Committee assesses life of church
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Bishop Larry Goodpaster
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By Linda Green*
July 22, 2009 | NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)
A steering committee is helping reorder the life of The United Methodist Church.
Named by the denomination’s Council of Bishops,
the 18-member committee organized itself July 15-16 in Chicago and
began making a fresh assessment of the church’s life. The task is to
generate proposals that will help the denomination become more
effective and accountable, particularly in light of the current
economic climate.
The committee is creating proposals to present to the Council of Bishops and Connectional Table in November. A consulting firm experienced in organizational change management is assisting the committee in its work.
In May, the Council of Bishops issued A Call to Action,
which included the request that a committee would guide the
denomination’s response to furthering aligning the church’s mission and
its four areas of focus.
“We have a vision of a church that is vital, growing, diverse,
relevant, appealing to youth and young adults, and engaged in
effective, life-changing ministry--but we’re limited by an
outdated organizational structure,” said Bishop Larry Goodpaster,
project director and president-elect of the Council of Bishops.
“We have a vision of a church that is
vital, growing, diverse, relevant, appealing to youth and young adults,
and engaged in effective, life-changing ministry.”
--Bishop Larry Goodpaster Other
members of the steering committee include Illinois Area Bishop Gregory
Palmer, chairperson; East Ohio Bishop John Hopkins; retired
Bishop Sharon Rader, Chicago, ecumenical officer for Council of
Bishops; retired Bishop Joel Martinez, San Antonio, Texas; Los
Angeles Bishop Mary Ann Swenson; German Bishop Rosemarie Wenner; Sierra
Leone Bishop John Yambasu; and Seattle Bishop Grant Hagiya.
Also on the committee are Neil Alexander, president of the United
Methodist Publishing House; the Rev. Larry Hollon, top executive,
United Methodist Communications; Barbara Boigegrain, top
executive, United Methodist Board of Pension and Health Benefits;
Erin Hawkins, top executive, United Methodist Commission on
Religion and Race; Moses Kumar, top executive, United Methodist Council
on Finance and Administration; the Rev. Karen Greenwaldt, top
executive, United Methodist Board of Discipleship; Benjamin Boruff of
Indianapolis, Ind.; Jay Brim of Austin, Texas; and the Rev.
Deborah McLeod of Miami.
*Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Linda Green, (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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Resources
Call to Action
Council of Bishops
Connectional Table
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