e-Review archive
Global Connection
April 2004
 

Not sure how General Conference works? Here's GC101

Apr. 1, 2004     News media contact:   Tim  Tanton * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {04150} A UMNS Report When the United Methodist Church's top legislative body meets this spring in Pittsburgh, nearly 1,000 delegates from around the world will once again speak to issues of the day and set direction for the denomination. Convened every four years, the General Conference is the only entity that speaks for the entire 10-million member denomination. The 2004 assembly will meet April 27-May 7 in Pittsburgh. Understanding how General Conference works can be a challenge, even for people who have attended it in the past. "General Conference is the legislative body that sets policy for the denomination," explains Carolyn Marshall of Veedersburg, Ind., longtime secretary of General Conference. "We come together from divergent theological and geographic backgrounds to struggle, pray and work together to discover who we are as United Methodist people of God." In an intense, two-week period, 998 delegates from the United States, Europe, Africa and Asia will handle more than 1,600 pieces of legislation. They will also participate in daily worship and take other action related to guiding the church for the 2005-08 period. full story

Delegates rank homosexuality as top issue facing General Conference

Apr. 19, 2004 News media contact: Linda Bloom * (646) 3693759* New York {04182} United Methodist News Service NEW YORK — A survey of delegates to the upcoming United Methodist General Conference shows homosexuality is the top issue facing the denomination and society at large. General Conference, the denomination's top legislative body, gathers every four years. This year, 998 delegates, elected by their annual (regional) conferences, will meet April 27-May 7 in Pittsburgh. The survey, conducted by the denomination's Office of Research & Planning, General Council on Ministries, also listed war and violence, racism, poverty and "engaging a changing world" among the top five issues facing society. Church finances, membership loss and restructuring were named as the other major denominational issues. While "diversity and inclusivity" was considered the fifth top issue facing General Conference, the fifth issue facing the United Methodist Church as a whole was "unity for the denomination." The church's major concerns are not new. Craig This, a council executive, noted that delegates have listed homosexuality, church finances, restructuring and membership loss as the top issues before General Conference in surveys since 1988. Last October, 800 surveys for the 2004 General Conference were distributed to U.S. delegates, and 573, or 72 percent, of those polled gave responses. At the time, a lack of mailing addresses prevented mailing surveys to delegates outside the United States, according to the Office of Research and Planning. The report on those surveys, A Hitchhiker's Guide to U.S. Delegates at the 2004 General Conference, provides a description of the delegates - who they are, what they believe, where they serve the church, and what issues they see facing the church. full story

Multimedia coverage will make following General Conference easy

Apr. 20, 2004 News media contact: Tim Tanton * (615) 7425470* Nashville {04186} United Methodist News Service NASHVILLE — Following the action of the United Methodist Church's top lawmaking body will be as easy as logging on to a computer. The denomination's communications agency is offering full coverage in three languages and through a variety of media-print, video and audio. The place to go is www.gc2004.org, the official Web site of the 2004 General Conference. The site, managed by United Methodist Communications, already offers a wealth of features and background news stories on the assembly, which convenes April 27-May 7 in Pittsburgh. United Methodist News Service will post reports to the site as quickly as possible after each major action, in addition to offering feature stories and daily wrap-ups. Coverage will include video reports from the news service's UMTV unit, audio segments and radio-ready items, as well as still photographs. Free e-mail subscriptions to the print stories will be available through the Web site. Visitors to the site will also experience the sights and sounds of General Conference through audio and video streaming. Key moments, such as the opening worship, the delivery of the episcopal and laity addresses, and the Service For Those Who Stayed, will be streamed live, along with all of the daily worship services. See the General Conference schedule at the site for details. InfoServ, the free information service provided by United Methodist Communications, will be staffing General Conference and responding to questions by e-mail and phone. The toll-free number is (800) 251-8140; e-mail is infoserv@umcom.org.  (UMNS, however, will not be able to respond to e-mail messages or calls from the public during General Conference.) Recorded news summaries will be available 24 hours a day in English, Spanish and Korean. full story

Agency uses clout to address AIDS, global warming

April 19, 2004 News media contact: Tim Tanton * (615) 7425470* Nashville {04184} United Methodist News Service NASHVILLE — Encouraging more responsibility in the business world for AIDS and global warming is a focus this year for the United Methodist Board of Pension and Health Benefits. The board is also urging businesses to invest more in community development, especially in poor countries. And it is emphasizing water conservation. With more than $11 billion in assets, the board manages the largest pension fund of any Protestant denomination. Using the United Methodist Church's Social Principles and other policies as guides, the board relies on its clout as an institutional investor to promote socially responsible business practices. Much of that work occurs in the spring, when most publicly traded U.S. corporations have annual shareholder meetings. "We like to think of ourselves as being in ministry to actually implement the Social Principles of the church through our investments - investing money to get a favorable financial return for our pension plan participants but also using our pension fund influence to encourage corporations to be better corporate citizens," said Vidette Bullock Mixon, the board's director of corporate relations in Evanston, Ill. Already this year, the board persuaded Reebok to give an online report about plans to address greenhouse gas emissions. The company in the past had been receptive to the board's stance on human rights and labor practices but appeared to be lacking on this issue, Mixon said. Through talks with the company, board staff learned Reebok already was environmentally minded but had not reported much of its work publicly. full story

United Methodists will join April 25 'Women's Lives' march

April 20, 2004 News media contact: Linda Bloom * (646) 3693759* New York {04187} United Methodist News Service NASHVILLE — United Methodists will be among the participants in an April 25 "March for Women's Lives" in Washington. A delegation of 50 to 100 will march under the banner of the Women's Division, United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, according to Julie Taylor, a division executive based in Washington. Leading the Women's Division delegation are Genie Bank of Lexington, Mich., and Brenda Brown of Spring Lake, N.C., division president and vice president; Joyce Sohl, the division's chief executive; and Lois Dauway, who heads the division's Section of Christian Social Responsibility. According to Bank, the division's participation "recognizes the basic human right to education and planning one's family" and the responsibility of women, not politicians, for their own family planning practices. The United Methodist Board of Church and Society also is a co-sponsor of the march, said Linda Bales, program director of the board's Louise & Hugh Moore Population Project. The agency supports advocacy efforts for women's health, such as the United Nations Population Fund, which provides reproductive health services and HIV/AIDS prevention for women. The march is important, Bales said, "because we know that far too many women around the world do not have access to basic health services, including reproductive health services, and to essentials such as family planning and economic justice." full story

Close Up: Clergy juggle prayer requests with privacy rights

Apr. 20, 2004 News media contact: Kathy Gilbert * (615) 7425470* Nashville {04188} United Methodist News Service NASHVILLE — Submitting a prayer request at First United Methodist Church in Rockwall, Texas, isn't as easy as pulling the pastor aside for a chat about an ailing aunt. Parishioners must fill out a form put together by an attorney and include written approval if the prayer is for someone other than themselves. The new policy comes after the church suspended publication of prayer requests in its church bulletin and newsletter for four months because of complaints about disclosed information. Privacy rights have become a growing concern among churches, especially since far-reaching federal regulations meant to protect patient privacy went into effect last April. The regulations, part of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, have prompted clergy across the United States to rethink how they pray for parishioners. Some have scaled back or scrapped the prayer requests they share with congregations. Others find their care for hospitalized parishioners thwarted. They say they feel torn between their mission to minister to those in need and their obligation to be conscious of legal dangers. "We've missed some people. They've come and gone from the hospital again, and maybe sometime later they'll say, 'Didn't you know?'" said the Rev. Dennis Shock, pastor of First United Methodist Church in Crown Point, Ind., which draws about 400 on an average Sunday. "I feel a little frustrated and sometimes a little guilty." full story

Privacy regulations do not prohibit prayers, visits

Apr. 20, 2004 News media contact: Kathy Gilbert * (615) 7425470* Nashville {04189} United Methodist News Service NASHVILLE — New federal regulations meant to protect patient privacy have prompted clergy to re-examine privacy concerns in their congregations. But the regulations, part of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, are so vast and new they have caused widespread confusion. Here are some things to remember: 1). The law was approved in 1996 to address health insurance issues. Its privacy regulations direct health plans and providers - not clergy - in how to share patient information. They do not prohibit clergy from visiting patients or praying for them with their congregations; 2). The new rules do prohibit clergy from sharing patient information without consent when clergy are employed by hospitals as chaplains or churches that provide mental health services; 3). Traditional pastoral counseling provided at no charge does not make a church a health provider subject to HIPAA's privacy regulations; 4). HIPAA is not the only law regulating the disclosure of private information. In general, less information is better when sharing prayer requests with congregations. When possible, it is best to get consent from parishioners before sharing anything about them. More information is available at http://answers.hhs.gov and http://www.gcfa.org/hipaa_privacy_rule.pdf online. Source: The Legal Department of the United Methodist Church General Council on Finance and Administration. full story

United Methodists join in 'Cover the Uninsured Week'

Apr. 15, 2004    News media contact:   Linda  Bloom * (646) 3693759*  New York {04175}  United Methodist News Service UMNS - To draw attention to the nearly 44 million Americans who lack health insurance, United Methodists and members of other religious groups will join with more than 800 national and local organizations in marking "Cover the Uninsured Week." Some 1,000 events are planned in communities across the United States during the May 10-16 observation. Former Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter are honorary co-chairmen of the nonpartisan effort. Study guides, action kits with prayers, bulletin inserts and activity suggestions, and other resources have been prepared for congregations. Information about resources and events is available at www.CoverTheUninsuredWeek.Org online full story