Connectional Table

Connectional Table
The Rev. Giovanni Arroyo, top executive of the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race, gives communion to the Rev. Theon Johnson III, a fellow Connectional Table member and senior pastor of Campbell United Methodist Church in Campbell, Calif., during the Connectional Table’s Oct. 29-30 meeting in Vancouver. The leadership body, which coordinates United Methodist mission and ministry, met just days after the conclusion of the Leadership Gathering in Calgary, Alberta. Photo by Paul Gómez, United Methodist Communications.

Group pushes Leadership Gathering ideas forward

The Connectional Table, which coordinates The United Methodist Church’s ministry and resources, affirmed the work of the Leadership Gathering. That’s significant because the Connectional Table can help give life to the gathering’s guidance.
Church History
A 1961 map shows the location of churches and the borders of episcopal areas within the Central Jurisdiction, which the Methodist Church established to segregate Black members from the wider church. The union that formed The United Methodist Church in 1968 dissolved the Central Jurisdiction. During the Council of Bishops spring meeting in Jacksonville, Fla., bishops explored the legacy of the Central Jurisdiction as denominational leaders consider changes to the geographic jurisdictional system. Image courtesy of Archives and History.

Lessons from past shape jurisdictions’ future

United Methodist bishops learned more about the legacy of the segregated Central Jurisdiction and history of the jurisdictional system, as leaders contemplate possible changes to that system.
Connectional Table
Bishop Ruby-Nell Estrella of the Manila Episcopal Area shares her excitement on the Connectional Table’s October meeting being held in the Philippines. Screengrab by Matthan Bang-asan, United Methodist Communications, via YouTube by UM News.

Connectional Table lives into new vision at Philippines gathering

The October meeting provided a time for fellowship as a worldwide community and space to celebrate and discern the denomination’s new vision.
General Church
The Council of Bishops and Connectional Table have collaborated in developing a new vision statement for the denomination: The United Methodist Church forms disciples of Jesus Christ who, empowered by the Holy Spirit, love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously in local communities and worldwide connections. Earth image by NASA Space Observatory; graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

Bishops unveil vision for United Methodist Church

United Methodist bishops — in collaboration with the Connectional Table — have adopted a vision that says United Methodists “love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously.”

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