THE BOOK OF RESOLUTIONS OF THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 2016 This page intentionally left blank THE BOOK OF RESOLUTIONS OF THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 2016 The United Methodist Publishing House Nashville, Tennessee THE BOOK OF RESOLUTIONS OF THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 2016 Copyright © 2016 The United Methodist Publishing House. All rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to any general agency or annual conference of The United Methodist Church or to any local United Methodist church to reproduce, in whole or in part, up to five (5) resolutions from The Book of Resolutions on any one topic in any single publication or electronic product for the purpose of study, worship, or advocacy, provided: • Each use shall contain the words “used by permission” and shall contain the © symbol, the date, and “The United Methodist Publishing House,” as follows: Copyright © 2016, The United Methodist Publishing House, used by permission. • Resolutions may be offered on the Web or in any electronic format for up to ninety (90) days. • This grant of permission shall not apply to any work that is offered for a fee or with any cost to the user, other than a fee for the costs of mailing or duplication. Uses that do not comply with these provisions may still be permitted after applica- tion to The United Methodist Publishing House at [email protected] or by mail to Permissions Office, The United Methodist Publishing House, 2222 Rosa L. Parks Boulevard, Nashville, Tennessee 37228 or faxed to 615-749-6128. Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are taken from the Common English Bible. Copyright © 2011 by the Common English Bible. All rights reserved. Used by permission. (www.CommonEnglishBible.com) Scripture quotations noted NRSV are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked “NKJV™” are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTER- NATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked (GNT) are from the Good News Translation in Today’s English Version–Second Edition © 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission. Scripture quotations noted (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Ver- sion® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked Phillips are from The New Testament in Modern English, rev. ed., trans. J. B. Phillips. Copyright © 1960, 1972 J. B. Phillips. Administered by The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England. Used by Permission. The Social Principles placed throughout this book are from The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church, 2016. Copyright © 2016 by The United Methodist Publish- ing House. Used by permission. This book is printed on elemental, chlorine-free, acid-free paper. ISBN 978-1-501-83324-3 2-PACK Discipline and Resolutions ISBN 978-1-501-83327-4 Flash Drive (with Book of Discipline) ISBN 978-1-501-83328-1 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 —10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA PREFACE PREFACE / FEATURES PREFACE The Book of Resolutions has been published after each Gen- eral Conference since 1968. This edition includes all resolutions that are currently valid. Resolutions that have been rescinded or superseded have been removed from this 2016 edition. When approved by the General Conference, resolutions state the policy of The United Methodist Church on many cur- rent social issues and concerns. Only the General Conference speaks for The United Methodist Church (Book of Discipline, ¶ 509). The 2000 General Conference approved a rule stating: “Reso- lutions are official expressions of The United Methodist Church for eight years following their adoption, after which time they shall be deemed to have expired unless readopted. Those that have expired shall not be printed in subsequent editions of the Book of Resolutions” (Book of Discipline, ¶ 510.2a). This edition has been prepared in accordance with that rule. This 2016 edition presents the resolutions in seven sections: (I) The Natural World, (II) The Nurturing Community, (III) The Social Community, (IV) The Economic Community, (V) The Political Community, (VI) The World Community, and (X) Other Resolutions. The first six section titles match the sections of the Social Principles, United Methodism’s foundational statement on social issues found in The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church, 2016, ¶¶ 160-166, pages 105-146. These same paragraphs appear before each section of resolutions in this volume so that users may easily connect the principles to the resolutions. 5 PREFACE / FEATURES PREFACE BOOK OF RESOLUTIONS To assist readers in study and use of the Social Principles and their related resolutions, this edition repeats from previous editions: —User’s Guide —Index —Date of General Conference adoption and date of amend- ment and readoption —Relocation of the Social Principles to make comparisons with the resolutions easier —Resolution numbering system matching the first digit with the Roman numeral of the Social Principles’ six section numbers (I = 1, II = 2, III = 3) —Revised and updated section titles —Resolution numbers from preceding volumes to make research easier —Running heads with the resolution numbers on each page —Thumb indexing of the Social Principles —Alphabetical list of resolution titles —Scripture references in resolutions —List of new resolutions —List of deleted and expired resolutions Errata can be found at Cokesbury.com, word search for Errata. The 2016 Book of Resolutions is published by The United Meth- odist Publishing House—the Rev. Brian K. Milford, publisher and book editor of The United Methodist Church. Brian O. Sigmon, editor of United Methodist Resources, The United Methodist Pub- lishing House, served as the principal editor. The late Carolyn D. Minus, former General Board of Church and Society staff mem- ber, wrote the User’s Guide. 6 CONTENTS User’s Guide ........................................... 21 Social Creed . 35 Companion Litany ...................................... 36 Social Principles Preface and Preamble ..................... 37 ¶ 160 THE NATURAL WORLD The Social Principle...................................... 39 The Resolutions ......................................... 43 Energy 1001. Energy Policy Statement ............................ 43 1002. US Energy Policy and United Methodist Responsibility ..................................... 48 1003. Nuclear Safety in the United States ................... 49 Environment 1025. Environmental Racism in the US ..................... 55 1028. Law of the Sea ..................................... 61 1029. Protection of Water . 62 1032. Principles for Just and Sustainable Extraction and Production .................................... 66 1033. Caring for Creation: A Call to Stewardship and Justice .. 67 1034. Environmental Health .............................. 73 1035. Climate Change and the Church’s Response ........... 81 7 CONTENTS ¶ 161 THE NURTURING COMMUNITY The Social Principle...................................... 83 The Resolutions ......................................... 93 Christian Education 2001. Christian Education ................................ 93 2004. Collegiate Ministry as a Priority of the Church ......... 94 Family 2022. Support for Adoption ............................... 95 2023. Support for Clergy Families ......................... 97 2024. May as Christian Home Month...................... 102 2026. Gender-Selective Abortion.......................... 104 2027. Putting Children and Their Families First............. 106 2028. Nurturing Marriage and Family..................... 109 Human Sexuality 2043. Response Team Ministry for Sexual Misconduct ....... 110 2044. Sexual Misconduct Within Ministerial Relationships ...775 2045. Eradication of Sexual Harassment in The United Methodist Church and Society............113 2046. Sexual Ethics as Integral Part of Formation for Ministerial Leadership ............................. 119 Pornography 2081. Pornography and Sexual Violence ................... 124 Spirituality 2101. Support Chrysalis at All Levels of the Church ......... 130 2102. Support the Walk to Emmaus at All Levels of the Church .......................................... 130 2103. Lay Responsibility for Growth of the Church.......... 131 2104. Encourage Supplemental Womens’ Ministries......... 132 ¶ 162 THE SOCIAL COMMUNITY The Social Principle..................................... 133 8 CONTENTS The Resolutions ........................................ 147 Accessibility/Equal Access 3001. Accessibility Grants for Churches ................... 147 3002. United Methodist Implementation of the United Nations’ Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons With Disabilities and the Americans With Disabilities Act ..................... 148 3004. The Church and Deaf Ministries Steering Committee...149 Aging 3023. Older Adult Recognition Day ....................... 151 3024. Mission and Aging of the Global Population .......... 152 Alcohol and Other Drugs 3041. Alcoholic Beverage Advertising at Sporting Events .... 156 3042. Alcohol and Other