Upper New York MFSA Blog: A Tale of Two General Conferences:

Truly, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness.” I started this day early, writing a critique of everything that was wrong with General Conference. Then Friday afternoon came and suddenly it seemed as if the delegates, the presiding Bishops, and last of all – those involved in the chicanery got it. So I’ve decided not to do a re-write, but to give you both perspectives; one after the other; in the form of two articles:

Holy Confusion… Or Unholy Conferencing?
May 2, 2008 - morning

In review of the processes that took place on the plenary floor, I have gained a deeper respect for the “Renew and Renewal Coalition’s” ability to (masterfully!) manipulate the rules of order to inflict confusion and a “divide and conquer” attitude that consistently pits US interests against the perceived interests of the “Central,” now “Regional” Conferences. One only needs to look at the transcripts of what took place at General Conference 2008 to get a clearer picture… and those transcripts are all ready being reviewed and appeals will most likely be coming. Coupled with the campaign of misinformation that occurred in both legislative committees and on the plenary floor, along with the incredibly grueling schedule of 8 AM to 11 PM every day (some legislative committees ran to 2 AM on some nights) of General Conference, my conclusions are as follows:

1) Well intentioned, caring delegates who came to be a part of “Holy Conferencing” for our UMC, so that we might have a “Future With Hope;” were unwittingly manipulated because of their lack of understanding about procedures and “Roberts Rules of Order.” They, unfortunately, became the victims of orchestrated “Holy Confusion” that was the plenary floor of GC `08.

2) The acts of Church leaders (intentional or otherwise) like the Rev. Author Jones (son of Bishop Scott Jones), the Rev. Eddie Fox, Bishop Timothy Whitaker, and the many different delegates who were given prepared statements and motions, designed to confuse delegates, dilute authentic dialogue, and prolong issue after issue… were nothing less than shameful and the promoters of “Unholy Conferencing.

3) In the fastest growing areas of our connection… Central Conferences; delegates where used time and time again by the “Renew and Renewal Coalition” to make statements (many out of order) that made it sound like a vote for a more open and inclusive church was a vote that would confuse, devastate, and ultimately unravel the churches of the Central Conferences, especially in Africa. Instead of calling, supposed parliamentary questions, out of order (that were clearly speeches against inclusivity), Bishop Whitaker allowed speakers to say some of the most hurtful things I have ever heard coming out of a General Conference: “Homosexuals are born of the devil.” In light of the cell phone scandal and other issues, many are beginning to wonder if the “Renew and Renewal Coalition” groups aren’t practicing the trade of back room colonialism with our Central Conference brothers and sisters.

4) If United Methodism and especially General Conference are ever going to be able to reclaim the process of Holy Conferencing, three things have got to happen…

A. We can’t continue to cut corners with time and finances to make future General Conference events more affordable. I understand that the United Methodist Church, just like the current cultures of our world, is operating out of a theology of scarcity rather than the abundance of God’s love and Grace. Unfortunately, when we trim free time and compact days all in the name of cost savings, we create the very kind of stress, pressure and possibilities of abuse that not only occurred, but that add to our growing unhealthy and spiritually disjointed lives.

B. Delegates have got to be trained within Annual and Central Conferences on Parliamentary procedures and the principals and boundaries that are appropriate within the context of Holy Conferencing.

C. Bishops need the same training, but also need realize that it is their privilege, obligation and responsibility to control the tone and vibrancy of debate. They must also be trained to realize when speakers are misusing or trying to manipulate the floor through procedural maneuvers, so that they can rule them out of order. Finally, they must be committed to the higher principals of fair, balanced and authentic discussion and debate, even more so than the issues at hand and their personal viewpoints and allegiances.

What did the Renew and Renewal folk do that angered me so much? They have once again attempted to use misinformation and graft to keep the Central Conference delegates voting their way. One example of misinformation, that Bishop Whitaker unfortunately didn’t correct, was in pointing out that the “Social Principals” are not binding for the Central Conferences. By the “Book of Discipline,” Central Conferences are only bound to the Articles of Faith and the UM Constitution. The Central Conferences vote on their own Disciplines at their own Central Conference gatherings. Yet they are still voting on issues that will only be binding to the US churches.

Another tactic that was applied, was the manipulation of Parliamentary procedures. When the amendments that they wanted for the Constitutional changes weren’t going their way, they tried to reintroduce the same amendments over and over again with slightly different wording. What was at stake… was the ability of the church’s newly forming study committee on the world-wide UMC to be able to truly study and make recommendations in 2012. The Renew and Renewal folk wanted a fixed outcome that would have forced the study committee to do only the work of coming up with the procedural needs and changes to make that outcome happen. My favorite maneuver came in the midst of the protracted and exhausting Constitutional discussions, when everyone wanted to simply get these discussions done. A woman from Virginia moved that in view of the number of items we still needed to deal with and the lack of time we had left, “we limit debates to only one for and one against for any item that has less than 10% descent from the committees. Oddly, that didn’t affect the current Constitutional debates (all with more than 10% descent), but would later curtail discussion around critical issues of Middle East Peace, Anti-racism Training and Missions. I tried to object, but went unrecognized. After the dinner break, before I could point out what the body had unwittingly done, they masterfully moved to move all of those same items back to the consent calendar. Moving them to Friday’s consent calendar meant that these items would be virtually impossible to get off again. That can only be done by a motion to suspend the rules for reconsideration of an item (very difficult to get support for). In one short vote to speed things along, a sense of need that the Renew and Renewal folks had helped to create, the body silenced any discussions on those afore mentioned items as well as any discussion around ethical investment and divestment issues. Well played! If only we had had a skilled chair, or one that wasn’t already taking sides.

This General Conference may go down as one of the most politically motivated and unholy conferences ever… or at least leaving us all crying out, “Holy Confusion, Batman!”

Oh the Difference a Day Makes
May 2, 2008 – Evening

Something has happened at General Conference. They are no longer willing to tolerate the Renew and Renewal Coalition supporter’s shenanigans. They are voting them down left and right. And it seems they may have even begun to see through what has been done to the process of Holy Conferencing over the last several days. Even their favorite tactics of misinformation and moving things by percentages of descent seems to have backfired… they aren’t being allowed to get a few things they want off of the Consent Calendar back on the floor.

Three major issues that are important to most progressives actually got passed. The UMC will continue to be a signatory member of RCRC (Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice); Article IV of the Constitution was amended to open church membership to all – all means all; and, we have a new definition of family that not only recognizes families of all different structures, but calls for our support of families – love makes a family!

These were very significant votes. Article IV of the constitution, if it passes two thirds of the Annual and Central Conferences in 2009, will give ground for the new Judicial Counsel to overturn Decision #1032. No longer will families headed by single parents, same sex couples, or loving grandparents be unrecognized and support in the UMC. The UMC will continue to support a woman’s right to reproductive choice. Article IV passed by 12 votes, RCRC support by 32, and the redefining of family stayed on the Consent Calendar (this was a backfire) by only a few percentage points.

Some of the attempts to manipulate discussion and even voting continued: several of us witnessed and reported a Nigerian delegate (Row 2, Seat 5) voting on two voting machines on issues relating to human sexuality, reproductive choice, and that impacted Africa… that is after he made sure a Marshall wasn’t in the area watching. We were in the Press Section above him and were shocked by how obviously intentional and aware he was of what he was doing. The attempts at delay and over-amend issues continued, but the delegates would have none of it.

I believe the delegates became trained in a “trial by fire” method over the preceding days and were now doing what a little prior training would have made possible throughout. It was wonderful to behold and actually left those of us who were devastated by Wednesday’s heartless and dysfunctional procedures – with a little Hope. Maybe even for “a Future with hope.”

Two Other Friday Stories Worth Checking Out:
(Click on article title)