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Committee assesses life of church


Bishop Larry Goodpaster

By Linda Green*
July 22, 2009 | NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)

A steering committee is helping reorder the life of The United Methodist Church.

Named by the denomination’s Council of Bishops, the 18-member committee organized itself July 15-16 in Chicago and began making a fresh assessment of the church’s life. The task is to generate proposals that will help the denomination become more effective and accountable, particularly in light of the current economic climate.

The committee is creating proposals to present to the Council of Bishops and Connectional Table in November. A consulting firm experienced in organizational change management is assisting the committee in its work.

In May, the Council of Bishops issued A Call to Action, which included the request that a committee would guide the denomination’s response to furthering aligning the church’s mission and its four areas of focus.

“We have a vision of a church that is vital, growing, diverse, relevant, appealing to youth and young adults, and engaged in effective, life-changing ministry--but we’re limited by an outdated organizational structure,” said Bishop Larry Goodpaster, project director and president-elect of the Council of Bishops.

“We have a vision of a church that is vital, growing, diverse, relevant, appealing to youth and young adults, and engaged in effective, life-changing ministry.”
--Bishop Larry Goodpaster
Other members of the steering committee include Illinois Area Bishop Gregory Palmer, chairperson;  East Ohio Bishop John Hopkins; retired Bishop Sharon Rader, Chicago, ecumenical officer for Council of Bishops;  retired Bishop Joel Martinez, San Antonio, Texas; Los Angeles Bishop Mary Ann Swenson; German Bishop Rosemarie Wenner; Sierra Leone Bishop John Yambasu;  and Seattle Bishop Grant Hagiya.

Also on the committee are Neil Alexander, president of the United Methodist Publishing House; the Rev. Larry Hollon, top executive, United Methodist Communications;  Barbara Boigegrain, top executive, United Methodist Board of Pension and Health Benefits;  Erin Hawkins, top executive, United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race; Moses Kumar, top executive, United Methodist Council on Finance and Administration; the Rev. Karen Greenwaldt, top executive, United Methodist Board of Discipleship; Benjamin Boruff of Indianapolis, Ind.; Jay Brim of Austin, Texas; and the Rev. Deborah McLeod of Miami.

*Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.

News media contact: Linda Green, (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

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Bishop Palmer offers vision for areas of focus

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Resources

Call to Action

Council of Bishops

Connectional Table

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