On July 17, delegates to the South Central Jurisdictional Conference rejected a motion that would have overturned an agreement to lease UMC-owned property to the Bush Presidential Center to create a policy research institute (“think tank”) at Southern Methodist University. The motion was defeated by a vote of 158-118. In a final parliamentary effort, a request was made for a legal ruling on whether the jurisdiction could legally subsidize a particular political/ideological point of view by leasing jurisdictional property. For a detailed news report and readers' comments, click here.
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Welcome! The Web site you are viewing has been created to provide information critical for understanding the controversy surrounding the location of the George W. Bush Presidential Library complex on the campus of Southern Methodist University. Of particular concern is the linkage of the complex – and, by extension, Southern Methodist University and The United Methodist Church – to a proposed institute (“think tank”) dedicated to promulgating the failed policies and ideology of the Bush Administration. (For an update on the current status of this controversy, see the information and link posted at the upper right on this page). The “anchor” for this site is an analytical letter written to delegates to the South Central Jurisdictional Conference by prominent United Methodist theologian, the Rev. Dr. Tex Sample. Dr. Sample is a retired clergy member of the Missouri Area of The United Methodist Church. A link to his letter appears elsewhere on this page. You are invited to respond to Dr. Sample’s letter and to enter into di Of particular interest, too, is the extensive library of articles (see the menu bar above) that have been written about the Library complex and the proposed research institute. I also hope you will view the link to the "Protect SMU Petition" campaign; if you’ve not already done so, you are invited to join the 12,000 concerned people who have already signed the petition. Finally, just a word about the Web site’s name, “What Would John Wesley Do?” No single item that you will find here addresses that question specifically. However, we believe that the site’s overall content expresses the probing intellect and open spirit of Methodism’s founder in relationship to an important issue facing his contemporary followers. We invite you to view its contents in that spirit. We also invite you to contribute to it with your comments and ideas for addressing the challenge posed by that issue. This is a dynamic Web site, and will be modified from time to time in response to changing circumstances and new information. We urge you to share this site with others who have an interest in this significant issue and its deep importance to SMU, to higher education generally and to The United Methodist Church. Sincerely, Andrew J. Weaver The Rev. Dr. Weaver is an SMU graduate, a United Methodist clergyman, a research psychologist, and organizer of the Protect SMU Petition. |
scussion with others about it.
