United Methodist Connectional Table in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, backs Leadership Gathering recommendations

The Connectional Table, a United Methodist body that coordinates the denomination’s mission, ministries and resources, met Oct. 29-30 in downtown Vancouver, days after the Leadership Gathering concluded in Calgary, Alberta. The board wants the ideas presented there to continue beyond that meeting.

The Oct. 20-24 Leadership Gathering brought together bishops and their chosen lay and clergy participants, more than a third of whom were under age 35, to name the challenges facing the denomination and suggest ways to address them. The gathering produced 16 recommendations aimed at supporting discipleship, empowering younger generations and amplifying global voices.

The Rev. Kim Jenne, a Connectional Table member from the Missouri Conference, said the meeting was productive and that she had noticed continued momentum and enthusiasm from Calgary. She said there is some overlap between people who attended the Leadership Gathering and members of the Connectional Table.

In a statement drafted at the meeting, the Connectional Table committed to engaging the recommendations as they are further developed, encouraging collaboration across the denomination, and helping establish transparent processes for learning, evaluation and accountability. The board’s backing matters, the report notes, because it includes many of the leaders who can help turn the recommendations into reality.

The Connectional Table has 44 voting members, including agency board presidents, bishops and other church leaders from around the globe. The top executives of the denomination’s 13 general agencies have voice but not vote. The board also works closely with other denomination-wide bodies, including the Council of Bishops, and together with the bishops it helped craft the denomination’s new vision statement, which describes a church that forms disciples of Jesus Christ who love boldly, serve joyfully and lead courageously. The source says that vision statement informed many of the Leadership Gathering recommendations, including ideas for evangelism resources, improved service for neighbors and support for young people addressing global crises.

Charmaine Narvadez, a Connectional Table member from the Philippines who also attended the Leadership Gathering, helped draft the statement. As a young adult, she said she was excited to take part not only in the church but also in its decision-making. “What we do right now could affect the future and future generations to come,” she said.

The Connectional Table also continued work on regionalization, the denominational restructuring ratified last year to give the church’s geographic regions equal decision-making authority. The board worked on its ramifications with the Standing Committee on Regional Conference Matters outside the U.S.A., a permanent committee of General Conference, the denomination’s top lawmaking assembly, whose members are mostly from Africa, Europe and the Philippines. The standing committee, the Connectional Table and a grassroots group called the Christmas Covenant together developed regionalization. The restructuring creates nine regional conferences with equal authority to adapt the Book of Discipline. With ratification, the source reports, there are four regional conferences in Africa, three in Europe and one in the Philippines, with one soon to be established in the U.S.