By: Victoria Rebeck

Conference members passed two social-issue resolutions on Thursday.

They approved item 503, “Drop the ‘I’ Word Campaign,” promoted by the United Methodist General Commission on Religion and Race and submitted by the conference Commission on Religion and Race and the Church and Society Action Team. This resolution asks people not to use the word “illegal” to refer to individuals. The resolution is about references to people, not their immigration status.

“Use of the term ‘illegals’ (the ‘I’ word) when referring to people dehumanizes and divides communities, contributing to punitive and discriminatory actions aimed primarily at immigrants and communities of color,” the resolution reads. “The racially derogatory ‘I’ word endangers basic human rights, including the presumption of innocence and the right to due process.”

They approved an amended item 504, “Peace House: Will It Rise from the Ashes?” It asks the conference to appeal to federal legislators to “become familiar with Peace House,” the Shawamreh family’s house in Anata. The Israeli government has demolished it several times, though it has been rebuilt by the assistance of Minnesota Conference Love Offering funds from 2003 and by the Israel Committee Against Home Demolitions.

The resolution also asks the conference secretary to send electronic mail to federal legislators asking them to “vigorously investigate Israel’s polities, which lead to widespread home demolition, and follow up with a comprehensive report to U.S. governmental and media sources.”

Time limitations pushed to Friday consideration of item 505, a resolution against a proposed amendment to the Minnesota state constitution that would prevent the state from recognizing marriage between same-sex couples.