(RNS) — Conservative United Methodists have chosen a name for the denomination they plan to form if a proposal to split the United Methodist Church is successful: The Global Methodist Church. The Global Methodist Church unveiled its new name, logo and website on Monday (March 1), days after the United Methodist Church announced it was once again postponing the May 2020 meeting that was set to consider the proposal to split. That puts the likely launch of the planned denomination at least a year and a half away. “Over the past year the council members, and hundreds of people who have informed their work, have faithfully and thoughtfully arrived at this point,” the Rev. Keith Boyette, president of the Wesleyan Covenant Association and chair of the Transitional Leadership Council that is guiding the creation of the Global Methodist Church, said in a post on the WCA website. “They are happy to share with others a wealth of information about a church they believe will be … [Read more...]
Video: J. Herbert Nelson reflects on 35 years of ministry
(OGA) The year was 1986 and J. Herbert Nelson, II began his career as a Presbyterian pastor. Little did he know where the next 35 years would take him. The Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will be the first to say he didn’t realize he had reached this milestone in his ministry. Nelson is also the first to say he didn’t imagine that he would be where he is now, especially as the denomination looks at where it needs to go as a 21st-century church. The Stated Clerk recently sat down to reflect on what he’s learned in his more than three decades in the ministry. by Rick Jones and Randy Hobson, Office of the General Assembly … [Read more...]
Wright, Henderson increase roles with Office of the General Assembly
LOUISVILLE (OGA) After serving in an interim role with the Office of the General Assembly for more than 18 months, Dianna Wright has been named director of ecumenical and interreligious relations, filling a vacancy created in 2019 with the passing of the Rev. Robina Winbush. The Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), announced Wright’s appointment today. He also announced that Julia Henderson, who had been serving OGA in a part-time capacity for the past several months, will now devote full-time hours to the denomination. Henderson, who served as interim director of Assembly operations, oversaw preparations and planning for the Church’s first online General Assembly last summer. She will continue to serve as leader for GA planning and business management through the 225th General Assembly in 2022. “We have been blessed with the opportunity to work with two individuals that have brought new vision to the work … [Read more...]
This week’s COVID-19 death milestone leads Christian leaders to pray
(PNS) Member communions of the National Council of Churches contributed to “Words of Comfort, Prayers for the People,” a 21-minute video released on YouTube and Facebook on Wednesday. “I sincerely hope,” said the Rev. Dr. Jim Winkler, the NCC’s president and general secretary, “this is the last major milestone we’ll need to mark.” The NCC video features the prayers of denominational leaders and pastors and concludes with words of hope from the NCC’s chief operating officer, the Rev. Dr. Leslie Copeland Tune. “Send your healing power to this land and throughout the Earth,” said Bishop Teresa Jefferson-Snorton, Presiding Bishop of the Fifth Episcopal District in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, “that this virus may not have the victory but that we will always look to you as our source and our strength.” The Rev. Dr. Michael Livingston, a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) pastor serving as the interim senior minister at The Riverside Church in New York City, asked … [Read more...]
United Methodists reschedule meeting — and decision on splitting — again
(RNS) — The United Methodist Church has once again postponed its quadrennial meeting due to the COVID-19 pandemic, delaying further a widely anticipated vote by delegates from across the globe on a proposal to split the denomination over the inclusion of LGBTQ members. The United Methodist Church General Conference now is scheduled for Aug. 29 to Sept. 6, 2022, at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis. This is the second time the denomination, one of the largest in the United States, has rescheduled the meeting of its top decision-making body, which will gather 862 delegates and other United Methodists from around the world. The quadrennial meeting had originally been set for May 5 to 15 of last year, also in Minneapolis. That meeting was rescheduled for Aug. 29 to Sept. 7, 2021, when the Minneapolis Convention Center announced it was restricting events. Delegates to the General Conference are expected to take up a proposal to split the denomination called “A … [Read more...]
John Detterick, who led both the General Assembly Council and the Board of Pensions, dies at age 80
(PNS) John Detterick, who for eight years led the General Assembly Council (now the Presbyterian Mission Agency) and before that the Board of Pensions for five years, died Tuesday at age 80 at his home in Denver after a long and courageous battle with cancer. He was surrounded by his loving wife and four children. According to those family members, he will be remembered by many for his wisdom, faith, honesty, humility, leadership and grace. “He was a great leader for our church, and the two of us were the closest of partners in the ministry of Christ’s Church,” said the Rev. Dr. Cliff Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk Emeritus of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and professor of World Christianity and Ecumenical Studies at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. “I give thanks to God for John Detterick for the many gifts he shared with me, with the broader church and with the Church Ecumenical.” “While I did not know John, people have fond memories of his ministry and work,” … [Read more...]
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