Commission renews Central Jurisdiction recovery project
4/15/2003 News media contact: Tim Tanton · (615) 742-5470 · Nashville, Tenn.
WASHINGTON
(UMNS) - The United Methodist agency charged with monitoring racial and
ethnic relations within the church has issued a call for materials
related to the denomination's Central Jurisdiction.
The Central
Jurisdiction was a segregated unit of the former Methodist Church,
instituted in 1939 during a merger of three Methodist denominations. It
was abolished in 1968, when the Methodists merged with the Evangelical
United Brethren to create the United Methodist Church. The
African-American bishops, members and churches became part of the
mainstream church.
The Central Jurisdiction Review Committee,
part of the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race, was formed
to evaluate progress in integrating African-American personnel and
churches into the five U.S. geographic jurisdictions. In the first phase
of the Central Jurisdiction Recovery Project, tapes of the committee's
hearings were transcribed and compiled.
Now, the project is
seeking to preserve additional materials related to the Central
Jurisdiction and its merger with the geographic jurisdictions.
"As
I look around the church, I see the legacy of this important historical
period being lost," said the Rev. Chester Jones, chief executive of the
Commission on Religion and Race, with headquarters in Washington. "Key
(leaders) during this era are aging and dying. It is now incumbent upon
us to collect this history or lose it forever."
Jones has called
for pictures, journals, oral histories and artifacts related to the
Central Jurisdiction and its transition process. The commission is
collecting the items and will place them with the church Commission on
Archives and History in Madison, N.J.
"The commitment to being an
inclusive church is not an easy one," Jones said of the importance of
preserving the materials. "We have struggled and continue to struggle.
The history of the Central Jurisdiction is not only a testament to that
struggle, but to our ability to overcome the sin of racism together.
Donors may contact the commission at gcorr@erols.com or (202) 547-2271.
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