{"id":15212,"date":"2017-04-27T12:00:34","date_gmt":"2017-04-27T19:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/?p=15212"},"modified":"2017-05-04T16:42:44","modified_gmt":"2017-05-04T23:42:44","slug":"how-we-got-here-looking-back-at-the-nine-months-since-bishop-olivetos-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/how-we-got-here-looking-back-at-the-nine-months-since-bishop-olivetos-election\/","title":{"rendered":"How we got here: Looking back at the nine months since Bishop Oliveto’s election"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last updated\u00a0May 4, 2017; originally posted on April 20, 2017.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

By Patrick Scriven<\/strong> | Director of Communications & Young People’s Ministries<\/h4>\n

Last\u00a0week the United Methodist Judicial Council<\/a>\u00a0met\u00a0to consider a petition from the South Central Jurisdiction which questioned the election, consecration and assignment of Bishop Karen Oliveto by the Western Jurisdictional Conference<\/a> last July (click here for their full docket<\/a>). Bishop Oliveto has been serving as episcopal leader for the Mountain Sky Area of The United Methodist Church<\/a> since September of 2016.<\/p>\n

A number of Western Jurisdiction leaders were\u00a0present, and WJ communicators are worked collaboratively with them to keep United Methodists across the jurisdiction informed. This work has continued forward through this week’s Council of Bishops meeting.<\/p>\n

Bishop Oliveto and Bishop Elaine Stanovsky, representing\u00a0the Western Jurisdiction College of Bishops<\/a>, held\u00a0a news conference after the oral arguments at the Judicial Council conclude. Video of this conference\u00a0is provided below.<\/p>\n

When it arrived, the Judicial Council\u00a0decision was 19 pages long, confusing to many, and contributed additional\u00a0uncertainty to United Methodists across the theological spectrum.The WJ College of Bishops released a statement responding to the Judicial Council’s decision grounded in the missional realities of the West.\u00a0Additionally, Rich Marsh,\u00a0lead counsel for the WJ offered his interpretation of the decision. Both of these items can be found linked below.<\/p>\n

Since Bishop Oliveto\u2019s election last July this story has taken a number of twists and turns. As this petition has proceeded toward next week\u2019s hearing, Oliveto has been busily engaged in her episcopal duties serving, and getting to know, the people of the Mountain Sky Area.<\/p>\n

For readers who haven\u2019t been following this story that closely, or for those wanting to renew their memories, what follows is a reverse chronological compilation of some of what has come before. It isn\u2019t comprehensive of course, and skews away from commentary both good and bad, but it provides a starting place for those who want to\u00a0catch up.<\/p>\n

What has happened to this point<\/h4>\n
<\/div>\n

May 4, 2017<\/strong> – VIDEO:\u00a0WJ Bishops offer Pastoral Response to #UMC related to Judicial Council Decision<\/a><\/p>\n

May 3, 2017<\/strong> – UMC.org:\u00a0Commentary: Attorney on confusion over Oliveto\u2019s status
\nIn a commentary on UMC.org<\/a>, Richard Marsh, who served as counsel for the Western Jurisdiction, argues that early reporting of the highest court’s decision was confused in its proclamation that Bishop Karen Oliveto’s election as unlawful.<\/p>\n

April 30, 2017<\/strong> – UMNS: Ruling greeted with confusion, hope<\/a>
\nIn an overview by Kathy Gilbert, United Methodists across the connection\u00a0offer a variety of different, sometimes conflicting, reactions to the ruling of the Judicial Council regarding the election of a Bishop Oliveto.<\/p>\n

April 28, 2017<\/strong> – WJCOB: Statement from the WJ College of Bishops<\/a>
\nBishop Stanovsky released a\u00a0statement speaking on behalf of the Western Jurisdiction College of Bishops\u00a0responding\u00a0to the ruling of the Judicial Council regarding Oliveto’s election as bishop.<\/p>\n

April 28, 2017<\/strong> – UMNS: Consecration of gay bishop against\u00a0church law<\/a>
\nIn something like a split-decision, the Judicial Council ruled that “the consecration of a gay bishop violates church law”\u00a0yet Bishop Oliveto \u201cremains in good standing … until an administrative or judicial process is completed.”<\/p>\n

April 27, 2017<\/strong> – Mountain Sky Area:\u00a0May we continue to hold each other in love
\n<\/a>Bishop Oliveto wrote this letter\u00a0to the people of the Mountain Sky Area encouraging them to hold each other in love despite differing opinions.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

April 25, 2017<\/strong> – VIDEO: Bishops respond to Judicial Council hearings
\n<\/a>Bishops Karen Oliveto and Elaine Stanovsky held a news conference responding to oral hearings of The United Methodist Church\u2019s Judicial Council in Newark, NJ.\u00a0(Text of Statements | Stanovsky<\/a> | Oliveto<\/a>).
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

April 25, 2017<\/strong> – WJUMC:\u00a0WJ makes case that Bishop Oliveto\u2019s election is legal
\n<\/a>Denver attorney Richard Marsh, arguing on behalf of the Western Jurisdiction, told The United Methodist Judicial Council that last July\u2019s election of Mountain Sky Area Bishop Karen Oliveto complied with church law.<\/p>\n

April 20, 2017\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 UMNS: Church braces for ruling on gay bishop<\/a>
\nSam Hodges summarizes how churches are preparing for the Judicial Council’s\u00a0oral hearing, including statements from Bishop Bruce Ough<\/a>, president of the Council of Bishops, and Bishop Grant Hagiya<\/a>, president of the Western Jurisdiction College of Bishops.<\/p>\n

April 19, 2017<\/strong> – UMNS: Preview to the legal debate around gay bishop
\n<\/a>Heather Hahn summarizes some of the legal arguments going before the Judicial Council next week. Links to the briefs for both\u00a0petitioner and respondent are included in a sidebar for those who want insight on the key arguments.
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

April 17, 2017<\/strong> – WJUMC: Judicial Council Q & A<\/a>
\nLeaders in the Western Jurisdiction produced a document entitled \u201cAnswering Your Questions About the Challenge to Bishop Oliveto\u2019s Election.<\/em>\u201d It was first distributed by the Mountain Sky Area and by other WJ Conferences, including the PNW<\/a>, the following day.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/youtu.be\/pVaHEVhiyvE<\/p>\n

April 7, 2017<\/strong> – VIDEO: Why we voted for Bishop Oliveto<\/a>
\nThree delegates to the 2016 Western Jurisdictional Conference (Kunle Taiwo, Rev. Kent Ingram, and Emily Allen) tell why they voted for Bishop Oliveto, the first openly lesbian bishop in The United Methodist Church. The video counters the narrative, suggested by some, of an orchestrated plot to elect a gay bishop,\u00a0pointing instead to a Spirit-filled process.<\/p>\n

April 3, 2017<\/strong> – Mountain Sky Area:\u00a0Call to Prayer<\/a>
\nThe Mountain Sky Area was invited to participate in a prayer vigil for the upcoming Judicial Council deliberations. This call to prayer was echoed by a number of other conferences across the Western Jurisdiction including the Greater Northwest<\/a>.<\/p>\n