Council of Bishop's Silence in Their Own Words

A report on racism includes this quote by one of the United Methodist Bishops, Wisconsin Bishop Linda Lee, a member of the council’s Task Force on Racism, said it was urgent that the Council of Bishops call for greater compassion in human relations because of intensifying rhetoric and violence against racial, ethnic and religious minorities around the globe.

“At this moment in history in the U.S. and elsewhere, our silence is a statement,” she said. “So if we don’t make a statement in writing, it could be seen as complicit with what is happening. . . . We will have lost an opportunity to speak to our churches at a moment when they need to have an idea what we believe.”
She is right of course that silence can speak as loudly as the things we actually say. For instance the silence of the Council of Bishops on Churches, Annual Conferecnes and Jurisdictions that keep fighting the Church's established position on homosexuality speaks volumes in and of itself. When churches and annual conferences with active and retired clergy and bishops practice civil disobedience and say that they plan on conducting weddings in or outside of the walls of the church they are violating the heart of our Book of Discipline and our connection. When individual Bishops have spoken out on the issue they have sent mixed messages that when combined with their overall silence on the issue at hand throughout the connection it becomes clear that the Council of Bishops is more of one mind on this than we want to believe and their oneness and "gentlmens agreement" not to criticize or discipline one another speaks to many of us reminding us that in this matter the Council of Bishops has chosen to forfeit it's spiritual leadership. They cannot lead us into a unifying experience for the 2012 General Conference because they are in the words of the Book of James "double minded and unstable in all their ways." There are a growing number of United Methodists who no longer look to the Council of Bishops, the Churches Agencies and Boards to speak for or represent us. There is a growing United Methodist "Tea Party" happening and the Holy Spirit is on the move to reform and revive not from the United Methodist "super structures" but from the local Church. What we now need is even one or two Bishops with the heart and grit to take a stand and rise up from within the Council of Bishops. Come on Bishops, there has to be a couple of you willing to rock the boat and be a dissenting voice that speaks a "God Word" into the debate. We are waiting and long to be led or we will write you all off as not the leaders we had counted on. So go ahead and speak out on racism...you should. But if you are silent when it counts on the other you may as well not bother on racism either.