What’s New in The Book of Resolutions, Part 3: The Social Community
- There are 22 new resolutions included under The Social Community.
- These resolutions stake out substantial new ground for United Methodist social teaching.
- Not all new resolutions will be equally effective, nor do all yet reflect the worldwide nature of the church, but all do point to increased awareness and growth in the church's social witness.
All articles in this series may be accessed here as each is published.
“The Social Community” is the second largest section of the 2020/2024 Book of Resolutions with a total of 67 items. Of these, 22, nearly one third, are new. These new resolutions are spread across 11 of the 16 subtopics within this section.
The Nurturing Community
Three of the new petitions are in the subsection, “The Nurturing Community.” The first of these is a complete rewrite of the former petition on adoption, now titled “Support for Adoption in a Global Context” (Resolution 3100). The previous resolution, “Support for Adoption,” (Resolution 2022 in the 2016 Book of Resolutions) had been written without attention to the opportunities and legal challenges of adoption outside the United States, nor to the ethics involved in adoptions of children from different countries or cultures. The new petition is written with these concerns at its center.
The second, “Rights of All Persons” (Resolution 3120) now comprises the entire section on Human Sexuality. In includes a statement of regret for ways the church, broadly speaking, has marginalized and mistreated LGBTQ persons and calls United Methodists to commit to “befriending and caring for all persons, including LGBTQ persons in our churches and communities.”
The third, “End Age and Disability-Related Financial Penalties for Couples Seeking to Marry,” (Resolution 3130), represents a significant shift in an effort to make marriage a viable alternative for older adults and disabled people. Previous failed attempts at related legislation in 2004 and 2008 had sought to get around the problem of older adults and disabled people choosing not to marry because of the financial losses they would experience by authorizing United Methodist clergy to hold services of blessing or “marriage in the eyes of the church but not the state.” The new resolution addresses the specific legal issues head on, calling for several general agencies to develop resources and generate advocacy to change laws that impose financial penalties on older adults (loss of pension income) and single adults with disabilities (loss of disability benefits) when they marry.
Other Social Issues: Racism, Ethnocentrism and Tribalism
While much media attention was focused on changes to the Book of Discipline regarding human sexuality, there were eight new resolutions adopted on the subtopic of Racism, Ethnocentrism, and Tribalism, more than any other subtopic or subsection in the Book of Resolutions and more than a third of the resolutions under "The Social Community."
The list of these new resolutions is impressive in its breadth. The denomination had never adopted a set of resolutions addressing so wide a range of specific peoples and relating to their specific contexts in a single General Conference. The new resolutions on this subtopic are: “Resolution on the Protection and Equity for Hispanic/Latino Clergy,” #3333; “Resolution for a Better Church: Strengthening the Work of Cross-Racial/Cross-Cultural Ministry,” #3334; “Reparations,” #3335; “Commemoration of Juneteenth as a National Holiday,” #3336; “Resolution Toward an Anti-Colonial Church,” #3337; “Mandate for Racial-Ethnic Ministries,” #3338; “Support for Multi-Cultural Ministry,” #3339; “Cultural Competency Training,” #3340, and “Addressing Racial-Ethnic Discrimination and Gender-Based Violence in the Asian American Context,” #3341.
The content of many of these may be obvious from their titles. Two, “Reparations” and “Toward an Anti-Colonial Church” require further description.
“Reparations” begins with 25 whereas statements recounting the centuries of economic harm done to enslaved African peoples and their descendants by the official policies of the United States. These harms inured to the benefit of predominantly white institutions of all kinds, including churches and church related institutions. It concludes with three specific calls to action: that the General Conference be “called to repentance” for such gains it accrued through the enslavement of Black people in the United States; that local congregations participate in studies about reparations; and that each local church should write letters in support of two versions of a bill (one House, one Senate) regarding reparations.
The educational value of the whereas statements is potent in itself. The actions it proposes, however, are less so. The denomination began an ongoing process of repentance for its harmful actions against people of African descent in 2000. The proposal that local churches conduct studies of reparations creates no mandate, calls for no specific resources, and names no outcomes expected from such studies. And the two legislative items churches were asked to support had died in committee in both chambers in 2023, well before the 2024 General Conference was convened. The concern of the resolution deserves attention, but as written, this resolution appears unable to deliver much meaningful action.
“Resolution Toward an Anti-Colonial Church” begins with four brief whereas statements and concludes with three slightly longer calls to action. The first whereas defines colonialism as “the practice of acquiring political control over another entity and exploiting it economically.” However, the resolution never defines the term “anti-colonial” nor provides a clear vision or set of action steps to move the denomination beyond its colonialist past and present. The Resolution calls “the people, congregations, and governing structure of The United Methodist Church… to condemn the tools and ideologies of oppression used to subjugate marginalized persons in the church and in society.” To a large degree, the baptismal vows and the Social Principles of The United Methodist Church have always rejected all forms of oppression. The resolution further calls the same parties “to seek release from the colonialist narrative” that people negatively impacted by marginalization “must be in theological opposition to one another,” but it provides no examples of where such a narrative exists within The United Methodist Church. The final call to action asks the same parties to “adopt a posture of humility as the church continually learns to better dismantle these tools and ideologies of oppression” without defining anywhere what those tools or ideologies might be.
Both of these resolutions came from well-meaning individuals in the church who are clearly committed to their causes. Yet, neither provides viable pathways for the denomination to make significant advances in addressing its particular cause. They are valuable, however, for putting the denomination on record for the first time on these two significant issues.
Finally, while the denomination is now addressing a broader range of specific people and issues it had not previously addressed within this subtopic, it should be noted that all of the new resolutions on this subtopic reflect the context and perspective of the United States, including the resolution on anti-colonialism. Given the reframing of other resolutions (adoption, #3100, and alcohol #3202) to involve and reflect worldwide input, perhaps similar work might begin on resolutions within this subtopic in the coming quadrennium.
Substance Abuse, Alcohol and Tobacco
“Global Call to Action on Alcohol,” marks a step toward worldwide collaboration toward a resolution with worldwide impact. It is in itself a call for action everywhere and across all kinds of United Methodist entities. Instead of being a set of whereases followed by a list of specific actions, it is first a statement of theological principles and ethics on the ground of which more specific, contextually appropriate actions could be built and taken anywhere. While it promotes health recommendations from entities in the United States, and in that way may seem US-centric, it does so, as it notes, because the bulk of the research and development of health recommendations related to alcohol-related problems has been done in the United States and because few other countries or organizations, including the World Health Organization, offer any official guidance.
Colonialism, Neocolonialism, and Their Consequences
The two new resolutions on this subtopic call for an apology to the Hawaiian people by the 2028 General Conference for its complicity in the illegal overthrow of their kingdom (#3225) and for United Methodists not to invest in government bonds from countries noted by the International Criminal Court or the United Nations Security Council as having engaged in long-term military occupation of lands of subject peoples (#3226). Both were submitted by the General Commission on Religion and Race.
“Apology for the Illegal Overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom” provides a set of 13 whereas statements that document the acknowledgment of the illegality of this action and apologies of other bodies, including other denominations. Meanwhile, it notes, a Methodist Episcopal Church clergyman actively participated in the forces that overthrew Queen Lili-uokalami, and subsequently was appointed to serve as clergy in Hawaii. However, there has been no acknowledgment or apology from The United Methodist Church as a whole for that involvement nor for the harms suffered by the native Hawaiian people since that time because of those actions. The General Commission on Religion and Race will develop the apology during the upcoming quadrennium in collaboration with the California-Pacific Conference.
“Exclude Government Debt of Countries Involved in Prolonged Military Occupation” names three countries from whose government-issued bonds United Methodists are asked to divest: Turkey, Morocco, and Israel. Turkey has occupied Cyprus since 1974, Morocco has occupied Western Sahara since 1976, and Israel has occupied Palestinian territories (West Bank and Gaza Strip) since 1967. The resolution does not call United Methodists to divest from businesses in these countries. The responsibility for long-term military occupations lies with these governments, not their citizens. The call to divest from the government-issued bonds of each would end when its prolonged military occupation has ceased.
Reproductive Health and Abortion
Both of the resolutions now classified under this subtopic are new, as is the subtopic itself. “Rights and Access to Reproductive Healthcare” (#3310) affirms the life-centered ethics of the Social Principles that in life-versus-life situations a person has an intrinsic right to an abortion after due consultation with “family, medical practitioners, pastor, and other pertinent counsel.” That intrinsic right should also be a legal right, because, as the resolution notes, “laws and regulations prohibiting abortion violate a person’s right to the full range of reproductive care, and, potentially, life.” The resolution commits United Methodists to be in solidarity with those seeking reproductive health care, “including accompanying them to medical appointments when necessary,” and calls United Methodist congregations to advocate for the legal right of persons to reproductive health care, including abortion.
“Contraception” (#3311) underscores that abortion is not to be used as a form of birth control and that contraception is a responsible choice of people to space out the birth of children relative to their ability to care for them.
Other New Resolutions
The five other new resolutions are the only new resolutions on their subtopics: Euthanasia and Suicide (“Suicide: A Pastoral Response,” #3241); Media and Communication Technology (“Resist Censorship,” #3271); Pornography (“Prevention of the Use and Effect of Pornography within the Church,” #3281); Organ and Tissue Transplantation (“Organ and Tissue Donation, #3300), and Sexual Harassment, Abuse, and Assault (“Apology from General Conference to the Victims/Survivors of Sexual Misconduct in The UMC,” #3357).
In “Organ and Tissue Donation,” the General Board of Church and Society provides a more expansive companion statement to that in the Social Principles (Paragraph 162, Other Social Issues, J, 2020/2024 Book of Discipline).
The New York Annual Conference introduced “Resist Censorship” to call on United Methodists, especially United Methodist educators, to stand firm against efforts to remove materials that address the lives of historically marginalized or oppressed people from schools, libraries and school curricula and to develop creative alternatives to counter the effects of such censorship as it happens.
“Prevention of and the Use and Effect of Pornography within the Church” is a resource from the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women to help congregations be aware of the definition, uses, and dangers of pornography in the life of the church and to call on relevant bodies of the church at the conference, congregational, and agency level to develop appropriate policies for clergy and lay leaders so they understand the seriousness of the matter and are equipped to minister effectively with people who are addicted to pornography.
“Suicide: A Pastoral Response” calls for specific actions by general agencies and seminaries to help people with mental illnesses get the help they need and to ensure that churches and clergy have the tools they need to help prevent suicide in their contexts, as well as to conduct effective ministry with the survivors of suicide attempts and the families of suicide victims. It calls United Methodist congregations, clergy, and people to avoid punitive responses toward suicide victims and survivors and instead ensure they find as much support and connection as possible within the local church.
“Apology from General Conference to the Victims/Survivors of Sexual Misconduct in The UMC” was among the final petitions approved by the 2024 General Conference. While the petition came out of committee with overwhelming support on April 27, it was not placed on a consent calendar because what was printed in the Daily Christian Advocate omitted the apology itself, which comprised the majority of the actual petition. The entire resolution, including the apology, was brought to the floor of the General Conference at just over an hour prior to the close of the General Conference. After questions were raised whether there would be time to read it during this General Conference, Bishop Tracy Malone, President of the Council and the presiding officer at that time stated, “In good faith, we will hear it.” She then solemnly read the apology to the General Conference on behalf of the Council of Bishops.
The resolution acknowledges the reality of sexual misconduct within the church by its lay and clergy leaders. It admits that testimony of such sexual misconduct has at times been ignored or has led to negative consequences for the victim. It apologizes for all of this, and commits the denomination to ensure that there will be apologies in every annual conference, education on power imbalances in clergy-lay relationships, healing resources for all affected, and trauma-informed responses to all complaints of sexual misconduct. The apology also points to training and other resources to assist persons in coming forward, filing complaints, and recovering from the effects of lay and clergy sexual misconduct at https://www.donomoreharm.org.
The 2024 General Conference made substantial advances on many fronts addressing the realities of our social communities. This is a sign of increased awareness of areas of the denomination’s life to which it had not previously spoken or had addressed only briefly, and a genuine expression of the purpose of Methodism: To help people to grow in holiness of heart and life by striving toward perfection in love toward God and every neighbor.
Burton Edwards serves as Lead for Ask The UMC, the United Methodist Information Service.
