The Standing Committee of delegates from the Church of the Brethren’s
23 districts has made a statement regarding the On Earth Peace
“Statement of Inclusion.” The Standing Committee statement follows on a
second delegation that met with On Earth Peace. Two Standing Committee
delegations have attempted to gain resolution of concerns that the
“Statement of Inclusion” is inconsistent with Annual Conference
decisions affirming the 1983 paper "Human Sexuality from a Christian
Perspective,” and polity regarding ordination.
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photo by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
Annual Conference moderator Nancy Sollenberger Heishman leads a
conversation in Standing Committee, with representatives from On Earth
Peace. Executive director Bill Scheurer and board chair Jordan Bles and a
delegation of Standing Committee members reflected on recent meetings
regarding the agency's "Statement of Inclusion."
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On Earth Peace is an agency of the Church of the Brethren Annual
Conference. Its “Statement of Inclusion” dates back to 2011, and has
been the subject of a series of interactions with Standing Committee for
the past three years. Today’s conversation in Standing Committee
included On Earth Peace representatives Bill Scheurer, executive
director, and Jordan Bles, board chair.
The Standing Committee action came at the close of its first full day
of meetings prior to the 2014 Annual Columbus in Columbus, Ohio.
Standing Committee is led by Annual Conference moderator Nancy
Sollenberger Heishman, assisted by moderator-elect David Steele, and
Conference secretary James M. Beckwith.
Denial of support, affirmation of love
Today’s Standing Committee statement was arrived at after much
conversation and at times emotional debate, and the vote revealed a
significant divide in the group. The Standing Committee statement,
adopted by a majority vote with a minority of more than a quarter of
members voting against, reads:
“Standing Committee does not support the 2011 Statement of Inclusion
of On Earth Peace as an agency of the church, but we will continue to
commit ourselves to walk in love together in the face of differing
interpretations of scripture and Annual Conference statements and
decisions.”
The “Statement of Inclusion” from the On Earth Peace board reads:
“We are troubled by attitudes and actions in the church, which
exclude persons on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity,
or any other aspect of human identity. We believe God calls the church
to welcome all persons into full participation in the life of the faith
community.”
Series of interactions between Standing Committee and On Earth Peace
Moderator Nancy Heishman introduced a time of sharing of feelings
about the interaction between the Standing Committee delegation and On
Earth Peace, offering information about the series of interactions
between the two groups and reviewing other relevant information as well
as the activities of the most recent delegation.
Interactions that led to today’s statement included, among others,
two Standing Committee delegations that both reported good conversations
with the agency’s board and staff but that did not gain resolution of
the conflict.
As part of its effort, the second delegation held a conference call
with the executive committee of On Earth Peace and the two groups
jointly proposed that On Earth Peace add the following additional
sentence to the statement of inclusion, from which much of the language
of today’s Standing Committee statement was derived:
“We continue to commit ourselves to walk in love together with the
denomination in the face of differing interpretations of scripture and
Annual Conference statements and decisions.”
However, the sentence did not receive consensus support from the full
board of On Earth Peace, which requested consultation about the
sentence from several other groups in the denomination including the
Open Table Cooperative, Womaen’s Caucus, Brethren Mennonite Council for
LGBT Interests, the Brethren Revival Fellowship, and the liaison to the
Council of District Executives.
Other interactions over the three years included a specially called
session with Scheurer during 2013’s Standing Committee meetings,
reported by Newsline at
www.brethren.org/news/2013/ac2013news/standing-committee-special-session-with-oep.html, and in 2012 the Standing Committee statement of concern titled “A Way
Forward” that said, in part, “trust in leadership has been broken” by
three events--one being the “Statement of Inclusion.”
At that time Standing Committee urged On Earth Peace “to re-examine
its statement of inclusion regarding ‘full participation’ so that it
will be consistent with Annual Conference decisions regarding Human
Sexuality from a Christian Perspective [the 1983 Conference statement]
and the polity regarding ordination.” Find “A Way Forward” in full at
www.brethren.org/news/2012/ac2012-onsite-news/a-way-forward.html.
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Photo by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
The Annual Conference officers for 2014 at the head table at Standing
Commitee: at center, moderator Nancy S. Heishman, with moderator elect
David Steele at left, and secretary James Beckwith at right.
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In other business
Standing Committee also has made recommendations on two items of new business coming to the Annual Conference:
Amendments to the Bylaws of the Church of the Brethren, Inc.:
Standing Committee recommended approval of amendments to the
denominational bylaws proposed by the Mission and Ministry Board. The
amendments clarify the term of service for a member of the board who is
chosen chair-elect, and clarify “that the full five-year term allowed
for a director [board member] who serves less than half of an unexpired
term is subsequent to that unexpired term, not in place of it.” The
amendments also update the change of name of Oregon-Washington District
to Pacific Northwest District. Find the full proposal at
www.brethren.org/ac/2014/documents/business-items/2014-nb1-amendments-to-bylaws.pdf.
Amendments to Church of the Brethren Benefit Trust Articles of Organization:
Standing Committee recommended approval of amendments to the BBT
Articles of Organization. The most substantive amendment would allow for
an incumbent member of the BBT board eligible for a second term to
automatically become one of two nominees that Standing Committee
recommends for Annual Conference election. Others include changes to
conform to style, addition of a clause related to BBT’s socially
responsible investing in a manner conforming to Brethren values,
clarification that a financial report and annual report are submitted to
the delegate body, among others. Find the full proposal at
www.brethren.org/ac/2014/documents/business-items/2014-nb2-amendments-to-bbt-aticles-of-incorporation.pdf.
In addition, Standing Committee received an update and held table
talk about the Ministerial Leadership polity revision and the item of
unfinished business on equitable representation on the Mission and
Ministry Board, received reports from the moderator and the
denomination’s Leadership Team, and heard from the Council of District
Executives.
Standing Committee meetings opened yesterday evening with a dinner and a time for sharing from the districts.
-- Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford is director of News Services for the Church of the Brethren.
Source: 7/1/2014 Newsline
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