4 Florida United Methodist Review Online

Florida supports amendments to denomination’s constitution

By Michael Wacht

LAKELAND — Delegates to the Dare to Share Jesus 2001 Florida Annual Conference Event here voted overwhelmingly in favor of 11 amendments to the United Methodist Church’s constitution May 30.

The amendments, which were passed at the 2000 General Conference in Cleveland, Ohio, are being considered for ratification by United Methodists throughout the world. The Council of Bishops will certify the amendments if they receive approval from two-thirds of the total number of people voting at all of the annual conferences in the United States and in the Central Conferences in other parts of the world. The voting is expected to be completed later this year.

Five of the amendments seek to change the United Methodist Church’s understanding of baptism as it relates to membership. One amendment would create two categories of members within the church, baptized and professing. The other four amendments change portions of the constitution to reflect that only professing members can hold office and participate in the government of the church.

Baptized members would be members of a local church, but not allowed to hold office in the church or be elected to annual, jurisdictional or general conferences. Baptized membership does not expire. Anyone baptized in the United Methodist Church or in another Christian denomination who later transfers to the United Methodist Church would be considered a baptized member. Professing members would be people who declare within the United Methodist Church their own faith in God.

While several delegates questioned the theology of the change, more than 85 percent of the 1,123 voting delegates gave their approval.

Nearly 99 percent of the delegates voted to add a paragraph to the constitution that recognizes racism as a sin and declares the church’s intention to eliminate racism within the church and society.

More than 91 percent of the delegates voted to change the definition of young person as it relates to representation at the annual conference level. The new definition calls for two young people to represent each district at annual conference, one between the ages of 12 and 17 and the other between the ages of 18 and 30.

The remaining four amendments change the language in the preamble and parts of the constitution to reflect the merger between the Evangelical United Brethren and the Methodist Church 30 years ago. Those amendments were each approved by more than 99 percent of delegates.