Connectional Table considers varied resolutions

By Melissa Lauber
UMConnection Staff

In preparation for the June 2010 annual conference session, leaders from the boards, agencies and committees of the Baltimore-Washington Conference met at the Connectional Table meeting Feb. 22 to provide their input on a variety of issues.

The Connectional Table voted on whether or not to concur with 16 resolutions on a variety of topics as far ranging as the process to select candidates for bishop to the church's response to homosexuality to best practices for dealing with church discretionary funds.

Connectional Table members voted to concur with the $18.3 million budget proposed by the Council on Finance and Administration. This represents a 3.1 percent increase in conference spending, which includes a shifting in personnel resources to provide staff to resource local churches in the areas of growing spiritual leaders, congregations, disciples and mission.

The members also took note, in the report by conference Treasurer Bill Isberg, that the collection rate for apportionments in 2009 was 89.25, a 2 percent increase over the previous year. "In these times of economic decline, our churches have really been faithful and stepped up," Isberg said.

Following CFA's recommendation, members voted to support a collection rate of 91 percent for 2011, and to continue with the current benevolence factor of 19.5 percent when setting churches' apportionments.

In considering other resolutions that dealt with administrative matters, members voted to approve a motion by the Board of Pensions and Health Benefits that passes along the
complete cost of clergy benefits to local churches; and endorsed a move to merge the United
Methodist Foundation of the Baltimore-Washington Conference, which provides investment opportunities for individuals and churches, with the Foundation from the Peninsula and Eastern Pennsylvania annual conferences to form the Mid-Atlantic Foundation.

The merger of the foundations is expected to bring greater investment potential to all parties involved.

In other actions, the Connectional Table concurred with the renewing of the conference's relationship with the Board of Child Care, which provides comprehensive services to children in need and their families. They also approved a more formalized process of spiritual discernment for the election of General and Jurisdictional Conference delegates and the endorsement of candidates for the episcopacy; and endorsed churches formally determining and recording policies for dealing with discretionary funds. Codifying expectations about discretionary money can help avoid potential instances of misconduct and inquiries from the Internal Revenue Service, said Jen Ihlo, who submitted the resolution.

The members voted non-concurrence on resolutions dealing with times of service for provisional clergy candidates, the setting aside of $100,000 annually for the work of the Holy Spirit at annual conference sessions, and on hiring a full-time conference staff person to focus solely on new church starts. It was noted that a staff person for both new church starts and congregational redevelopment will start in July.

Throughout the evening Feb. 22, members also considered a number of resolutions dealing with theological and social issues.

The members voted non-concurrence on three resolutions concerning human sexuality. One resolution called on the conference to affirm that the practices of adultery, fornication and homosexuality were objectionable to God; a second called for an affirmation that no United Methodist church or clergy shall promote homosexual unions; and a third restated the denomination's stance that homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching and called on congregations to provide ministry and outreach to the homosexual community.

Table members voted to concur with a fourth resolution on homosexuality, which was adopted at last year's session of annual conference, but overturned by the denomination's Judicial Council. The language that concerned the Judicial Council, which seemed to indicate that the annual conference was usurping the authority of the General Conference, was removed. The resolution acknowledges that people in the church disagree over the issue of homosexuality. Its makers, including Ihlo, call it "aspirational" in nature, expressing a vision of what the church's stance might be.

A resolution calling on every conference congregation to develop ministries to address the ills associated with pornography was not supported. However, Bishop John Schol, who presided over the meeting, stressed the importance of this issue in our society and is encouraging the conference staff to create resources to assist churches in education, accountability and recovery ministries around the dangers of pornography.

Connectional Table members also voted not to support a resolution that required after-school programs for children; nor did they support the conference endorsing the Wesley Nexus Web site at www.wesnex.org.

The Connectional Table's votes are intended for informational purposes to assist annual conference members as they discern how they will vote on these resolutions, which will come before the body when it meets in Baltimore June 2-4.

Additional information and discussion will be presented at briefings in the four regions April 24.

Before the meeting began, the Rev. Carletta Allen of Locust UMC delivered a homily in which she reminded those present of Jesus asking Peter if he loved him, and when Peter answered in the affirmative, Jesus replied: "Feed my sheep."

"It's a question Jesus asks us over and over again, and he wants an answer," said Allen, who encouraged those in the Baltimore-Washington Conference with the audacity to call themselves Christians, to "do some living in Jesus' name."

As we prepare to do the business of this conference, she said. "Jesus is asking: ‘Do you love me?'"