It is time to leave the comfort zones, leave the familiar for the unfamiliar, leave the seen for the unseen, leave the old for the new, and leave the past for the future. As he talked about leaving home and moving toward a new place together, Jarrett said it is time for new foundations, new sanctuaries, new dwelling places, new places of rest, new strongholds, new shelters from the storms, and new places to defend and live out faith. God offers no options regarding union, Jarrett said. Oneness is not defined as nor limited to union, but surely union is a part of what it means to be one. Union is one evidence of our reconciliation.
Union is out there somewhere.
The way to it awaits our continued quest. The United Methodist Church's 2000 General Conference also mandated that all of the church's boards, agencies and commission allow for up to three members of the Pan-Methodist denominations to be members of their governing entities with voice and vote. Although the African Methodist Episcopal, African Methodist Episcopal Zion and the Christian Methodist Episcopal churches could not specifically name representatives to the 14 United Methodist boards and agencies because of nomination processes, the bishops on the commission did determine which agencies will receive their members. The AME church will send representatives to the Council on Ministries, the United Methodist Publishing House, the Commission on Religion and Race, the Commission on the Status and Role of Women, and the Commission on Archives and History. Receiving members from the AMEZ church will be the Board of Pension and Health Benefits, the Board of Global Ministries, the Board of Higher Education and Ministry, the Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, and the Commission on Communication.