On Saturday March 4, 2017, Bishop Sandra Steiner-Ball of
the West Virginia Area Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church
addressed a group of laity and clergy at Forrest Burdette UMC in Hurricane, WV.
After a service of word and sacrament led by Midland South District
Superintendent Frank Shomo, Bishop Steiner-Ball shared with the gathering a
progress update regarding the Council of Bishops’ COMMISSION ON A WAY FORWARD.
This posting is a work of the Reverend Kerry Bart, pastor, First United
Methodist Church, Barboursville, WV.
A few things to note: I decided to make this a two-part post. You're reading Part One, the background. There's a supplement to the background, which is the text of the original proposal, found here. And there's Part Two, the summary. Go to www.tinyurl.com/CommissionPartTwo for that.
And without further ado:
And without further ado:
There is one body only that speaks for The United Methodist
Church, and it is the General Conference. Not the laity, not the clergy, not
even the bishops, but only the General Conference. We were reminded several
times by Bishop Steiner-Ball that church groups, special interest groups, and the media
may each make claims like “this is
what is happening in The UMC” but the most accurate (and only official) information
about The UMC is published in the 2016 Book of Discipline and the 2016 Book of
Resolutions. As such, it is important when hearing or writing or discussing
current events and The United Methodist Church to consider the source and what
has been emphasized in this paragraph.
The General Conference is the worldwide gathering of United
Methodist bishops and elected clergy and laity delegates that convenes every
four years to shape church polity and mission.
At General Conference in May 2016, in response to a number of proposals related to
The UMC and issues of human sexuality as well as biblical interpretation and
clergy integrity, the General Conference requested that the Council of Bishops
form a commission to help lead our United Methodist Church forward during this
time of both great crisis and great opportunity.
The bishops responded with “An Offering For A Way Forward,” (click here for the actual text) which is the subject of this document. The Offering For A Way Forward concluded
with the statement, “We will continue to explore options to help the church
live in grace and with one another — including ways to avoid further
complaints, trials and harm while we uphold the Discipline. We will continue
our conversation on this matter and report our progress to you and to the whole
church.”
The bishops’ Offering For A Way Forward was approved by
General Conference, and the Council of Bishops formed a Commission on a Way
Forward (hereafter the Commission). The Commission has 32 members and three
moderators. Commission membership includes eight bishops, eleven elders, two
deacons, and eleven laity; 21 persons from the USA, seven from Africa, two from
Europe, and two from the Philippines. There are eighteen men and fourteen women
on the commission. Bishops Sandra Steiner-Ball, Kenneth Carter (both USA), and
David Yemba (Africa) are the moderators. (Click here to read more about the Commission's membership). The Commission will meet something like nine times face-to-face in 2017 (don't quote me on that yet) in order to pray and study and discuss positions and ultimately present its labors to the General Conference.
One possible outcome of this Way Forward would be that a
special General Conference be convened perhaps in 2019 for the sole purpose of
presenting the Commission’s recommendation to General Conference.
I feel it is worth noting that the Council of Bishops’ Offering
For A Way Forward is not associated with proposals offered by the Reverends
Adam Hamilton and Mike Slaughter that also bore the name “A Way Forward.”
The
following three paragraphs describe the Commission’s mission and vision and
scope. These three paragraphs are the Commission’s, not mine.
Mission
The
Commission will bring together persons deeply committed to the future(s) of The
United Methodist Church, with an openness to developing new relationships with
each other and exploring the potential future(s) of our denomination in light
of General Conference and subsequent annual, jurisdictional and central
conference actions. We have a profound hope and confidence in the Triune God,
and yet we acknowledge that we do this work in a climate of skepticism and
distrust, from a human point of view. We are a connection, and we admit that
our communion is strained; yet much transformative mission across our world is
the fruit of our collaboration. The matters of human sexuality and unity are
the presenting issues for a deeper conversation that surfaces different ways of
interpreting Scripture and theological tradition. The work is meant to inform
deliberation across the whole church and to help the Council of Bishops in
their service to the next General Conference in finding a way forward.
Vision
The
Commission will design a way for being church that maximizes the presence of a
United Methodist witness in as many places in the world as possible, that
allows for as much contextual differentiation as possible, and that balances an
approach to different theological understandings of human sexuality with a
desire for as much unity as possible. This unity will not be grounded in our
conceptions of human sexuality, but in our affirmation of the Triune God who
calls us to be a grace-filled and holy people in the Wesleyan tradition.
Scope
We should
be open to new ways of embodying unity that move us beyond where we are in the
present impasse and cycle of action and reaction around ministry and human
sexuality. Therefore, we should consider new ways of being in relationship
across cultures and jurisdictions, in understandings of episcopacy, in
contextual definitions of autonomy for annual conferences, and in the design
and purpose of the apportionment. In reflection on the tow matters of unity and
human sexuality, we will fulfill our directive by considering “new forms and
structures” of relationship and through the “complete examination and possible
revision” or relevant paragraphs in the Book of Discipline. We will give
consideration to greater freedom and flexibility to a future United Methodist Church
that will redefine our present connectionality, which is showing signs of
brokenness. If we ignore this work, fracturing will occur in more haphazard and
even self-interested ways across the church. If we do this work only to address
our preferences and self-interest, we will fail to place our complete trust in
God’s steadfast love and faithfulness. If we do this work with complete
surrender to God’s unlimited imagination and kingdom purposes, we will be
blessed beyond our limited human imagination. God remains God; God is with us;
God will never let us go. To God be the glory!
(end
Commission quotation)
...to be continued in part two (click here: www.tinyurl.com/CommissionPartTwo)
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