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BMCR, ebony bishops discuss ways to strengthen black church

4/11/2001 News media contact: Linda Green · (615) 742-5470 · Nashville, Tenn

By M. Garlinda Burton*

HOUSTON (UMNS) -- In an unprecedented two-hour session, leaders of the United Methodist Church's national black caucus met with a majority of the denomination's active -- and four of the retired -- African-American bishops to discuss a myriad of issues facing the black church.

The 34-member executive committee of Black Methodists for Church Renewal (BMCR) and 12 active and four retired "ebony bishops," as they are affectionately called, met April 5 to begin a conversation on ways the two groups can work together to strengthen the ministry of African-American churches.

The gathering, held during BMCR's annual meeting, was especially noteworthy because of the seven African-Americans elected as bishops last year, a record number. Currently, of the 50 active bishops in the United States, 14 are African American. Elections for bishops are held every four years, and bishops are elected for life.

Among the issues that surfaced at the BMCR consultation were:
Â· concerns about recruitment and retention of black clergy;
Â· the possibility of a "talent bank" for appointing black clergy across conference lines to provide top-quality leadership to churches;
Â· ways to engage youth and young adults in the leadership of the black church, including BMCR;
Â· building partnerships among clergy and laity;
Â· how to insure the financial ability and required staffing for BMCR;
Â· raising awareness among black United Methodists--especially new members--about BMCR's existence, history and ongoing work.

The bishops and BMCR leaders expressed the desire to have ongoing conversations, perhaps including a retreat to talk about issues in more depth and develop strategies for addressing them.
On the issue of recruiting clergy, Indiana Area Bishop Woodie W. White declared, "The issue of ministry is not just recruitment, but cultivation. Historically, strong black pastors were nurtured in the black church and encouraged in their calling. BMCR may need to help [bishops] put cultivation of ministers back on the local church agenda."

In response to the concern that some black pastors leave the denomination because there are not churches available in their area, San Francisco Area Bishop Beverly J. Shamana said, "And yet, there are many conferences that have a shortage of black pastors. Maybe we can use the Internet to share across the country what pastors are available and what conferences have churches available."

In the United Methodist Church, bishops appoint pastors annually in their respective areas, usually from the pool of veteran and newly ordained pastors affiliated with their conferences. However, it is not unusual for pastors to be appointed to churches across conference boundaries.

Along with White and Shamana, the active bishops participating in the consultation were: Warner H. Brown, Jr., Denver Area; James R. King, Louisville (Ky.) Area; William W. Morris, Nashville Area; Rhymes H. Moncure, Nebraska Area; Alfred L. Norris, Houston Area; Ernest S. Lyght, New York Area; Felton E. May, Washington (D.C.) Area; Jonathan D. Keaton, Ohio East Area; Linda Lee, Michigan Area, and Gregory V. Palmer, Iowa Area.

Retired bishops at the meeting were: Charles W. Jordan, Upland, Calif.; Edsel A. Ammons, Evanston, Ill., Forrest C. Stith, Bronxville, N.Y., and Melvin G. Talbert, Nashville, Tenn.

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* Burton is editor of Interpreter magazine.

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