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Judicial Council Fall 2023 Docket
As the UMC keeps on moving, the next thing we have coming up is the Judicial Council Meeting. The Judicial Council is our Supreme Court. It decides on matters of church law of decisions of bishops, actions of conferences (charge, annual, jurisdictional, central, and general), and other issues of the church. The group of nine… Continue reading
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United Methodist Views and Actions on the Israel-Palestine Conflict
As the conflict in Israel/Palestine continues to grow, I wanted to share the United Methodist views and resources on this matter so that clergy and laity can better educate their congregations and communities. First, we do not tie the current state of Israel to the historic/biblical expression of this, nor do we believe that this… Continue reading
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An accidental parable?
When we moved into our house in 2019, this shrub had been cut pretty far back and was unrecognizable. It didn’t have the blooms or the dried out flower/pods that follow. We considered digging it up. Then I said no, let’s give it year. Well, it came back. And each year, with some pruning, and… Continue reading
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Updates on Trial for Bishop Carcaño
(An earlier version of this appeared on my Facebook page on July 13, 2023) In United Methodist News in the past week, a Trial Date has been set for Bishop Carcaño, who has been under suspension for over a year..This trial is a church trial, not a US court trial. It has similarities, but is… Continue reading
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July Update
Lots of neat stuff on the way. +The podcast is coming back. Watch out for more episodes. +My music reviews for ministry are coming back as well. Coming Monday July 24th, country music album reviews are coming back with Ernest Tubb. +I am building my fall classes, and I am teaching a lot, so I’ll… Continue reading
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WNCC Petition 18: A reactionary historical repeat
I am headed up to Lake Junaluska on Wednesday, and I am glancing over the petitions again, and one comes back to me that bothers me. I am not usually one to encourage votes one way or another, but this one is something I passionate about, due to my work. Petition 18: Voting at Church… Continue reading
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DISAFFILIATION RUMORS, MYTHS, AND OPPORTUNITIES – #12: North Georgia and Florida Lawsuits
Two legal issues related to disaffiliation have been in the news this week. The first one: The lawsuit against the Florida Conference has been dismissed for similar reasons as the Western North Carolina suit: separation of church and state/The UMC has it’s own governing and judicial bodies to handle this. The second one: A lawsuit… Continue reading
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Gun Violence and Rural Life (A brief exploration)
The gun rights/ownership debate continues to be an interesting one for me. I grew up rural, learned how to use guns, how to respect them, and what they were used for, and how to store them. If you grew up rural, guns were mostly for hunting, recreation (target, skeet, making noise), and protecting the animals… Continue reading
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Jonathan LeMaster-Smith 