The recently reported recommendation from Bishop Latrelle Easterling of the Baltimore-
Washington Annual Conference demonstrates an unusually refreshing air of openness about it.
This news from a blog post by the Wesleyan Covenant Association:
In a series of meetings held recently in the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference, Bishop Latrelle Easterling urged pastors to make information available to their congregations about matters coming before the General Conference and the options local churches would need to consider if legislation is adopted. At one meeting, Bishop Easterling said, “Pastors have a responsibility to be sharing this information. There ought to be some times when . . . individuals are pointed toward resources where they read and make themselves aware. There is a whole website on the Protocol that one can go to. The Global Methodist Church has a website that one can go and peruse. And if, when there are opportunities for some of these broader conversations throughout the districts and conference, individuals should be told that that is happening so they can avail themselves of such information.” We thank Bishop Easterling for her fair and wise counsel.
The legislation implementing the Protocol expressly provides for the sharing of information freely, fairly, and fully. It requires that new Methodist denominations that emerge from a restructured UM Church “be allowed to share information . . . with central conference and annual conference members, as well as local church leaders,” and that “United Methodist bishops, clergy, and other leaders shall forward pertinent information to central and annual conference members, clergy, and local church leaders, and they shall not hinder representatives . . . from meeting with interested parties.”
https://wesleyancovenant.org/2021/10/07/sharing-information-freely-fairly-and-fully/
Yes, indeed! Healthy organizations ensure and encourage the free flow of information. Fearful organizations attempt to restrict the flow of information or dismiss the need for information entirely.
If you’d like to investigate the various perspectives brought to the expected division of the United Methodist Church for yourself, explore our website. We have direct links on the website to the traditionalists, centrist, progressive, and liberationist groups. You can see for yourself these differing visions for the church’s future. In addition, we have links to the Protocol of Grace and Reconciliation Through Separation as well as to the emerging Global Methodist Church, and the proposed Book of Doctrines and Discipline for the Global Methodist Church.
An Encouraging Word:
The mission of the Northern Illinois Wesleyan Covenant Association is to network with, provide resources for, and assist laity, clergy, local congregations, and disaffected United Methodists in the area to find their way in this transitional period of Methodism. We believe that right now the laity, clergy, and congregations of our area are best served by being aware, informed, connected, and prepared for the change coming when the General Conference meets next year (August 29-September 6, 2022).
You’re Invited !
ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING OF THE NORTHERN ILLINOIS WESLEYAN COVENANT ASSOCIATION
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2021
3:00 – 4:30 pm
St. Charles Public Library / Huntley Community Room
1 South 6th Ave.
St. Charles, Illinois
Rev. Dr. Scott Field
NIC Clergy (Ret.)
