Judicial Council to Deal with
Homosexual Marriage Issue Again in October
NO TIME TO SNOOZE
My son and his friends used to use a favorite saying frequently. It goes "if you
snooze, you lose." The same is true, to some degree, in real life. It may be
particularly applicable to the situation of the Evangelicals thinking that the time they
have to face the challenge of the homosexual union issue is going to be at GC 2000.
For some reason we don't seem to be focusing in on the fact that in October of 1998
(that's just two months away), the Judicial Council will be meeting once again in Hershey,
Pennsylvania. Among their Docket
items are three (X, XIV, and XV),
that are essentially asking the Judicial Council to again rule that the Social Principles
are not law. Here is yet another window of opportunity to have a ruling that will open the
floodgates to the pro-gay activists and liberal elite.
X. IN RE: Review of Bishop’s Decision of Law
in the North Texas Annual Conference on the meaning of the word "avowed" in the
phrase "self-avowed homosexual."
XIV. IN RE: Request from the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference
for a declaratory decision on the constitutionality of the sentence "Ceremonies that
celebrate homosexual unions shall not be conducted by our ministers and shall not be
conducted in our churches." (¶65C of the 1996 Discipline)
XV. IN RE: Request from the California-Nevada
Annual Conference for a declaratory decision on the constitutionality of the sentence
"Ceremonies that celebrate homosexual unions shall not be conducted by our ministers
and shall not be conducted in our churches." (¶65C of the 1996 Discipline)
[Source:
Official Web Page for the Judicial Council of the United Methodist Church http://www.umc.org/judicial/ - "Fall 1998 Docket", as of
August 15, 1998]
Wow! When will those guys quit? I can answer that: not until life in the Methodist
Church makes it so difficult and/or uncomfortable for them that they either undergo
fundamental attitudinal and spiritual change, or go away. It's that simple
What can we do to bolster the defenses for the next skirmish, which is almost right on
top of us? There are several things.
- One is to immediately write a letter of appreciation and thanks to the Judicial Council.
We need to tell them just how much we appreciate the courage and objectivity they
displayed in deciding as they did. I'm sure they have seen all the publicity from
Evangelicals rejoicing, but I bet they haven't received any personal thank you's for their
efforts. Write your letter and address it as follows:
Judicial Council
c/o Ms Curtis-Askew
180 Wentwood Av.
Bogart, GA 30622
- The other thing you can do is write a brief to the Judicial Council asking them to once
again hold the line on these issues. I will be doing this. Those have to be in by the
deadline, which is September 10. These also go to Ms. Curtis-Askew at the above address.
If you need a sample copy of such a brief, e-mail me at rbigg@pcola.gulf.net, and I'll zip you one.
I really don't believe there is any new, factual info to be offered up by either side.
That's the good news. The bad news is, that with repeat attempts to breach the fortress,
the pro-gay activists may find a wedge in some Judicial Council member who weakens or
changes his/her mind concerning the "rightness" of previous decisions on these
matters. That might then be the straw that broke the camels back. Persistence and
repetition is their friend, and our bane.
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