I am Andrew J. Weaver, the person who organized and maintains the petition at www.protectSMU.org. I am an ordained United Methodist minister
and research psychologist living in
York City
representing every state, including 28 United Methodist bishops, several hundred
graduates of SMU and thousands of clergy, church members, and people of
conscience. Many thanks for your support!
Below is a
press release about the current situation regarding the Bush proposal to build a
library and partisan think tank at Southern Methodist University. We need your
help to get this story to everyone you know. We need you to contact the UMC
bishops, especially those in the South Central Jurisdiction (see below:
nationwide toll free numbers). State your concern in a courteous but firm manner
that elected delegates have a right to vote under church
law.
PRESS RELEASE
George W.
Bush Foundation tries to bypass church law to build presidential library at
Southern Methodist University
January 30, 2008
For
immediate release
In a conference call
held on January 9, 2008, the eleven active United Methodist bishops in the South
Central Jurisdiction were asked to issue an interpretation of United Methodist
church law that would circumvent a vote by lay and clergy delegates and permit
the immediate establishment of a partisan Bush institute at Southern Methodist
University (SMU) along with the planned Bush presidential library. The request
to the bishops came from the George W. Bush Foundation.
The controversial
institute, dedicated to promoting the domestic and international views of George
W. Bush, would not be under the supervision of SMU and would hire without regard
to university policy. No other university with a presidential library has
permitted such an institute on its campus.
Bishop Kenneth W. Hicks of
Little Rock, Arkansas, said, “My reason, conscience, and experience tell me that
the bishops do not have authority to circumvent the right of the 290 delegates
to the Jurisdictional Conference to vote on a 99-year proposal for land use of
this nature. I encourage my fellow bishops to honor the voting rights of the
Jurisdictional delegates.”
The South Central Jurisdiction of The United
Methodist Church owns SMU and has the final say about the use of university
property. In addition to the Bush presidential library, the Bush Foundation is
seeking to establish at the university a controversial partisan institute
devoted to “promoting the views of George W. Bush on international and domestic
matters,” as stated by Marvin Bush, the president’s brother. The Foundation
acknowledges that the institute would not be under the supervision of the
university and that hiring would be without regard to university policy.
In the conference call, the eleven active bishops were asked to
interpret church law to declare that the decision of the Mission Council, a
21-member interim body which approved the use of SMU land for the institute
after heavy lobbying in March, 2007, is final. This would permit the Bush
Foundation to avoid submitting the matter to the 290 Jurisdictional Conference
delegates meeting in
a vote is in doubt.
The delegates represent 1.83 million United
Methodists living in
university property for a partisan Bush institute, it cannot be built at SMU.
The Foundation hopes to rely on the bishops’ interpretation in order to break
ground for the institute before the delegates meet this summer.
However,
Reverend David Severe, Director of Mission and Administration for the South
Central Jurisdiction, wrote to an SMU professor on October 6, 2007, that “All
actions taken by the Mission Council interim the Jurisdictional Conference must
be ratified by the next Jurisdictional Conference session.”
He cited
church law from the 2004 Jurisdictional Journal: “The Council shall be subject
to the following and specific limitations of authority: All actions taken by The
Council shall be valid and in full effect within the South Central Jurisdiction
until the next regular session of the (Jurisdictional) Conference…. The
chairperson of the Council shall submit to each regular quadrennial meeting of
the Conference a written report of all actions taken by the Council during the
quadrennium.”
“To not protect their right to vote on the use of land by
the George W. Bush Foundation is a violation of the democratic and open
processes of our church,” said Bishop Hicks. “I am worried that the
disenfranchisement of Jurisdictional Conference delegates will undermine our
ministry together as a church.”
“I can understand why the George W. Bush
Foundation does not want the Jurisdictional Conference to vote on this issue,”
said Andrew Weaver, a United Methodist pastor and graduate of SMU. “In recent
months, colleagues and I have spoken to dozens of delegates who are increasingly
questioning the wisdom of placing a partisan think tank on the grounds of a
United Methodist institution. The George W. Bush Foundation wants to prevent the
vote because it fears the outcome. It appears that the Bush Foundation has no
respect for the laws and procedures of the president’s own
denomination.”
“The placement of a partisan institute to promote the
policies of George W. Bush at Southern Methodist University would be a tragedy,”
said retired Bishop C. Joseph Sprague of
“The policies of the Bush administration are in direct conflict with the Social
Principles of The United Methodist Church on issues of war and peace, civil
liberties and human rights, care for the environment, and health care. Our
United Methodist identity and its moral authority would be seriously compromised
were it to be identified with the policies of George W. Bush in this
way.”
Schubert M. Ogden, University Distinguished Professor of Theology
Emeritus at Southern Methodist University, observes: “While the wisdom of
establishing a library and a museum is debatable, establishing a partisan
think-tank will unquestionably damage the integrity and the reputation of SMU.
The partisan mission of the proposed institute is profoundly incompatible with
SMU’s own mission as a university and could be made a part of it only by
damaging it and soiling its good-standing in the academic community. In any
case, The United Methodist Church has the right to an open, honest debate on the
issue, and the elected delegates to the South Central Jurisdiction should in no
way be deprived of their legal right to vote.”
George Henson, who teaches
Spanish at SMU, stated, “It does not surprise me that the Bush Foundation is
attempting to circumvent United Methodist law in order to place the Bush library
and institute at SMU. A highly partisan think tank like the one planned for SMU,
which exists completely outside the purview of normal academic controls and
practices, is bad enough. The fact that United Methodist bishops are being asked
to collaborate with Bush’s representatives to circumvent the approval process is
disgraceful. I am worried about the message this sends to our
students.”
THE FIGHT IS NOT OVER
AND HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP:
Below is a list
of all the duly elected members of the South Central Jurisdictional Conference,
representing the 1.83 million United Methodists in the region. These
representatives will meet in
refuse to allow him to use the land at SMU, if they are allowed to vote. About
35 percent of the delegates are progressives who will likely vote against the
partisan Bush institute. We need to inform and recruit 16 percent of the
moderate delegates to block the project.
Link:
http://scj.umportal.org/myFolder/contentManagerImages/52/SCJ_Delegates_2008.pdf
Call
your Annual Conference office and ask for the names and addresses of the
delegates from your Conference to the Jurisdictional Conference. This will
include both General Conference and Jurisdictional Conference delegates. If
these United Methodist Christians truly understand what Bush is requiring, they
will vote against the project.
Write these delegates (or call them) and
ask that they not ratify the report for the Jurisdictional Mission Council which
includes the Mission Council’s approval of SMU leasing part of its property
(owned by the South Central Jurisdiction) for the building of the George W. Bush
library and partisan institute. The 2004 South Central Jurisdictional Journal
says (p. 101): “The Council shall be subject to the following and specific
limitations of authority: All actions taken by The Council shall be valid and in
full effect within the South Central Jurisdiction until the next regular session
of The (Jurisdictional) Conference…..The chairperson of The Council shall
submit to each regular quadrennial meeting of the Conference a written report of
all actions taken by The Council during the quadrennium.”
This specifies
that decisions may not extend beyond the next regular session of the
Jurisdictional Conference unless approved by the action of The Jurisdictional
Conference, “not the bishops”.
Read the research articles below to give
you more information regarding the history and inside workings which led to this
unfortunate decision. Also forward this article to your Jurisdictional
Conference delegates.
Links to information on the SMU Bush
project:
http://www.mediatransparency.org/story.php?storyID=196.
http://www.mediatransparency.org/story.php?storyID=171
4. We need
your help to build a legal and educational campaign fund. Given the most recent
actions by the George W. Bush Foundation, we need to secure funding for lawyers
to help us, as well as to educate the church about this issue. Contributions can
be sent to Rev. Robert Weathers,
Worth
regarded member of the Central Texas Conference and a former District
Superintendent. Please made checks out to “Protect SMU
Fund.”
5.
Continue to encourage your friends and colleagues to sign the petition. Each
person is important. We need to tell officials of the UMC at every level that we
find this association with George W. Bush
unacceptable.
With best
regards,
Rev. Andrew J. Weaver, Ph.D.
South
Central Jurisdiction Bishops
Bishop Alfred L.
Norris
866128
Nationwide Toll Free
Number: (800) 969-8201
Phone: (214) 522-6741
Fax: (214) 528-4435
Email:
bishop@ntcumc.org
TEXAS
FORT WORTH EPISCOPAL AREA
Bishop
Ben R. Chamness
Avenue
Nationwide
Toll Free Number: (800) 460-8622
Phone: (817) 877-5222
Fax: (817)
332-4609
Email: bishop@ctcumc.org
TEXAS
Bishop Janice Riggle
Huie
Street
Phone:
(713) 521-9383
Fax: (713) 529-7736
Email: Bishop.Huie@txcumc.org
AREA
Bishop Scott J. Jones
9440
Boston
Nationwide
Toll Free Number: (800) 745-2350
Phone: (316) 686-0600
Fax: (316)
684-0044
Email: kansasbishop@kswestumc.org
CONFERENCE
Bishop William W.
Hutchinson
Boulevard
Nationwide
Toll Free Phone: (888) 239-5286
Phone: (225) 346-1646 ext 212
Fax: (225)
387-3662
Email: lcumc@bellsouth.net
AREA
Bishop Robert C. Schnase
Nationwide Toll Free Phone:
(877) 736-1806
Phone: (573) 441-1770
Fax: (573) 441-0765
Email: DCurry@moumethodist.org
AREA—THIS IS THE BISHOP WHO ABSTAINED—THANK HER
Bishop Ann Brookshire
Sherer
Street
Nationwide
Toll Free Phone: (800) 435-6107
Phone: (402) 466-4955
Fax: (402)
466-6793
Email: bishopsherer@umcneb.org
NORTHWEST
TEXAS-NEW
Bishop D.
Max Whitfield
Boulevard,
Nationwide Toll Free Phone:
(800) 678-8786
Phone: (505) 255-9361
Fax: (505) 255-8738
Email: mbelu@nmconfum.com
AREA
Bishop Robert E. Hayes, Jr.
Nationwide Toll Free Phone:
(800) 231-4160
Phone: (405) 530-2025
Fax: (405) 350-2040
Email: cberry@okumc.org
MISSIONARY ANNUAL CONFERENCE
ANTONIO
Bishop Joel N.
Martinez
781688
Antonio
Nationwide Toll Free Phone:
(888) 349 -4191
Phone: (210) 408-4500
Fax: (210) 408-4501
Email: bishop@umcswtx.org
AREA
Bishop Charles N. Crutchfield
Nationwide Toll Free Phone:
(877) 646-1816
Phone: (501) 324-8001
Fax: (501) 324-8021
Email: bishopcnc@arumc.org
CONFERENCE
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