United Brethren General Conference Minutes 1997

ubhc.jpg (10249 bytes)

wpe10.gif (19664 bytes)
General Conference 1997 - The Alcohol Issue

MARTIN BOEHM

General Conference

1997

The Alcohol Issue

One of the main issues discussed at the 1997 General Conference was the United Brethren stance on the abstinence from alcohol. Since the first Discipline produced in 1814 United Brethren have take a stand against the use of alcohol for anything other than medicinal purposes. It was not until the Discipline of 1853 that the drinking of "ardent spirits" was outlawed completely. Since that time the Discipline has mandated complete abstinence. That doesn't mean there have not been attempts to change our position. The latest of these was at the General Conference of 1997. A proposal was submitted to change the wording of the statement but still maintain the abstinence stand. Another proposal sought to soften the position and only urge abstinence. The first proposal succeeded with minor changes. The United Brethren have been required to abstain from alcohol for over 150 years.

The Minutes

Page eight of the 1997 General Conference Minutes contain the gist of what was discussed during a very long and tense session. A complete transcript is not available. The audio tape of the session is available at the Historical Center.

1997 General Conference Minutes, p. 8

The Proposals

Three seperate proposals for a change in the Discipline statement were made. Proposal 21-5 was basically a rephrasing of our traditional position. Proposal 22-2 modified the statement to urge members to abstain. Proposal 22-3 is basically the same as 21-5.

The Reports

A taskforce was appointed by the General Board of Administration during its reorganizational meeting immediatly following the General Conference of 1993. This task force meet over the interim between conference and submitted a report to the 1997 General Conference. In addition the Discipline Revision Committee which met in preparation for the 1997 General Conference received a seperate petition from four churches in Pennsylvania (now Mid-Atlantic) Conference.

An Historical Overview

In an article called "The Big Three" Steve Dennie provides an overview of the development of the Discipline's statement on alcohol. The article appeared in the April 1985 issue of the United Brethren

"The Big Three" by Steve Dennie.

PHILIP WILLIAM OTTERBEIN