SAN
DIEGO (UMNS) — An annual state-of-the-church report will be presented
to members of the United Methodist Church around the world.
That’s the first major decision made by the newly created "Connectional Table," meeting Jan. 20-23.
The
60-member body, comprising staff executives and officers of
denominational agencies and representatives of ethnic caucuses and
jurisdictions around the world, invited the Council of Bishops to join
in preparing the annual statement. If the bishops agree, the first
report would be issued in 2006.
The Connectional Table was created
last April by General Conference, the top legislative body of the
11-million member denomination. Delegates to that gathering eliminated
the General Council on Ministries, a Dayton, Ohio,-based agency that had
served as the program coordinating agency since the Methodist Church
and Evangelical United Brethren Church merged in 1968.
General
Conference delegates made it clear that the Connectional Table would not
become another agency but would represent a new way of discerning and
articulating a vision for the global church. The table was also asked to
ensure that the church is a careful steward of resources for mission
and ministry.
Bishop John Hopkins of the Ohio East Area was named
by the Council of Bishops to serve as chairman of the Connectional
Table. In his opening remarks, Hopkins noted that the church is in the
liturgical season of Epiphany, when wise men visited the Christ child
and returned to their homes by another way.
"We are modern magi
who have come to experience God’s love, and our expectations are high,"
Hopkins said. "I don’t expect the journey of the Connectional Table will
be easy, but our goal is to help people know who Jesus is."
The
advantage of having people from around the world gather about a common
table became apparent following a report on a recent visit to Indonesia
by the Rev. R. Randy Day, top staff executive of the United Methodist
Board of Global Ministries.
After Day told of the need to rebuild
churches in Banda Aceh and Meulaboh, Bishop Michael Coyner of the
Indiana Area pledged $150,000 to rebuild a church/community
center/clinic in Banda Aceh, where the Dec. 26 tsunami killed more than
92,000 people. The Rev. Carl Schenck, pastor of the 3,500-member
Manchester (Mo.) United Methodist Church and a member of the
Connectional Table, followed suit by pledging $50,000 of the $100,000
needed to build a similar facility in Meulaboh, where 80 percent of the
town was destroyed and the same percentage of the 50,000 residents died.
To
ensure that members of the table have an understanding of what is
happening in all areas of the world, the 21 representatives from U.S.
annual (regional) conferences will contact leaders of 42 neighboring
conferences, and the seven representatives of seven areas outside the
United States will contact churches in neighboring communities and
nations. Findings will be reported to the table before the preparation
of a state-of-the-church report.
Throughout the four-day
gathering, table members met in 10 covenant groups, which will continue
to convene at the table’s next seven meetings for the next three years.
In these groups, members shared personal concerns along with hopes and
dreams for the newly created body. Discussing what should be included in
a state of the church report, covenant groups suggested reports on
membership and finances and comparisons with other years and
environmental factors, new church starts and nurturing ministries,
mission efforts, relationships with social-service agencies and major
emphases.
The gathering’s agenda was established by a 10-member Transition Team, chaired by Bishop Sharon Brown Christopher.
That
group also handled all the details related to closing the GCOM offices
in Dayton. The building, which once housed offices of the Evangelical
United Brethren Church before the 1968 merger, is on the market with an
estimated value of almost $1 million. With few tenants still occupying
the building, the church is operating the structure at a loss of $5,000 a
month.
With help from Irene Howard, general counsel for the
denomination’s General Council on Finance and Administration, the
Transition Team transferred all GCOM assets and liabilities to
denominational trustees and drafted articles of incorporation for the
Connectional Table. Individual severance dates were set for each of the
13 GCOM employees, with the last person terminated Dec. 31. Team members
expressed thanks to Dan Church, former top staff executive of GCOM, who
helped the team through the process of closing the agency.
Korean News
