wfn.org | Lay leaders celebrate church's global nature

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

March 13, 2002	News media contact: Linda Green7(615)742-54707Nashville,
Tenn.     10-71B{104}

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - The United Methodist Church's lay leaders took a
step closer to becoming a more global organization by holding their annual
meeting in Hawaii, in hopes of drawing more people from outside the United
States.

Last year, the Association of Annual Conference Lay Leaders of the United
Methodist Church began emphasizing the denomination's global nature by
dropping the word "national" from its name. The group also expanded to
include conference lay leaders from the central conferences of Europe,
Africa and the Philippines.   

The move to make the organization reflective of the entire United Methodist
Church was evident at the group's March 1-3 meeting in Honolulu, when more
than 100 conference lay leaders, associate lay leaders, spouses and guests
discussed what it means to be a global church. 

The association provided financial assistance to enable lay leaders from
central conferences to attend. Seven lay leaders from the North Germany,
East Mindanao Philippines, Northwest Philippines and Northern Philippines
annual conferences provided their perspectives of a global church and shared
concerns about the future.

Each annual conference lay leaders is elected to promote lay ministry and
develop lay leadership in partnership with the bishop and the clergy. The
church has 65 annual conferences in the United States and 52 in Europe,
Africa and the Philippines.   

Affiliated with the United Methodist Board of Discipleship, the association
seeks to strengthen the presence, voice and role of the laity in the church
and in the world. The group's primary goal is to assist annual conference
lay leaders in training, supporting and advocating for district and local
church lay leaders.

"The United Methodist Church, with 117 annual conferences around the world,
shares a common name, but if we are serious about being the church we are
called to be and have expressed a desire to become, we must begin to think
and act globally by considering the global implications of our relationship
with one another," said Gloria Holt of Trussville, Ala., who was elected
association president at the meeting. 

"We must begin to know and welcome into the family our sisters and brothers
in other countries around the world, (and) we must all be willing to make
some changes in our way of thinking and acting," she said. "We must be
willing to give up some of our power and positions and must truly be willing
to join hands with one another to fulfill the mission of the church." Each
person must be engaged in partnerships, and the laity must be empowered
worldwide to be about the business of the church, she said.

Hosted by the denomination's Hawaii District, association members had
opportunities to participate in community service work and in a cultural
experience that gave them a better understanding of the church's local
ministry.

Darlene Webster, a lay leader of the Peninsula-Delaware Annual Conference,
appreciated the connections made with central conference participants.
Becoming a global church involves "building relations and making connections
with our brothers and sisters in Christ from other countries," she said.
"When we do that, we are breaking down the walls of Jericho." 

During the meeting, a panel of churchwide executives offered insights into
fulfilling God's purpose for the church and developing a global nature.
Moderated by Bishop Charles Wesley Jordan of Upland, Calif., the panelists
included the Rev. Karen Greenwaldt, top executive at the United Methodist
Board of Discipleship; the Rev. Jerome del Pino, top executive of the United
Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry; the Rev. Jim Winkler, top
executive of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society; and Dan
Church, top executive of the churchwide Council on Ministries. 

Greenwaldt focused on building partnerships and sustainable systems of
support for ministry in the central conferences, including resource delivery
and the training and support of leaders. Partnerships "must be built from
mutual relationships rather than from paternalistic models," she said.  

In addition to Holt, other elected officers include Webster of Princess
Anne, Md., secretary; Julius Archibald, Plattsburgh, N.Y., past president;
Tommy Gleaton, Denver, vice president; Mike Krost, Chillicothe, Ill.,
treasurer; Lenora Thompson, Philadelphia, at-large member; Bill Wood, El
Paso, Texas, at-large member; and Rolando Dizon, West Philippines, at-large
member from the central conferences.

The lay leaders also:
7	Made seed grants to the North Central New York, North Arkansas, West
Ohio, West Middle Philippines and East Mindanao Philippines conferences to
train lay people.
7	Paid tribute to Tim Moss, who retired last December from the Board
of Discipleship. He had served as the association's liaison to the board.
7	Set the theme for the 2003 meeting in Fargo, N.D., as "One in
Spirit-All in Ministry."
# # #
Lin Doyle, secretary of the Association of Annual Conference Lay Leaders,
provided basic information for this report.

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United Methodist News Service
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