| National MFSA News |
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MFSA BOARD OF DIRECTORS SETS PRIORITIES FOR GENERAL CONFERENCE 2000 Highlights of a recent board of directors meeting included charteringfive new chapters, welcoming seven new ethnic/racial minority persons as at-large members of the board and development of an MFSA theological framework paper. A Summary Meeting October 7-10 in Seattle, Washington, the Methodist Federation for Social Action (MFSA) chartered new chapters in the following annual conferences: Holston, North Alabama, West Michigan, Western Pennsylvania and Pacific Northwest bringing the total number of active chapters tothirty-six. The addition of several new ethnic/racial minority board members reflects MFSA's efforts to "practice what we preach" when we call upon the UM Church to be inclusive and welcoming according to executive director Kathryn Johnson. "MFSA has defined racial and economic justice as our top priory and we realized that we could not work in this area with integrity unless and until our board of directors was more racially inclusive." The MFSA board is developing a theological framework paper to provide a foundation for MFSA's social action recommendations," said Johnson. "With an ongoing commitment to ground ourselves spiritually and scripturally, "she continued, " we have found the process of articulating our theological understanding invigorating and enriching. Board members agree that this needs to be an ongoing endeavor and thus represents a work in progress and an invitation to dialogue more than a static proclamation." During the meeting the board affirmed six areas of primary concern heading into General Conference next May. These are: Promoting economic and racial justice; ~ Preserving and strengthening the missional and theological integrity of the UM Church; ~ Eliminating heterosexism in the UM Discipline and promoting human rights for sexual minorities; ~ Encouraging peaceful resolution of conflict and differences within andbetween nations; ~ Promoting environmental justice; and ~ Maintaining the church's support for reproductive choice. The board approved several petitions to General Conference in these areasto be submitted by individual members. As an unofficial caucus of UnitedMethodists, MFSA cannot submit petitions as a body. |
| Racial Justice In the area of racial justice, MFSA expressed support for the "Acts of Repentance and Reconciliation for Racism" initiative of the General Commission in Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns." Expressing hope that any act of repentance include an explicit confession of pastwrongs, the MFSA board members agreed to support and promote the GCCUIC initiative. Citing the disproportionate injustices suffered by ethnic minority persons in the U.S., an MFSA petition to General Conference states that white, European Americans enjoy a wide range of privileges denied to persons of color in society. MFSA will ask the General Conference to recognize white privilege as an underlying cause of injustice in our society, including our church, and to commit the church to its elimination in church and society. |
| Petitions to General Conference Citing the disproportionate injustices suffered by ethnic minority persons in the U.S., an MFSA petition to General Conference states that white, European Americans enjoy a wide range of privileges denied to persons of color in society. MFSA will ask the General Conference to recognize white privilege as an underlying cause of injustice in our society, including our church, and to commit the church to its elimination in church and society. Expressing strong support for the work of the Restorative Justice Ministries Inter-Agency Task Force, the MFSA board endorsed several petitions under consideration by the General Board of Church and Society in this area. MFSA will also submit its own petition on prisons and criminal justice calling for a renewed church-wide focus on repealing the death penalty and opposing the privatization of prisons. The petition calls onGeneral Conference "to establish a comprehensive initiative to encourage and assist local congregations to reach out to those in prison." In the area of economic justice, MFSA supports the worldwide Jubilee 2000 Campaign movement to cancel the crushing debt of the world's poorest countries and calls for major reform of international financial institutions. MFSA will submit a petition to General Conference calling on the church to "renounce the politics of greed and acquisitiveness that dominate today's societal institutions and to manifest Gospel values in the economic order." The petition suggests personal, local, national and global paths to economic justice. MFSA petitions are being drafted on health care and welfare reform as well. |
| Social Justice In a related action, the MFSA board affirmed the extension of the Episcopal Initiative on Children and Poverty and expressed concern that as the initiative continues it include efforts to aggressively address fundamental, systemic causes of poverty. MFSA joined groups across the denomination who are calling for the General Conference to retain the Peace with Justice Special Sunday and Churchwide offering citing the effectiveness of the Peace with Justice Program in promoting peace and justice ministries at the local and conference levels. |
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| Homosexual Issues In the area of heterosexism, the MFSA board affirmed the recent New Jersey Supreme Court ruling that the Boy Scouts of America are guilty of discrimination regarding the participation of gay men and boys in scouting. MFSA opposed any actions of the Boy Scouts to limit the participation of persons based on sexual orientation and calls on all UM Church agencies to do the same. Particular concern was expressed about the actions of the Commission on United Methodist Men in supporting the discriminatory actions of the Boy Scouts. "We believe this as a clear violation of the UM church commitment to nondiscrimination as articulated in the Social Principles of the UMC," said Johnson. MFSA will continue its efforts to remove the recent additions to the UM Discipline prohibiting pastors from conducting holy unions and to delete the language stating that homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. The MFSA board registered concern that the UMC is spending precious resources unnecessarily prosecuting UM pastors for "affirming thelove and commitment of persons of the same gender" and registered support for the Rev. Jimmy Creech in his upcoming church trial. |
| International Justice During the meeting the MFSA board responded to the news that the U.S Senate was discussing ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, by sending a letter to Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott urging ratification of the treaty. The letter read in part, "at the dawn of a new millenium, our nation has the choice to lead the world to a peaceful future or to lead the way to a century of nuclear proliferation and the death ofcivilization. Ratify the treaty." In another action, the board called on the United Nations General Assembly to pass a resolution when it comes before them later this fall calling fora moratorium on executions worldwide. |
| Closing Worship and Awards The MFSA board meeting culminated in a celebration on Saturday evening hosted by the University Temple UMC (where the board met) and Beacon UMC, a largely Filipino congregation close by. During the course of the evening MFSA presented the Lee and Mae Ball awards for Excellence in Social Justice Ministry to four recipients. The persons thus acknowledged for their outstanding Christian witness were the Rev. Paul Beeman, Director of PFLAG (Parent's and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), the Rev. Herman and Rita Will, life-long witnesses for justice and peace and Jerry Sommerseth of the Pacific Northwest MFSA chapter. |
| METHODIST FEDERATION FOR SOCIAL ACTION 212 East Capitol Street, NE Washington, DC 20003 Phone: 202-546-8806 k Fax: 202-546-6811 Email: [email protected] October 13, 1999 For more information contact: Kathryn Johnson 202-546-8806 |
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