| The Judicial Council The Judicial Council of the United Methodist Church is the judicial arm of the church. The organizational structure and duties are outlined in The Book of Discipline, starting with 2601. The Judicial Council is composed of nine members who serve eight-year terms: John B. Corry, president; Rex Bevins, vice president; Sally Curtis Askew, secretary; Rudolfo C. Beltran (Rudy); Keith D. Boyette; Mary A. Daffin; James Holsinger; Sally Brown Geis; and Larry Pickens. Members are elected at General Conference after being nominated by the Council of Bishops. Nominations from the floor of General Conference are accepted at that time. The council meets at least twice per year, and the Discipline provides for its method of organization and procedure. During its meeting, the Judicial Council may hear oral arguments. These sessions are free and open to the public. The councils deliberation sessions are closed. All decisions of the Judicial Council are final. Decisions of the Judicial Council are available on line at www.umc.org/church
library/judicial/
decisions.htm . | Judicial Council to meet in Baltimore By Erik Alsgaard UMConnection Staff When the United Methodist Churchs supreme court, the Judicial Council, meets this month in Baltimore, some of the 25 items on the docket will relate to familiar issues, such as restructuring and fair process, but some are more unusual. The nine-member council meets Oct. 23-26 at the Inn at the Colonade at 4 W. University Parkway in Baltimore. The session will be open to the public on Oct. 24 at 2 p.m. when the council holds an oral hearing on the North Georgia Conference insurance plan. From the Baltimore-Washington Conference comes Bishop Felton Edwin Mays decision of law in regard to whether the clergy session of annual conference has the power to move that a person be placed on involuntary leave. The item involves the case of the Rev. Rebecca Steen, who ultimately had charges filed against her and who resigned from the ministry June 28. During the annual conference session last June, issues arose around whether Steen, a transgender clergy person, could come off a voluntary leave of absence. The conference Board of Ordained Ministry had approved such a move prior to annual conference, and the clergy session wrestled with the issue. It was during this debate that the question arose that comes before the Judicial Council. Bishops decisions of law are given when a question on the meaning or application of the churchs regulations in The Book of Discipline is asked during an annual conference session. All bishops decisions of law are forwarded to the Judicial Council for review. Two other conferences have generated concerns about clergys involuntary leave of absence and the process of assigning it. Illinois Great Rivers Annual Conference has asked for a declaratory decision on a perceived conflict between Discipline references to involuntary leave of absence and the requirements for fair process. The California-Pacific Annual Conference asked whether bishops and district superintendents are voting participants at hearings requested by clergy members who have been recommended for involuntary leave by the conference Board of Ordained Ministry or its executive committee. Other items coming before the council: z Whether the bishop and conference in the East Ohio Annual Conference were in violation of the Discipline when they substituted the words in the name of the Triune God for the words in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit during the ordination service. z Whether a clergyperson whose ministerial office is being reviewed may refuse to answer questions that are a part of that review. The case comes from the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference. z A proposed amendment to the by-laws of the Illinois Great Rivers Conference Foundation, which would allow the foundation to accept gifts from non-United Methodist-related sources. UMNS contributed to this story. |
Login/Register to leave comment