The Peril of All These Secret Meetings
by Cynthia B. Astle
May 9, 2019
When I was a cub reporter, my editor laid one hard and fast rule on me: whenever any three of our town’s five council members were gathered anywhere, I was to be there with them. Being young and ignorant, I asked why.
“Because three out of five council members makes a quorum, which means they can take official action,” he said. “Any council action taken in the dark is bound to line somebody’s pockets, and it won’t benefit the people.”
Since that day 46 years ago this month, I have been committed to citizens’ right to know what goes on in their government. This principle includes scrutiny of church government, which has been taken over by secret meetings. The proliferation of closed meetings across The United Methodist Church since the formation of the Commission on A Way Forward has been a sure sign that the institution is rotten and ready to fall.
... Ultimately, however, all these meetings will fail – yes, even the LGBTQ-friendly ones – if their objectives are to maintain the current institution of The United Methodist Church. The UMC has gone beyond saving even by the draconian “reform and renewal” punishments of so-called traditionalists. Those with eyes to see already have discerned that God is doing a new thing on the margins of Christianity and in United Methodist congregations far from power centers.