United Methodist bishops will visit U.S. lawmakers Nov. 5
10/30/2003 News media contact: Tim Tanton · (615) 742-5470 · Nashville, Tenn.
By United Methodist News Service
Bishop Ruediger Minor, Photo number W03072, Accompanies UMNS#519
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By United Methodist News Service
The bishops
of the United Methodist Church will spend the afternoon and evening of
Nov. 5 visiting with lawmakers and diplomats on Capitol Hill, as part of
a weeklong gathering in Washington.
The church's top clergy
leaders will have lunch and spend the afternoon at the Dirksen Senate
Office Building in Washington. There they will meet with and hear
remarks from members of the Senate and House of Representatives.
The
day will conclude with a dinner at the J.W. Marriott Hotel, where
Moscow Bishop Ruediger Minor, president of the United Methodist Council
of Bishops, will speak on the state of the church. A number of diplomats
representing countries where the United Methodist Church has a
presence, as well as members of Congress, have been invited to attend.
The
visit of more than 100 bishops to Washington could not be more timely,
said host Bishop Felton Edwin May. "Our church and our nation both face
critical, indeed historic challenges with far-reaching theological and
social implications for our lives and communities of people around the
globe," May said.
The council meets twice a year. It comprises 50
active bishops in the United States; 18 bishops in Europe, Asia and
Africa; plus about 75 retired bishops worldwide. They lead a
denomination of about 10 million members.
The bishops' annual
fall meeting begins Nov. 2 with worship and memorial services in the
Washington area. Those will include an All Saints service at
Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church, where the council will
unveil and dedicate a marble-and-bronze memorial tablet honoring John
Wesley, the founder of Methodism. The service will commemorate this
year's 300th anniversary of Wesley's birth and celebrate his service in
the American colonies.
Later in the day, a memorial service
will be held at Asbury United Methodist Church. It is believed to be the
first time the council's memorial service has been held at a historic
African-American church.
Convening at the Doubletree Hotel in
Arlington, Va. through Nov. 7, the bishops will discuss a wide range of
topics, including their Initiative on Children and Poverty, a holistic
plan for ministry in Africa and a strategy for making disciples. They
also will spend time in training for their roles as presiding officers
at the denomination's legislative assembly, General Conference, which
meets April 27-May 7 in Pittsburgh.
While the bishops are
meeting, their spouses will be doing volunteer work in United
Methodist-related ministries in the Washington and Baltimore areas.
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