Judicial Council ruling challenged

After extended debate, with 373 members voting in favor, 332 voting against, the North Texas Conference on June 6 adopted a resolution declaring that "all people, without exception, shall be allowed to attend its [United Methodist Church] worship services, participate in its programs, receive the sacraments and become members in any local church in the connection."

The resolution also asserts that the church's highest court, the Judicial Council, in its Decision 1032 , "misinterprets the authority of clergy in deciding who will be received into membership ... and contradicts the Discipline of the United Methodist Church which stands for the full reception of all people who are seeking God’s grace and who make commitments to the baptismal vows of the United Methodist Church."

The resolution will be sent to the church's highest legislative body, the General Conference, meeting in April 2008 in Fort Worth.

Bishop Alfred L. Norris reminded the annual conference that the issue would not be determined here but at General Conference.

The resolution, presented by the Conference Leadership Team, survived two attempts at amendment, included one requiring a show-of-hands teller count for a 351-333 decision not to table it.

Speakers seeking to defeat the resolution predicted "far-reaching and multitudinous implications" and "disastrous consequences."

The resolution explains that, in the disputed Decision 1032, the Judicial Council supported one UMC pastor's refusal of membership to a person seeking membership because of the "aspiring member's sexual orientation and practice," and overruled decisions by the district superintendent, bishop, and the Annual Conference clergy session requiring that the pastor welcome this individual into membership.

Actions referred to in Decision 1032 occurred within the Virginia Annual Conference.