GCORR History
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On Monday, April 29, 1968, the Uniting Conference of The United Methodist Church authorized the formation of a Commission on Religion and Race to succeed the Commission on Inter-Jurisdictional Relations, with responsibility for overseeing the mergers of all-black, racially segregated conferences with geographically constituted conferences. The Rev. Woodie W. White, now a retired United Methodist bishop, was elected executive secretary of the new commission. He later became its general secretary when the agency was elevated to a General Commission. He held that position until he was elected and ordained a bishop in 1984.
The principal task of the General Commission was to ensure that The United Methodist Church was indeed a church wherein "all persons, without regard to race, color, national origin or economic condition, shall be eligible to attend its worship services, to participate in its programs and, when they take the appropriate vows, to be admitted into its membership." This initial task remains the primary concern of the General Commission after forty years of ministry and service. Since its inception, the membership of the General Commission has been multiracial and multiethnic; and it has embraced, as its responsibility, advocacy and support for all racial and ethnic minority groups within and beyond the Church. It has supported the activities of the national racial/ethnic caucuses and facilitated interethnic strategy consultations. It also has monitored and evaluated racial diversity and inclusiveness in the programs and services, structures and employment profiles of the denomination’s general agencies, annual (regional) conferences and related institutions of theological study and preparation for ministry. Addressing White RacismIn its report to the 1972 General Conference, the General Commission noted "there is no non-White person serving as chief executive of any regular board or agency of The United Methodist Church. It is also disheartening to observe the near total absence of other ethnic minority persons in staff positions in our boards and agencies."As White racism was the root cause for racial polarization and conflicts in urban America in the 1960's, the General Commission in its first quadrennium devoted a major portion of its resources to dealing with White racism in the Church. Encounter sessions were held across the nation to sensitize and equip individuals and groups to be change agents in the lessening and eventual elimination of White racism in United Methodism and in the larger society. In 1970, the General Conference established the Minority Group Self-Determination Fund and entrusted its administration to the General Commission. This Fund was, and still is, intended to provide support to projects designed and administered by and for racial/ethnic minority persons within and outside the church. In 1972, the General Conference established the General Commission on Religion and Race as a permanent standing agency and provided for its representation among and linkage to annual conferences. In addition to its oversight of the merger process, its advocacy for all racial and ethnic minority people in the church, and its encounter sessions on White racism, the General Commission began to provide leadership training for annual conference commissions on Religion and Race. It also participated in various consultations on racial/ethnic minority ministries and initiated education and training for churches in racially changing communities. Systematic monitoring review of boards, agencies and annual conferences were initiated or continued in the second quadrennium. Support for the Ethnic Minority Local ChurchIn 1976, the General Conference established Developing and Strengthening the Ethnic Minority Local Church (EMLC) as one of three missional priorities of the denomination, and it provided local church representation and linkage for the work of Religion and Race. The General Commission was later assigned responsibility for monitoring implementation of the EMLC missional priority. While continuing the tasks initiated in previous quadrennia, the General Commission began to provide training for local church leaders in Religion and Race and to promote and accentuate the positive elements of a racially inclusive church. It also began to direct its attention toward the process and content of ministerial training and to prepare for offering consultation on open itinerancy.In 1980 the General Conference approved Developing and Strengthening the Ethnic Minority Local Church for Witness and Mission as the single missional priority for the denomination. The General Commission, through its monitoring activities, reviewed and evaluated the progress of the Church at every level in responding to this missional priority. Because the General Commission believed that there was still much to do in this regard, it recommended to the 1984 General Conference that the Ethnic Minority Local missional priority be continued for the 1985-1988 quadrennium. The 1984 General Conference, in a surprising move, approved that proposal. The General Commission intensified its monitoring of the implementation of the priority. annual conferences were required to develop and approve comprehensive plans for implementation. The General Commission reviewed the plans and provided comments to the annual conferences. Implementation by general agencies also was monitored. The General Commission provided strong support to the Missional Priority Coordinating Committee’s recommendation to the 1988 General Conference that the goal of strengthening the ethnic minority local church should be incorporated into the total life of the denomination. The 1988 General Conference approved that recommendation. “Racism: The Church’s Unfinished Agenda”Another significant action of the 1984 General Conference was the approval of a resolution that the Council of Bishops and the General Commission on Religion and Race should jointly sponsor a national convocation on racism, to be followed by five jurisdictional convocations on racism. With the theme, “Racism: The Church’s Unfinished Agenda,” the national convocation was held in September 1987 in Louisville, Kentucky. The jurisdictional convocations were held in the fall and winter of 1988-89. It appears that the national convocation revived awareness of the deep-seated nature of racism in the United States and re-energized people to work to overcome racism in order to participate in a truly inclusive church and society.A "radical" move for the General Commission was the creation in 1985 of a White Concerns Committee. It was established to enable white members of the General Commission to become more accountable for helping white persons be more involved in the struggle against racism as anti-racists. One of the joys for the General Commission was to receive in 1987 the gift of a theme song, “We Are God's People,” from one of its members. Another issue that captured the attention of the General Commission was support for opposition to the movement to make English the official language of the United States. The 1988 General Conference supported a resolution to that affect. During that 1988 legislative assembly the General Commission observed its 20th anniversary at a banquet attended by more than 450 people. They affirmed the significant accomplishments made in addressing racism in The United Methodist Church and accepted the challenge to continue to work on “Racism, the Church's Unfinished Agenda.” During the 1989-1992 quadrennium, the General Commission continued to fulfill its mandate to help the denomination in the United States overcome the sin of racism and to move toward becoming a more inclusive denomination and a manifestation of a true community of Shalom in a nation shattered by divisiveness. That experience was one of both celebration and concern. We celebrated the opportunity to participate in workshops and consultations in each jurisdiction, many annual conferences and with several general agencies and theological schools. Although we observed and experienced the prevalence of the sin of racism, we were blessed to see many minds being changed and many hearts transformed by the power of God, through the ministry of reconciliation. Many participants evolved through realization and confession, and they became recovering racists committed to personal, social and systemic change. The Terminology Task Force of the General Commission on Religion and Race produced in 1991 "The Language of Hospitality: Intercultural Relations in the Household of God." This study resource and guidebook helped many persons, including bishops, district superintendents and local church members, in their efforts to use language as a tool for shaping and building the multiracial and multicultural family of God. In an effort to help increase the effectiveness of annual conference commissions on Religion and Race, the General Commission also published, and quadrennially updates, a manual with guidelines, strategies and resources. Expanding Connectional MonitoringThe General Commission continued to hear through many channels of the need among annual conferences, districts and local churches for greater intentionality in addressing the manifestations of racism and more acceptance of the multiracial and multicultural diversity of our church and our society. In 1989-1992, the General Commission sought to concentrate its efforts more on working with and through the annual conferences, especially conference commissions on Religion and Race, to help eliminate the prevalence of racism, while continuing to work with other parts of the denomination in new ways.In 1992-1996 the General Commission conducted twenty-three (23) on-site annual conference reviews. These reviews included twenty-one (21) conferences that had never before been reviewed, plus a follow-up review of one conference, and a follow-up review of the Southeastern Jurisdiction’s Administrative Council. Also, in compliance with a General Conference resolution calling for a "Program to Emphasize Inclusiveness in All Dimensions of the Church," the General Commission requested comprehensive plans on inclusiveness from all annual conferences. To facilitate this task, the General Commission developed criteria for the development of the plan, and its staff worked closely with annual conference leadership. The General Commission cooperated with the general boards of Church and Society and Global Ministries, and the United Methodist Rural Fellowship in establishing a "Racism in Rural Areas Task Force" to study the manifestations of racism, personal and institutional, prevalent in rural areas. The report and recommendations of this study were approved by the 1996 General Conference. Inter-ethnic relationships and solidarity impacted the 1996 General Conference as a result of an Inter-Ethnic Dialogue in 1995, an orientation for the Racial and Ethnic Minority delegates to the 1996 General Conference, and work with the Inter-Ethnic Strategy Development Group, all initiated or supported by the General Commission. During 1996-2000, the General Commission continued to emphasize on-site reviews of annual conferences and development of new resources for understanding and addressing racism. New resources included:
As a result of a dialogue between the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women, the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry and the General Commission on Religion and Race, a new joint seminary on-site review process was established. In this process the reviews are being done in cooperation with the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women and the Commission on Theological Education of the University Senate. New Leadership, A New VisionIn September 1998 the former General Secretary, Barbara Ricks Thompson, retired, and the Rev. Chester R. Jones was elected to that position beginning in January 1999.While celebrating 35 years of ministry and service to the denomination in 2003, the General Commission renewed its commitment to combating racism by adopting the following vision statement and a plan for ministry: The vision of the General Commission on Religion and Race is rooted in God's call for justice. It is a vision of a church which is increasing its experience of and commitment to God's gift of diversity, inclusiveness and racial justice through all its structure, programs and lifestyle. During the 2000-2004 quadrennium, GCORR worked to make that vision a reality. Significant activities during this time included:
The General Commission boldly enters its fifth decade with new leadership, new operational procedures and a broader, more dynamic vision for ministry. The 2005-2008 board of directors developed and approved a new strategic plan for the agency, including engaging more White leaders in the fight against racism, extending its mission focus to include global racism and working harder to increase the presence of multicultural leadership in the Church. Erin M. Hawkins became general secretary in August 2007, and, working with the board, expanded the commission’s communications capabilities, while adding trends research to its monitoring role and strengthening its advocacy and educational efforts. |
