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Well, I am still a Methodist (and well-known in my congregation for speaking my mind about silly things like this) and I have heard NOTHING about such an event. I notice this is a UK article. Perhaps this is only in Britain.

Our big announcements for next week were to make sure we filled the shoeboxes with gifts for Franklin Graham's Samaritan's Purse program, filling grocery bags with canned goods for the food pantry, and the Hanging of the Greens. No crockery was mentioned. Nor was there any announcement about this program.

And how should the church work to decrease violence?

Why, with a symbolic "act of violence," of course...

Miss Marple, we never heard anything about this stuff at our local church either. We never heard about lots of things. The reason is that they don't want you to know, they just want you to think whatever it is you think and continue to make donations to carry out policies that the vast majority of the church would disapprove of if they knew about them. Our church newsletter talked about bake sales and such but we never saw anything in our church newsletter like the following. My question is, do you support the following? Does your church? If so, why are you on FreeRepublic? If not....

WASHINGTON (UMNS) ? The top executive of the United Methodist Church's international public policy and advocacy agency has expressed disappointment in the withdrawal of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations conference against racism. The Bush administration withdrew its representatives Sept. 3 from the U.N. World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, scheduled for Aug. 31-Sept. 7, in Durban, South Africa.

"By doing so, the U.S. walked away from international efforts to eliminate racism," said Jim Winkler, staff head of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, in a statement issued Sept. 6.

"For too long, arrogance and self-righteousness have marked U.S. foreign policy," he said. "The [conference] is addressing a variety of issues on racism: the caste system in India, the treatment of refugees and asylum-seekers, the impact of racism on health care and the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and disparities in law enforcement and systems of justice."

Concerns about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict provided the pretext for U.S. withdrawal from the conference, Winkler said.

"These are difficult issues," he commented. The United Methodist Church's highest legislative body, which is the only entity that can speak for the denomination, has declared: "United Methodists are committed to the objective of a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace agreement that would bring recognition and security to Israel and national and human rights to the Palestinians."

The church's General Conference, which met last year, noted that the most important issues have not been resolved. It listed those issues in a resolution: "Israel's claim to exclusive sovereignty over all of Jerusalem, the presence of existing Israeli settlements and the construction of new ones, the future of the Palestinian refugees in the diaspora, and Palestinian national rights."

Winkler noted that before the conference, its secretary, South African Minister of Foreign Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, said nothing is beyond discussion. "That is the beginning of a tolerant society, when we can sit down and listen to one another."

As a faith community, the United Methodist Church is committed to continuing the struggle against racism in all its manifestations, hand in hand with other churches around the world, that all may be one, as Jesus mandated in John 17:21,Winkler said.

The United Methodist Church officially supports reparations for African Americans in a resolution first adopted in 1996 and reaffirmed by delegates at the 2000 General Conference

Representatives of United Methodist agencies and organizations are attending the conference as nonvoting delegates. They include:

Ann Marshall, an associate general secretary, churchwide Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, representing the National Council of Churches;

The Rev. John McCullough, executive director, Church World Service, the relief agency of the U.S. National Council of Churches;

Mee Sue Park, a director of the Women's Division, churchwide Board of Global Ministries;

Lois Dauway, an assistant general secretary, Board of Global Ministries;

Liz Calvin, executive secretary, women and children, Board of Global Ministries;

David Wildman, executive secretary, human rights and racial justice, Board of Global Ministries;

Suzanne Ife Williams, executive secretary for racial justice, Board of Global Ministries;

Darlene Dawes, a director of Women's Division, Board of Global Ministries;

Sebastine Ujereh, Board of Global Ministries missionary, Senegal;

Marthe Dansokho, Board of Global Ministries missionary, West Africa Region;

Rosangela Oliveira, Board of Global Ministries missionary, Latin American Region;

Ken Fealing, program director, economic justice, Board of Church and Society;

Gretchen Hakola, program director, communications, churchwide Board of Church and Society;

Liberato Bautista, assistant general secretary, United Nations office, Board of Church and Society;

Elena Taryor, governing member, Board of Church and Society;

Juanita Rasmus, co-pastor, St. John's United Methodist Church, Houston; and

The Rev. Chester Jones, general secretary, churchwide Commission on Religion and Race.