Ceremonies mark new mission church in Côte d'Ivoire
10/16/2003 News media contact: Linda Bloom · (646) 369-3759 · New York
By United Methodist News Service*
The
African Continent featuring the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire UMNS graphic
by Laura J. Latham, Photo number 03-366, Accompanies UMNS#495, 10/16/03
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The Rev. Randy Day (left) meets Laurent Gbagdo, president of Côte d’Ivoire. Photo number W03045, Accompanies UMNS#495
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Republic of Cote d'Ivoire UMNS graphic by Laura J. Latham, Photo number 03-367, Accompanies UMNS #495, 10/16/03
No Long Caption Available for this Story
In ceremonies lasting three days in early October,
the Protestant Methodist Church of Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) became a
mission of the United Methodist Church.
A year
earlier, the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries granted mission
status to the autonomous 1.4-million-member Methodist denomination, an
outgrowth of the British Methodist Church. Under the United Methodist
Book of Discipline, the agency is allowed to initiate, administer and
coordinate a mission, defined as an administrative body for work inside
or outside the structures of an annual or missionary conference.
The
Oct. 4 celebration, witnessed by Laurent Gbagbo, the country's
president, was led by the Rev. Benjamin Boni, president of the Church of
Côte D'Ivoire. United Methodist participants included the Rev. R.
Randy Day, chief executive of the Board of Global Ministries, and Bishop
Ruediger Minor of Moscow, president of the United Methodist Council of
Bishops.
Ceremonies continued with an Oct. 5 worship service that
recognized the 86 active pastors, elders and evangelists. An afternoon
concert sponsored by the women and youth, provided the color, movement,
sound and rhythm of African praise music. The celebration concluded Oct.
6 with groundbreaking for a new conference building, which will replace
the one built by the British mission in 1928. The land for the office
is strategically located between the National Assembly (Congress) and
the High Court of Côte d'Ivoire.
With mission church status,
Côte d'Ivoire Methodists may later request a provisional conference
status. The church brings a 100-year history, schools, a hospital,
orphanage and ministries with women and youth, board officials pointed
out. In a nationally televised interview in Côte d'Ivoire, Boni said
integration with United Methodists would allow the church to make its
witness as a part of a global church.
The Council of Bishops has named Bishop John Innis from neighboring Liberia as the presiding bishop for the transitional period. # # # *Rena Yocom, special assistant to the Rev. R. Randy Day, supplied information for this story.
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