cmoi^ That time of year! Annual Conferences set to begin Indiana UM's prepare to gather at West Lafayette, Bloomington Those unique spring rituals unique to will be voting on three amendments to the de- Love Together." More than 1,200 clergy and sessions taking place in the I.U. Auditorium. United Methodism are just around the corner. nomination's constitution as mandated by the elected lay members (50-50 ratio) will con- The conference will convene 10 a.m. plenary Yes, it's Annual Conference time. The 1984 General Conference. One would add dia- verge on the campus of Purdue University in session with the "sending forth" coming mid- event is described as "the basic administra- conial ministers as Annual Conference mem- West Lafayette, May 29-June 1, with the focus afternoon Friday. Preaching at the 10:45 a.m. tive body in the UMC, bearing responsibility of activity in Elliot Hall of Music. Most mem- for the work of the church in a specific terri- Tuesday Memorial Service will be the Rev. E. tory..." Schedule summary page 3 bers will be housed and fed in university facili- Carver McGriff, senior pastor of Indianapolis ties. The conference will open with a Service of St. Luke's UMC. In reality, the Annual Conference is Holy Communion at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday and The schedule this year will be tight for much more. It includes elements of a family bers; the other two focus on technical/legal close with Elder Ordination and High Hour reunion, a political convention and a revival Area Office personnel and others who attend wording concerning the 1968 Methodist-EUB Saturday afternoon. both events; there is less than a three-day sep- meeting, all rolled into one. union and property matters. THE SCENE WILL SHIFT to Indiana aration between the two conferences. (This is Presiding at both events in Indiana: In Indiana, both conferences will be University, Bloomington, as the South Indiana Bishop Leroy C. Hodapp, spiritual and admin- the first time in several years the North has using the new "World Is Our Parish" logo as a Annual Conference gathers for its annual ses- not met through both Saturday and Sunday istrative leader of the state's more than 300,000 stage backdrop along with the cross which has sion June 4-7. Elected lay members and clergy United Methodists. proceeding Memorial Day.) been traditional. will number nearly 1,400. Using the customary In common with the other 72 Annual Con- MEETING FIRST will be the North Indi- Tuesday through Friday format, the confer- ferences in the U.S., the Indiana gatherings ana Conference under the theme "We Give ence will use a number of IU facilities, with Inside • Bishops act on significant agenda-pg.3 • Cooling off period for Koreans - pg. 4 • Questions on 'religious liberty' HOOSIER UNITED METHODIST conference — pg. 5 • Siineox notes Christian influence — pg. 6 • A chat with Gene Sease — pg. 8 • School of Mission promotion Methodists in Indiana A HUM analysis OAKWOOD: Past conflicts never resolved Will be major Item on North Conference agenda By HORTENSE MYERS been stumbling blocks. cash and pledges for capital and program de- end to the festering controversy about Oak- HUM CORRESPONDENT But through the confusion runs two uni- velopment in the past two years. The report of wood's role in the spiritual formation program EDITOR'S NOTE: As events have un- fying threads of agreement: (1) That the work the resigned board members reflects the great of the conference so that the program itself folded in recent months at the North Confer- of spiritual formation within the conference dream they had and its unwanted outcome. does not become the object of the conflict." ence's Oakwood Spiritual Life Center at Lake will continue and (2) Oakwood will have somt IN THE REPORT the board said its The report reviewed issues leading to Wawasee (Syracuse, Ind.), it became increas- role in that work. mass resignation "was precipitated by the res- the resignations, saying that in 1981 the North ingly evident that an in-depth look at the situa- NORTH CONFERENCE Council Direc- ignations of the Rev. Bruce Ough, Oakwood's Conference had approved a new constitution tion was needed. We asked long-time HUM tor John Hopkins said the full text of the final executive director, and Dr. Robert Hirschman, for Oakwood. "The Board was charged with correspondent to take on the assignment in an report adopted by the Oakwood directors just president of the Oakwood Board of Directors, developing Oakwood as a spiritual formation effort to present a balanced perspective. Fol- prior to their resignation was included in the and increasingly evident lack of support for center for the conference. The program was lowing is her account. pre-conference report by decision of the Con- Oakwood continuing on the course originally intended to play an integral role in the newly JHS ference Council on Ministries (CCOM). The envisioned." inaugurated spiritual formation emphasis in CCOM assumed interim responsibility for Oak- "We continue to believe in the need for the Indiana Area. wood after the board resigned, pending further spiritual renewal within and through the "ALTHOUGH the North Indiana Confer- The future of the Oakwood Spiritual Life decision by the conference. United Methodist Church and the merits of a ence formally approved the constitution and Center is one of the challenges awaiting the "The CCOM as the current Oakwood retreat center dedicated to that purpose," the subsequent requests for capital funds, there North Indiana Annual Conference May 29-June management, felt that out of respect to con- directors stated. "However, we feel it is more 1. cerns expressed (by the resigned board) its important at this particular time to help put an (Continued on page 23) The final report prepared by the Oak- final report should be included," Hopkins said. wood Spiritual Life Center directors before But he added that since the resigned board no they resigned Feb. 23 is contained in Section 38 longer is in existence "no time was set aside Keynoters for conferences of the pre-conference report mailed to mem- for the old board of directors to take the bers of the conference. It gives some insight state." TWO WELL- into the background of the events leading to He said the CCOM is recommending to KNOWN United Meth- the mass resignations of the directors and of the conference that Oakwood become the re- the Rev. Bruce Ough, the director. sponsibility of the Commission on Camps and odist General Church Oakwood has become a symbol and its Conferences in the immediate future. Beyond officials will be fea- importance is now greater than that of a single that looms another decision, Hopkins said. tured speakers for the site maintained by the United Methodist "The Camp Conference and Retreat Develop- upcoming Indiana con- Church for the spiritual growth of people. ment Project Team will collect information ference sessions at A study of the reports, minutes, and in- and make a recommendation for all sites." West Lafayette and terview notes shows some past conflicts may THE REV. SHELDON DUECKER, sen- Bloomington. DR. never have been fully resolved. ior pastor of Muncie High UMC and CCOM EZRA EARL JONES, • There seems to be some feeling that chairman, said "we are recommending to the left, General Secre- Oakwood and its neighbor, the Epworth Forest annual conference a committee be formed to tary of the UM Board Conference Center, still are competing facili- look at the programming in all of our sites. We of Discipleship, Nash- ties in the sense they were before the union of would see Oakwood as a continuing site for North Conference." ville, will speak at the the Methodist and Evangelical United Breth- North Conference ren churches in 1968. Also coming before the North Confer- ence is a recommendation that $30,000 be allo- morning worship serv- * Questions exist as how much auton- cated for Oakwood in 1986, compared to $17,000 ices at 10 a.m. Thurs- omy the directors of a center should have in in 1985, Hopkins said. The Oakwood budget had day and Friday. DR. pursuing capital improvements and programs, been much higher during the time the center J. HARRY HAINES, and whether such autonomy, once given by the did its own fund-raising, before the Conference conference, can be taken away by a lesser recently retired execu- Council on Finance and Administration res- tive for the United group than the conference. cinded its authority to conduct a fund-raising will be the South Con- a.m. worship periods campaign. Methodist Committee ference preacher, Wednesday, Thursday . • Allegations have been made that "po- on Relief (UMCOR), speaking at the 10:30 litical maneuvering and scapegoating" have The board reported raising $415,000 in and Friday. PAGE 2 • HOOSIER UNITED METHODIST • May, 1985; emu Reader Response South UMW affirms, treasurer or financial secretary if this is better over race (after Richard Allen left), but many It seems as though we are back to supports Bishop than the manual method of recording, stayed and we are here today, so the church square one, for there are still those of this preparing, and mailing quarterly contribution might as well deal with us now or close the great church who feel that black folk and EDITOR'S NOTE: The following letter summaries. My opinion, and experience, is doors of every plantation-minded church. ethnics are step-children. Just consider: If the to Bishop Leroy Hodapp, written by South that the answer to these questions would be a Thanks to the church (Old North) that United Methodist Church was all black, it UMW members in attendance at a recent resounding "YES." has seen the light and wants to continue in would be the fourth-largest Methodist Church retreat, was sent to us with the request we This is not intended to start a ministry under Charles Hutchinson.