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Focus Groups -- 2002 UMW ASSEMBLY SYNOPSIS FROM RENEW NETWORK REPORTS |
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The Biblical and
Spiritual Basis for Mission Ruth Dougherty established early that the basis for things (mission) have to be updated from time to time. I was prepared for some radical teaching. But she offered some orthodox teaching. For example, she spoke of God’s being a missionary God, Jesus being the greatest missionary, our dependence on the Holy Spirit to do mission, God’s loving all people, God’s desiring a relationship with us. She spoke of the incarnation: of God becoming one of us (in Jesus) to show God’s love for us. She spoke about a divine savior dying on a cross, and about humanity’s estrangement from God. But I don’t remember any mention of what Jesus work on the Cross means for us. Jesus was presented as a good example of mission. And mission was presented much more as something we do rather than something we say (which I interpreted to be evangelism). Of course, caring for people’s physical needs must be integral to mission. Every evangelical mission agency knows that. But I came away from the workshop feeling empty because there was no mention of Christ’s work on the Cross, as mission being the telling of the Gospel message, of the Gospel being Good News to all people, of the transforming work of Christ. I suppose this is just classic liberal teaching, and so, in that sense, nothing that you would not expect. I suspect that the women attending left the workshop with a sense that the Women’s Division and UMW is doing a good job in keeping them involved in mission. Consequently, they probably felt good about their personal involvement in mission. From time to time, the workshop presenter asked for responses from the attendees. It was interesting to me how many of those answers seemed to be rather “evangelical” in tone. For me, it gave some insight to the theology of the women in the local church. (I have included the attendees comments here, too.) Finding Your
Own Spiritual Path There was nothing that was blatantly unorthodox in this presentation. Although some of the components could have veered into error, for the most part this was a fairly balanced presentation. The title presupposes that we are the author of our own spirituality, but Ms. White was quick to point out that all spirituality is God given. Still, some of the language was unsettling in that one wondered if the meaning intended was the same as that which the hearers might conclude. An example of shared material is reflected in the following: "Spirituality is God given. It is the sacred center of identity. God intended us to be spiritual beings. God’s imprint is within us. The spirit of God is within you and prayer is the connecting point. God waits for you to respond. 'Home' is where the divine and human meet." She quoted John Youngblood, "…we must be connected with that place where divine and human meet." Here is where gifts are given; gifts of discernment, direction, healing etc., she said. Other quotes:
Parenting for
Peace and Justice This focus group began with the presenter asking if we had peace in our being or in our family. She went to state that we need to help communities to become non-violent. We were asked to take a piece of paper and write out, on opposite sides, a definition of PEACE and VIOLENCE. We then moved to the hall where we were asked to stand on opposite sides...one representing "violent” and the other “non-violent." We could also use the space in between to represent degrees. Then we were given several scenarios. Here are just a few.
Women on each side and in the middle of the hall were asked to give reasons why they were there. On the first scenario, Randy Day defended his view that the non-communicating husband was violent because violence can be psychological and emotional. Then we returned to the room and discussed the various scenarios. The majority of our discussion centered on spanking children. Next a values work sheet was passed out and we were asked to check the values we wanted our children to have. We were to star 15 values that we felt were key or most important. Then we were asked to pick one and share it with someone at our table. My partner chose "tolerance." The only two words that had anything to do with faith or being a Christian (that I saw) were "religious" and "spiritual." At the end of our time, our presenter defined Violence as: emotional, verbal or physical behavior that dominates, diminishes, or destroys ourselves or others. It crosses boundaries without permission. It separates us from others. It is motivated by fear, anger and greed.
Parenting
Children and Parents at the Same Time (Spanish) In the beginning the leader remarked about the difference there is in caring for parents in different ethnic groups. She defined “the Sandwich Generation” and gave as well as asked for pro and cons in our experiences, especially with older parents. There was discussion and later on she distributed small strips of paper with themes of life and death within the family: remembrances of grandparents, happy and sad times, etc. The group members were asked to share a personal experience according to the topic printed on the slip of paper. I believe the most gratifying experience in this group was when people were willing to share some of their life events. Their openness and honesty was refreshing and provided opportunities for expressing love and acceptance from the listeners. Unfortunately, those opportunities were missed for the leader did not make any effort to make these experiences loving, healing moments. Some of us took the opportunity to express our loving support to the one with the wounded spirit. My personal evaluation of the leader is that she was efficient in conducting the meeting, but sadly lacking in spiritual sensitivity. After each sharing, she possibly was sympathetic, but made little effort to affirm the person who was sharing. Also the leader lacked knowledge and maturity in dealing with a video produced by the Mormons, which evidently had been shown at the beginning of the meeting. She acknowledged that the Mormons produced the video, but she thought it was “alright.” “After all,” she remarked, “the Mormons believe in Jesus, Mary and Joseph.”
Embracing Change
and the Future Ms. Bagwell took a long time having everyone in the room introduce him or herself and tell where they were from. She also asked if there was any press present – looking directly at me. I was not press, but rather a registered Assembly participant who happened to be a member of the RENEW Network. The beginning of the session started out quite tame with discussion about changes that have happened over the centuries in our world and in the church. Some fun was made of men who have tried to actually come up with a specific day and time for everything in the Bible, including creation. Ms. Bagwell made them seem extremely ridiculous. A quote was shared from In the Middle of Tomorrow, written by Barbara Campbell. The quote told how we are “Called to emulate the wonderful Killilu bird.” The group was then asked to name one change in our lifetimes. Many things listed dealt with technology (TV, computers, food preparation and preservation), violence, abortion, breakdown in the family, etc. Ms. Bagwell spoke about Alvin Toffler who is a futurist and is on the Internet. She mentioned his books, Future Shock and The Third Wave. She made many quick comments about the exploitation and subjugation of women. A list of those who are marginalized in society when things are tough was made. The list included poor people, single women, black males, homosexuals, young people, the elderly, mentally handicapped, those with AIDS, immigrants, drug addicts, healers, uppity (outspoken) women, and witches (or those who are perceived to be witches). Blue folders were handed out with several pamphlets inside and the room was split into thirds. 1/3 (my group) read – Whose Safety?: Women of Color and the Violence of Law Enforcement 1/3 read – In a Time of Broken Bones: A Call to Dialogue on Hate Violence and the Limitations of Hate Crimes Legislation 1/3 read – After September 11: Standing on the brink of a ‘brave new world” A Justice Visions Issue Brief We were then asked to tell what we thought about the piece we had read. I was the only one with a raised hand in my section so I expressed my disappointment in the fact that the document was totally biased and did not, in any way, represent the truth in the issues involved. Ms. Bagwell agreed and then tried to slant the points I had made. I clarified and went further. Again she had to say I was right. We went back and forth in a friendly manner for a short time when she asked if there were comments from others in my group. There were none. She went on to the next group. I am not a speed-reader, and since I had not had time to read the other material, I could not add to the other discussions. I could tell that the other material was probably equally biased by the comments made by others. Ms. Bagwell made no apology for presenting only one extremely biased viewpoint to very complex issues. She very offhandedly said it was just presented for the sake of discussion. Strange that all the material came from the same radically left, feminist camp. Direct Quotations:
“How can we sing the
Lord’s song in the future?”
Christians in
Politics for Policy Change Women who chose to come. You come with passion ready to be mobilized. It doesn’t take a lot of people to have our voices heard around the world.
God requires us to be conscience of government This group was mainly a platform used to promote the following. (See handouts)
1. Health Care
Access Resolution - H. Con. Res. 99 Also touched on were the issues of
1. Election reform
The presenter gave no reasoned analysis as to why these bills were an appropriate or effective solution to the highly complicated issues of health care and welfare. She presented the problems and immediately jumped to these pieces of legislation as the only solutions. She assumed that all there would follow her lead and lobby their representatives. You will notice (from the handout) that in the case of the Health Care Access Resolution there is no bipartisan support. Only Democrats are supporting this legislation.
United Methodist
Women Confronting Hate Crimes The work of the Center for Democratic Renewal now is primarily monitoring hate crimes and alerting the public. Every hour someone becomes a hate crime victim. Homosexuals and Asians are the most targeted at this time. Anyone who looks different is suspect. Race and religion spur hate crimes. Thirty to forty percent are religious hate crimes. This use to be a Southern problem, but now spreading to Northeast and West. It was reported that there has been an increase of hate crimes in Pennsylvania. In 1990 Congress passed a law to protect victims. In 1996 a law was passed to protect churches. Plurality and diversity must be accepted to protect us as a civil society. Crimes are not only committed by hate groups, but also individuals. Reporting is "voluntary" so, for example, the state of Alabama did not have any hate crimes reported. The United Methodist Women's Division monitored hate crimes in articles in 1998 and analyzed information and put out a report, "When Hate Comes to Town." There is also an "Action Alert" pamphlet. The leader then had each table share about stories they know about that would represent intolerance. Someone brought up that RENEW is doing hate crimes like behavior against the Women's Division. It was the reviewer's observation that there were many lesbians and parents of gays in the room. The room broke out into a frenzy about RENEW. The women were very angry and aggressive. Some told everyone to throw out the literature RENEW passed out, but to read it first. Andrea Yates, a member of the RENEW team raised her hand and identified herself as being with RENEW. She indicated that it is not RENEW's intention to promote hate, but rather that RENEW is acting out of concern. She offered to answer any questions and to meet with anyone afterward who had questions. She invited those in the focus group to come to the RENEW Hospitality Suite to talk further about RENEW's concerns and their own perspectives. It was close to the end of the session and no one approached her. A couple of women did attend our hospitality session, but they were supportive and felt that Andrea's speaking out and offering to answer questions was a favorable thing.
Free Trade and Me
All men, all white, men of money govern. Slavery and corporation was not mentioned in the constitution. Civil War and Industrial Revolution came. People are sovereign with rights over government and government is accountable to people. In 1886 corporate personhood (property is a person). Populace movement--corporate counter revolution. Supreme Court decided that property is work more than people/workers. Who governs? Where trade is right now. Corporations want to be as powerful as countries now. Chapter 11--right to sue a country if they limit a corporation from making money. Trade agreements affect all of us. Who benefits from trade? No one knows. "Look first" full review of every trade agreement to see what affect they will have on women and communities. Acronym: FIRST (Full Impact Review Screening Trade). We need to value people over profit. Will introduce bill into congress to regulate trade better.
1. Join Women's Edge
and add your voice.
Congregations:
Newsletters -- Community: Schools to do things--support small businesses State: Be in contact with representatives. FAST TRACK Legislation--President can negotiate agreements. Senators will have little pay to change agreements. So do not support FAST TRACK. Workers lose their rights when they are on corporate ground. Recommended Book: A People's History of the United States
Economic Justice
Njoke was well-informed, convincing and passionate about the need to expose the evil double standards of the IMF and World Bank. She asserts that the IMF/World Bank lends money to countries at the high price of demanding "structural adjustment" which meant to Njoke that corporations overruled national government policies for the sake of their profit at the price of human dignity, health and quality of life. She suggests three solutions, three alternatives: debt cancellation, end structural adjustment, transparency. Since the presenter's perspective and position on these issues was the only one offered, others with more expertise in this field of study might have differing perspectives and offer alternative solutions. An excellent presentation on the madness of pursuing profit at the cost of humanity. She appears passionate and well-informed and entirely issue-focused. She, as far as I could tell, pursues this mission completely in her own strength, for her own reasons. There was no prayer, no mention of God's sadness or solutions or eternal promises in Christ. No mention of Jesus or compassion for the lost and oppressed sheep were a part of this workshop. Njoke was convinced political change would effectively alter the evil structures that perpetuate poverty, disease (AIDS) and orphans. She completely ignored the truth that spiritual revival, acknowledging Jesus Christ as Lord will not only be the most important reason for living, but that then His Holy Spirit will bring spiritual and physical freedom from all that binds us.
The Energy Crisis
This presenter began by sharing that his personal spirituality was a mixture of Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism. His view of heaven is Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, Plato, and other “great leaders” sitting around a table and discussing world issues. He went on to claim that he had reworked the evolutionary theory to include the evolution of consciousness which is what has evolved that causes us to be interested in spiritual matters which includes concern for the environment. He called this “Post Darwinian Theory.”
Introductory Quotes: “It is our manifest destiny to live in heaven on earth – to create paradise here. We would not be able to envision that if it were not meant to be” He went on to teach that global warming was a fact. He suggested that we must stop burning fuels and change our farming practices. “We can’t have fossil fuels and polar bears at the same time.” He advocated ten square miles of solar panels to generate electricity and the use of wind. When I asked him a technical question concerning the fact that electricity not used is energy wasted –that we cannot store electricity, he did not understand the concept. He also did not have an answer for what power companies are to do in peak times of usage when wind and sun are not available. This caused me to question his competency. At one point he gave the date of the first use of coal as 1230 in England. Coal was burned because they were running out of trees. Someone in the audience shared that the Collins Trust was ecologically certified and practiced ecological stewardship through intergenerational logging. After the session, I went up to the facilitator and told her that I believed at a United Methodist Women’s meeting, they could have found a speaker who could have presented this subject from a Christian perspective and not one influenced by Buddhism and Hinduism. She told me that she too believed there were many paths to God. God the Son was one path but different people have different spiritual journeys. I pointed out that the Word was clear that the only way to God was through Jesus Christ His only Son. She told me there were many people who did not agree with me and implied that I was in the minority in the United Methodist Church by believing what I did.
New Horizons for
Missions To open, Takamine asked people to answer the question "What is mission?" Responses: reaching out, meeting needs. I said, "sharing the gospel," and another woman chimed in strongly on that. Then we did a Bible study with the group at our table. We watched a video called "Corridors of Mission" I think it has been used before for other things. It was a summary of mission activity from the early church to the present emphasizing the role of women. "Corridors of Mission" inferred that we have changed our mode of mission from the proclamation of the Gospel to a justice-driven mission model. Some interesting comments in the video were:
Takamine shared that the Volunteers in Missions program involves 100,000 per year and is growing. She identified three new missions programs: 10/10/10, Regional Missionaries, and Missionaries of Hope. Connie said GBGM is having financial difficulty so these are under review. There was some discussion about how much money it takes to keep a missionary on the field and how that money is spent. Their actual salary is based on the median for pastors. It also came up that the pension fund for missionaries is outside the one run by the Board of Pensions for clergy. The one for missionaries is funded by a gift from the Collins family. The pension fund is supported by timberland in Pennsylvania and California. This seems hypocritical to me given the Women's Division stance on environmentalism. One interesting exchange took place. A man raised his hand to ask a question. He asked, "Don't we have another mission sending group down near Atlanta?" Connie fumbled for words and finally said "It is not an official United Methodist mission sending society." The gentleman said, "But the Church of England has two missions groups with differing philosophies, and they work together. Why can't we integrate our efforts?" Connie said, "There are many different ways to do missions. We haven't been able to agree with them." (The Mission Society for United Methodists formed because of the reduction of full-time missionaries being placed on the mission field, and because of the failure of the GBGM to keep the proclamation of the Gospel of Christ as the center of the mission mandate, while continuing works of mercy and justice. Interestingly, a recent letter written by V.E. Mabray to Randolph Nugent, General Secretary of the GBGM, expressed concern that Rev. Maybray's research had disclosed that the UM Church now has fewer than 300 full-time field missionaries.) It is evident to me that Women's Division perception of missions is the meeting of physical, social and political needs. That is great, and we should do this. The Mission Society for United Methodists takes care or those kind of needs as well, along with proclaiming the gospel. Without the transforming power of redemption we have nothing to offer people that is of eternal value, and they remain in bondage to sin and false religions. "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect." (I Peter 1:18-19) Connie (and also the video) used the word "proclamation" a couple of times, which I guess is supposed to be a catch phrase for sharing the gospel. But "sharing the gospel" was never said. Also at one point when talking about the 10/10/10 program, Connie said "Many countries are saying 'we don't need people to come and proclaim the gospel. We need help with other things like agricultural projects, etc.' " My conclusion is: The "missions" program of the Women's Division looks a whole lot more like Government Assistance than a fulfillment of the Great Commission. As far as general impressions of the overall Assembly I guess the extravagance of everything really struck me. Again it is so hypocritical for a group who is supposed to be about helping the poor and the oppressed to spend lavishly on a conference and then talk about cutting missions programs in Africa because there is not enough money. Have they never heard of the concept of administrative cost cutting? (I am sure our $125 fee did not begin to cover the cost of the Assembly. When Connie Takamine was asked that question directly at our table during lunch, she did not answer it. Instead she just said Philadelphia is an expensive place to have a conference because it is a union town and you can't move a chair without paying union wages. Seems like an odd comment coming from a representative of a pro labor group like the WD. (While we will not know the final cost of the Assembly until the figures are released later, information obtained at the Spring 2001 Women's Division Board of Directors Meeting indicated that the anticipated expense for the 2002 Assembly was calculated to be $3,189,700. It was anticipated at that time that the Women's Division would allocate $1,932,700, and that the remainder of the money would come from Registration fees, interest on checking and sale of souvenirs/videos/tote bags.)
Concepts of
Mission in
the Church (Spanish)
Reference used:
Conceptos de Mision by Glory E. Dharmaraj Each lady present was given a copy of the above book. We were guided through the book by the leader, highlighting throughout (an overhead was used for this purpose). This book was originally written in English and translated into Spanish. Throughout the session, the leader led the group in a quick overview of the book. Many topics were highlighted such as missions and evangelism. At one point we got on the subject of worship. It was interesting, though not surprising to note, that many of those present (Latinos) still adhere to traditional forms of worship while welcoming new, contemporary expressions of worship. A lady from Cuba spoke about the revival going on in that island. She pointed out affirmatively how an 82-year-old woman can worship with the same joy together with a teen-ager in the same form of worship. It was evident by what this Cuban sister said that she was describing worship within an evangelical context. But this is as far as this Cuban sister went. There were no more comments; no questions were invited. I sure would have liked to have heard more of what the Lord is doing among the Cuban Church. I had to wonder if our leader was not prepared to discuss this Cuban experience further at this time, thinking it might clash with what was to be presented. The author’s concept of missions and evangelism had Liberation Theology undertones. This theological emphasis prevented me from finding this experience either inspirational or challenging. Direct Quotations:
The United Nations
and United Methodist Women Focus Group – The United Nations and United Methodist Women The focus group on The United Nations and United Methodist Women was led by Ruth Prudente. It largely consisted of two video clips on the formation of the UN and on women in non-governmental organizations (NGOs), followed by small group discussions on various rights asserted in UN documents--equal pay for equal work, freedom from racism, food security, and prescription drugs. About 90 women attended this focus group. In the focus group United Methodist Women were exhorted to support the United Nations because “the UN stands for peace and justice.” I heard no specific suggestions on how to offer such support for the UN, other than supporting United Methodist Women, which has six volunteer UN “advocates” in various regions across the country. The UN: Earth’s Hope, an NCC-related Friendship Press video, made much of the interrelationships between governmental and church structures in the West. Churches were seen has playing a privileged role in Europe and North America. Europe had organized itself into hierarchical nation-states, reflecting patriarchy. The church copied this pattern. The video outlined the development of international organizations--the League of Nations, the United Nations, the Federal Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches. It made much of the fact that the January 1946 convening of the UN was in a Methodist Hall in London. Referring to World War II, the video asserted that because “the proud sovereignty of nations had produced the war,” the UN was not to be a superstructure of nations. The focus group leader listed several biblical passages on peace and justice for the participants, “just in case you run into someone who wants the biblical basis.” The passages were from Jeremiah, Matthew, Isaiah and Micah. She quickly listed them and noted, “I’m afraid to read them all, because I want to get to the tools.” The time could have been better-spent exegeting the scripture. The second video on women and NGOs was virtually impossible to hear across the room. And the small group discussions seemed to fall flat--none of the women in my group knew what to do with the issue of “food security.” (I volunteered one problem--the government of Sudan bombing feeding stations and denying food assistance to the southern Sudanese.) |
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