NAD YE Meetings 2e

[Gregory Matthews]

For another set of comments:

https://spectrummagazine.org/article/2017/10/30/north-american-division-responds-gc-unity-actions-day-4-nad-meetings

A selection of comments from the above:

Ricardo Graham, president of the Pacific Union, was quick to disagree. “It's my understanding that existing world church policy states, relative to ordination, that final authority rests with the Union. Am I remembering that correctly? Has that policy been changed?” he asked Jackson.

Jackson agreed that Graham was correct. Graham continued, “So the present world policy says that final authority for ordination rests with the unions. If that is the case, how did that authority get usurped and placed somewhere else?” He also reminded Jackson about the Pacific Union’s constituency meeting in which 79% of the body voted in favor of allowing local conferences to decide on ordination for men and women.

“I feel like I’m on trial here, but yes, you’re correct.” said Jackson, garnering laughs from the audience.

Graham ended stating, “The officers of the Pacific Union follow the direction of the people who have placed us in position...I, as President, my other officers with me, have no authority to change anything the constituency has voted...My people in the Pacific Union, we believe it is important to recognize Total Member Involvement. Total Member Involvement means everybody. We recognize God’s gifts for everybody.”

Jackson replied that he thinks the core of the debate is not who has the right to administer ordination, but rather who holds the right to create the policy that directs.

After a couple more delegates brought their questions and comments to the floor, Donna Jackson, President Jackson’s wife, brought forward a motion. She started by saying, “I hope this won’t affect our marriage” to which the President replied, “Well, I’m waiting to hear!”

Her motion was as follows: “Because the document is so severely flawed, in my opinion, I move that this body, the North America Executive Committee, express their strong disagreement with it.”

The motion was quickly seconded. A question was raised on whether Mrs. Jackson has voice and vote (she does, as she’s an associate director in the NAD Ministerial Department), and then discussion on the motion commenced.

Elder Kibble made a motion to amend Mrs. Jackson’s motion. The amendment stated that the NAD would choose a group of representatives to discuss with the GC Unity Oversight Committee the concerns expressed about the document by the body.

After Celeste Ryan Blyden from the Columbia Union expressed her concern that the Unity Oversight Committee’s chair has recently stepped down and there are no women on the committee, Spencer Page, student association president at Burman University, made a motion to amend the amendment by Elder Kibble. Page’s amendment was that when the NAD representatives speak with the Unity Oversight Committee, they request that a female minister be added to the committee.