28 April 2008
General Conference News
28 April 2008
For coverage of this news story, check here and here.
OK, this is going to be a rant, so be warned. This is one of those news stories that got me totally incensed about what’s going on at General Conference.
So here’s the basic story: The Renewal and Reform Coalition, basically the conglomerate group of the conservative wing of the UMC, gave pre-paid cell phones to about 150 delegates from Africa and the Philippines as a “no-strings-attached” gift. Fine so far? Well, the phones were accompanied by a letter inviting delegates to a breakfast where they could have “fellowship with other like-minded delegates,” and receive “information about the important issues that are coming before the conference.” The letter concluded with a recommended slate of candidates for Judicial Council, essentially the UMC’s Supreme Court.
Let me go over that again. The phones are a “no-strings” gift, but they come with an endorsed slate of candidates for Judicial Council. Who do these people think they’re fooling? I suppose it would have been too crass simply to staple a $100 bill to the letter, so they sent along cell phones instead. Just to flesh out the argument, imagine that they had included a $100 bill instead of a pre-paid cell phone, and imagine you’re a delegate receiving this package. So in one hand you’ve got a list of candidates, and in the other hand you’ve got Benjamin Franklin staring at you. Remember, there are no strings attached to Benjamin. Right? Just because he comes with a list of recommended votes doesn’t mean there are any strings attached…maybe just a paper clip, but no strings.
Give me a break! Who on earth is supposed to believe this nonsense? If it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, it’s a duck! I believe that this arrangement sounds to me like a walking, quacking bribe that even secular politics wouldn’t tolerate.
Frankly, I think that every delegate to the UMC’s General Conference who was involved with this scheme should surrender his or her credentials out of shame and embarrassment and repentance. Since that’s not going to happen, the Conference should adopt a resolution condemning this practice and reprimanding all those involved. In a belated closing of the barn door, the General Conference did vote to establish an Ethics Committee for future General Conferences, since at present there’s no committee or body where one can register an official complaint about a practice such as this one. Nice work for 2012, but it doesn’t help much for now.
My real hope (and I think it’s a legitimate one) is that the assembled delegates will be so thoroughly appalled by this act that there will be a backlash against the conservative agenda, and miracles of inclusion and grace will occur at this year’s General Conference. Hey, why not?
