George W. Bush Presidential Center is on 23 acres near

the entrance of SMU. � The 226,000 square foot building houses George W. Bush

Presidential Library and Museum, George W. Bush Institute,a museum store and Café 43.

� Grounds cover 15 acres, featuring native trees, shrubs andgrasses, and a Texas Rose Garden.

� “Green” building features include solar hot water andphotovoltaic systems.

� Library/Museum is administered by the National Archivesand Records Administration, and holds 70 million pages ofpaper, 43,000 artifacts, 200 million emails and 4 milliondigital photos.

� Library/Museum includes exhibits, an Oval Office replica anda piece of steel from World Trade Center. Freedom Hallencases a 20 foot tall, 360-degree high-definition video wall.

� Building designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects.� Landscape designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates.� Total cost: $250 million. � Opening: May 1.� Admission: $16 for adults. Discounts for seniors, students,

children. Free for SMU students, faculty, staff.

PHOTO BY ERIC DRAPER

Laura Bush has led the Bush Institute to a focus on building leadership skills among women. TheInstitute sponsored a group of Middle East women on a U.S. tour, including this stop at FacebookHeadquarters in Menlo Park, Calif.

FAITH forum6B

M AY 3 , 2 0 1 3 | U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T R E P O R T E R U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T R E P O R T E R . O R G

How will United Methodists respond to Gosnell horror?B Y M AT T O’ R E I L LYSpecial Contributor

B Y S T E V E C O P L E YSpecial Contributor

United Methodists have an impres-sive record for faithfully responding totragedy. In the after-math of the New-town massacre,Methodist congrega-tions responded withan outpouring oflove and interces-sion. We havepreached, prayed andworked to transformthe systems that notonly allow but some-times even enable such terrible acts.

The trial of Kermit Gosnell pre -sents us with a new national horrorinvolving the violent deaths of chil-dren. Charged with the murder of onewoman and seven newborns, hiscrimes likely far exceed the formal ac-cusations against him. The horror ofthe allegations has been compoundedby the initial hesitancy of mainstreammedia to cover the story. As detailscontinue to emerge, the question forUnited Methodists is this: How will werespond to the Gosnell horror?

We must begin by recognizing thatthis tragic situation follows from thewidespread efforts to normalize abor-tion in the United States. Not all willagree with that conclusion, but a vari-ety of factors suggest its accuracy. Since

abortion was declared a constitutionalright in the landmark case of Roe v.Wade, the pro-choice movement hasworked hard to undermine the full per-sonhood of the preborn. We have beentold again and again that the child inthe womb is a fetus, not a baby. We aretold that abortion is not the ending of alife; it is the termination of a preg-nancy. This cold and detached termi-nology is intended to downplay anyemotional reaction to abortion.

The problem is that if a prebornchild in the eighth or ninth month ofgestation does not have the moral sta-tus of a person, why should we think achange of geography from inside thewomb to outside the womb suddenlyestablishes personhood? There is nosubstantive difference between thepreborn and the newly born. If we aredesensitized to the death of the for-mer, it will lead us to be decreasinglysensitive to the latter. The road fromRoe to Gosnell is a downhill slope.

This connection can clearly beseen in a variety of recent argumentsmade by abortion advocates. In 2012,bioethicists Alberto Giubilini andFrancesca Minerva argued in thepeer-reviewed Journal of MedicalEthics for what they called “post-birthabortion.” They claimed that new-borns, like fetuses, do not have themoral status of a person and, there-fore, the killing of a newborn shouldbe permissible even when the new-

nection between Roe and Gosnell.United Methodists need to recognizethat we are where we are because theRoe decision started us on a path ofdevaluing the sacred worth of humanlife. That path has led us to the trial ofKermit Gosnell.

In light of the connection betweenabortion and infanticide, UnitedMethodists should respond to theGosnell horror in two ways.

First, we should break ties with theReligious Coalition for ReproductiveChoice (RCRC). As many readers al-ready know, our General Board ofChurch & Society and UnitedMethodist Women are member organi-zations of RCRC. Readers may notknow that in a published volume ofworship aids entitled Prayerfully Pro-Choice, RCRC has written that abortionis a “God-given right,” a “sacred choice,”and that human life is not to be attrib-uted to the preborn. This language goesstrongly against our Social Principleswhich declare that, “Our belief in thesanctity of unborn human life makesus reluctant to approve abortion” (2012Book of Discipline, ¶161.J). Claimingabortion as a divinely endowed holyright is hardly consonant with reluc-tance to approve it. RCRC has workedtirelessly to devalue and destroy pre-born human life, which, as I have ar-gued, has played a significant part inbringing about the current situation inwhich Kermit Gosnell stands accused

of infanticide. United Methodists mustrespond by holding our denomina-tional agencies accountable for theirrole in advancing abortion. We mustinsist they break with RCRC.

Second, we should call upon Gen-eral Conference to make a strongerstatement in our Social Principles infavor of preborn and newly bornhuman life. Our United MethodistChurch must speak against the in-creasing application of pro-abortionarguments to the practice of infanti-cide, and we need our Social Princi-ples to guide us. We already state ourreluctance to approve abortion. Weneed a statement that declares our un-ambiguous and unqualified supportfor human life at every stage.

United Methodists are supposed tobe the people who speak up for thosewho have no voice, who take up thecase of the marginalized, the abusedand the victimized. If we want to befaithful to that heritage today and inthe days to come, we must be the voiceboth of the preborn and the newlyborn, and so must our denomina-tional agencies and Social Principles.We should be able to count on them todefend the defenseless and care forthe destitute. This is our opportunityto stand for righteousness and againstinjustice. We must not miss it.

The Rev. O’Reilly is pastor of FirstUMC of Union Springs, Ala.Connect at www.mattoreilly.net.

born has no disability or defect. Uponthe 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade,Mary Elizabeth Williams wrote a piecefor Salon.com titled, “So what if abor-tion ends life?” in which she arguedthat the child inside the womb is asmuch a life as the one outside. She didnot go as far as Dr. Giubilini and Dr.Minerva by arguing for infanticide,but when you agree that the prebornand the newly born are alive in thesame sense, it is a short and logicalstep from pre-birth abortion to infan-ticide. More recently, a representativeof Planned Parenthood argued toFlorida lawmakers that the decision tooffer life-saving care to a child bornalive after a botched abortion shouldbe left to the mother and her physi-cians rather than guaranteed by law.

When the principles that gave usabortion-on-demand are being ap-plied to infanticide in such a broadrange of arenas, from academic jour-nals to popular websites and congres-sional hearings, it is difficult tosustain the view that there is no con-

MattO’Reilly

Case is a horror, but no reason to leave RCRC

The Kermit Gosnell case is as hor-rible as you think it is. And it illus-trates precisely whyit should not be usedto argue for furtherrestriction of access.

Women living inpoverty in Philadel-phia felt that Gosnellwas their only optionwhen they neededan abortion, in partbecause of the cur-rent restrictions onMedicaid funding and the dearth ofaccessible and affordable abortionproviders. Using Gosnell as an excuseto further restrict abortion care justcreates more unprincipled, back alleycharlatans like him who are willing totake advantage of women in desperatecircumstances. Gosnell’s case does notshow a slippery slope to infanticide;rather, it is a window into a not-too-distant past where women were per-manently injured or—toooften—died from illegal abortions.

As a pastor in the South CentralJurisdiction, I’m glad our denomina-tion is involved in the Religious Coali-tion for Reproductive Choice becausethe mission and work of RCRC soclearly fits United Methodists’ positionon women’s health, and specificallyabortion care, as outlined in the Bookof Discipline.

Like many of you, I believe thatabortion should be legal, safe andrare. One way to accomplish the “rare”part of that belief is comprehensivesexual education. The Book of Disci-pline says “(T)he Church should sup-port the family in providingage-appropriate education regardingsexuality to children, youth andadults.” (¶161.F) RCRC has done faith-ful work around sex-ed that is bothage and denominationally appropriateso that young women and men aren’tfaced with having to make a decisionabout abortion in the first place. Iknow of no other organization insideor outside the denomination thathelps us meet that mandate.

The Book of Discipline makes sev-eral references to concepts such asself-determination, informed Chris-

tian conscience, and thoughtful andprayerful consideration regardingabortion. Those actions are difficult toeffect without access to a full range ofreproductive health care services. As acoalition, RCRC believes that access toreproductive health care servicesshould be readily available to all peo-ple so that we can all experience God’sgood gift of sexuality with joy and re-sponsibility, health and wholeness.

One passage from the Book of Dis-cipline that is particularly meaningfulto me as someone who pastors thoseliving in poverty is also in the sectionon abortion: “We call all Christians toa searching and prayerful inquiry intothe sorts of conditions that may causethem to consider abortion. TheChurch shall offer ministries to reduceunintended pregnancies. We commitour Church to continue to providenurturing ministries to those who ter-minate a pregnancy, to those in themidst of a crisis pregnancy, and tothose who give birth.” (¶161.J) Fordecades, RCRC has been conductingtrainings for clergy in helping womendeal with these difficult decisions, aswell as in times of reproductive loss.

Being “reluctant to approve abor-tion,” as our Book of Discipline says, isan indication of the careful thoughtthat a woman undertakes when con-sidering the ending of a pregnancy.But we agree that “. . . we are equallybound to respect the sacredness of thelife and well-being of the mother andthe unborn child. We recognize tragicconflicts of life with life that may jus-tify abortion, and in such cases wesupport the legal option of abortionunder proper medical procedures.”(¶161.J) Indeed, this particular pas-sage models the behavior of recogniz-ing the gravity of the situation, andthen thoughtfully and prayerfully pro-ceeding in partnership with lovedones, clergy and medical profession-als. It’s important to note here thatGosnell’s actions were not proper andaccepted medical procedures, and hein fact is not certified as an OB/GYN.

As United Methodists, we are notcalled to the easy answers, but rathercalled to bring our prayers, presence,gifts, service and witness to ourChurch specifically, and by extension,to God’s vast and complex world. Thereasons a woman would choose an

abortion are rarely simple or easy, andare made in an environment coloredby many factors, including poverty,race, education and class, as well asaccess to reproductive health care.RCRC’s recent expansion into a frameof reproductive justice includes notonly the moral agency of people tomake their own decisions about theirreproductive lives, but also now acommitment to change the environ-ment in which people make those verydecisions. Given the UMC’s long his-tory of social justice and working tohelp people at the margins, this is agood fit for us—and a good fit tobring our unique voice as a memberof the coalition that makes up RCRC.

We’re also called to witness toChrist’s love. We live the gospel bestwhen we do so with action—actionthat creates an environment wherepeople are able to exercise their con-science with as few barriers as possi-ble.

The Rev. Copley is an ordainedelder in the Arkansas Conference,and serves as executive director ofthe Arkansas InterfaithConference. scopley438@aol.com.

SteveCopley

Editor’s Note: The Rev. MattO’Reilley submitted thiscommentary. Since it references theReligious Coalition forReproductive Choice, we asked thatgroup for a response. The Rev.Steve Copley wrote the essay belowon behalf of RCRC.

U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T R E P O R T E R | M AY 3 , 2 0 1 3

FAITH forum 7B

U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T R E P O R T E R . O R G

Why the UM bishops should keep their meetings open

As one of the retired bishops I jointhose who are concerned about the ac-tive bishops meetingas a closed “forum”in San Diego fromMay 5-8. The word“forum” is a publicword. Its derivationcomes from the openspace or marketplace in an ancientRoman city. It is alsoused by organiza-tions that hold pub-lic meetings forreflections and discussions aroundthemes of common interest.

It should be noted that the activebishops are scheduled to meet as aforum in 2013, 2014 and 2015.“Forum” does not mean closed meet-ing. It means just the opposite. I wantto suggest several reasons why theUnited Methodist Church would bemore vital if this did not happen.

First, it is advantageous for believ-ers to experience the theological andgeographical diversity of the bishops.In many ways the meetings are likethe entire church reduced to oneroom. If we look carefully we experi-ence the Christ who transcends ourdifferences to make us one.

Second, the global nature of thechurch is experienced in these meet-

ings. It does no harm for us to be opento this experience.

Third, it is restoring to witnesshow active bishops reflect theologi-cally on issues such as sexuality, ordi-nation, evangelism and the mission ofthe church in the world. Having com-plete transparency on these and otheropportunities will strengthen the wit-ness of the United Methodist Church.

Fourth, others can learn how toshare and work with best practices bywatching how the bishops go aboutthis important task. Why not havethese best practices published by ourreligious press so that all could bene-fit? The presence of retired bishopscould also contribute to best practicessince experience is one of our greatteachers. Practices that strengthenedour witness in the past might also beemployed today.

Fifth, we are living in a time whenthere is a growing interest in spiritualretreats. More and more Christians areinterested in prayer, meditation,searching the Scriptures and keepingthe spiritual disciplines. Others couldbe helped and informed by how thebishops engage the inner life. BishopRosemarie Wenner of Germany, presi-dent of the council, described suchmeetings as “mainly spiritual retreats.”If this is true, why should anyone beexcluded from such opportunities togrow in grace? Modeling spiritualityfor the church is a genuine need. Mr.Wesley taught us that social concern

grows out of vital piety.Sixth, it could be beneficial if the

whole church could witness how thebishops labor to “make disciples ofJesus Christ for the transformation ofthe world.” I know from my experi-ence that the bishops are committedto this mission. Why close the meetingso that others cannot experience the

fervor around this mandate? Makingdisciples is one of the ways that wepractice the ministry of reconcilia-tion.

Seventh, I doubt that the bishopswould suggest closed meetings forlocal congregations. I say this becausethe Christian religion is by its very na-ture a communal religion. We wantpersons to be fully engaged in thecommunity of faith. The communalnature of Methodism is compromisedby not having open minds, openhearts and open doors.

Eighth, it is worth noting that theretired bishops are also excluded fromthe meetings of the forum. We are not

residential but we are active. Retiredbishops serve as professors, chaplains,writers, consultants, interim pastors,handlers of complaints and spiritualdirectors. Our experiences could con-tribute to the conversation in waysthat might be helpful to all concerned.In a word, some of us would gladlyserve as a resource to both the active

and retired bishops.Ninth, the forum does not carry

out the intention of Paragraph 4 ofour constitution. It states: “In theUnited Methodist Church, no confer-ence or other organizational unit ofthe Church shall be structured so as toexclude any member or any con-stituent body of the Church because ofrace, color, national origin, status oreconomic condition.” In my opinion,the word “structured” is the key wordas it relates to closed meetings.

Tenth, the high purpose of theChurch is to reconcile people to Godand to each other after the example ofChrist. All that we do should be done

in the spirit of reconciliation. I believethat we can better practice reconcilia-tion by being open in all of our prac-tices. I have been in Council ofBishops meetings when there havebeen serious theological differencesbetween bishops, aired at the micro-phone with great passion. After theadjournment I have seen the verysame bishops hug each other as an ex-pression of love for God and neighbor.

Deep commitmentI want to conclude this piece by

saying two things. First, the Council ismade up of persons of deep commit-ment to the mission of the UnitedMethodist Church. These persons, as agroup, want to lead the Church to bean instrument through which Christcan work.

Secondly, there are times when themeetings do need to be closed be-cause of delicate needs and issues thataffect the soul of the church. Thereshould be a place and a time to ad-journ into closed session but havingclosed meetings contradicts the spiritof Wesley when he said, “Do all thegood you can, by all of the means youcan, in all of the ways you can, in all ofthe places you can, at all of the timesyou can, to all of the people you can,as long as ever you can.”

Retired UM Bishop Pennel is aprofessor of the practice ofleadership at Vanderbilt DivinitySchool.

B Y B I S H O P J O E E . P E N N E L J R .Special Contributor

B Y J U L I E YA R B R O U G HSpecial Contributor

Bishop JoeE. PennelJr.

Faith is balm for ‘collective grief’ after tragedy

“We know that trouble produces en-durance, endurance produces char-acter, and character produces hope.”

(Romans 5:3-4, CEB)

When an entirecommunity isstunned andshocked by large-scale loss, most re-cently the explosionof a fertilizer plantin West, Texas, akind of collectivegrief envelops every-one touched by thetragedy. Usually thisgrief is exponentially more intense insmall communities where there arefar fewer than six degrees of separa-tion between neighbors, friends andfamily. People know each other per-sonally and intimately, many relatedby birth and a shared geographic her-itage.

It was inspiring to see a news re-port from West on Sunday, April 21,about members of a large churchthere worshipping outside together inthe bright sunshine of a spring day.There were tears. There was sadness.There was determination. There washope: “And hope does not disappointus because God has poured out hislove into our hearts by the HolySpirit.” (Romans 5:5 NRSV)

Life’s extremes collided in the livesand hearts of those gathered in a fieldto share their collective and individ-ual grief. And there was joy—joy tobe alive and connected, safe amid thepublic and private outpouring of loveand care that is God’s inspired re-sponse of the human heart.

The nature of collective grief isthat sometimes it lifts rather quickly,such as when a suspect is appre-hended. All of Boston, indeed the en-tire country, was relieved and jubilantwhen the manhunt for those respon-sible for a senseless act of violent ter-rorism ended after four days ofsearching. Yet in Newtown there will

always be a collective grief thatlingers in the hearts of those whosustained unimaginable loss and suf-fer deep heartache. It could not beotherwise. There will always be

grief—always—for the children andadults slain that December day. Grieffor their tender age, their innocence,their self-sacrifice. Those who sur-vived live daily with circular projec-tions of the mind about a future thatwill never be—the “what if ” and “ifonly” at the core of the great, unan-swered, “Why?”

The rites and rituals of collectivegrief can bring us, eventually, to asense of comfort and reassurance. Yetthe work of grief that ultimately leadsto healing demands that we first ac-knowledge our pain and loss, and en-gage with ourselves at a deep spiritualplace where we encounter what it iswe’re feeling and what it is we believe.

In 1 Peter 5:10 we’re promised thatour grief will not last forever: “Andafter you have suffered for a littlewhile, the God of all grace, who hascalled you to his eternal glory inChrist, will himself restore, support,strengthen, and establish you.”(NRSV) God promises to restore us,to support us, to strengthen us, and toestablish us—and the best part is

that God promises to do it himself.God does not delegate God’s inten-tional care for you or for me. God is ahands-on God who uses many of ourearthly resources and opportunitiesto comfort and encourage us throughthe abiding presence of the HolySpirit, especially at times of great sor-row, loss, and human tragedy.

On the last occasion my belovedhusband was in the pulpit, he offeredthis pastoral prayer: “We have comethis far by faith, and we will continueto walk with our hand in yours wher-ever you lead us.” I cherish this spiri-tual affirmation, the promise of ourfaith that in life, in death, in life be-yond death, and in our grief, God iswith us.

We are not alone.

Ms. Yarbrough is a member of Highland Park UMC in Dallas,where her late husband, the Rev.Leighton K. Farrell, was longtimepastor. She’s the author of a series of grief resources, Beyondthe Broken Heart, published by Abingdon Press(www.beyondthebrokenheart.com).

JulieYarbrough

‘We want persons to be fully engagedin the community of faith. Thecommunal nature of Methodism iscompromised by not having openminds, open hearts and open doors.’

PHOTO COURTESY CENTRAL TEXAS CONFERENCE

The Rev. Jimmy Sansom led aservice at West UMC in West,Texas, on the Sunday after theApril 17 explosion devastatedmuch of the town.

M AY 3 , 2 0 1 3 | U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T R E P O R T E R U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T R E P O R T E R . O R G

FAITH focus8B

� HAGIYA Continued from page 1B

Briefly, what needs to happen onboth ends?

The church and academy are sepa-rate institutions with different histo-ries, audiences and systems. One doesnot serve the other, but rather thereshould be a synergy arising out of ashared partnership in mission andpurpose. I have a lot of ideas on howthe two institutions can work to-gether, but the one that I would sug-gest immediately is to find a way forthe church and academy to talk witheach other in a constructive and mu-tually transforming way. Often, thecommunication is single, channeledwith one institution demandingsomething from the other. A carefullyconstructed two-way conversationwhere both institutions are attempt-ing to understandwhere the other iscoming from andseeking to serve oneanother would go along way. Havingbeen on both sides ofthis fence, there aregreat strengths ineach institution, butinstead of working forthe best in both, of-tentimes we draw outthe worst in each.

You did yourdoctoral study onhighly effective UM pastors. Howdid you define “highly effective”?

As an academic research disserta-tion, I had to have a carefully definedand quantitative definition of “highlyeffective clergy.” My dissertation defi-nition was those clergy who were ableto increase their average worship at-tendance over a sustained five-yearperiod or longer throughout theirministerial careers. Conversely, “lowereffective clergy” were not able to in-

crease their average worship atten-dance over the same five-year crite-rion.

You write about a “culture ofentitlement” within UM ministry,including bishops, that sometimestrumps service to God. How doesthat relate to “security ofappointment”—and is security ofappointment hurting the UMC?

From a management perspective, Ido believe that security of appoint-ment is harming the United MethodistChurch. I understand its historicalroots in the primary protection ofwomen clergy, and I applaud that.However, the church has come a longway in this one area, and althoughthere is still a great deal of sexism in

our church, securityof appointment is nolonger needed in thesame historical con-text from its origin.Personally, I believethat security of ap-pointment fosters asense of clergy enti-tlement, and I wouldinclude bishops. Ifsecurity of appoint-ment would some-day go away, I believebishops should alsobe subject to termlimits, and that

would push all of us away from medi-ocrity and into a lifelong sense ofgrowth and improvement.

“Empowerment of laity” issomething you stress over and over.Why?

Because of its biblical and theolog-ical grounding, and the fact that inour baptism, we have been endowedwith all the powers of Jesus to healand transform a broken world. Our

current church culture has fostered aclericalism that is miles away fromour biblical heritage, and it is trulyharming our denomination. We are ina consumerism church model, wherethe laity come as passive recipients ofa gospel truth that is dispensed by thepastor who is supposed to be a theo-logical expert. The biblical mandate isthat we all are ministers of that gospelin our baptism!

The Pacific Northwest is known asthe least churched part of thecountry. How tough is it to getpeople engaged in Christian faiththere?

As one in the original “None Zone,”I am always reminding our people ofthe great advantage we have in the Pa-cific Northwest: We have way morepeople to evangelize and transform!Instead of lamenting the seculariza-tion of our part of the country, weshould be challenged by it, and workthat much harder to be the church ofJesus Christ! It is definitely tougher toget secularized people interested inthe gospel message, but nobody, espe-cially Jesus, promised us it would beeasy. We are working as hard as we canto turn things around, and I pay spe-cial attention to our yearly metrics, es-pecially average worship attendance,professions of faith and baptisms, andmission events and projects.

On page 130 of your book, you layout the “metrics” you’ve posed tothe churches in your area, includinga 10 percent net increase in worshipattendance. Yet you also stress the“missional” as opposed to“attractional” model of church.What do you say to the pastor whosays to you, “In order to boostattendance, I need to focus onprograms that bring in individualsand families, more than on missionwork?”

As I have mentioned earlier, we arenow in a “post-organized religiousculture” here in the West and Europe,and people will not necessarily seekout our churches from a felt need.Thus, the “attractional” model thatworked for previous generations willnot work in our contemporary society.We need to move to a “missional”model that engages people where theyare. However, as I also previouslymentioned, all of our systems, struc-tures and processes are still fixed inthe old attractional model. Therefore,I believe we find ourselves in the tran-sitional zone between attractional andmissional.

Gil Rendle calls this the “wilder-ness.” We are sojourners, looking forhome. I tell anyone who will listen thatGod will ultimately lead us by pillarand fire to our final home, and the keyis for us to journey in faith. Our home

is not in a church building or churchproperty, but our home is the missionitself. To bring more people into thechurch building, without sendingthem out in mission to the world, isbankrupt and biblically wrong. Mis-sion is our very reason for existence asthe people of God.

How has your work changed andgrown, now that you’re leadingthree conferences? And how muchtraveling are you doing?

In my opinion, the reduction ofone bishop in each jurisdiction at the2004 General Conference was moremotivated by political rather than fi-nancial reasons. As such, the churchdid not realize the unintended conse-quences, and we are now livingthrough the problems that this deci-sion has produced. In my case, I mustnow oversee a huge geographical ter-ritory that includes Alaska, Idaho,

Oregon and Washington. My personaltestimony is that if I could focus andconcentrate on any one of those areasand annual conferences alone, I couldeffect change and growth to a greaterdegree.

You write in Spiritual Kaizen, as anaside, that you can teach mostpeople how to break a board. Doyou still practice the martial arts,and what’s the most boards you’veever broken at one time?

I do still practice. Board and brickbreaking is not an integral part of theart, and the only time we did it was forshow . . . to promote our dojo (studio)or art. It was also expensive, as in onepower break we would break 5-6boards at one time. At my age, I don’thave the time or money to waste onsuch activities!

shodges@umr.org

UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE FILE PHOTO BY MIKE DUBOSE

Bishop Grant Hagiya (front) helps deliver a report on the UMC’sFour Areas of Focus during the 2012 General Conference inTampa, Fla. He is flanked (from left) by Bishops Joel Martinez,Thomas Bickerton and Mike Lowry.

EMPLOYMENT

DISPLAY & BANNER ADVERTISING The United Methodist Reporter offers advertisers theability to target unique messages regarding products,services and employment to church leaders andclergy, as well as individuals in the pews. Reachthousands of Christian households, agencies andorganizations by advertising in print and on the web.Variety of display ad sizes and rates to fit any budgetand objective. Contact: Cherrie Graham at 214-630-6495, x142 or cgraham@umr.org.

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING Readership is approximately 200,000 readerseach week Rates are per word or group offigures or initials (20 word minimum) NewspaperOnly—$3.00 per word, two consecutive weeks.Newspaper/Internet Bundle—$4.00 per word includes two consecutive weeks in print and one month on Internet. Internet Only—$1.25 per word for one month onUnitedMethodistReporter.org. E-mail your classifiedad to: cgraham@umr.org or enter it online at: www.umportal.org/classified.asp.

FOUNDATION PRESIDENT & CEO The Wisconsin United Methodist Foundation isseeking qualified applicants for the position ofPresident & CEO. President William Helwig will beretiring on June 30, 2013. Applicants should havea familiarity of the United Methodist Church, itspolity and organization. If you are interested inapplying for the position, please send a letter ofapplication, detailed resume, three professionalreferences and salary expectations to: Bruce Bartel;750 Windsor Street, Suite 305; Sun Prairie, WI53590. For detailed information about the position,please visit www.wumf.org and click on the link forthe job description. Applications will be acceptedthrough May 15th, 2013. wumf@wumf.org

FUNDRAISERS

MYSTERY DINNER FUNDRAISERSRaise FUNDS, have FUN, share FELLOWSHIP!Wesleyan Thespians Mystery Dinner Kits. Contact781-837-6457, or mysterydinners@verizon.net formore information.

MISCELLANEOUS

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING • CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING

Join us in 2013 for the celebration of our 100th Anniversary.

Centennial Homecoming CelebrationJune 30 – July 7

www.lakejunaluska.com/100800.222.4930

Paid for in part by the HCTDA. www.VisitNCSmokies.com

- Photo by Robert Ludlow

Paid for in par isitNCSmokies.com.Vt by the HCTDA. wwww.Paid for in par isitNCSmokies.com