wfn.org | Council to meet in Switzerland after 'global experience'

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Oct. 5, 1998  Contact: Thomas S. McAnally*(615)742-5470*Nashville, Tenn.
{565}

NOTE: A list of GCOM members and their assignments follows this story. 

By United Methodist News Service

Governing members of the United Methodist General Council on Ministries
(GCOM) will hold their regular semi-annual meeting in Switzerland Oct.
26-30 immediately following a "global experience" in Europe, Africa and
the Philippines.

Teams of three or four members and staff will visit  22 locations in
central conferences outside the United States. The purpose of the Global
Experience trip is to equip the GCOM members with a "perspective that
will shape a vision for global ministry in all places and all
structures" of the denomination.

This marks the first time in United Methodist history that the governing
board of a churchwide agency has met outside the United States. The
entire council will hold its regular meeting at United Methodist-related
Hotel Viktoria in Hasliberg-Reuti, Switzerland.

The 76-member GCOM, chaired by Bishop J. Woodrow Hearn, has offices in
Dayton, Ohio. Its top staff executive is C. David Lundquist.

The global nature of the United Methodist Church -- where eight of nine
members reside in the United States --  has increasingly been an issue
for the denomination in recent years. While officially a world church,
United Methodism is seen critically by some as a U.S. denomination with
overseas appendages.  

Under the guidance of Filipino Bishop Emerito P. Nacpil, the Council of
Bishops grappled with the issue for four years leading up to the 1996
General Conference. Delegates at the conference, the church's top
legislative body, took no action but asked that the issue continue to be
studied by a new Connectional Process Team. The team has been asked to
propose a "transformational direction" for the church, including a look
at possible changes in organization and structure.  

The GCOM is charged by the church's Book of Discipline to "facilitate
the church's program life . . . encourage, coordinate and support the
general agencies between sessions of the General Conference . . . (and)
study the connectional structures" of the church. It is also asked to
"devise and implement measures to assure full, effective representation
and participation" of central conference members in the life" of the
church.

Eight of the GCOM's members, including one bishop, reside outside the
United States. 

 # # #

Assignment of GCOM teams in Global Experience:

Western Angola Area
Danita Anderson, Aurora, Ill.
Janet Forbes, Cheyenne, Wyo.
Dorothy McMahan,  Penobscot, Maine
Oystein Olsen, Oslo, Norway

Zimbabwe Area
John Cooke, East Aurora, N.Y.
Tyrone Gordon, Wichita, Kan.
Renee McCleary, Lawnside, N.J.
Angelin Simmons, Orangeburg, S.C.
Donald Williams, Hudsonville, Mich.

Manila Philippines Area
Thom White Wolf Fassett, Washington
Betty Gordon, Bluefield, W.Va.
Miguel Velez-Saez, Villa Fontana Carolina, Puerto Rico
Donald Hayashi, Dayton, Ohio
Linda Bales, Dayton, Ohio

Baguio Philippines Area
Betty Gordon, Bluefield, W.Va.
Miguel Velez-Saez , Villa Fontana Carolina, Puerto Rico
Donald Hayashi, Dayton, Ohio

Davao Philippines Area
Thom White Wolf Fassett, Washington
Linda Bales, Dayton, Ohio 

Central and Southern Europe Area (Austria)
Anita Kay Archer, Jackson, Tenn.
Edward Paup, Portland, Ore.
Sam Wynn, New Bern, N.C.

Central and Southern Europe Area (Czech Republic)
Jeffery Benson, Plymouth, Calif.
Karen Booker, Woodbridge, Va.
Woodrow Hearn, Houston, Texas
Carolyn Johnson, West Lafayette, Ind.

Central and Southern Europe Area (Switzerland and France)
Laura Simmons, Morgantown, W.Va.
Jeannie Trevino-Teddlie, Fort Worth, Texas
Miguel Velez-Andujar, Atlanta

Central and Southern Europe Area (Hungary)
Richard Parker, Babylon, N.Y.
Barbara Thompson, Washington
Andris Salter, Dayton, Ohio

Central and Southern Europe Area (Poland)
Garry Campbell, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Cecelia Long, Evanston, Ill.
Susan Ruach, Bloomington, Ind.

Northern Europe Area (Denmark)
Kasongo Lenge, Chingola Zambia
Rosa Winfree, Charlotte, N.C.
Harold Wright, Dayton, Ohio

Northern Europe Area (Estonia)
Lindsey Davis, Atlanta
James King, Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Kathi Austin Mahle, Minneapolis

Northern Europe Area (Finland)
Amelia Finau, Inglewood, Calif.
Mary Hayenga, Andover, S.D.
Daniel Soliz, Dallas

Northern Europe Area (Latvia)
Nellie Long, Oklahoma City
Jack Loflin, Jackson, Miss.
Tom Watson, Kearney, Neb.

Northern Europe Area (Lithuania)
Stephanie Hixon, Evanston, Ill.
Jeff Quick, Bryan, Texas
Nelda Barrett Murraine, Dayton, Ohio

Northern Europe Area (Norway)
Solomon Chiripasi, Harare, Zimbabwe
Edwin Zeiders, Harrisburg, Pa. 
Judy Rife, Wheaton, Md.

Northern Europe Area (Sweden)
Austin Frederick, Victoria, Texas
Liliana Garcia, Chicago
Chris Harman, Louisville, Ky.
Franelli Pableo, Davao City, Philippines

Eurasia Area (Moscow, Russia)
Marilina de Carvalho, Luanda, Angola
John Hopkins, Minneapolis
David Lundquist, Dayton, Ohio
Tom McAnally, Nashville, Tenn.

Eurasia Area (St. Petersburg, Russia)
Gordon Goodgame, Lake Junaluska, N.C.
Stephanie Gray, Evanston, Ill.
Jody Moxley, Titusville, Fla.

Germany Area (Dresden/Chemnitz)
Ardith Allread, San Jose, Calif.
William Carter, New York
Velva Hardaway, Dayton, Ohio

Germany Area (Frankfurt Am Main)
Joseph Harris, Nashville, Tenn.
Shirley Montoya, Kayentah, Ariz.
Lola Conrad, Dayton, Ohio

Germany Area (Hamburg)
Charles Johnson, Columbia, S.C.
Peter Marubitoba, Jalingo, Nigeria
Donald Ott, Southfield, Mich.
Sally Vincentsen, Dayton, Ohio

Germany Area (Reutllingen, Stuttgart)
Mary Silva, San Antonio, Texas
Charles Yrigoyen, Madison, N.J.
Maxine Clarke Beach, Dayton, Ohio
Chester Jones, Pine Bluff, Ark.

United Methodist News Service
(615)742-5470
Releases and photos also available at
http://www.umc.org/umns/