JCM 1213

http://archives.umc.org/interior_judicial.asp?mid=263&JDID=1342&JDMOD=VWD&SN=1201&EN=1229

SUPPORT OF RCRC BY TWO GENERAL AGENCIES OF THE CHURCH

A Local Pastor at the North Alabama Conference requested a ruling from the Judicial Council on the legality of the apparent support of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice by the General Board of Church and Society and United Methodist Women. The challenge states that their support is in violation of Paragraph 161J of the Social Principles.

The Council had the problem of whether or not the motion forwarded to them was something over which they had jurisdiction: in particular, was it a request for declaratory decision? The text of the motion did not include anything to that effect.

The matter could have been dropped for that reason alone.

But the Council decided to take the word of both sides whose briefs treated it is a request. I hope that future Councils will be that lenient because it is not easy to know for sure how to refer something to the Judicial Council.

The Council decided they had no jurisdiction to deal with the request because the annual conference had no jurisdiction over the General Conference.

I wish they would have ruled that passages in the Social Principles are not law and therefore may not be used as the basis of a question of law or request for declaratory decision as if they were.