Methodist Church in Mexico gathers for General Conference
Jun. 30, 2006 News media contact: Amanda Bachus * (615) 7425490* Nashville {405}
NOTE: Photographs available at http://umns.umc.org.
By Amanda Bachus*
PUEBLA, México (UMNS) - Mexican Methodists gathered recently at the rural church of El Mesías de San Juan Acozac to establish an agenda for their future.
The 20th General Conference of the Methodist Church of Mexico met May 19-27 under the theme, "Reform the Nation, Extending the Scripture's Holiness." The gathering was inaugurated by Bishop Raúl Rosas González, president of the School of Bishops.
The Rev. Joaquín García, representative of the United Methodist Council of Bishops, preached in the opening service. He urged the delegates and participants "to claim our identity as sons and daughters of God and take upon ourselves the call of Jesus Christ to make disciples in all the nations, baptizing and teaching them."
Sociologists Judith Carro and José García presented projections of population growth. In 2027, the Mexican population will increase to 126 million - with 50 million living in poverty and 16 million in extreme poverty.
Carro and García said unemployment will be aggravated by the decrease in migration to the United States and by the deportation of undocumented persons. It is also estimated that delinquency, alcoholism and drug addiction will increase.
The study presents the following challenges for the church:
* To work as a missionary and social action church in order to reach people, focus on their current reality and revert the tendencies to the problems that lie in wait for the country in the near future. * To collaborate in the resolution of these aggravating social problems. * To prepare to respond with a stewardship plan to the destruction of the natural resources in the world, specifically the natural resources in Mexico.
During the session, objectives were set for the area of Christian development, including developing cell groups to spread the gospel and promote spiritual growth and social action with testimony and experiences of faith, stewardship and mission work.
It was also announced that, for the first time, the Methodist Church in Mexico is sending missionaries to other countries, such as Mauritania and Kurdistán, and maintaining its missionary work in Sierra Tarahumara and in Tepic, Mexico.
The Rev. Graciela Álvarez, bishop of the Methodist Church in Mexico for the past eight years, was preacher for the closing service.
The Methodist Church in Mexico is a diverse church, with churches in large urban centers as well as rural regions, and has a relationship with the United Methodist Church.
*Bachus is director of Spanish Resources and editor of el Intérprete, United Methodist Communications.
News media contact: Amanda Bachus, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5113 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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United Methodist News Service Photos and stories also available at: http://umns.umc.org
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