Following his unanimous reelection as the General-Secretary of the General Board of Church and Society (GBCS), Jim Winkler remarked in his report that “The present [U.S. federal government] budget values war over peace, the rich over the poor, polluters over” the environmentally responsible, and that “these policies are incompatible with the teachings of Jesus Christ.”
Winkler cited a Christological mandate for his political advocacy, saying “Jesus said he was here to bring release to captives,” and the GBCS advocates “restorative justice rather than retributive.” Christ said that he came to bring “sight to the blind,” and so United Methodists support “not only hospitals, but advocate for [government sponsored] healthcare for all people,” said Winkler.
Winkler concluded, “An end to war, poverty, and racism is possible; if I did not believe that I would not be a follower of Jesus Christ.” He suggested that as Christians, “We are excellent at feeding the hungry… [but] freeing the oppressed and confronting systems that perpetuate hunger and violence is always the hard part.” He recommended widening programs of political witness, “education, and action,” to close this gap. In contrast, he announced that at the GBCS, “Believing that work should keep you out of poverty, not keep you in it, we succeeded in the U.S. at raising the minimum wage. We worked and will continue to work with the U.S. congress to stress that the federal budget is a moral document.”
Seeking to create a partnership with the more socially conservative overseas central conferences, Mr. Winkler listed the many new initiatives with Methodists on that continent. Already, he reported that GBCS staffers Linda Bales, John Hill, and Neil Christie had made the trek to the Congo to hold a “Social Principles seminar.” He listed the events that staff had planned in South Congo, Sierra Leone, and other central conferences locations in the coming months, and pledged, “We’re committed as a board to be actively present in Africa, the Philippines, and Europe.”
Winkler commented, “Knowing as we do the material richness of Africa and the ingenuity of its people we feel a sense of indignation at the [continent’s] plight. Africa has all it needs to build a future of peace.” In response to this frustration, he stated that his board would create a “renewed partnership of equals towards resourcing the denomination’s poor in Africa… not only in Africa but in other parts of the world, in Asia, in the Philippines.”
And while Winkler stressed that it was “critical that we have dialogue across ideological and theological lines,” affirming abortion rights seems to be a high priority for the board in the coming quadrennium. The Council of Bishops have provided their “Four Areas of Focus” to guide the church’s mission through the next four years, and Winkler interpreted their calls for a concern for global health and ministry with the poor to include “family planning” advocacy, a frequent euphemism for abortion. He stated that globally, GBCS would seek “increased availability of reproductive services for men and women,” and that through their domestic lobbying, the “United States [will be] encouraged to increase its commitment to family planning.” GBCS remains a member of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC), which opposes all restrictions on abortions.
The “Human Welfare Work Area,” a GBCS committee led by Bishop Jane Middleton of Central Pennsylania, received the board’s approval of various action items related to abortion advocacy. To extend GBCS’ support to RCRC, the board approved sending, with all expenses paid, three of its representatives to RCRC meetings. The board also voted to join the National Coalition to Support Sexuality Education (NCSSE), an organization that lobbies against abstinence-based sexual education.
Board members approved this year’s goals for the “Louise and Hugh Moore Population Project” a program for which the GBCS receives a significant grant, and the “Civil and Human Rights” program. While the Civil and Human Rights program predicted it would spend most of its time lobbying for comprehensive immigration reform (looser restrictions) and against the death penalty, the “Population Project” will spend much of its resources to “advocate for increased family planning funding in the U.S. Congress through action alerts, congressional visits, news articles, and educational seminars and working with the Christian Connections for International Health.” The GBCS Population Project will continue its position as the co-chair of the RCRC’s Council of Governors. And it will promote the RCRC’s work in “four articles during the year” to United Methodist readers of the GBCS newsletter, Faith in Action. Still, the Health and Human Welfare Work Area is responsible for some less controversial work against alcohol abuse, malaria, AIDS, TB, obstetric fistula, and human trafficking.
Winkler recalled that the history of the GBCS began with the old Board of Temperance, but then discussed the board’s expansion into the area of world peace following World War I. Explaining the current expansiveness of the Board’s agenda, he added “over time our consciousness has been raised in other areas such as healthcare, and environmental and economic justice.”
Related to this expansion is the current legal case that the GBCS has brought to the Washington, D.C. Superior Court to validate its use of the Methodist Building Trust, which was created with assets from the old Methodist Board of Temperance in 1965. The 1965 trust document restricts spending to issues relating to alcohol and temperance, but GBCS has long interpreted it to justify spending on its larger political projects. GBCS Trustees Chairman Fred Brewington spoke about the case, for which the trial was held in early October. Brewington said that the only reason GBCS initiated the legal action was because it did not wish for the situation to “continue to percolate and fester; to bring some closure where there was a lot of gossip and a lot of misinformation” being spread about the church.
GBCS wants the court to validate its wide interpretation of the trust’s obligations, claiming that the 1965 trust document did not represent the true intent of the Board of Temperance’s original donors. Brewington said that an adverse judicial ruling would not cause GBCS to “shut down, and shut our doors,” but it could cause GBCS to rethink its advocacy. Mr. Winkler estimated that to date, GBCS has spent $1.4 million dollars on its litigation. A ruling from the judge may not come until next year.
Still, despite the expense of the case, GBCS found money to grant to its “social justice” projects. In the Ethnic and Local Church Grants Funding Committee, tens of thousands of dollars were given to local programs for “immigration advocacy” and “community organization.”
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