At its final meeting of the quadrennium, the board of directors of the General Board of Church and Society introduced the Revised Social Principles to entire church.
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Legislation for the revised United Methodist Social Principles has been submitted to the 2020 General Conference and is online in seven languages for review and discussion. The document is now pending approval of the 2020 General Conference.
"Today is the culmination of an eight-year journey that began when the 2012 General Conference first called the General Board of Church and Society to revise the Social Principles to become more globally relevant, theologically sound, and more succinct," said Bishop Sally Dyck, resident Bishop of the Chicago Episcopal Area and President of the board of directors. "Church and Society faithfully stewarded the process, fulfilling the mandate of the General Conference."
The new document responds to General Conference by consolidating the six sections into four. The principles in the Nurturing Community are incorporated into the Social Community, while principles from the World Community section are integrated throughout.
Each section is introduced by relevant Scriptural passages and excerpts from John Wesley's writings.
First adopted by the United Methodist Church in 1972, this is the first time the entire Social Principles document was revised as a whole. During this revision, United Methodists from the Central Conferences participated actively throughout process, offering specific recommendations on how the document could be a resource for ministry in congregations across Africa, the Philippines and Europe.
The writing team included over 50 members from Central Conferences in the Philippines, the Congo, West Africa, Central and Southern Europe, and Northern and Eurasia, in addition to the five U.S. Jurisdictions. Thousands United Methodists crossed borders to read and give feedback on draft versions of the document.
To read the Revised Social Principles in one of seven languages, please visit www.umcjustice.org/sp2020.
The General Board of Church and Society is the social justice and public policy agency of The United Methodist Church. With offices on Capitol Hill and at the United Nations, Church and Society advocates for the transformation of the world through ministries of justice and peace.
excerpt from a news release by Kurt Adams, General Board of Church and Society website
The World Service Fund provides basic financial support to program-related general agencies, which are especially important to the common vision, mission, and ministry of The United Methodist Church. Through World Service funding, agencies support annual conferences and local congregations in living out God's mission for the worldwide Church. General agencies also provide essential services and ministries beyond the scope of individual local congregations and annual conferences through services and ministries that are highly focused, flexible, and capable of rapid response.
