2019 Judicial Council Decisions

In this blog, I am seeking to give a factual explanation of events of the last few months.  I am not entering the discussion about the actions of General Conference. I am only seeking to describe the facts as I understand them without placing any value judgments on the implications and impacts.

On April 23-26, 2019, the United Methodist Judicial Council met to determine the constitutionality of a number of referred petitions from the special General Conference held in February.  Of these petitions, fifteen focused on implementing the "Traditional Plan" addressing the issue of human sexuality in the UMC. One focused on a path of disaffiliation, a way for churches to leave the denomination. The United Methodist News Service has issued a summary of the petitions and Judicial Council decisions in a pdf format and also a detailed description of the petitions and decisions in another pdf.

All 16 of these petitions were approved at the 2019 General Conference.   Nine of them were ruled constitutional by the Judicial Council, eight of which will go into effect on January 1, 2020 and will be considered part of church law. Seven of the petitions were ruled unconstitutional and were set aside.  The 2020 General Conference will have to consider differently worded petitions to overcome the constitutional issues.

With all that said, let me try to answer a few questions:

How is something unconstitutional? In the structuring documents of our church (The Book of Discipline) we have a constitution which outlines some fundamental polity of the UMC.  It is extremely difficult to change our constitution and intentionally so. Any petition must match our fundamental polity and principles. One principle in the constitution that was violated by a petition was the right of an individual to appeal.  Just like the US court system, the UMC cannot punish people without following due process and offering the opportunity to appeal.

What in the United Methodist Church changed?  The 2019 General Conference clarified and strengthened the previous stance in the Book of Disciple prohibiting the ordination of homosexuals and the marriage of same sex couples.

• The definition of "self-avowed practicing homosexual" was written to include "those living in a same-sex marriage, domestic partnership or civil union, or is a person who publicly states she or he is a practicing homosexual." (BoD, ¶ 304.3). 
• Bishops can not dismiss charges against clergy unless the charges have no basis in law or facts.
• Clergy found guilty of performing same sex weddings face stiff, mandatory penalties(first offense, 1 year suspension without pay/ second offense, credentials revoked.) .
• Affirms that Boards of Ordained Ministry cannot approve candidates that do not meet all the BoD qualifications  concerning sexuality and prohibits bishops from ordaining candidates that they learn do not meet those standards, even if they were approved.
• A path for churches to leave the denomination was clearly defined. (This petition is the only one effective immediately.)

What was considered unconstitutional?

• Bishops cannot be involuntarily placed on leave or retired nor can committees be formed to involuntarily change a bishop's status. These actions violate the constitutional guarantee to appeal.
• The Book of Discipline must be upheld as a whole. One issue cannot be singled out for accountability over any others.(sexuality had been specifically named). All of the BoD is supposed to be upheld by clergy. Any petitions which singled out issues were ruled unconstitutional because they violated the principle of legality.
• It was ruled unconstitutional to hold annual conferences accountable for not upholding the BoD "stance on ordination and marriage of practicing homosexuals" with punishment. Again, All of the Book of Discipline muse be upheld equally.  These petitions violated the principle of legality.

What's next?
Every General Conference has the ability to speak on behalf of our denomination and can adjust the language in the Book of Discipline.   This group of about 850 delegates consists of half laity and half clergy from United Methodist Churches all over the world. Their decisions speak on behalf of the 12 million United Methodists worldwide. The next General Conference is scheduled for April 2020.

Even now, petitions are being brought before the SC United Methodist Conference to go to the General Conference (you can see those petitions on  pages 71-75 of the 2019 Pre-Conference Materials).  We will be electing those who will represent us at General Conference - the laity electing the lay delegates and the clergy electing the clergy delegates.

What happens as we go forward will be determined by the new set of delegates that prayerfully prepare for General Conference 2020. Until that time, may God give us

Grace and Peace,