wfn.org | New Men's Commission Organizes

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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 (3174 notes).

Note 3171 by UMNS on Sept. 17, 1996 at 16:20 Eastern (4520 characters).

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CONTACT: Linda Green                             456(10-71B){3171}
         Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470            Sept. 17, 1996

Bishop Ray Owen elected first president
of new Commission on United Methodist Men

     NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) -- Bishop Ray Owen of San Antonio,
Texas, was elected president of the new 23-member Commission on
United Methodist Men during its organizational meeting here Sept.
13-15.
     The 1996 General Conference authorized the United Methodist
Men (UMM) organization to become independent of its parent body,
the churchwide Board of Discipleship.  Beginning Jan. 1, 1997, the
commission will be accountable to the General Council on
Ministries, headquartered in Dayton, Ohio.  The new agency will
coordinate program and resources for men's ministries within the
denomination.
     Owen challenged commission members to "re-image" the
organization that, he said, is most often identified with building
projects, and meeting-eating groups.
     When someone questions the identity of UMM, said Owen, there
is no concrete answer.  He urged the commission to make UMM
"visible, viable and effective" in the local church.
     He expressed hope that commission can inspire men to "reclaim
their responsibility as members of the church, for the church and
in the church."
     The other bishop on the commission -- Joe Pennel of Richmond,
Va. -- also urged commission members to be clear about "who a
United Methodist man is."
     After hours of conversation, visioning and small-group
discernment, commission members adopted a mission statement,
affirming that their mission "is to assist men to know Jesus
Christ, to serve Him, to grow spiritually and seek daily to do his
will."
     To fulfill their mission statement, members adopted goals to
guide them as they develop programs for recruiting, training,
supporting and implementing men's ministries.  Scouting ministries
were affirmed as an integral part of the organization's mission.
     Search for a top staff executive is being directed by a
seven-member committee headed by Pennel.  Deadline for
applications is Nov. 15.  The search committee will take a
nomination to the commission's next meeting early in February. 
Final election will be made by the General Council on Ministries.
     A transitional task force was created but staff of the Men's
Division of the Board of Discipleship, headed by Foye Webb, was
empowered to deal with business and contractual needs in the
interim.
     In other actions, the commission:
     * voted to incorporate and approved a charter;
     * appointed chairpersons to five standing committees;
     * elected liaisons between the commission and the National
Association of Annual Conference Presidents of UMM;
     *  authorized the development of a UMM home page for the
Internet within 45 days;
     *  set a goal of 6,002 men to attend a quadrennial congress
sponsored by UMM July 11-13, 1997, at Purdue University,
Lafayette, Ind., the number needed to fill every seat in the
university's Music Hall.
     A motion to enter dialogue with Promise Keepers was defeated. 
Those supporting rejection of the motion argued that more time is
needed before the commmission can effectively engage in such
conversations.
     Other officers elected were: vice president, Chuck Jones,
Upper Arlington, Ohio; secretary, Scott Jackson, Altadena, Calif.;
treasurer, Jack Brown, O'Fallon, Ill. 
     James Snead, former staff executive of UMM and executive
director of the United Methodist Men's Foundation, was elected
archivist, and Brent Smith, an official at the General Council on
Finance and Administration, was elected assistant treasurer.
#  #  #

     NOTE TO EDITORS: UMNS sent a story dated July 30, giving the
names of people from your annual conference elected to serve on
churchwide agencies. However, that list did not include additional
members elected to assure representation by gender, race, age,
geography, church size and expertise.

Additional members:
Jeffrey M. Cox, North Indiana Annual Conference
Santiago Heredia, Rio Grande Annual Conference
Scott Jackson, California-Pacific Annual Conference
Kevin M. James, Florida Annual Conference
Tracy S. Malone, Northern Illinois Annual Conference.

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