discernment

discernment

Updated september 25, 2022
Methodism 101

Twenty-five people from our community joined Bishop Warner Brown for Methodism 101 on September 21 and another 15 gathered the following Sunday, September 25, for Methodism 101 with Becca Cramer-Mowder.

Here is a brief history of the United Methodist Church:

For those interested in diving a bit deeper into the history of our Methodist heritage, here is a video featuring Dr. Ashley Boggan Dreff, General Secretary of the General Commission on Archives & History of The United Methodist Church, introducing a series of short videos that teach about the history of separations and reunions in the predecessor denominations of The United Methodist Church:

Update from our Administrative Board Chair Shared on July 1, 2022

Discernment in a time of institutional UNCERTAINTy, Challenge, & Collapse
Who We Are

Whether you’re new to The Table or have been part of this community for many years, we are grateful to be in this together with you. We practice our faith at The Table by rooting our lives in grace, growing in faith, reaching in love, and giving generously. We long to be a place where God’s love is for all and to practice God’s radical hospitality by ensuring room for everyone at The Table.

The context in which we find ourselves

Our global denomination — The United Methodist Church — is urgently experiencing upheaval in many forms; membership and financial health have declined to a critical point, and a major rift over God’s call for a fully inclusive community continues to unfold in complicated ways. This denomination is, to some extent, characterized by administrative practices that are rooted in centuries-old hierarchical systems which are straining to adapt to our changing contexts.

We are not alone in facing the challenges of today
Those of us within the mainline Protestant denominations are…living through a period of collapse. We are experiencing the slow-burning, gradual disintegration of vast theological institutions that many of us both cherish and critique. This was taking place long before the pandemic, which has surely accelerated it…If in previous eras the shortcomings, contradictions, and failures of institutions were downplayed, denied, or just accepted as a normal part of life in an imperfect world, people today are quick to judge. There is a social and cultural reckoning taking place that many would agree is long overdue. Hard truths are being told, and previously ignorable facts are being exposed. Public trust is eroding not just in “the church” or “organized religion” but in a wide range of institutions including the medical system, Congress, organized labor, the American Presidency, the media, corporations, and the Supreme Court (Gallup).
History of Salon gatherings

Salon gatherings have helped communities face “turning points” in the past. The first salons can be traced to the early 17th century when French aristocrat Madame Catherine de Rambouillet’s salon room became an intellectual hub for the Parisian intelligentsia to discuss social, political, artistic, and literary topics. These salons were lively gatherings that evolved into a safe place to debate, collaborate, learn, and expand one’s perspective.

May 2022 Salon gatherings at The Table
Holding the challenging dynamics of institutional splintering & implosion alongside who we are as a community of faith, our Administrative Board invited our wider community of faith into deeper awareness of the challenges facing our global denomination through Salon gatherings in May of 2022. We gathered (102 people registering in total) to affirm the core values & practices we desire for The Table to carry into God’s unfolding future by rooting ourselves in a posture of prayerful discernment as we wondered together about possible next steps.
Key insights & Important Challenges Identified In Salon Gatherings

The high level of interest in our Salon Gatherings and the discussions during our time together demonstrated that The Table has an active congregation that cares about what the future may bring. There are many shared values and experiences that brought community members to The Table, including:

  • A sense of belonging, warmth, acceptance and welcome.
  • Commitment to diversity, inclusion and social justice issues, and support for the LGBTQ+ community.
  • Preaching that engages head and heart and pastoral care that heals the soul.
  • The Table musicians and art that fills our sanctuary.
  • Our method for watching over one another in love through Growing in Faith and Kitchen Tables. 

What was less clear during the Salon Gatherings was the desired future for The Table regarding our connection to the United Methodist church. Some attendees expressed a strong connection to the denomination and a desire to maintain our affiliation. Others felt that the values and experiences of The Table were more important to preserve than connection to the United Methodist denomination and they do not want to sacrifice what makes us a unique community of God. 

We heard that there is deep desire to understand more about the local and global challenges of the United Methodist Church, including specifics on the conference and jurisdictional leadership changes, the hierarchical structure of the denomination, the fiscal and administrative situation, the global churches perspective on LGBTQ clergy and other inclusion concerns, and how the denomination may be reshaped by the ongoing departure of more conservative congregations. The pastors and the Administrative Board are committed to keeping our congregation educated and updated on these and other issues within the larger church.

What The Table is doing in Sacramento is working and many of the Salon Gathering attendees wondered why our model of a church community is not being more broadly recognized and replicated. There are also questions about how we can better show the value of and build support for innovative ministries like Table Farm and Table Bread. Some attendees felt that by staying aligned with the United Methodists it would allow us to speak prophetically and advocate for continued change from within the organization.

There was acknowledgement from many that the United Methodist church is not the only mainline Protestant denomination to experience similar challenges. If The Table were to choose to affiliate with another denomination, many of the concerns named throughout this process, including a commitment to radical inclusion, would not be resolved.  

One of the greatest concerns shared across the gatherings is regarding pastoral leadership and the future of The Table, whether we choose to disaffiliate or not. Many understand that while we have been fortunate to have stable leadership since our church was planted, the United Methodist church has an itinerant ministry and Matt or Linda could be moved or eventually decide to retire or be appointed elsewhere. There is a clear need for ongoing discussions about succession planning and how our community can maintain our values and identity during leadership changes. 

Questions raised & information requested in Salon gatherings
  • BRIEF HISTORY: The Table is part of a global denomination called The United Methodist Church which was formally created in 1968, but with roots reaching back to the 1700’s when John & Charles Wesley first gathered a small group of people together to watch over one another in love by holding their lives in conversation with the great commandment.

 

  • POLITY BASICS: The United Methodist Church does not have a single leader. Instead, the denomination is led by a Council of Bishops and a governing body called the General Conference. Here’s a video on the Council of Bishops. Here’s a video on General Conference. Our global church structure mirrors the United States government in some ways with judicial, executive and legislative branches. Bishops are elected regionally (somewhat like Governors) and assigned to lead a geographic area called an Annual Conference (akin to a state in this metaphor). Annual Conferences elect an equal number of clergy & lay people to serve as delegates to the General Conference based on membership numbers. General Conference is the top policy-making body of The United Methodist Church and meets every four years with a maximum of 1,000 delegates to approve plans & budgets for the global church and to consider revisions to church law, as well as adopt resolutions on current moral, social, public policy and economic issues. The Book of Discipline constitutes the law and doctrine of the United Methodist Church.The Judicial Council is the United Methodist Church’s highest judicial body and is made up of nine members, both pastors and lay people, which are elected by the General Conference and normally meet twice a year to consider whether actions of the various church bodies adhere to the constitution and follow the rules outlined in the Book of Discipline. Here’s a video on the Judicial Council. Finally, Annual Conferences in the United States are divided into five regions called Jurisdictional Conferences; regional entities to which certain administrative responsibilities are delegated, e.g. the election and oversight of Bishops. Jurisdictional Conferences meet every four years to elect new bishops and select representatives to serve on global denominational boards and agencies.

 

 

 

 

  • A UNIQUE SYSTEM FOR CONNECTING PASTORS WITH CHURCHES: Local churches in the UMC do not hire or search for their own pastors. Instead, pastors are appointed by the Bishop. Appointments are for one year at a time and begin on July 1 each year. This appointment system is called “itineracy” and is often noted for historically proving critical to ensuring greater access and equity for women, persons of color and other marginalized persons serving as clergy. While bishops make appointments, a consultative process is outlined in The Book of Discipline and consultation is notably not merely notification, but instead a continuing process which brings together the District Superintendent, pastors, and the Administrative Board for intentional discernment about needs and gifts for each unique ministry context. While pastors can be reappointed at any time by the Bishop, ¶429 specifically states, “The bishop and cabinet should work toward longer tenure in local church appointments to facilitate a more effective ministry.”

 

  • CHURCH PROPERTY: While church property is technically owned by the local congregation as a corporate entity, it is exercised in trust for The United Methodist Church. ¶2503 of the The Book of Discipline explicitly names the Annual Conference as having authority over local church property.

 

  • A DENOMINATION DIVIDED (THE UNTIED METHODIST CHURCH): Dividing lines have shaped the denomination since it was created in 1968. While formally desegregated in 1968, painful racial divisions continue and white racism persists in the church. While our denomination is diverse in many ways, colonialism has malformed our life together. Delegates to the 1972 General Conference ruled “the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching” and the denomination has been divided over the full inclusion of LGBTQIA persons ever since.  Many LGBTQIA persons and allies have worked tirelessly for legislative change. The Western Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church and many local churches and pastors, like ours, have chosen to practice ecclesial disobedience—coined “Biblical Obedience” by retired Bishop Melvin Talbert—by ignoring this discriminatory and unjust law in favor our living out our baptismal covenant to “resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.”

 

  • 2019 SPECIAL GENERAL CONFERENCE: Divisions over inclusion and biblical interpretation boiled until a special General Conference was called in 2019 to specifically identify a way forward. While the special called General Conference did not identify a clear way forward, the legislative body passed ¶2553 which allows for congregations to disaffiliate while retaining property and assets. Notably, this legislation expires on December 31, 2023.

 

  • DISAFFILIATION THROUGH PARAGRAPH ¶2553: While each Annual Conference formally develops its own standard terms for disaffiliation, the broad framework would require a church to pay prior to departure any unpaid apportionments for the 12 months prior to disaffiliation + one additional year of apportionments + unfunded pension liabilities + debts/loans/liabilities. The California Nevada Annual Conference has recently added additional specific terms for local churches to follow ¶2553 in disaffiliating. The additional terms include a portion of the Annual Conference’s settlement amount in the Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy case, any unpaid property insurance due the Annual Conference’s unit insurance program, and  20% of the fair market value of property. Please note, the Annual Conference Conference would also retain a right of first refusal on the property, giving it the right to repurchase the property at 20% of its fair market value if the church desires to sell the property in the 7 years after disaffiliation. It may be helpful to know The Table is current on apportionment payments and began paying back a loan originally given by the Annual Conference to Central UMC in 2007, more than two full years prior to The Table UMC beginning as a new church plant. The original loan to Central UMC totaled $150,000 — and while over $150,000 in payments have already been made — the outstanding principal on the loan is ~$95,000. So, if The Table were to proceed under ¶2553, the church could anticipate working with our District Superintendent, Bishop and Annual Conference to disaffiliate upon full payment of one year of apportionments (~$60,000) + unfunded pension liabilities (~$200,000 but fluctuating fairly dramatically by quarter) + outstanding loans (~$95,000) + Boy Scouts Settlement ($1,700) + 20% of the appraised fair market value of the property.
Next steps
  • NEXT STEPS: Overall, during the in-person and online Salon Gatherings, we heard a lot of varied opinions and concerns about the questions set forth by the Administrative Board. Members of our congregation have a deep love and appreciation for this Christian community. We also know that not everyone was able to be a part of a Gathering. The Board and the Pastors are available to have one-on-one conversations about these insights and challenges. We are holding space for all of the perspectives we heard and developing plans for next steps. If you would like to talk further, please email Derek at [email protected].

 

  • UNCERTAINTY CONTINUES: Our global denomination continues to urgently experience upheaval in many forms. The challenges are deep and nuanced and we believe significant reforms are needed to meet these challenges.The 2018 FACT study identified eight pressing challenges facing our Annual Conference and projected only ten years of financial viability remained; we are nearly halfway to that projected cliff. While we know our Annual Conference’s financial challenges and United Methodism’s challenges toward inclusion are real, we don’t know if or when exactly they will bring us to a crisis point–when things would come to a point that there is a clear, present, and unavoidable challenge to our values as a community.  Our Administrative Board remains concerned that this may be a matter of no more than a few years.

 

  • AN ANALOGY: Many of us have experienced the painful yet necessary discussions that happened when a family member or loved one reached the end of their life and there were difficult decisions to be made – others of us didn’t have the opportunity to have those conversations. Everyone reacts differently in those situations and there are many emotions involved. Oftentimes we find that we have waited until it was too late to begin confronting difficult or vulnerable situations. Imagine the peace and relief we might have felt with more time to have those discussions early and talk about what’s really important.

 

 

  • NEW LIFE RISES AMID UNCERTAINTY & DEATH: Table Farm & Table Bread recently received formal approval by our Annual Conference’s Committee on New & Vital Congregations for a year of grant funding totaling $130,000. Grant funds will begin to be disbursed on July 1, 2022. This is exceptional news! Even while we celebrate this incredible support for our community’s continued innovation with what it means to be the Spirit-church-abiding-in-Jesus, we are keenly aware the challenges facing our denomination continue.

 

  • LOOKING AHEAD TO GENERAL CONFERENCE 2024: The Commission on the General Conference announced the further postponement of the postponed 2020 General Conference of The United Methodist Church to 2024. Some hope disaffiliation by more conservative churches in the coming year will allow our denomination to become fully inclusive of LGBTQIA persons at every level in 2024, yet we have been hopeful of this for many years and have not seen it materialize. Much work remains for us to see the day in which All Means All at a denominational level.

 

  • EPISCOPAL ELECTIONS: A recent ruling by the Judicial Council means elections of new bishops will take place this coming November 2022. Bishop Sally Dyck continues to lead our Annual Conference on an interim basis while Bishop Minerva Carcaño remains on suspension. As of January 1, 2023, there are several possible scenarios for what will happen following Jurisdictional Conference: 1) Bishop Minerva Carcaño will continue to be assigned to this conference even if she is still suspended.  If that happens, another interim assignment will be made. 2) Or Bishop Carcaño could come off suspension at any time (including before the end of the year) if a just resolution is reached or other determinations are made by the Judicial Council.  3) Or another bishop could be fully assigned to the conference as a resident bishop (not interim), starting January 1, 2023.

 

  • ONWARD: While it is way too early to decide on specific actions or specific options, it is NOT too early to begin drawing around the coming challenges as a community — listening and talking deeply to each other about what fears, hopes, dreams, and frustrations arise in our conversations as we contemplate POSSIBLE responses together. To this end, our Administrative Board is creating a Discernment Team to focus on the future of The Table in hopes of most faithfully keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus amid the storms. This group will bring some focus and sense of priorities among the ideas, questions, and ponderings that came up in the Salon gatherings while continuing to work with our Co-Pastors to assess developments which may affect our situation. This Discernment Team will reflect back to the Administrative Board and the entire community of faith any suggestions about next steps that may emerge.
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