Newscope
A Newsletter for United Methodist Leaders
Vol. 29, No. 10/March 9, 2001Virginia District Superintendent is Consecrated Bishop
Timothy Whitaker, 52, was consecrated bishop on Feb. 28 at a special session of the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference, held in Lake Junaluska, N.C. The conference met for the purpose of electing a bishop to replace Bishop Cornelius Henderson, who died in December.
Whitaker, superintendent of the Norfolk District of the Virginia Conference, was elected bishop on the 17th ballot. He had withdrawn from the process after the first ballot but began picking up considerable votes in the 14th ballot, during a stalemate in balloting. Whitaker gained 395 votes on the final ballot, well over the 299 votes needed for election.
Whitaker was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi. He earned a bachelor of arts degree from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, and a master of divinity from Emory University. He has served churches in Mississippi, Georgia, and Virginia. He had been endorsed for the episcopacy by the delegates to the 2000 Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference, where he had received significant support.
In a 1987 article in Circuit Rider magazine, Whitaker, commenting on the membership deficit in the UMC, wrote, "Our problem is not merely a failure of action, it is also a loss of identity. Until we know who we are, all our action is likely to dissipate from a lack of conviction about our unique role in the history of Christianity."
Whitaker begins his assignment to the Florida Episcopal Area on April 2. All other episcopal assignments remain the same.
New Bishop Will Focus on Theological and Pastoral Roles
Timothy Whitaker traveled to the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference with no intention of being a candidate for the episcopacy. After his experience as an episcopal candidate at the July jurisdictional conference, "I inferred that maybe the delegates sought different qualities in a bishop than I did, and that perhaps I didn’t fit what they wanted," Whitaker told Newscope. "I think a bishop should represent the faith of the universal church of Jesus Christ to the institution; I thought the delegates were seeking someone who represents the best of the institution. I thought the delegates were seeking a CEO, and I don’t have the mentality of, or desire to be, a CEO," he told the delegates the first day of balloting, when everyone who received votes was asked to speak before the conference. Late on Tuesday, during a deadlock in the ballot, delegates told them they were going to vote for him. "I was drafted, like Ambrose was drafted," he said. "I knew I had to respond to the church’s call. I think people appreciated my willingness to speak about the office. We get so busy trying to get our candidate elected that we lose sight of what the office is."
While Whitaker appreciates the need for bishops to have administrative gifts, he sees pastoral theologian as one of the most important roles of a bishop. "Bishops are in a position to reflect theologically upon the issues and challenges that the church faces in the world today," he told Newscope. "They can offer reflection on current experience in light of the catholic, apostolic Christian faith. That would make the church more likely to develop under the leadership of the Holy Spirit." He also emphasized the importance of bishops’ having "a pastoral heart" and making efforts to establish relationships with people.
Bishop Whitaker’s priorities for ministry in Florida are "to listen and learn," he said. "Not until after I get to know the conference will I develop a vision for ministry there."
UM Congregations in Northwest Assess Quake Damage
So far, 16 UM churches are known to have suffered damage from the earthquake that rocked the Seattle area just before 11 a.m. on Feb. 28. Bishop Elias Galván (Seattle Area) told Newscope that more churches may discover damages as time goes on. The known damages seem to consist of minor cracks, stress fractures, and a warped sidewalk, Bishop Galván told UM News Service (UMNS). The 6.8-magnitude quake, centered about 11 miles northeast of Olympia, Wash., caused about $2 billion in damages and at least 320 injuries, The Seattle Times reports. The UM Committee on Relief (UMCOR) met on March 2 for a preliminary assessment of the situation.
Sumner (Wash.) UMC, southeast of Tacoma, is closed for evaluation of damages, Bishop Galván told UMNS. Its bell tower and chimneys were damaged, and the church has major cracks that must be inspected, he said. The church is finding an alternate location for Sunday services. The church building is old and is located close to the earthquake’s epicenter, said Bruce Galvin, assistant treasurer and benefits officer for the annual conference. Galvin handles the conference’s insurance, and he said that earthquake coverage was added to the policy last year.
Seattle’s First UMC, founded in 1853 and described on its Web site as the city’s first church, also was damaged. The nave has been cordoned off while damage is being assessed, and worship will be held in another part of the church.
Relief Agency Anticipates Years of Work in India, El Salvador
Final figures are not in yet, but so far the UM Committee on Relief (UMCOR) has received approximately $30,000 in direct (credit card) donations for El Salvador and about $10,000 for India. Those figures are expected to at least triple after donations placed in church offering plates are received by UMCOR toward the end of March. UMCOR already has contributed money to purchase and distribute relief items in 129 villages in the Indian state of Gujrat, where the Jan. 26 earthquake hit hardest. Relief sets, lanterns, tarpaulins, and dry ration kits are being distributed through India’s Church Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA).
UMCOR has sent an additional grant for earthquake relief to El Salvador, where more than 1.5 million people--nearly one-fifth of the population--were left homeless by a Jan. 13 earthquake. This UMCOR grant will provide plastic sheeting, nails, and other materials to construct temporary shelters in two communities that have received no other assistance. Neither India nor El Salvador is accepting shipments of material goods because of the volume they have already received. UMCOR expects relief efforts will need to continue for several years. ("South Asia Earthquake" Advance #274305-0 and "El Salvador Earthquake" Advance #911447-8) --Lesley Crosson, General Board of Global Ministries
Short Takes
At least three UM churches were damaged by tornadoes that skipped across Arkansas and Mississippi on Feb. 24. The twisters came as residents of Little Rock were still cleaning up from two ice storms that struck around Christmas. The tornadoes were the second bout with nature for residents in portions of Mississippi, where hundreds of homes were damaged or destroyed. Representatives from the UM Committee on Relief (UMCOR) and other faith-based organizations are assessing the damage and will assist in the response and recovery efforts. First UMC in Baldwyn, Miss., lost part of its steeple and shingles, according to Woody Woodrick, communications director for the Mississippi Conference. Primrose UMC, in the southern part of Little Rock, sustained severe damage to its Family Life Center, main building, cemetery, and playground. Old Austin UMC in Arkansas’s rural Lonoke County suffered severe roof damage and will have to be re-roofed. --UM News Service
At the end of this month, the library at Africa University in Zimbabwe will be enriched by 20,000 new books. That’s because Steve Frantzick, a member of Calvary UMC in Annapolis, Md., developed a partnership between his church and an Annapolis Rotary Club, where he is director of the Books for International Goodwill (B.I.G.) project. "This is the first time we’ve had a church as a partner," Frantzick said. Volunteers from both the church and the civic organization collected the books and raised money to cover the $5,000 shipment costs. Frantzick and Mike Long, a member of Calvary’s mission group, contacted a librarian at Africa University. They determined that college textbooks were most needed, especially books on religion and theology. Over the past few years Frantzick has sent 850,000 books to sites in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean, he said. --UMConnection, Feb. 21
Some have questioned reports that George W. Bush is only the third Methodist to be elected president of the U.S. (see Newscope, Jan. 5). Joretta Purdue did some research for UM News Service and came up with the following: George W. Bush is only the third president officially recognized by The Encyclopedia of World Methodism as a Methodist when he took the oath of office. Other presidents joined the church after the time of their inaugurations. In addition to George W. Bush, the two Methodist U.S. presidents whose church affiliations do not seem to be in dispute are William McKinley (1897-1901) and Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881). Two others, President Ulysses S. Grant, who immediately preceded Hayes in office, and James Knox Polk (1845-1849), are both reported to have been baptized by Methodist bishops during illnesses at the end of their lives, according to William K. Quick, an executive of the World Methodist Council. Andrew Johnson (1865-1869), sometimes thought to be Methodist because he often attended Methodist services with his wife, occasionally also attended Catholic mass, according to Quick. Johnson never formally joined a church.
Leaders of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, the Lutheran World Federation, and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches met in Rome Feb. 9 and 10 to exchange views on the divisive issue of indulgences, the Vatican reported Feb. 14. The Vatican said this was the first ecumenical theological consultation on the theme of indulgences since the Protestant Reformation. The Roman Catholic Church has continued to teach that an indulgence--remission of punishment for sins--can be gained through penitence and contrition. Martin Luther criticized the papal bull that granted indulgences to souls in purgatory. The granting of indulgences was a key feature of last year’s Holy Year observances by Roman Catholics. While acknowledging "there have been long-standing differences between the Roman Catholic Church and the churches of the Reformation" on the issue of indulgences, the Vatican said the consultation "took place in a positive atmosphere which lent itself to honest and constructive discussion."-- Peggy Polk, Religion News Service
Following are corrections to phone numbers and addresses of bishops, as listed in The 2001 UM Directory: Bishop Jack M. Tuell’s address, listed on pages 4 and 11, should read: 816 S. 216th St. #637, Des Moines, WA 98198. Bishop Monk Bryan’s phone number, corresponding to his Lake Junaluska address listed on page 8, should read: 828-452-1999. Bishop Calvin D. McConnell’s phone number, listed on page 10, should read: 503-636-7542.
Dan Sailer, pastor of Haller Lake UMC in North Seattle, was found not guilty in a clergy trial held Feb. 6. Sailer had been charged with perjury in a state court case involving an altercation between Kevin Mooney and Kathryn Frazier. Sailer, a witness to the incident, claimed under oath that he did not know Mooney. After it was discovered that Mooney was Sailer’s roommate, Sailer was accused of perjury (see Newscope, May 26). Sailer entered an Alford plea to false swearing, a gross misdemeanor. By entering the plea, he did not admit to lying under oath but acknowledged there was enough evidence to make conviction possible. The state court gave him a one-year deferred sentence and required him to do 240 hours of community service. Frazier filed the complaint that led to the church trial. Bishop Dan Solomon (retired), who presided over the trial, expressed the opinion that "crime" as listed as a chargeable offense in The Book of Discipline (paragraph 2702) refers to crime in church law, not crime as determined in secular courts. Solomon noted that "crime" is not defined in The Book of Discipline and the presiding officer is prohibited from defining the term. He said that determination of the term’s definition rests with the jury. --UM News Service
On the Record
"The fast that God chooses teaches us to have God’s heart for the hungry, the oppressed, the naked, the homeless. When we taste a little brokenness ourselves, we have a greater sense of urgency to repair for others what is broken. Fasting is meant to scour our gut. It is God’s intent that we feel the pangs of hunger, the gnawing emptiness, the dizziness and weariness. That’s how a third of the world lives. And if we never live that way, even briefly, how will we learn to care for the least of these? Without hunger, our consumption will lead us deeper into acts of obliviousness or intentional neglect, abuse, exploitation of those who are hungry. Fasting gives us a small taste of what their world is like, a taste we will never get if we do not for a time forsake the taste of food." —Mark Buchanan in The Christian Century, Feb. 28
"And this is a still farther motive and encouragement to the performance of this duty; even the promise which our Lord has graciously annexed to the due discharge of it: ‘Thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.’ Such are the plain grounds, reasons, and ends of fasting, such are encouragement to persevere therein, notwithstanding abundance objections of which men, wiser than their Lord, have been continually raising against it."--John Wesley, Sermon 27, "Upon Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount"
Positions Available
Stewardship director for Oregon-Idaho Conference. For a job description, see the Web site http://www.umoi.org ; e-mail resumes to steward@umoi.org. . . . . Director, Iliff Institute for Lay and Clergy Education for the Iliff School of Theology. For information, visit the Web site http://discuss.iliff.edu/jobs/. . . . . Director of music. Contact: Lucinda S. Holmes, executive pastor of worship, Church of the Resurrection, 13720 Roe Ave., Leawood, KS 66224; 913-897-0120; fax, 913-897-1361; e-mail, LucindaH@cor.org.
Personalia
New district superintendent appointments in North Texas Conference, effective July 1: James E. Dorff, Dallas Denton District; Fred L. Dunham, Sherman-McKinney District; Michael Nichols, Dallas South District. . . . . Gary Beach, formerly superintendent of the Emporia-Manhattan District, has been appointed director of connectional ministries for Kansas East Conference. . . . . New district superintendents in Kansas West Conference: Terry Turner, Concordia District; Pat Ault-Duell, Hays District; Cheryl Bell, Salina District. . . . . Lisa Elliott Diehl has been named marketing and communications coordinator for the Kansas West Conference. . . . . Michele H. Thorne has joined the Legal Department of the General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA) as associate general counsel.
Editor: Victoria A. Rebeck; Editorial Director: Harriett Jane Olson;
Publisher: Neil M. Alexander.
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Newscope © 2001 by The United Methodist Publishing House. Permission is granted to electronically download this newsletter. UM publications may also quote Newscope with credit without special permission. Any other electronic or mechanical reproduction and/or distribution of the entire newsletter requires prior permission from the UM Publishing House; Rights and Permissions Office, 201 Eighth Ave. South; Nashville, TN 27202. Victoria Rebeck, Editor (615-749-6320). To submit articles or information, write vrebeck@umpublishing.org.