A word from your editor
—Former UMMA chairs Norma Kehrberg and Jim Gulley join Jim Dwyer on the editorial team for this issue. Norma shares a reflection about the workings of the Judicial Council in April, a session which she attended as observer and member of the Western Jurisdictional Conference from Hawaii to be present to support newly elected Bishop Karen Oliveto. Jim (G.) adds a report from the Mountain Sky Area, where 100+ retired clergy of the Rocky Mountain Annual Conference joined in support of Bishop Karen.
—Thus you will notice two foci in the issue — one, the changes effected by Global Ministries’ move to Atlanta (and the accompanying Open House at new facilities to help retired missionaries identify with the new locus) and the other, the stir caused by the election last summer in the Western Jurisdiction of a Lesbian bishop and the challenge to that process by the South Central Jurisdiction. (A second Jurisdiction reportedly chose by a majority vote not to pursue such a challenge.) This dual focus comes because all four of the most recent chairs of UMMA currently come from the same Western Jurisdiction. One of them, Jim Dwyer, used the occasion of the 2016 General Conference to sign the “love letter to the church” which identified the 111 signers as “#CalledOUT” LGBTQI clergy and candidates and which urged official inclusion of such persons in the ordained ministry. (Jim is a “self-avowed” gay man, but not “self-avowed practicing.” Jim and Helen Dwyer remain together after nearly 49 years of marriage, both of whom felt it was time for Jim to reveal his natural sexual orientation to their three children and the church and the world.)
—This is where our church finds itself in its U.S. context — striving to make disciples for the transformation of the world while seeking to avoid its own transformation to include in the ordained ministry certain people who find themselves called by God to that task as LGBTQI persons who do not wish to deny their natures! We live in tension.
—The hard copies of this UpDate will be mailed again by Jim Dwyer, as Insook and Gene Matthews continue to focus on Insook’s health issues. For those who may find opportunity to compare postal and email versions you may notice minor variations, due to publication dates.
Next Issue
Katherine Parker has shared that Ron and Cathy Whitlatch have agreed to assume responsibility for editing future issues of the UMMA UpDate. We look forward to discovering what new ideas and insights may come as yours truly gives up one more task in his striving to retire from active involvement in the leadership of UMMA. (Further changes in financial leadership are due in late summer.)
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2017 dues now payable
—With sincere apologies for those who may have received misleading information from our MailChimp database regarding their dues payments last time (or this time), every effort is being made to correct the automated text added to your individualized email version of this UMMA UpDate. Ask if your information seems inaccurate! Thanks for your understanding.
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Your Officers at Work in Atlanta
— Katherine Parker, UMMA Chairperson
(excerpted, expanded and edited)
Katherine Parker reports to the UMMA Steering Committee, “We, your UMMA officers were in Atlanta attending the Global Ministries board meeting in April.” (Her remarks have been edited and expanded here for the UpDate.)
Over luncheon prior to the Directors’ meeting, we had a positive consultation with Cabinet staff Thomas Kemper, Roland Fernandes, and Rev. Judy Chung, Board President Bishop Hee-Soo Jung (Wisconsin) and Global Ministries Board of Directors liaisons to UMMA Andreas Stämpfli (Switzerland-France) and Sara Ann White (South Carolina). Participating for UMMA were Katherine Parker, Becky Harrell and Alina Saucedo Paucara, and Larry Schmitz as a Missionary in Residence. Highlights follow:
- GS Thomas Kemper indicated that the role and relationship of Global Mission Connections (new home to the new Regional Offices and Area Liaisons a.k.a. Regional Executives) are still being defined. Some technical units such as Global Health are also now relating to some missionaries, who may potentially also be involved in placement development, although the degree of this involvement seems unclear at this time. UMCOR and Global Health are now administratively linked through the same Executive Director, Dr. Olusimbo Ige, affectionately known to many as Dr. Simbo. UMCOR has increased its cooperation with CWS — Church World Service — and other international relief agencies.
- When UMMA’s ongoing concern for equity regarding a Social Security & Medicare equivalency payment for non-U.S. persons was raised, Treasurer Roland Fernandes again indicated it will be addressed at some future point within the context of various global staff questions. Twenty years or more after beginning regular assignments of non-US missionaries, Global Ministries is beginning to deal seriously with some of the legal ramifications of this fact. We may infer that there may be significant changes in how non-U.S. (and U.S.?) missionaries are hired and compensated in the future. We need to keep aware of this process and continue to ask the questions relating to mission, justice and equity. An assigned officer of GCFA, the General Council on Finance and Administration, is working closely on this issue.
- Additional support (training) in fundraising (itineration) is something missionaries would like. The percentage of the cost of sending missionaries which is raised by missionaries themselves continues to fall from about 30% previously to a current level of around 20%. Apportionments available to Global Ministries will continue to decrease. These factors impact how many missionaries can be sent. Significant rethinking and refocusing on how we raise funds for missionary costs will need to be considered in the future.
The previous pattern of gradually increasing fundraising by missionaries through long-term relationships over a long career of service is no longer a reasonable expectation for many reasons. Currently, several factors work against the old pattern, among them these: Many persons see missionary service as only one of several stages in their vocational lifespan for only a few years. Similarly, Global Ministries’ placement policies tend to assume shorter term assignments in one location and do not normally (or at least not as a matter of policy) provide assignments for both spouses. Additionally, Global Missionaries of non-U.S. origin have much greater difficulty initiating and developing relationships with annual conferences and churches which can establish a covenant (funding) partnership with them. Finally, financial support of the missionary efforts of the church is much less sharply focused than in previous decades.
Thomas Kemper indicated that Global Ministries sees a need to be more proactive in fundraising overall. Previous historic restrictions on direct and targeted fundraising because of the Board’s claim on apportionment giving are no longer as relevant. Global Ministries does not want to become an agency that just sends missionaries who can raise their own support. This may mean that UMMA could also assist in thinking creatively about new ways of connecting with and engaging local congregations.
- Executive Director Judy Chung presented to us several policy changes and documents. These included a first look at the latest internal photo directory, which now includes staff relating to missionaries beyond just Missionary Service along with key job descriptions. We requested that relevant staff from Global Mission Connections be added but did not receive a positive response on that potential. Also, the organizational charts for all the units are currently posted on the UMCmission.org website. (Past experience also warns that these tend to be public for short periods of time before being removed again for revision and updates! We've noticed some changes even in the past two months.)
As always, Missionaries in Residence, Larry & Kristen, are ready to help you navigate the who's who of whom I should contact for what.
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The UMMA Gathering in a meeting room at Global Ministries. Photo: Tim Boyle
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Continuing the conversation with Global Ministries staff & Board Liasons
Facing the camera: Andreas Stämpfli, Alice Maclin, Judy Chung, Joyce Hill, Sara Ann White. Facing away: Hillary Taylor
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Other updates
- Church and Community Workers — Policy changes regarding time periods for funding for Church and Community Workers provide more flexibility within projects.— now for up to 15 years. The new policy puts timelines in place as well. The changes grew out of consultation with CCWs.
- Racial/Ethnic National Plans — A salary revision now includes language providing for lay salaries at a level equivalent to clergy.
- Special Initiative Missionaries — In an attempt to be more transparent about how decisions are made to send international missionaries assigned back to their home contexts in “special initiatives,” a candidate bio and justification for a Japanese missionary assigned to Japan was shared.
Spring 2017 Statistical report —
A total of 348 missionaries is comprised of
- 110 Young Adult Missionaries (81 Global Mission Fellows in International placement, 26 in US placement and 3 Mission Advocates);
- 182 Missionaries in International Placement (181 Global Missionaries including UMW Regional Missionaries and 1 Special Assignment in Mission);
- 56 Missionaries in U.S. Placements (30 CCWs, 8 Mission Advocates and Missionaries in Residence, 15 in Racial Ethnic Ministries, 3 Special Assignments in Mission).
Not counted as missionaries above are
- 56 Persons as Volunteers (42 Mission Volunteers Over Age 30 and 14 Young Adult Mission Volunteers Age 18-30)
- Additionally 243 Nationals in Mission (previously Persons in Mission — persons placed in mission assignments by non-US conferences and churches) are supported by grants from Global Ministries.
Judy described a new missionary class of 17 persons (see elsewhere in his UpDate).
UMMA reps also attended committee meetings of the Board.
UMCOR/Global Health meeting —
- Members discussed the challenges faced in assuring accountability and effectiveness of undesignated donations distributed through UMCOR grants. From UMMA’s perspective, it was good to hear a positive trend expressed by UMCOR Executive Director Dr. Ige of increased partnering with missionaries in these grants. She expressed the value of missionary involvement in accountability and effectiveness for disbursing donations to high needs areas. This is a reversal from several years ago, when missionaries were expected to raise their own project funds through The Advance and their access to local churches (via itineration, etc.). Katherine Parker expressed her excitement at this trend and hopes that more missionaries will be in touch with UMCOR/Global Health about areas where ministry synergy can take place.
Similarly, this year is the first time that missionaries serving in Asia are being included in what is the fifth Pan-African Global Health Conference to share learning regarding health boards and other interventions as well as those in community health ministries (in addition to hospital settings). This is part of a trend to look for synergy and linkages between ministries of missionaries and other program areas of GBGM. Missionaries assigned to Health Boards had previously been invited; this change is an expansion of what is understood as "health ministry”.
A further focus where new synergism is occurring is migration ministries.
Program committee — Various mission opportunities and changes were discussed:
- A potential new Mission Initiative in French Guyana.
- Updates about National Plans — US-based racial/ethnic ministries.
- In a major change there is no longer a Communications and Development committee. This task is now an "administrative function" under minimal oversight by the Finance Committee. The new Director of The Advance and Fundraising Strategy, Rev. Russell Pierce, formerly with Church World Service (CWS), indicated that this committee will resume work next fall to address a backlog in Advance processes after a period of transition.
- New legal structures — By moving to Atlanta, the agency also needed to begin the process of moving its incorporation to the State of Georgia. It is now newly incorporated as “Global Ministries, Inc.” in Georgia, the first step to transferring corporate relationships from New York State to Georgia.
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A few of the folks during the Saturday session of the UMMA Gathering
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UMMA Gathering
Despite the unusual scheduling and relatively short notice, a good group turned out for the Gathering and the Global Ministries Open House. The Gathering included the following persons in one or all sessions: From Global Ministries David Scott (Director, Mission Theology) and Glenn Kellum (Special Assistant to the General Secretary) addressed plans for the bicentennial of the original U.S.-based Methodist mission sending agency in 2019. Judy Chung, Executive Director of Missionary Service, brought updates from her work area. Andreas Stämpfli (Switzerland-France Annual Conference) and Sara Ann White (South Carolina Annual Conference) were present in their role as liaisons to UMMA from the Board of Directors. Bishop Pedro M. Torio, Jr., and Glenn Roy Villa Paraso, (Philippines Central Conference) attended as guests, with Bishop Torio bearing witness to the work of Methodist mission in the Philippines.
The following active or inactive and retired missionaries were present either for the UMMA Gathering or the Global Ministries Open House or both: Tim Boyle, Fred Brancel, Dakin Cook, Margaret Curtis, Romy del Rosario, Jim Dwyer, Esther Gitobu, Jo Harbert, Warren Harbert, Becky Harrell, Jennifer Hansen, Joyce Hill, Helen Hinson, Carol and Bill Kreamer, Alice Maclin, Katherine Parker, Phyllis Riley, Mary Renshaw, Alina Saucedo, Kristen Schmitz, Larry Schmitz, Marilyn Stokes, Hillary Taylor, Anneli Terry, Seija Terry, Micky Underwood, Richard Wehrman. David Wu, Shirley Wu. (Thanks to Larry and Kristen Schmitz for compiling the list.)
In addition to normal business, held to a minimum, the group spent one afternoon discussing the Board’s “Theology of Mission” also discussed by Directors during their sessions. Jim Dwyer, who was scribe for the drafting committee of the Board “back then,” led the UMMA discussion which mostly offered opportunity for personal sharing among retirees who had not recently been in touch with one another.
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Useful information online
Perhaps you share the need of one participant to have GBGM’s statement of housing allowance for IRS for retired missionaries who are also clergy. You can find the statement here now and in the future (we are told).
Paraphrasing the Theology of Mission statement the Global Ministries website reads “As the Spirit sweeps the church into a new mission age, Global Ministries has engaged in the work of reshaping, restructuring and reorganizing into the program areas below:”
You will find online information and directories of the staff assignments at the above links. A list of downloadable PDF org charts is also available.
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What a Weekend!
—Larry and Kristen Schmitz, Missionaries in Residence
(excerpted, expanded and edited)
The Board of Directors for Global Ministries met April 20-22. No real surprises awaited us: our ministry appears to be moving forward well — spiritually, emotionally, and financially.
Katherine Parker, Becky Harrell, Jim Dwyer, Alina Saucedo, and Dakin Cook, representing UMMA, listened in on discussions and presentations by the board. Larry Schmitz, one of our Missionaries in Residence, was also present for the entirety of the board meeting while Kristen Schmitz, the other, was assisting in the training of new missionaries off site. April 22 and 23 UMMA held its annual general meeting (the “Gathering”).
On Monday, April 24, we continued our celebration of the work of missionaries who have ended their service with Global Ministries with a worship service, open house tour, and luncheon. Bishop Larry Goodpaster, Bishop in Residence at Candler School of Theology, delivered a sermon about “invisible wounds” we carry with us lifelong which impact our ministry with others and our identification with Christ’s suffering. Participants toured the new facilities at 458 Ponce de Leon (the new “God Box”?), greeted familiar and new staff members at their work stations, and came to a new understanding of how we are “living into our new skin” here in the Atlanta
office.
At the catered lunch in our cafeteria which ended the day’s official program, Thomas Kemper and Judy Chung shared thoughts concerning the reasons for the move from New York to Atlanta and about the nature of our ministry from everywhere to everywhere. Thomas also presented a short video of the ceremony opening the new Global Ministries Asia Regional Office, headed by Paul Kong, in the headquarters building of the Korea Methodist Church in Seoul, Korea. (You can find the article and a video here) A year earlier the first regional office was opened for Latin America and the Caribbean in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in cooperation with the Latin America office of the Upper Room at the former site of the Instituto Superior Evangélico de Estudios Teológicos owned by the Evangelical Methodist Church of Argentina. (An article and video are available.) The nearly 40 participants were happy to have made the effort to come and to make and renew links with the ministry of Global Ministries. Those attending are listed together with those at the UMMA Gathering (above).
A large number of retired missionaries took the opportunity to send greetings and regrets, among them Mary Beth Byrne, Susie Canafax, Joe Eldridge, Elizabeth and Hugh Frazer, Ann Haggard, Dennis Hennemann, William Holt (age 97), John and Peggy Hopper, Hugh and Fritzi Johnson, Norma Kehrberg, Gerald Tanner-Klempke, Dr. Mary Krause, Doug Main, John Moss, Beverly Moon, Irene Mparutsa, Pam Polsen, Ron and Diane Ray, John and Purnavati Rathod, Yugo and Elizabeth Suzuki, Ron and Cathy Whitlatch, Doug and Carol Wingeier (with apologies for any
misspellings and omissions).
Thomas expressed hope for a repeat event in the future.
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Open House Worship in Grace Church sanctuary, Global Ministries.
Photo: Larry Schmitz
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Winsome Wright and Shirley Wu at Open House.
Photo: Tim Boyle
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Open House Lunch, Hillary Taylor, Katherine Parker and Judy Chung in the cafeteria at Global Ministries.
Photo: Tim Boyle
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Open House Lunch, Family of Phyllis Riley in the cafeteria at Global Ministries.
Photo: Tim Boyle
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Missionaries and their families joined by the bishops at the blessing service. PHOTO: CYNTHIA MACK (from the umcmission.org website)
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New United Methodist Missionaries
—Elliot Wright and Ivy Couch;
ed. Larry and Kristen Schmitz; UpDate editors
Seventeen new United Methodist missionaries were sent out with a blessing on May 8, 2017, by leaders of Global Ministries in preparation for commissioning at their annual conferences in the late spring and early summer.
The seventeen individuals from six countries will serve in a total of eight countries. Six service sites are in the continental United States, three in Puerto Rico, two in Switzerland, and one each in Cambodia, Canada, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Japan, Nicaragua, and Palestine/Israel. In most cases, the new missionaries will be commissioned in their home annual conferences by resident bishops and representatives of Global Ministries.
Three are Church and Community Workers
- Joanne Marie Davis, Missouri Annual Conference, serving at Hope in the Mountains, West Virginia Annual Conference
- Janet L. Horman, Florida Annual Conference, serving at Justice for Our Neighbors in Florida
- Quest J. Hunter, New York Annual Conference, serving in Global Ministries/community engagement missionary, Atlanta, North Georgia Annual Conference.
Twelve will serve as Global Missionaries
- John-Paul Dietrich, Switzerland-France Annual Conference, serving as South Congo Episcopal Area project coordinator
- Elizabeth Heft, West Ohio Annual Conference, serving as teacher at Jerusalem School Bethlehem, Palestine/Israel
- Jin Yang Kim, Northern Illinois Annual Conference, serving as coordinator of Korean Peninsula Dialogue and Peacekeeping, World Council of Churches, Geneva, Switzerland
- Andrew Soon Lee, California-Pacific Annual Conference, serving as country coordinator, Methodist Mission in Cambodia
- Erica Kay Oliveira, South Carolina Annual Conference, serving as Mission Advocate, Generation Transformation, Global Ministries, Atlanta
- Tazvionepi Nyarota, Zimbabwe East Annual Conference, serving in the Zimbabwean community, Western Canada/United Church of Canada
- Carmen Ana Perez-Rios, from and serving in the Methodist Church of Puerto Rico
- Luis Daniel Roman-Hernandez, from and serving in the Methodist Church of Puerto Rico
- Kyeong-Ah Woo, Northern Illinois Annual Conference, serving with the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism, World Council of Churches, Geneva, Switzerland
- Maria de Lourdes Ramirez Meneses, Methodist Church of Mexico, serving in the national office, Evangelical Methodist Church of Nicaragua
- Satomi McCurley, United Church of Christ in Japan, serving at the Asia Rural Institute, Japan
- Sonia Noemí Vargas-Maldonado, from and serving in the Methodist Church of Puerto Rico
Three serve as Racial/Ethnic Plan Missionaries
- Lilia Maria Ramirez-Jimenez, Presbyterian Church USA, serving with the National Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministries, Global Ministries, Atlanta
- Keihwan Kevin Ryoo, Dakotas Annual Conference, serving in the Korean Ministry Plan, Global Ministries, Los Angeles, California-Pacific Annual Conference
- Tazvionepi Nyarota, Zimbabwe East Annual Conference, serving in the Zimbabwean community of Western Canada through the United Church of Canada
(If you counted 18, that’s because Tazvionepi Nyarota is listed in two categories!)
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United Methodist Association of Retired Clergy Formed to Support Bishop Karen Oliveto
— Jim Gulley, past UMMA Chairperson
More than 100 Rocky Mountain Conference retired clergy signed up to give their support to our Bishop Karen Oliveto, who was duly nominated, elected, consecrated and assigned to serve the Mountain Sky Area by the Western Jurisdiction delegates and bishops in July 2016. More than 50 retired clergy attended the organizational meeting on May 8, and despite a late May snowstorm in Denver, over 60 retired clergy and spouses made it to the May 12 Association of Retired Clergy (ARC) meeting for business and to meet and worship with Bishop Oliveto.
In her message, Bishop Oliveto reminded us retired clergy: “You still have work to do!” ARC members were urged to speak out in their local churches, to mentor active clergy, and to raise voices of concern and compassion in every place. As ARC Chairperson Don Messer noted: “We ended with an inspiring sermon by Bishop Karen Oliveto that left many in tears. Truly a heart-warming day in cold, snowy Colorado!” We are working toward an inclusive church and are following Bishop Oliveto's vision of a "beloved community."
We were likewise inspired as we sang “Ours the journey” composed by Rev. Julian B. Rush (1985), who accompanied us on the piano to open and close our worship. An ordained UMC Elder, Julian served as Executive Director for the Colorado AIDS Project as an appointed United Methodist minister.
Basic Convictions of ARC
- An unwavering support of our duly nominated, elected, consecrated, and assigned Bishop Karen Oliveto, and a call to others in the church to stop their harassment and abuse of our spiritual episcopal leader.
- A commitment to stand in solidarity with LGBTQ laity, clergy, and candidates for ministry, speaking and working to ensure the dignity and safety of all persons in church and society.
- A hope that the unity of the church will be attained, but not at the price of sacrificing God's inclusive love in Jesus Christ for all people.
- A prayer that the Commission on a Way Forward and the 2019 [Special Called Session of] General Conference will respond to the Holy Spirit by developing a new church polity that will truly create the inclusive church envisioned in United Methodism's Constitution.
ARC members are committed to stand with and lift up Bishop Oliveto, whose gracious spirit, witness and tremendous energy has inspired all of us with her leadership and her outreach to local churches. She has visited every district in the Mountain Sky Area in the few months of her episcopacy, touching more than 300 congregations.
All retired clergy are being urged to attend Annual Conference to make their voices and votes count.
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Top: Association of Retired Clergy (ARC )— Rocky Mountain Conference Photo by Rev. Bill Moore, RMC, used by permission
Left: Bishops Minerva Carcaño, Karen Oliveto, Robert Hoshibata and, standing at the Podium, Elaine Stanovsky, spokesperson for the Western Jurisdiction College of Bishops outside the Judicial Council hearing in Newark, NJ. Photo, Mike DuBose, UMNS
Right: Bishop Karen Oliveto, Rev. Keith Boyette, Dixie Brewster; Photo, Mike DuBose, UMNS
Bottom: Bishop Oliveto with mother Nellie Oliveto, left, and wife, Robin Ridenour Photo, Mike DuBose, UMNS
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Reflections Following the Oral Hearing of the Judicial Council on April 25, 2017
— Norma Kehrberg, past UMMA Chairperson
I just returned from attending the hearing of the Judicial Council of the United Methodist Church held in Newark, New Jersey this past week. As I write, the members of the Council have dispersed and the results are not known.
There were over 200 supporters of the Western Jurisdiction’s election of Bishop Karen Oliveto present in Newark, New Jersey. Others like myself arrived at 5:30 a.m. in the hotel to get tickets. The entire Cabinet of the Mountain Sky Episcopal Area (Rocky Mountain and Yellowstone Annual Conferences) was present to support Bishop Oliveto. One pastor from the Rocky Mountain Conference who arrived early and was waiting in line with us said their conference has come alive with Bishop Oliveto’s presence and leadership. Various groups of supporters arrived early and sang songs and gathered in the hotel lobby led by a large contingent of self-described Queer Clergy from across the denomination.
Bishop Oliveto and the other active bishops of the Western Jurisdiction arrived and were waiting with the groups in the hallway. Everyone appeared at peace and ready for the somber hearing ahead as we waited for security to open the doors. Prior to entering the hearing room, there were tender moments as Bishop Oliveto hugged her mother, her spouse Robin Ridenour, and the pastor who was key to her call to ministry.
Bishops Minerva Carcaño, Elaine Stanovsky and Robert Hoshibata, all active Bishops of the Western Jurisdiction, accompanied Bishop Oliveto. They were with her before, during and after the hearing.
The plaintiff’s case was presented first and I cringed at the mean-spirited words of Keith Boyette, attorney and pastor of a Virginia United Methodist Church. After the attorney for the plaintiff finished (saving five minutes for rebuttal later), the attorney for the Western Jurisdiction presented the defense. After each presentation, the members of the Judicial Council asked questions. During the hearing, there was absolute silence in the room.
No matter what the result, I am so happy that I am on the side of love. Before the hearing started, Bishop Oliveto stood up, walked past the plaintiff’s attorney, who looked on with a stern face, and then greeted and hugged Dixie Brewster, the plaintiff, a laywoman from Kansas.
In all actions Bishop Oliveto continues to offer grace upon grace. That is the spirit of the church that calls me to work and witness.
Ruling Update: Bishop Oliveto is a Bishop in good standing and continues to be the Bishop of the Mountain Sky Episcopal Area (Rocky Mountain and Yellowstone Annual Conferences, planning to merge in 2018).
Issue: About the same time as the Western Jurisdiction elected Bishop Karen Oliveto, a complaint was filed in South Central Jurisdiction with four issues: Nomination, election, assignment and consecration.
The Judicial Council said it did not have jurisdiction to hear the first three issues, as they did not affect the South Central Jurisdiction. Consecration of a Bishop, however, does affect the whole church and thus the South Central Jurisdiction, since a bishop is consecrated as a bishop of The [whole] United Methodist Church. Judicial Council Decision 1341 states (as part of a 19 page document) “Bishops and or clergy persons who actively participate in the consecration of a bishop who has been found to be a self-avowed practicing homosexual in an administrative and / or judicial process, are in violation of ¶304.3 and may be charged with disobedience.”
New: A surprising finding in Decision 1341 makes a new definition of what is a self-avowed practicing homosexual. The Judicial Council opined “A same-sex marriage license issued by competent civil authorities together with the clergy person’s status in a same-sex relationship is a public declaration that the person is a self-avowed practicing homosexual for purposes of ¶ ¶ 304.3 and 2702.l (b).”
This, in my opinion, is contestable!
Follow up is referred to the Western Jurisdiction.
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Barbara Jo Jones wrote in March that her mother, Lois Gilliland, 88 years old, died March 7, 2017, following a massive stroke two weeks earlier. An obituary can be found in the Inyo (California) Register via Legacy.
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New Dues Schedule Now in Effect
One year at a time
Singles: $36 (= $3 / month)
Couples: $72 (= 2 x $36 = $6 / month)
Affiliates: $25
Lifetime members by age of the older partner:
Under 75: $540 (= $36 x 15) each
or $1,080 (= 2 x $36 x 15) for couples
Over 75: $360 each (= $36 x 10)
or $720 (= 2 x $36 x 10) for couples
Affiliates: $375 (= $25 x 15)
Alina Saucedo is the treasurer of UMMA. Since Alina lives outside the U.S., Jim Dwyer is acting as her assistant to relate to our bank until this role transfers to Becky Harrell in August. Dues payments may still be sent to Jim via check (see below).
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How to pay dues
By Credit Card or PayPal:
By Check:
Make checks payable to "UMMA"
Include your current contact information if possible (postal address, email, phone)
Mail to our treasurer's assistant:
James Dwyer
787 Plymouth Rd.
Claremont CA 91711-4240
jamesdwyer@gmail.com
+1 (347) 213-5029
From outside the USA:
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Last Words
(Sojourners, Verse & Voice 5.23.2017)
verse of the day
Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
- Luke 12:33-34
voice of the day
If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that he commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition and then admit that we just don't want to do it.
- Stephen Colbert
prayer of the day
God, teach us to recognize the ways of your kin-dom.
adapted from Common Prayer
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