wfn.org | Changes Regarding Baptism, Membership

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3471 notes).

Note 3468 by UMNS on March 4, 1997 at 16:11 Eastern (2375 characters).

Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

CONTACT: Thomas S. McAnally                      114(10-71B){3468}
         Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470             March 4, 1997

NOTE TO EDITORS:  This story may be used as a sidebar for UMNS
feature on baptism #113  {3467}.

Changes regarding baptism,
church membership

     Along with a new "understanding of baptism" adopted by
delegates to the 1996 United Methodist General Conference in
Denver have come several significant changes that relate to
baptism, care of members and record keeping. Some of these
changes, with paragraph references in the new 1996 Book of
Discipline are:
     * local church membership now includes baptized members and
professing members (Para. 215);
     * baptized individuals, whether infant or adult, are members
of the local church, denomination and universal church (Para.
215.1, 216, 222.1);
     * baptized membership includes all baptized persons who have
received Christian baptism in the local congregation or whose
membership has been transferred to the local church subsequent to
baptism elsewhere (Para. 215.1);
     * "older" vows of membership are replaced with those in the
hymnal services of the baptismal covenant, retaining the vow to
receive and profess the Christian faith as contained in the
Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments (Para. 217);
     * emphasis on Christ's action in incorporating people into
the church is balanced with the necessity of the congregation to
nurture the baptized with a comprehensive, life-long process of
growing in grace and formation in the baptismal covenant (Para.
222);
     * for statistical purposes, church membership is equated with
the roll of professing membership (Para. 222.5);
     * how individuals may be removed from and returned to the
roll of baptized members (Para. 243);
     * urges pastors to encourage the reaffirmation of baptismal
covenant and renewal of the baptismal vows at various stages of
life (Para. 331.1c);
     * asks pastors to counsel people seeking rebaptism to
participate in a service of reaffirmation of baptismal vows and
clarify why re-baptism is inappropriate (Para. 332.2c and 222.2b)

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