Holy conferencing is beneficial practice

By Rachel L. Toalson
Managing Editor

Pastors, leaders and representatives of The United Methodist Church should be proud to be a part of a church that participates in holy conferencing, said Jay Brim, Southwest Texas Conference lay leader.

Brim presented his yearly lay leader address June 5 during the second business session of the 149^th Annual Conference session at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi.

No other church does what The United Methodist Church does, Brim said.

"What other church allows its laity to sit in equal partnership with its clergy to decide all issues, theological as well as social justice issues, for the Church universal?" Brim said. "I would say to you that we are members of a unique Christian denomination, wholly committed to holy conferencing in a setting of representational democracy.

"We are showing the world a better way to work through tough issues, just as we are told in the 15^th chapter of Acts that the disciples talked through acceptance of Gentile members."

Brim talked about the holy conferencing at the April General Conference session in Fort Worth and how his subcommittee was charged with working on a number of petitions related to "inclusiveness of the church," including a membership clause.

They were discussing adding "all persons, without regard to sexual orientation, shall be eligible to attend its worship services."

Brim said everyone was open to listening to each other's opinions. They decided, collectively to take out all the subcategories and just say "all are eligible." The entire committee, he said, voted 41-12 in favor of dropping the subcategories, and General Conference delegates voted 558 to 276, just more than two thirds' majority, in favor of it.
Brim said the issue was handled "gently and kindly" by 19 men and women from around the world who "consciously placed themselves in a holy mood, with prayer and loving consideration."

Also accomplished at General Conference, Brim said delegates decided that The United Methodist Church will focus globally on four areas: building new churches; finding and training new and younger leaders, especially clergy; confronting global health issues, including AIDS, HIV and malaria; and fighting poverty everywhere.

"As a conference, Southwest Texas is in the forefront of that effort," Brim said. "We, as leaders, are putting our efforts and our money into these areas.

"You're contributing to efforts by the conference and the denomination when your church pays its apportionment, dollars that we know are making a difference in the world, putting mosquito nets around sleeping children, feeding and clothing disaster victims, building churches in Africa and Asia."
Brim also commended Bishop Joel N. Martinez for his service to the Southwest Texas conference.

"You have had a personal impact on more of us than any of your predecessors," Brim said. "In fact, you're probably tired of hearing us say what a good listener you are.

"However, it's more than that. You've had to make many decisions that were painful or demanding, and I've watched you make them contemplatively. I've never seen you make a decision to make a problem just go away, and that is something to be admired, given the number of decisions any bishop must make."