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By Heather Hahn*
6:00 P.M. EST May 5, 2011 | ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. (UMNS)
Bishop Larry M. Goodpaster (left), president of the Council of Bishops,
and Bishop Gregory Palmer, immediate past president, speak before a
morning session at the council’s meeting. UMNS photos by Heather Hahn.
View in Photo Gallery
United Methodist bishops approved a proposal May 4 that would
significantly redefine the role of president for the Council of Bishops.
The amendment to the church’s constitution would allow the council to
elect one of its own to a full-time, four-year position without the
usual responsibilities of overseeing a geographic area.
The individual in that role would serve as the denomination’s chief
ecumenical officer, help align the strategic direction of the church and
focus on growing vital congregations, among other duties.
At present, the council president serves a two-year term and retains a
residential assignment to a geographic area. The council’s ecumenical
officer usually has been chosen from the ranks of retired bishops.
The bishops’ vote on the proposal – which, by a show of hands, was
not unanimous – came after hours of discussion over a three-day period.
Some bishops, particularly from the central conferences outside the
United States, expressed misgivings that such a position would fairly
represent the global nature of the church.
To be ratified, a constitutional amendment first requires a
two-thirds majority vote at General Conference, the denomination’s top
lawmaking body. It next must win a two-thirds majority of the total
annual (regional) conference voters. If ratified, the change would not
take effect until 2016.
More effective leadership
After the vote, Charlotte (N.C.) Area Bishop Larry M. Goodpaster --
the council’s current president -- voiced his support for the proposal
to United Methodist News Service. A set-aside bishop whose sole focus is
the global church would be able to more effectively connect people and
get everyone moving in the same direction, he said.
Doing that in his current role is a challenge.
“I’m trying not to take anything away from Western North Carolina,”
Goodpaster said. “However, it just means I have to lose days off to do
council business. I think the time and energy is huge for somebody to do
everything that needs to get done.”
Another hope is that the president would help give The United Methodist Church a more prominent voice on the public stage.
“Right now within the denomination, we don’t have somebody if the
(U.S.) president wants to invite somebody from The United Methodist
Church to the White House,” Washington Area Bishop John R. Schol said.
“Because our bishops have residential responsibilities, we also can’t
just leave to work with other denominational leaders. Having a
president (with no residential responsibilities) helps to focus on those
areas.”
Nebraska Area Bishop Ann Brookshire Sherer-Simpson, the chair of the Council of Bishops ecumenical task force, agreed.
“I think it will give more continuity and more authority to the church’s ecumenical work,” she said of the proposal.
Source of contention
Still, a handful of bishops have their doubts.
“My reservations are not about the principle of a set-aside bishop;
my reservations were more about what is packed into it,” Central and
Southern Europe Bishop Patrick Streiff said after the vote.
Baguio (Philippines) Area Bishop Rodolfo Alfonso Juan (center) and
retired Bishop Robert H. Spain (right) share in a discussion about
proposals for implementing the Call to Action recommendations.
View in Photo Gallery
For example, he said, he does not think the president should be an
ecumenical officer. Instead, he would like someone in that role to serve
far longer than four years to develop continuity.
Streiff had other doubts as well.
“I think the task of alignment is crucial and it needs for at least a
certain time a set-aside bishop,” he said. “What I am not so sure about
is whether we need a set-aside bishop in perpetuity. The language (of
the amendment) is permissive, but I heard no indication that it’s for a
set period of time.”
Currently, the role of the president rotates among the U.S.
jurisdictions and the central conferences. The president-elect for
2012-14 is Bishop Rosemarie Wenner from Germany.
He echoed a concern expressed by a number of other central conference
bishops that the new position of a four-year, nonresidential president
would shut out candidates from outside the United States because of
differences in episcopal election dates and terms of service.
The central conferences also may not have a bishop to spare for a
nonresidential post because they are limited in the number of bishops
they can elect. “When you take someone out from residential
responsibilities in a central conference, the legislation as it is now
gives no possibility to fill that place with another person,” Streiff
said.
A chairperson as well
Details of the proposal are yet to be worked out, but supporters
remain confident that the concerns about central conference
representation can be addressed.
One possibility put forward is for the Council of Bishops to elect a
chairperson who serves a two-year term in addition to a nonresidential
president. The chairperson, who would also serve a geographical area,
would oversee the council’s executive board and its committees. The
position would also rotate among bishops from around the globe – much
like the presidential role does now.
“It would give us someone who would focus on organizing the council
meetings and council life,” Illinois Area Bishop Gregory Palmer said.
“It also gives more opportunities for more people to bring leadership to
different aspects of the council.”
Retired Bishop Emerito P. Nacpil of the Philippines remains skeptical about having the two positions.
“I think it will be a two-headed hydra,” he said. “I don’t think it’s going to work.”
Past efforts and Call to Action
Proposals to have a full-time president go back at least to 1968,
with the merger that created The United Methodist Church. But each time
the move failed to gain traction.
What’s different now, many bishops say, is the Call to Action effort aimed at reversing the denomination’s declining and aging U.S. membership.
The change follows a recommendation from the Call to Action report to reform the Council of Bishops and increase accountability.
“I really think it’s another signal that the bishops are committed to
living into the mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the
transformation of the world,” Goodpaster said. “And we want to put our
house in order so that we can more effectively help the church to do
that.”
Zimbabwe Area Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa voted for the proposal, but he
said church leaders need to watch whether the change works to make more
disciples of Jesus Christ. If it fails in that mission, he would like to
see it quickly abandoned.
“I support it with the understanding that it’s not just an additional
structure,” he said, “but someone who can focus us, even shepherd us,
in the mission.”
*Hahn is a multimedia news reporter for United Methodist News Service.
News media contact: Heather Hahn, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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