Southwest Texans hope to strengthen UMC

12 to represent region
in Pittsburgh during
General Conference

By Julie A. Wiley
Staff Writer

Southwest Texas delegates to the 2004 General Conference hope their work in Pittsburgh over the next two weeks strengthens The United Methodist Church for ministry.
The 12 delegates—six clergy and six laity—also hope that discussions of the denomination’s stand on homosexuality won’t distract church leaders from their primary focus: making disciples of Jesus Christ.
The Southwest Texans are to join 986 other delegates from around the globe at the April 27 to May 7 session of the denomination’s top policy-making body.
The conference, which meets every four years, is to revise The Book of Discipline, the collection of denominational laws and operating procedures, and The Book of Resolutions, the denomination’s official statements about social issues.
Only the General Conference can speak for the 10-million-member United Methodist Church as a whole.
The Rev. J. Michael Lowry, senior pastor of University UMC, San Antonio, said he hopes every delegate keeps ears and spirits open to the Holy Spirit.
“This is a time for careful listening and prayer,” Lowry said. “My concern is that we be more open and attentive to the will and way of God instead of our own partisan positions.
“My prayer is that General Conference truly reflects God’s desire and purpose for the church as the body of Christ here on earth.”
Lowry said he hopes that “rhetoric and posturing” on such issues as homosexuality will not be a part of the decision making.
Many observers expect the denom-ination’s stand on homosexuality to be a hotly debated topic. That’s because a clergy jury in the Pacific Northwest Conference decided that The Book of Discipline didn’t explicitly declare the practice of homosexuality “incompatible with Christian teaching.”
That decision resulted in a not-guilty verdict March 20 following a clergy trial of the Rev. Karen Dam-mann. She is a self-avowed practicing homosexual who is pastor of Ellensburg (Wash.) UMC.
Dammann had been charged with “practices declared by The United Methodist Church to be incompatible with Christian teaching.”
Lowry said the top priority at General Conference should be to strengthen the commitment and mission of the church to making disciples for Christ.
“This (emphasis) will have concrete impact on our budgeting process,” he said. “Secondly, I hope to heal wounds in our connectional structure in a manner that upholds the church’s discipline.”
Another legislative concern, Lowry said, is a proposal to reduce the total number of active bishops in the United States by five. As a member of the Conferences Committee, he is to wrestle directly with that question.
“I’m opposed to such reductions and will work to set in place a more comprehensive review of the role and tasks of the episcopal office,” said Lowry, one of two endorsed candidates for bishop from the Southwest Texas Conference.
The Conferences Committee is one of 10 subgroups that scrutinize each petition from church members, conferences and denominational agencies on specific legislative topics.
The General Conference is to act on 1,603 petitions (pieces of legislation).
Jay Brim, a member of Westlake UMC, Austin, serves on the General Administration legislative committee. His top priority is the health and well-being of the church.
“I’m focusing on financial issues and restructure legislation because of my membership on GCFA (General Council on Finance and Administration) for the last eight years,” Brim said.
He said he’s concerned that the denomination is poorly prepared to deal with conflict concerning homosexuality and different regional concerns.
“General Conference delegates will be challenged by demands from the special-interest groups focused on those subjects and need to be prepared to transform the conflict into positive energy for ministry,” Brim said.
Brim said he is praying “that every delegate will pay special attention to the card that JustPeace sent to us outlining the process that JustPeace recommends for conflict transformation.”
Rick Mantooth, a member of First UMC, San Angelo, is also focusing on church finances. The first reserve laity delegate, he is going to Pittsburgh in place of Bill Ault, a member of Coker UMC, San Antonio, who had surgery last month.
Mantooth is filling Ault’s seat on the Financial Administration Committee.
“We’re in a situation where many of our churches are losing members, and our finances are of concern,” Mantooth said. “We need to figure out whether we need to cut the budget or increase our giving.”
Like Brim, Mantooth said he’s concerned about issues dividing the church.
“My prayer is that we as delegates keep our eyes on the big picture, which is to make disciples of Jesus Christ,” he said. “Our main goal is to make disciples and to let our focus be centered on that.
“Years and years ago, we said that we’d be a United Methodist Church, but every year I see more and more how issues are dividing us. We’re not going to pass everything at General Conference or please everyone, but we need to remember to keep our focus on making disciples of Jesus Christ and remain united.”
Southwest Texas Conference Lay Leader Carol Loeb, a member of Asbury UMC, Corpus Christi, has spent lots of time studying issues facing the Discipleship Committee.
“These deal with the Communion Study, The Science and Theology Study, the new proposed Division for Youth and Young Adults, and many issues regarding the role of the laity,” she said.
Other important legislative issues include the funding of mission initiatives, proposed new pension/health plans, changes in denominational structure and procedures for electing members to denominational boards and agencies.
“I think it’s imperative that we come away from this General Conference with a strong missional focus,” Loeb said, “and a clear understanding of our covenant as United Methodists and how that is expressed by The Book of Discipline.”
The Rev. Robert Schnase, senior pastor of First UMC, McAllen, hopes General Conference will direct more resources to young people, outreach, the “unchurched” and Hispanic ministries.
He said he’d be working on the Higher Education and Ministry Committee to help simplify ordination process for those called into full-time ministry.
“I expect General Conference to retain the language in the Discipline about homosexuality but foresee considerable discussion about how the Discipline is applied across the connection,” he added.
Schnase, the other endorsed candidate for bishop from Southwest Texas, said he is praying that the General Conference is marked by a “conciliar spirit, honest conversation, a desire to further the mission of the church and a willingness to honor the authority of General Conference even when decisions are made with which people disagree.”
Ilda Vasquez, a member of First UMC, Weslaco, listed four legislative priorities she is pursuing:
> Advocating racial justice within the church and society.
> Speaking prophetic words of peace to the world.
> Opposing efforts to limit the autonomy of the Women’s Division of the General Board of Global Ministries.
n Stopping moves to eliminate the General Board of Church and Society, the denomination’s social-action agency.
“I feel strongly about the work that both these agencies do and are trying to accomplish,” she said. The Women’s Division is the governing body for United Methodist Women.
Vasquez, too, is concerned that discussions about the church’s stand on homosexuality will overwhelm more important issues facing the General Conference and divide the church.
“My prayer is that as people committed to following Jesus Christ and making disciples of Jesus Christ, we embody God’s love and justice through our actions,” she said. “I continue to pray for God’s guidance as we address all the issues which are before us.”
Theme for the General Conference is “Water Washed, Spirit Born.”
Southwest Texas delegates were elected during the 2003 annual conference session in Corpus Christi.