FAITH focus 3B UM CONNECTIONS


UM relief kits shipped to flood-affected areas The United Methodist Com- mittee on Relief (UMCOR) announced that its relief- supply network shipped nearly 238,000 relief kits worldwide during the months of August and Sep- tember. The total includes those shipped to flood-rav- aged communities in the U.S. Donations to Material Resource Ministry, UMCOR Advance #901440 support this work.


Social action agency awards new grants Directors of the United Methodist General Board of Church & Society (GBCS) awarded more than $291,000 in Ethnic Local Church and Human Rela- tions Day grants at the board’s fall meeting at Lake Junaluska, N.C., in October. The grants support diverse ministries, including immi- grant justice work in Texas, criminal justice reform in Florida and a youth ministry in the Philippines.


Civil discourse on race urged in 2012 election Churches Uniting in Christ, a partnership of 10 com- munions including the United Methodist Church, is calling upon candidates and elected officials “to commit to civil and honest discourse about race” during the 2012 election season. Meeting in Chicago on Oct. 11, the or- ganization’s coordinating council also pledged to “recommit to the work of recognizing and sharing the ordained ministries of one another’s churches, espe- cially acknowledging racism as one source of division.”


Wanted: memories from Mount Sequoyah Thousands have come to Mount Sequoyah Retreat and Conference Center in Fayetteville, Ark., for Juris- dictional meetings and other gatherings. To celebrate its 90th anniversary, Mount Se- quoyah is seeking testimoni- als from those whose lives have been changed while visiting the center. Send your story to: communica- tions@mountsequoyah.org, or Mount Sequoyah, 150 Skyline Drive, Fayetteville, AR 72701.


Church to focus on ‘healing relationships’


BY GINNY UNDERWOOD United Methodist News Service


Is an official expression of repen-


tance by United Methodists for the church’s treatment of indigenous peo- ple a waste of time? That question was posed early on


by retired Bishop Melvin G. Talbert as an advisory group began to plan for a mandated act of “Healing Relation- ships with Indigenous Persons” at the 2012 General Conference. The denomination’s top legislative


body of nearly 1,000 delegates from around the world will meet April 24- May 4 in Tampa, Fla. The Act of Re- pentance presentation is scheduled for April 27. During the earliest meetings of the


advisory council—organized by the United Methodist General Commis- sion on Christian Unity and Interreli- gious Concerns (GCCUIC)—Bishop Talbert expressed concern that an Act of Repentance might be an unproduc- tive use of time, based on his past ex- periences. “I participated in Acts of Repen-


tance in 2000 and 2004 dealing with African Americans and racism,” he said. “I felt like the experience was just a show. When the General Conferences were over, the issue was put on the shelf and it was business as usual.” However, as plans have progressed,


Bishop Talbert has concluded that such an event for indigenous peoples, including Native Americans, should not be delayed. “I came to the realiza- tion that maybe this is the right time,” he said. “We can’t simply wait until we are all ready. We could be waiting a long time. Our Native brothers and sisters deserve better.” The Rev. Stephen Sidorak, the


commission’s top executive, agreed that now is the time for the healing process to begin. “The United Methodist Church is


being called to confession,” he said. “We need to own up to our part in his- tory and work toward a demonstrable denominational contrition for our col- lective responsibility. It’s the only way to move forward.”


Sand Creek connection Dr. Sidorak pointed to denomina-


tional support of the Sand Creek Mas- sacre National Site Research and Learning Center in Colorado as one example of how an Act of Repentance can move from words to action. “The United Methodist Church has a shock- ing connection to Sand Creek,” he said.


On Nov. 29, 1864, Col. John Chiv-


ington, a Methodist clergyman, led the attack on a Cheyenne and Arapaho encampment along the banks of Sand Creek. At least 165 people were killed, mostly women, children and the eld- erly.


The United Methodist Church has


committed $125,000 to the center, which will be matched, resulting in $250,000 in seed money. The donation will go toward research materials as well as tools needed to set up “virtual” connections between the center and other institutions, including United Methodist-affiliated Iliff School of Theology, tribal colleges in Oklahoma, Montana and Wyoming and the exten- sive archives, libraries and museums that house the Sand Creek Massacre research materials. With Bishop Talbert’s concern at


the forefront of the planning process, the GCCUIC is taking a resolution to the 2012 General Conference titled,


UMNS PHOTO BY GINNY UNDERWOOD


Retired Bishop Melvin G. Talbert (left) helps plan for a mandated act of “Healing Relationships with Indigenous Persons” to be held during the 2012 General Conference. At right is the Rev. Anita Phillips, who leads the denomination’s Native American Comprehensive Plan.


“Trail of Repentance and Healing.” The resolution includes a request


for $325,000 to ensure credible churchwide follow-up. The United Methodist Council of Bishops will be asked to direct the implementation of the resolution. One provision in the proposal asks


that land and property be transferred to “an indigenous community,” as de- scribed in Paragraph 2547.2 of the de- nomination’s Book of Discipline. The paragraph currently gives guidance to deeding church property to other de- nominations represented in the Com- mission on Pan-Methodist Cooperation and Union or to another evangelical denomination.


‘Tangible results’ “The goal of the proposed resolu-


tion is to make sure the Act of Repen- tance will be followed with tangible results,” Dr. Sidorak said.


LETTERS Grateful for two commentaries Thank you S. Vance Goodman (Re-


porter, Oct. 21, “A tired UM seminar- ian writes letter to church) for telling your story! May we each continue the work for justice to bring about full in- clusion and participation in the church, welcoming all of God’s chil- dren. May we remember that God stands next to those on the margins, to those who suffer the abuses of injustice—and that we are called to participate with God in the transfor- mation of this world into one marked by justice through reconciliation and ever-expanding love. And thank you, the Rev. Ben Gos-


den (Reporter, Oct. 21, “UMC needs to rethink evangelism”), for speaking a much-needed truth about the need for a new approach in how we as a church look at, practice and carry out evan- gelism. As a young adult, your words carry a message of hope and excite- ment!


Tricia Lindley Kress UMC Kress, Texas


The Reporter welcomes brief, civil letters. Send to news@umr.org or The United Methodist Reporter, 1221 Profit Drive, Dallas, TX, 75247.


UNITED MET HODI S T REPORTER | NOVEMBER 11, 2011


Bishop Talbert said he hopes that when General Conference concludes the bishops of the church will be com- mitted to giving visible leadership to the Act of Repentance in their respec- tive areas. “I also hope the delegates will carry that commitment with them and begin the process of healing in their own communities.” In preparation for the Act of Re-


pentance event in Tampa, the com- mission has held nearly two dozen listening sessions with indigenous people in the United States and two in regional conferences outside the United States. To help prepare church members,


the commission will publish com- mentaries, stories and a study guide in the months leading up to General Conference.


Ms. Underwood is a former staff member of United Methodist Communications.


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