This spring and summer there will be national governing conferences in which United Methodists and Presbyterians will debate what position those official church bodies will vote on whether or not church investments should be used to support Israel's Occupation.
The United Methodist Church General Board of Pensions sends me a check each month to reward me for the service I rendered to that church as a clergyman pastor and editor.
That Board has just voted to continue using my pension investment funds in three American corporations that support the Israeli Occupation.
The General Board of Pensions does not, under church law, invest in corporations that profit from the sale of either tobacco or alcohol products. But it has thus far refused to remove from its portfolios, any of its investments in the Occupation.
Such is the power of the Israeli hasbara, and such is the influence of a profit-minded General Board of Pensions, which chose the principle of profits over the principle of the prophets.
This summer, the General Conference of the United Methodist Church will meet in solemn and prayerful assembly in Tampa, Florida to determine how it wants the Church to proceed in this matter.
How the UMC delegates vote will determine the success or failure of Israel's hasbara campaign, and the degree to which the delegates agree with its General Board of Pensions that its fiduciary responsibility demands that it choose profits over prophets.
Will the UMC Board of Pensions prevail and get the backing of the General Conference? Which side will prevail? Will delegates vote for a prophetic perspective over that of a profit perspective? Stay tuned.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
