United Methodists' global relationships enter 'new phase'

Bishop Ann Sherer, president of the Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, prepares to address commissioners and the congregation of St. James United Methodist Church in Birmingham, Ala. UMNS photos by David Dapcevich.

By Linda Bloom*

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (UMNS) - How United Methodists relate to other religious bodies - both Methodist and ecumenical - is changing as society becomes more globalized.

Dealing with those changing relations is a challenge both for the United Methodist Council of Bishops and the denomination's Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns.

Bishop William Oden, the council's ecumenical officer, spoke about that challenge during the commission's Dec. 4-6 meeting in Birmingham.

"We are entering a new phase that the church has not encountered before because of globalization," he told United Methodist News Service. "Old borders and old agreements, both denominational and ecumenical, no longer hold."

In England, for example, enough United Methodists from Zimbabwe have arrived as political exiles that United Methodist Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa of Zimbabwe has appointed a district superintendent and some pastors to work with the congregations they have established.

But British Methodists are a separate denomination and relate to the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe, which is also separate from the United Methodists there. So, in July, Oden met with British Methodists and bishops from both Zimbabwe churches "to try to figure out how they minister and how they can connect."

In the United States, Methodists from Korea have started about 250 congregations, enough for districts on the East and West Coasts, and are preparing to elect a bishop. Starting a congregation is one way for a Korean Methodist pastor to be ordained, Oden noted.

The Council of Bishops has decided to start a dialogue with the Korean Methodist Church about the situation. "We can't just pretend that it isn't happening," Oden told commission members.

Another situation has arisen in Canada, where a congregation of Filipino United Methodists has become part of the U.S. Pacific Northwest Conference, with the permission of the United Church of Canada. United Methodists have long had an agreement with the United Church not to plant churches in Canada.

A financial burden
Among the ecumenical concerns are the health of National Council of Churches, the status of Churches Uniting in Christ and membership in Christian Churches Together.

The National Council of Churches is undergoing a staff reduction and restructuring because of budget deficits, although it does have several million dollars in reserve funds.

Oden acknowledged the economic burden placed on United Methodists as some of the other denominational members have decreased financial support to the council because of their own budget constraints. But he called for a recommitment to the organization. "The United Methodist Church is really at the core of the work of the National Council of Churches," he said.

Involvement with a newer organization, Christian Churches Together, will be considered over the next four years, according to the bishop, with a possible recommendation to go to the 2012 United Methodist General Conference, the denomination's top legislative body.

Currently, The United Methodist Church is a provisionary member of Christian Churches Together, but two of its partners in the Pan-Methodist Commission - the African Methodist Episcopal Church and African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church - have decided not to join. The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church is an observer.

In 2005, the Commission on Christian Unity passed a resolution recommending the Pan-Methodist members "act together in respect to membership in the Christian Churches Together and that The United Methodist Church take no further steps toward full membership in the CCT in the absence of substantial concurrence by the other denominations in the Commission on Pan-Methodist Cooperation and Union."

AME Bishop E. Earl McCloud of Atlanta, a member of the Commission on Christian Unity and chairperson of the Pan-Methodist Commission, reminded the group of his denomination's decision and the concern that Christian Churches Together could weaken the National Council of Churches.

"You can't dance with everybody, and sometimes you have to pick your partners," he said.

Concerns about focus
The AME and AME Zion churches also have pulled out of Churches Uniting in Christ, the successor of the longtime Consultation on Church Union. When the Consultation on Church Union was reformed in 2002 as Churches Uniting in Christ, the nine member denominations identified "eliminating racism" as their top moral agenda item.

Lula Howard, a commission member representing the AME Zion Church, said her denomination was concerned that participants of Churches Uniting in Christ have "changed their major focus" from eradicating racism to finding agreement on the issue of the historic episcopate.

The historic episcopate refers to an unbroken line of bishops back to the earliest days of the Christian Church. It is shared by the Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church is a part, as well as the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches and some Lutheran bodies outside the United States. Although the Wesleyan movement grew from the Anglican tradition in the 18th century, The United Methodist Church does not claim its bishops are in the historic episcopate.

The Rev. Joy Moore, a commission member, said that while she recognizes the importance of the historic episcopate issue, the issue of racism "is no longer on the forefront" for Churches Uniting in Christ. She wondered whether United Methodists should consider leaving the organization as well.

While he pointed out that only General Conference could take such action, Oden acknowledged the concerns about the focus shifting from racism to the episcopate. For the denominations in Churches Uniting in Christ, the historic episcopate "has been such a dividing factor," he explained. "It was just the elephant in the room."

Search committee forms
In other business, Bishop Ann Sherer, the commission's president, announced the formation of a search committee to seek a new chief executive. That person would replace the Rev. Larry Pickens, who was not re-elected for 2008 (see UMNS #603, "United Methodist interfaith commission dismisses leader," 12/6/07). Bishop Albert Frederick "Fritz" Mutti has been appointed as the commission's interim leader.

Search committee members are the Rev. Ben Boone, Bishop Minerva Carcaño, the Rev. James Fields Jr., Alissa Johnson, Tracy Merrick, the Rev. Marianne Niesen, Sam Royappa, Blenda Smith, the Rev. Jonathan Ulanday, the Rev. Cynthia Watson, Jerry Ruth Williams and Edna Williams.

The commission took advantage of its meeting location to tour the Birmingham Civil Rights Museum and visit the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, where four girls were killed in a racially motivated bombing in 1963. Members also were honored for their work over the past four years at a dinner hosted by St. James United Methodist Church, where the Rev. James Fields, a commission member, is pastor.

*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York