Contents
May/June 2006
FEATURES
Guardian angel on alert Chuck Ferrara discovers something beyond the badge.
John Wesley and United Methodist renewal James V. Heidinger II appeals to the wisdom of Methodism’s founder
The emergence of confessing Christians Thomas C. Oden encourages mainline renewal.
Anne Rice: The dark wing of night Trish Teves inquires the once gothic author about her conversion.
Holiness Manifesto The Wesleyan Holiness Study Project makes an appeal.
Columns
Editorial Why membership matters
Next Generation The answers are right, but the life is wrong
RENEW Women’s Network The tie that binds
The Great Commission The world in high resolution
From the Heart Tell
DepartmentsLetters to the editor
Straight Talk
News
Re-thinking ‘doing church’ to reverse membership decline
Prayer event brings unity to community
U.S. church opens arms to Iraqi girl with birth defect
Culture in View
Family films with a message
Walking the line into a ring of fire
One disturbing and problematic aspect about the United Methodist Women's Division programs and policies is the close tie and international activism with the United Nations.
The relationship with the United Nations was established over forty years ago with the purchase of a twelve-story building directly across the street from the delegates' entrance to the UN. The Church Center for the United Nations is now solely owned and operated by the Women's Division. Not only does it house the UN office of the Women's Division and the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, but it also provides office space for religious and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) concerned with UN issues. Many of these groups hold partisan, radical feminist, pacifist, and socialist philosophies, including: The American Humanist Association; The International Women's Tribune Center; The Unitarian Universalist UN Office; Religions for Peace; The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns; The Global Policy Forum; The Quaker UN Office; The World Federation at the UN; and The NGO Working Group on Women, Peace, and Security.
Women's total equality and empowerment, disdain for the Iraqi war and many policies of the Bush Administration, support for international law under the direction of the United Nations, and socialistic economic principles are common threads throughout these organizations.
While historically the Church Center's main focus was on constituency education, in the 1990s a major change took place. "When the world's attention turned to a series of international conferences-Rio on the environment, Cairo on population, Beijing on women, and others-unprecedented numbers of people from non-governmental organizations came to New York to follow the preparatory committees and try to influence their outcomes. These visitors found a base of operations, support from each other, and practical assistance at the Church Center" (article "Church Center for the United Nations: Celebrating 40 Years of Service" by Tracy Early).
The recent 50th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), held February 27 through March 3, 2006, showcased the role of the Church Center for the U.N. when the building hosted 149 parallel events relating to the CSW meeting. Various NGOs, most with radical leanings, held workshops, panels, and receptions at the Church Center.
Women's Division staff persons under the Church Center for the United Nations/United Methodist Office at the United Nations play influential roles in United Nations' policy-making. Else (Mia) Adjali, Executive Secretary for Global Concerns, leads a team of five additional executives with support staff at the UN Office. Salaries and expenses are all covered by monies from UMW undesignated giving. These executives serve on the boards of many of the NGOs, and other groups, associated with the UN. The collaborative nature of the agencies working at the Church Center make their collective voice bold and strong, but often contrary to the ideals of United Methodist women.
For example, Linda Bales, Women's Division representative, spoke at the recent CSW meeting. She claimed to speak, "on behalf of our denomination" when she expressed "significant concern" about "tragic cuts" in family planning, which in UN-speak includes abortion on demand and contraceptives for anyone without question, including very young teens. Despite the push to make abortion rights the center of concern in the CSW document, pro-life and pro-family NGOs were able to present information that shifted the focus to more threatening health care needs on behalf of the women of the world.
There was also a continued campaign to get the U.S. to sign the radical treaty called "The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women" (CEDAW). A new booklet from the United Nations Development Fund for Women links CEDAW, Beijing, and the Millennium Development Goals as the "pathway" to gender equality. United Methodist women will want to avoid endorsement of these three programs. (For more information on the CSW meeting, go to www.cwfa.org)
The total budget for the operation of the Church Center for the UN is recorded at $1.7 million per year, with income from rental reported as $1.7 million, reflecting a self-sustaining budget. When considering salaries, in-kind services, and other itemized expenses, the Church Center is costing United Methodist Women plenty-and providing space for ideologies they would never embrace, and platforms for actions they would never take. It's time to ask, "How can this tie that binds be broken?"
Send for your DVD or VHS of the Women's Division/Renew Network Forum with accompanying guide. Cost: $15 + $5 postage. Send request to: Renew Network, P.O. Box 889, Cornelia, GA, 30531, call 706-778-4812; or email: renew1a@hemc.net.
Renew is the women's program arm of Good News, www.renewnetwork.org.
Click here to send your response plus the title of this article to us at Good News.