News Stories from May 2016
UNY United Methodist Historical Society announces Historical Society member dues for 2016
May 25, 2016 / By Nancy Rutenber
The Upper New York United Methodist Historical Society announces membership dues. For those who join in 2016, the dues this year will be $5. Society membership includes access to the UNY United Methodist Historical Society Facebook closed group. As a closed group, reading and adding posts on the Facebook site is restricted to qualifying members. While joining Facebook is necessary for access, each person can choose his/her own Facebook privacy settings. …more
My experience in the Leadership Academy
May 25, 2016 / By Rev. Dr. Karen Grinnell
I saw the flyer for the Leadership Academy in last year’s Annual Conference session packet of materials. It sounded like a good program, and I really did plan to follow up on it after I got home. But, the good intentions were soon forgotten. I was busy, and the packet of materials was filed away and forgotten. In the fall, my district superintendent invited me to participate in …more
Council of Bishops follows tradition with letter to the church
May 24, 2016 / By United Methodist Council of Bishops
Washington, D.C.: Reviving a tradition that is more than a century old, the United Methodist Council of Bishops sent this letter today to the people of The United Methodist Church following the 2016 General Conference, held in Portland, Oregon, May 10-20. The letter reads as follows: “To the people of The United Methodist Church: The Council of Bishops brings you greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior …more
Committee on Camp & Retreat Ministries pens letter
May 23, 2016 / By UNY Communications / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
The Committee on Camp & Retreat Ministries has been discerning how Upper New York’s camp and retreat centers and its ministry outreach can best live out its mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Committee Chair David Little has released a letter that states the committee has voted and recommends the sale of Findley Camp & Retreat Center. The committee has assessed …more
United Methodist General Conference calls on Israel to end unjust practices toward Palestinians
May 23, 2016 / By Chris Hazou of Institute for Middle East Understanding
Despite fierce opposition, which included calls to delegates from Israeli ambassadors and consulates, the United Methodist General Conference passed strong measures calling for an end to Israel’s unjust practices toward Palestinians. One of these measures, Resolution 60206, calls on Israel to correct the unequal distribution of water in the West Bank, where illegal Israeli settlers receive four times as much water as the indigenous Palestinians. It also demands that …more
GC2016 wrap-up: Farewell, Portland. Thanks for the doughnuts.
May 23, 2016 / By Joey Butler
Believe it or not, General Conference 2016 spent more than twice as much time debating a Rule of Order than the hot topic of human sexuality. After almost three days of considering an alternative method for discussing legislation, The United Methodist Church’s top legislative body referred its most difficult subject – sexuality — to a study commission and moved on to other matters. A move to adjourn at 6:30 every …more
May 19 wrap-up: New missionaries, special GC costs
May 20, 2016 / By Joey Butler
A day after tabling potentially contentious legislation on human sexuality, General Conference 2016 moved through its calendar at a steady clip, possibly noticing that time to finish its task is running short. Though discussion on the difficult subject was avoided, that other difficult subject — money — had to be addressed. Would the “way forward” set the church financially backward? How much does the bishops’ plan cost? The …more
GC2016: Oppose mascots that demean Native Americans
May 20, 2016 / By Sam Hodges
Delegates to General Conference 2016 overwhelmingly approved a resolution calling on United Methodist agencies to raise awareness about the harm caused by sports teams that use mascots or symbols that disrespect Native Americans. The petition that passed May 19 had been amended in the Discipleship Committee, deleting language that would have called on United Methodist groups not to have meetings in cities that have sports teams with such mascots or symbols. There …more
Delegates react to plan to defer human sexuality petitions
May 20, 2016 / By Kathy L. Gilbert
Love will keep us together, the Rev. Eli Sule Yakku of Central Nigeria said at the end of a long day filled with both kind and harsh words on the floor of the 2016 General Conference over lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people and their role in The United Methodist Church. The day started with a silent vigil by LGBTQ clergy and clergy candidates. Delegates walked past people wearing robes …more
Americans are more polarized than ever. We United Methodists don’t want to be.
May 20, 2016 / By Tom Berlin and Mike McCurry
In an ever-more-polarized society, the United Methodist Church this week has tried to model an approach to disagreement that the U.S. political system would do well to emulate. Despite deep differences over gay marriage and whether gay men and lesbians can be ordained as clergy, we are working hard at our once-every-four-years meeting to stay united as we search for solutions. Like Americans, we United Methodists have …more