The United Methodist Committee on Faith and Order is one of the bodies helping to develop the General Book of Discipline. The committee is responsible for guiding the denomination in informed theological reflection and discernment.
The committee, whose members include United Methodist scholars and ecumenical leaders from around the globe, has additional tasks assigned by last year’s General Conference. The group met together immediately before the Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters’ meeting in Atlanta to do its work.
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“I’m delighted with the committee we’ve got,” said Bishop David A. Bard, the committee’s chair. He also leads the Michigan and Illinois Great Rivers conferences.
“Our meeting has gone very well. People are active and engaged. And there’s a really good energy.”
The committee has four main projects over the next four years, each with its own working group.
- Revising the proposed theological statement “Sent in Love: A United Methodist Understanding of the Church,” which articulates why United Methodists have church in the first place.
- Reviewing United Methodist sacramental theology in light of online worship that gained popularity during the COVID pandemic.
- Drafting a statement on Christian unity and interchurch relationships.
- Examining the theology of regionalization.
As part of the work on sacramental theology, the committee plans to conduct a survey to determine how churches with online services are handling the sacrament of Holy Communion.
“Not that practice necessarily dictates the theological reflection,” Bard said. “But it’s good to know what’s happening out there.”
The committee is particularly eager to complete its work on “Sent in Love,” a project of more than 16 years. General Conference last year asked the committee to revise the Sent in Love document to better reflect the worldwide nature of the church and make the writing more accessible to people without seminary degrees.
“‘Sent in Love’ is our basic understanding of the church,” Bard said. “We want all of the other pieces to be consistent with that, so we don’t have a statement about unity that somehow doesn’t fit.”
During its recent meeting the committee also sent a letter of support to Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, whose Jan. 21 sermon at Washington National Cathedral has drawn attention worldwide.
The sermon has prompted both vitriol and praise after she urged President Trump to show mercy to vulnerable people. “You inspired and encouraged us,” the committee wrote. “As a committee we found your sermon profoundly rooted in the prophetic tradition of our shared Christian faith, while being delivered with gentleness and respect.”
story by Heather Hahn, multimedia news reporter, United Methodist News Service
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