Council of Bishops recommends a way forward
An offering for a way forward
Photo: Bishop Bruce R. Ough, president of the Council of Bishops, Dakotas-Minnesota Area delivers a message during a morning pleanary on Wedneday, May 10 at 2016 General Conference. Photo by Rick Wolcott, East Ohio Communications Director.
On Tuesday, delegates asked the Council of Bishops to lead the church out of the “painful condition” it is in after an address by Bishop R. Bruce Ough that called for unity. Specifically, the bishops were asked to meet to try to find a way forward, and to report back to the full conference body on Wednesday morning with their recommendations. The Council of Bishops met Monday after receiving this request, and Bishop Ough on Tuesday reported back on behalf of the council. Here's a full transcript of his remarks.Presented by Bishop Bruce R. Ough, president of the Council of Bishops to the 2016 General Conference assembly, Wednesday, May 18, 2016. We begin with this word of scripture:
Just a reminder that the action you took yesterday was a nonbinding resolution. Which meant in effect that the Conuncil of Bishops was not obligated to anything about it. We were honored that you asked us to consider this and have taken it up. Also, anything I share with you in this report is unbound as well. It would be your future decisions guiding by presiding officers in this session of subsequent sessions that would determine how you chose to respond. Finally, I want to be very clear that this is grown out of many hours of discussion, discernment and prayer, and the very capable, late night work of a small writing team. Furthermore, this is not the unanimous, not everyone is unboard, but a very solid endorsement of the Council. As I make that statement I would also affirm that unanimity is not the same as unity.
But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:25-29 (NRSV)
Your bishops were honored to receive the request of General Conference to help lead our United Methodist Church forward during this time of both great crisis and great opportunity. As far as we can discover, this is the first time that a General Conference has ever made such a request of the Council of Bishops, and we accept this request with humility.
We share with you a deep commitment to the unity of the church in Christ our Lord. Yesterday, I shared the deep pain we feel. We have all prayed for months and continue to do so. We seek, in this kairos moment, a way forward for profound unity on human sexuality and other matters. This deep unity allows for a variety of expressions to co-exist in one church. Within the Church, we are called to work and pray for more Christ-like unity with each other rather than separation from one another. This is the prayer of Jesus in John chapter 17.
UNITY --- We believe that our unity is found in Jesus Christ; it is not something we achieve but something we receive as a gift from God. We understand that part of our role as bishops is to lead the church toward new behaviors, a new way of being and new forms and structures which allow a unity of our mission of "making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world" while allowing for differing expressions as a global church. Developing such new forms will require a concerted effort by all of us, and we your bishops commit ourselves to lead this effort. We ask you, as a General Conference, to affirm your own commitment to maintaining and strengthening the unity of the church. We will coordinate this work with the various efforts already underway to develop global structures and a new General Book of Discipline for our church. Strengthening the unity of the church is a responsibility for all of us.
PRAYER --- We accept our role as spiritual leaders to lead the UMC in a "pause for prayer" - to step back from attempts at legislative solutions and to intentionally seek God's will for the future. As a Council of Bishops, we will lead the church in every part of the world in times of worship, study, discernment, confession and prayer for God's guidance. We ask you, as a General Conference, to join us in this effort, beginning this week. We were moved by the sight of delegates praying around the table, and we hope these efforts will continue. As your bishops we are ready to join you and to lead you in these times of prayer.
PROCESSES --- We have discussed in depth the processes which might help our church heal and move forward - up to and including the possibility of a called General Conference in 2018 or 2019. We have not finalized our plans for such processes, but we will keep working on options we have heard from many of you, and we will keep reporting to the General Conference and to the whole church.
NEXT STEPS --- We recommend that the General Conference defer all votes on human sexuality and refer this entire subject to a special Commission, named by the Council of Bishops, to develop a complete examination and possible revision of every paragraph in our Book of Discipline regarding human sexuality. We continue to hear from many people on the debate over sexuality that our current Discipline contains language which is contradictory, unnecessarily hurtful, and inadequate for the variety of local, regional and global contexts. We will name such a Commission to include persons from every region of our United Methodist Church, and will include representation from differing perspectives on the debate. We commit to maintain an on-going dialogue with this Commission as they do their work, including clear objectives and outcomes. Should they complete their work in time for a called General Conference, then we will call a two-to three-day gathering before the 2020 General Conference. (Of course, we will consult with GCFA regarding cost-effective ways to hold that gathering.)
CONTINUING DISCUSSIONS --- We will continue to explore options to help the church live in grace with one another - including ways to avoid further complaints, trials and harm while we uphold the Discipline. We will continue our conversation on this matter and report our progress to you and to the whole church.
Today, as a way of beginning to find our way forward, we suggest that in place of the allotted legislative time we spend 1-2 hours of plenary time in prayer, confession and exploration of a creative way forward. The bishops are prepared to provide questions to guide your conversations. Your conversations will be the first step to a way forward.
I invite you to join me as I conclude with a word of prayer. Come spirit of living God, hold us close to your heart, this fragile and hopeful moment. We desparately want to have the rythym our life together, our behaviors, our actions and our decisions in rythym with your heart. In rythym with your hearing for the people. Help us oh God to stay in love with you and to grow our love and grace for one another. In the precious and powerful name of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ, we offer you our prayers and our lives. Amen.
