By Benedita Penicela Nhambiu, Connectional Table member
The Connectional Table, in its efforts to steward The United Methodist Church’s mission to create disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world, divides its efforts into two working groups. Each group focuses on a different but equally vital component of the Church: its worldwide nature and its vital congregations.
The purpose of the Worldwide Nature of the Church Working Group is twofold:
To uncover all matters relating to the worldwide nature of The United Methodist Church and connecting them with the common mission, vision, core values and resources.
To facilitate conversations across the connection that may lead to legislative changes relating to the worldwide nature of The UMC at General Conference.
To achieve its purpose, the working group is further divided into three advisory groups: the Chapter 5 Advisory Group, the U.S. Contextual Ministries Advisory Group and the General Church Council Advisory Group.
The Chapter 5 Advisory Group serves in a consultative role with the Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters and the Committee on Faith and Order. They work in partnership with these two bodies to revise Chapter 5 for a General Book of Discipline to be proposed at the 2020 General Conference.
The members of the joint group (CT and Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters) are working in three subgroups on a variety of issues, including:
A theology of agency,
Researching and
Editing the Book of Discipline.
At a recent meeting in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, the group affirmed the formulation of a “theology of agency†as developed by a subgroup in 2017. The group also developed a supplement list of values to guide the six-person writing team as they develop new legislation. The team will present its final proposal by the end of 2018.
While the Chapter 5 group works on adapting the Book of Discipline, the U.S. Contextual Ministries Advisory Group is trying to find a way for the Church in the U.S. to do the work required by the proposed General Book of Discipline. The Central Conferences have the authority to make necessary changes in other forums, but the only current option for the U.S. Church is the General Conference.
The group is engaging church leaders in conversation around the need for the U.S. to have a way to make decisions that enable or enhance its contextual ministry. Its intention is to continue the engagements already outlined and add some additional groups (such as directors of connectional ministries and conference lay leaders) in the US. In addition, the group is looking at the impact a shift in structure might cause and its implications, including legal ones. Lastly, the group is also considering a possible proposal for General Conference 2020, and whether that might include a legislative piece and constitutional amendments which could enable a plan.
The General Church Council Advisory Group is based on a General Conference 2016 petition that called for the creation of a missional collaboration group made up of CT and Council of Bishops (COB) members from our worldwide church. This group was tasked with establishing and recommending a model for a General Church Council to align with the work of the Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters (StCCCM) and the Committee on Faith and Order (CFO) for a General Book of Discipline.
The petition defined this group’s tasks as:
To provide a forum for conversations with key constituents within our primary partnerships to foster wide investment in a “General Church Council†concept; and
To develop legislation to create a General Church Council replacing the Connectional Table in 2020 to accompany the General Book of Discipline legislation. The General Church Council legislation will address the membership of the General Church Council, name the essential functions, and set a timeline for implementation.
The General Church Council Advisory Group is currently working to establish itself as a “global forum†and build membership that is inclusive of race, gender and age and reflects the geography of the church.
Benedita Penicela Nhambiu is a lay person from Mozambique. She lives in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, and has been a member of the United Methodist Church since childhood. Having served for two quadrennia as secretary of the Africa Central Conference, she now represents her central conference in her second tenure on the Connectional Table. Benedita serves the CT as convener of the Worldwide Nature Working Group. For the last two quadrennia, she served in the Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters. Benedita has been a delegate to General Conference three times—in 2004, 2008 and 2012—and is passionate about the United Methodist Church.