From left, Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball, Bishop Kenneth Carter and Bishop David Yemba.
From: United Methodist Communications
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United Methodist Council of Bishops has announced the membership of the Commission on a Way Forward.
“After three months of diligent and prayerful discernment, we have selected 8 bishops, 11 laity, 12 elders and 1 deacon to serve on the commission,” said Bishop Bruce R. Ough, president of the Council of Bishops. “This group is representative of our theological diversity.”
Ough said the makeup of the 32-member commission is roughly comparable to U.S. and Central Conference membership.
All of the members of the commission have already indicated their willingness and availability to serve. The team of moderators – Bishop Sandra Steiner-Ball, Bishop Ken Carter and Bishop David Yemba –soon will convene the commission to begin to organize its work and finalize its meeting schedule.
The commission’s mission is to “bring together persons deeply committed to the future(s) of The United Methodist Church, with an openness to developing new relationships with each other and exploring the potential future(s) of our denomination in light of General Conference and subsequent annual, jurisdictional and central conference actions.”
The 2016 General Conference gave a specific mandate to the Council of Bishops to lead The United Methodist Church in discerning and proposing a way forward through the present impasse related to human sexuality and the consequent questions about unity and covenant.
The commission is a group appointed by the Council of Bishops to assist it in fulfilling this mandate. As such, the council has appointed bishops from across the global connection to serve on the commission alongside laity and clergy. While clergy and laity will vote at a General Conference on these matters, the bishops have the responsibility to lead the church. Thus, the commission is designed to inform the council’s leadership of the General Conference. After hearing concerns that the proposed composition did not include enough laity, three additional laypersons were added from the original pool of more than 300 nominees.
At its fall meeting, scheduled for Oct. 30-Nov. 2, the council will make a decision about a called General Conference and will review a plan to conduct additional and complementary work in annual conferences designed to broaden the conversation with hundreds of lay and clergy members.
Bishop L. Jonathan Holston, resident bishop of the South Carolina Annual Conference, issued this statement in response to the announcement of the membership of the commission:
Bishop Holston
“At the 2016 General Conference, the bishops’ plan for the Commission on a Way Forward was adopted.
“The Council of Bishops has prayerfully considered the composition of this commission and recently selected its membership. We will be discussing the next steps at our Council of Bishops meeting this coming week.
“In the midst of these uncertain times, we are facing difficult and complex issues that divide many of our churches and people on human sexuality. While they do their work, I encourage United Methodists in South Carolina to pray for the commission to earnestly seek God’s will for the United Methodist Church.
“As we worship and serve together, let us renew our commitment at the local church to walk by faith and not by sight, as well as to be in prayer for the work of the Commission on a Way Forward.”
The members of the Commission on a Way Forward are:
Moderators
Sandra Steiner Ball – USA, West Virginia, bishop, female
Kenneth Carter – USA, Florida, bishop, male
David Yemba – Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, bishop, male
Members
Jorge Acevedo – USA, Florida, elder, male
Brian Adkins – USA, California, elder, male
Jacques Umembudi Akasa – Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, laity, male
Tom Berlin – USA, Virginia, elder, male
Matt Berryman – USA, Illinois, laity, male
Helen Cunanan – Philippines, elder, female
David Field – Europe, Switzerland, laity, male
Ciriaco Francisco – Philippines, bishop, male
Grant Hagiya – USA, California, bishop, male
Aka Dago-Akribi Hortense – Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, laity, female
Scott Johnson – USA, New York, laity, male
Jessica Lagrone – USA, Kentucky, elder, female
Thomas Lambrecht – USA, Texas, elder, male
Myungae Kim Lee – USA, New York, laity, female
Julie Hager Love – USA, Kentucky, deacon, female
Mazvita Machinga – Africa, Zimbabwe, laity, female
Patricia Miller – USA, Indiana, laity, female
Mande Guy Muyombo – Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, elder, male
Eben Nhiwatiwa – Africa, Zimbabwe, bishop, male
Dave Nuckols – USA, Minnesota, laity, male
Casey Langley Orr – USA, Texas, elder, female
Gregory Palmer – USA, Ohio, bishop, male
Donna Pritchard – USA, Oregon, elder, female
Tom Salsgiver – USA, Pennsylvania, elder, male
Robert Schnase – USA, Texas, bishop, male
Jasmine Rose Smothers – USA, Georgia, elder, female
Leah Taylor – USA, Texas, laity, female
Deborah Wallace-Padgett – USA, Alabama, bishop, female
Rosemarie Wenner – Europe, Germany, bishop, female
Alice Williams – USA, Florida, laity, female
John Wesley Yohanna – Africa, Nigeria, bishop, male
Alfiado S. Zunguza – Africa, Mozambique, elder, male
