Global Methodism Arrives in Fort Worth

Historically known for being a stop along the cattle-driving Chisholm Trail, Fort Worth recently corralled United Method-ists from all over the globe for the 2008 General Conference. Beginning on April 23, the international delegates spent 10 days sorting through 1,564 proposals, singing hymns in worship ser-vices, and deliberating over pressing issues facing the 11.5 mil-lion-member United Methodist Church.

Delegates descended upon “Cowtown” from around the world, with 278 representatives coming from the Central Conferences (Africa, Europe, and the Philippines)—100 more than attended the last gathering. Others came from autonomous Methodist churches in places such as Great Britain, Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Panama, Brazil, Cuba, Uruguay, Chile, Peru and Mexico. Other countries sending delegates included Korea, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Myanmar, Hong Kong, the Republic of China (Taiwan) and Ja-pan. The proceedings were translated into nine different lan-guages through a team of 140 translators.
Under the theme “A Future with Hope—Making Disciples for Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World,” the opening worship service celebrated communion from a wooden table fashioned from trees destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. The Gen-eral Conference pulpit was also made from the storm-damaged wood of the Gulfside Assembly retreat center in Waveland, Mississippi.

While in Fort Worth, United Methodism officially added its largest addition to membership since the Methodist and Evan-gelical United Brethren Church merged in 1968. On the fortieth anniversary of that historic merger, the 700,000 members of the French-speaking Methodist Protestant Church of Côte d’Ivoire received its full rights and responsibilities.

As if to highlight the increasing nature of United Methodism’s global nature, the assembly was addressed by Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a United Methodist. “This is a special honor for me,” she said. “I am the first African leader and the first female president to address the General Conference of the United Methodist Church.”

The General Conference, held every four years, is the top legis-lative body for the denomination and is the only group that can speak officially for the church as a whole. An equal number of clergy and lay delegates make decisions on ministry and mis-sional directions for the denomination. Statements to be in-cluded in the church’s Social Principles and positions on other religious and societal issues are adopted.    

For more information see the following websites:
http://www.goodnewsmag.org/
http://www.umcom.org/
http://www.circuitrider.org/    
http://www.umph.org/resources/publications/circuit_default.html