Statement by the United Methodist Church

[MattR]

There's a 70 year troop in our town that just lost its charter from a methodist church. They're asking if they can meet at our church on another night. I asked if our CO knows what they're getting into.

The good news is they're taking their CO responsibility seriously.

[5thGenTexan]

I have tried to keep up, but its not easy with all the legal jargon.

Our CO met this week to discuss their position on affiliation with the BSA.  I need to report to our committee on what is going on, so I would like the Cliffs Notes version of why the Methodist Church decided to vote "No" so I can explain to people that have not kept up at all.

I understand the part about how they will revisit continuation with the BSA at the end of March.

Thanks

[ChickenMan]

8 minutes ago, 5thGenTexan said:

I need to report to our committee on what is going on, so I would like the Cliffs Notes version of why the Methodist Church decided to vote "No" so I can explain to people that have not kept up at all.

With segments of the United Methodist Church having varying opinions on the best actions to take regarding the Boy Scouts’ bankruptcy/lawsuits, the best place to look for guidance is the General Commission on United Methodist Men and the Center for Scouting Ministries.
 

“I know there are a lot of instructions and communications going around about voting and bankruptcy,” said Center for Scouting Ministries Director Steven Scheid. “The document that GCF&A (General Council on Finance and Administration) distributed is really good.”

(The GCF&A document Steven references is at the web address below.)
 

“What I don’t want to be lost in this is the survivors and ministry. I have added my personal video to our https://MethodistScouter.org (edited to add: Scroll Down to the video) to help you focus the conversation.
 

“Keep survivors in prayer. Listen and grieve. Let survivor experiences steel our hearts for ministry and protection. Pray for our chapter on healing and grace to be included in the book. Pray that future chapters will be bright as our best moments and free of the darkest moments.
 

“Know above all you are loved and prayed for and with. Know God does see each of you and knows you even better than me. I feel the most privileged man on earth to serve with you in this calling. Please share our love, hope and communications within all of the Scouting community you know. I want the message of care to be the real place we stand on. How we respond in the darkest of days is our greatest accomplishment.”

 

Edited December 5, 2021 by ChickenMan

[skeptic]

This email just received from our Methodist leadership.  

View this email in your browser

BISHOP HAGIYA Briefing on BSA (1/12/2022)

Pending court approval of a settlement agreement in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) bankruptcy case, United Methodists have agreed to contribute $30 million to a $3 billion Survivor Trust Fund that will receive contributions from the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), insurance companies and charter organizations. Every annual conference is asked to raise funds to contribute toward the $30 million toward the Survivor Trust Fund. The fund will be used to compensate persons alleged to have experienced abuse while in Scouting. The BSA filed for bankruptcy as it faces more than 80,000 claims for alleged child sexual abuse over the last 80 years. United Methodist congregations sponsor more than 6,000 Boy Scout troops and Cub packs. I am so proud of our United Methodist connection: Our Council of Bishops, Chancellors and Treasurers have worked together to care for the victims and negotiate a minimum of our liabilities as a church. Our own Annual Conference has decided to cover the entire amount of our obligation for the settlement. This means our local churches will not have to raise funds for this purpose. This is the United Methodist connection at its best!  United Methodists participated in the bankruptcy mediation process with five goals. Healing and support for survivors Releases from claims related to sexual abuse for United Methodist congregations that chartered Boy Scout troops and Cub packs Releases for all charter organizations Preservation of congregations’ and annual conferences’ insurance A fair and just financial settlement The settlement agreement meets each goal, but the cornerstone of the United Methodist settlement was the healing and support for survivors. “When people hurt, United Methodists help,” said Bishop John Schol, chair of the UMC Leadership Team created to support the United Methodist chartering organizations in the bankruptcy matter. “The commitments of United Methodists, working together, are bringing healing, hope and wholeness to the survivors.” The United Methodist Church does not tolerate sexual abuse of any kind and has consistently worked to keep young people safe. Most of the 80,000 claims occurred in the 1950s through the 1970s. Since that time, new practices and policies have been put in place by the BSA and UMC, which has dramatically decreased child sexual abuse. For United Methodists, only 1 percent of all claims alleged to have taken place in and through United Methodist Scouting programs occurred in the last 20 years. While that is a dramatic reduction, even one case is too many. In addition to a financial contribution, United Methodists are committing to the following: Train leaders to meet with and hear the experience and hopes of any survivor who participated in Scouting activities connected with a United Methodist congregation. Review all Safe Sanctuaries/Ministry Safe policies and update as necessary. Develop a series of articles about how to ensure safe youth programing. Participate in a survivors’ justice and healing working group formed by survivors who filed claims. Each annual conference is now being asked to commit to follow-through with the United Methodist commitments listed above by agreeing to the following: Identify leaders who are willing to be trained and listen to survivors’ experiences. Review all Safe Sanctuaries/Ministry Safe policies of congregations and the conference to ensure they are up-to-date and are being followed. Re-publish the series of articles about child sexual abuse. Raise funds for the Survivors Trust Fund. Working together, United Methodists are making a difference. Be the Hope, Bishop Grant J. Hagiya Los Angeles Area Resident Bishop

 

[MikeS72]

Looks like the same one I saw a few weeks ago, which makes me a little more hopeful about our situation with our CO.  I am looking forward to seeing how many individual churches decide to continue chartering units; I do know of one in our district that has basically said the letter is irrelevant and they will not continue to sponsor their pack and troop.

[5thGenTexan]

How are they going to raise $30 million?  Carnivals and bake sales arent going to cut it.

[qwazse]

11 hours ago, 5thGenTexan said:

How are they going to raise $30 million?  Carnivals and bake sales arent going to cut it.

Sell off church camps?

[yknot]

1 hour ago, qwazse said:

Sell off church camps?

In my area there are a number of fading rural and semi rural congregations, most of them UMC, that I expect might/will be consolidated, closed, and the parsonages and churches sold off. Many of these properties are very valuable and there are a number of old historic church buildings in my area that have already been converted into homes and businesses. In some cases this is ideal because the new owners are better caretakers of these historic structures than the failing congregations that can't afford to replace roofs or do other repairs. However, like scouts, it is very sad to see these community fixtures disappear. 

 

[yknot]

17 hours ago, skeptic said:

 

1) I am so proud of our United Methodist connection: Our Council of Bishops, Chancellors and Treasurers have worked together to care for the victims and negotiate a minimum of our liabilities as a church. Our own Annual Conference has decided to cover the entire amount of our obligation for the settlement. This means our local churches will not have to raise funds for this purpose. This is the United Methodist connection at its best!

 

 

17 hours ago, skeptic said:

2)

Each annual conference is now being asked to commit to follow-through with the United Methodist commitments listed above by agreeing to the following:

 

4. Raise funds for the Survivors Trust Fund.

 

 

These two portions of that statement concern me. First, publicly crowing about how the UMC was able to negotiate a minimum liability contribution doesn't seem smart. Second, raising funds for the Trust seems like a conflict of interest. The drive to increase membership is why BSA so often turned a blind eye to chartering org and other oversight shortcomings. This puts the UMC in the same position of having to "sell" scouting.

[qwazse]

11 minutes ago, yknot said:

In my area there are a number of fading rural and semi rural congregations, most of them UMC, that I expect might/will be consolidated, closed, and the parsonages and churches sold off. Many of these properties are very valuable and there are a number of old historic church buildings in my area that have already been converted into homes and businesses. In some cases this is ideal because the new owners are better caretakers of these historic structures than the failing congregations that can't afford to replace roofs or do other repairs. However, like scouts, it is very sad to see these community fixtures disappear. 

We’re getting a lot of that here, too. I think partly because it’s risky business demolishing a church. Renovation can be, in the long run, cost effective.

It’s interesting to see churches spring up in warehouses while beer gardens move into some old church buildings.

[yknot]

Just now, qwazse said:

We’re getting a lot of that here, too. I think partly because it’s risky business demolishing a church. Renovation can be, in the long run, cost effective.

It’s interesting to see churches spring up in warehouses while beer gardens move into some old church buildings.

If they have any kind of historic designation you can't tear them down. But frankly they have a lot of appeal to businesses like architects, art galleries, breweries that want the cachet of an unusual or landmark building. It's just changing demographics. Part of my family lives in the south and megachurches have taken over the landscape. They are almost like small cities and offer everything from coffee shops to gyms and summer camps along with services. These little rural churches can't compete with that. It's kind of analogous to scouting. 

[Eagle1993]

34 minutes ago, qwazse said:

We’re getting a lot of that here, too. I think partly because it’s risky business demolishing a church. Renovation can be, in the long run, cost effective.

 

There was a church in my town that was purchased by a developer.  They tore down the church and are replacing it with 7 new single family town homes, each sold for $1.25 to $1.40M.

Land in some areas is very valuable ... so it really depends on where the church is located.

It was sad to see a church torn down.

[skeptic]

Just about twenty minutes ago I got off a short Zoom with two BSA senior staffers, one being Mr. Mosby and the other involved with membership, and two high level Methodist leaders who have been involved with the ongoing challenges with the church and scouting.  

Most importantly, the Methodist leaders very forcefully states the Methodist Church IS NOT turning their back on Scouting.  They see it as a major avenue to reach young people in more positive ways, and feel Scouting has the means.  They discussed that we, Methodist units need to immediately update "Membership roles", as opposed to Charter issues.  The BSA and UMC have already agreed to extend the Charters through June; but the actual membership needs to be updated in order for legal safeguards to stay in place.

The Bishop from the church, and the leader from the United Methodist Men, who is the connection within the larger church for all youth groups, have been working on working out the issues and hope they will not have to have extensions past June.  

So, this was a direct broadcast on Zoom and will have copies shared with all who attended and others interested within the programs.  Please stop with the ongoing noise about the Methodists tossing Scouts out, and so on.  However, some individual churches/congregations may choose to do so anyway, but it is NOT the direction of the National Church.

One other statement that came from this was that whatever new type of CO arrangement is developed, it will hopefully be viable for other CO's as well, and help with the concerns regarding legal problems and such.  

If this might be better in the main thread, please move it.  

[RememberSchiff]

The North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church has agreed to pay $448,216 (within a year) to help pay sexual abuse claims against the Boy Scouts of America as part of the scouting organization’s federal Chapter 11 bankruptcy settlement.

Starting June 30, new agreements will be in place with the Boy Scouts, she said. Churches will have affiliation agreements with Boy Scout troops instead of charters with local councils, to “decrease risk of legal exposure,” Lynn Hare, chancellor for the North Alabama Conference, said.

Through the end of October, new agreements will be signed, with equipment such as tents and trailers to be owned by the Boy Scouts, not by individual churches that had sponsored them.

“We are making a separation between the church and the Boy Scout unit,” Hare said.

The agreement provides for safe sanctuary and youth protection plans.

More at source:

https://www.al.com/news/2022/06/north-alabama-methodists-agree-to-pay-448216-in-boy-scout-abuse-settlement.html

Edited June 27, 2022 by RememberSchiff

[skeptic]

Hopefully we will see adjustments to this.  For example; as part of the agreement for facility use, the BSA, LC will make an impertuity loan of all such equipment to the unit, charging them say $1 or something like that.  With a little imagination, the units can continue pretty much on course and not worry that the LC will suddenly step in and say we want all our equipment back to offer to another group, or whatever.  Or, can't the equipment simply be owned still by the church and they "loan" it to the unit in perpetuity?