Council of Bishops Names 32 Commission Members

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 Ken Carter, Bishop Sandra Steiner-Ball and Bishop David Yemba -- will soon convene the Commission to begin to organize their work and finalize their 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 the Council 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 their fall meeting (October 30 – November 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. The members of the Commission are: MEMBERSHIP 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 MODERATORS Sandra Steiner Ball USA, West Virginia, bishop, female Kenneth Carter USA, Florida, bishop, male David Yemba Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, bishop, male