George W. Bush Foundation tries to bypass church law to build presidential library at Southern Methodist University
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 Dallas in July,
2008, where the outcome of such a vote is in doubt.
The delegates represent 1.83 million United Methodists living in Texas,
Oklahoma, New Mexico, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Arkansas, and
Louisiana. If a majority vote against leasing 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 beforethe 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 London, Ohio. “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 Dallas,
July 15-19. They can say NO to Bush and 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.
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://media.www.smudailycampus.com/media/storage/paper949/news/2008/01/17/O
pinion/The-fantastic.Failure.Institute.Will.Undermine.Smu-3155803.shtml.
http://media.www.smudailycampus.com/media/storage/paper949/news/2007/09/25/O
pinion/Slavery.Torture.And.Methodist.Dna-2989642.shtml.
http://media.www.smudailycampus.com/media/storage/paper949/news/2007/02/27/O
pinion/Trustees.Should.Follow.Lead.Of.First.Lady-2745030.shtml.
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, 2420 Willington Avenue, Fort Worth, Texas 76110. Rev.
Weathers is a highly 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
DALLAS EPISCOPAL AREA
Bishop Alfred L. Norris
P.O. Box 866128
Plano, TX 75086-6128
Nationwide Toll Free Number: (800) 969-8201
Phone: (214) 522-6741
Fax: (214) 528-4435
Email: bishop@ntcumc.org
NORTH TEXAS ANNUAL CONFERENCE
FORT WORTH EPISCOPAL AREA
Bishop Ben R. Chamness
464 Bailey Avenue
Fort Worth, TX 76107-2153
Nationwide Toll Free Number: (800) 460-8622
Phone: (817) 877-5222
Fax: (817) 332-4609
Email: bishop@ctcumc.org
CENTRAL TEXAS ANNUAL CONFERENCE
HOUSTON EPISCOPAL AREA
Bishop Janice Riggle Huie
5215 South Main Street
Houston, TX 77002-9792
Phone: (713) 521-9383
Fax: (713) 529-7736
Email: Bishop.Huie@txcumc.org
TEXAS ANNUAL CONFERENCE
KANSAS EPISCOPAL AREA
Bishop Scott J. Jones
9440 East Boston, Suite 160
Wichita, KS 67207-3603
Nationwide Toll Free Number: (800) 745-2350
Phone: (316) 686-0600
Fax: (316) 684-0044
Email: kansasbishop@kswestumc.org
KANSAS EAST ANNUAL CONFERENCE
KANSAS WEST ANNUAL CONFERENCE
LOUISIANA EPISCOPAL AREA
Bishop William W. Hutchinson
527 North Boulevard
Baton Rouge, LA 70802-5700
Nationwide Toll Free Phone: (888) 239-5286
Phone: (225) 346-1646 ext 212
Fax: (225) 387-3662
Email: lcumc@bellsouth.net
LOUISIANA ANNUAL CONFERENCE
MISSOURI EPISCOPAL AREA
Bishop Robert C. Schnase
3601 Amron Court
Columbia, MO 65202
Nationwide Toll Free Phone: (877) 736-1806
Phone: (573) 441-1770
Fax: (573) 441-0765
Email: DCurry@moumethodist.org
MISSOURI ANNUAL CONFERENCE
NEBRASKA EPISCOPAL AREA-THIS IS THE BISHOP WHO ABSTAINED-THANK HER
Bishop Ann Brookshire Sherer
2641 North 49th Street
Lincoln, NE 68504-2899
Nationwide Toll Free Phone: (800) 435-6107
Phone: (402) 466-4955
Fax: (402) 466-6793
Email: bishopsherer@umcneb.org
NEBRASKA ANNUAL CONFERENCE
NORTHWEST TEXAS-NEW MEXICO EPISCOPAL AREA
Bishop D. Max Whitfield
11816 Lomas Boulevard, NE
Albuquerque, NM 87112-5614
Nationwide Toll Free Phone: (800) 678-8786
Phone: (505) 255-9361
Fax: (505) 255-8738
Email: mbelu@nmconfum.com
NEW MEXICO ANNUAL CONFERENCE
NORTHWEST TEXAS ANNUAL CONFERENCE
OKLAHOMA EPISCOPAL AREA
Bishop Robert E. Hayes, Jr.
PO Box 60467
Oklahoma City, OK 73146-0467
Nationwide Toll Free Phone: (800) 231-4160
Phone: (405) 530-2025
Fax: (405) 350-2040
Email: cberry@okumc.org
OKLAHOMA ANNUAL CONFERENCE
OKLAHOMA INDIAN MISSIONARY ANNUAL CONFERENCE
SAN ANTONIO EPISCOPAL AREA
Bishop Joel N. Martinez
PO Box 781688
San Antonio, TX 78278-1688
Nationwide Toll Free Phone: (888) 349 -4191
Phone: (210) 408-4500
Fax: (210) 408-4501
Email: bishop@umcswtx.org
RIO GRANDE ANNUAL CONFERENCE
SOUTHWEST TEXAS ANNUAL CONFERENCE
ARKANSAS EPISCOPAL AREA
Bishop Charles N. Crutchfield
2 Trudie Kibbe Reed Dr
Little Rock, AR 72202-3770
Nationwide Toll Free Phone: (877) 646-1816
Phone: (501) 324-8001
Fax: (501) 324-8021
Email: bishopcnc@arumc.org