NEW YORK – The world was a “fragile” place when the Rev Dr George Freeman assumed staff leadership of the World Methodist Council a decade ago.
Less than two months after his election during the 2001 World Methodist Conference in Brighton, England, the Sept 11 terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania suddenly made it difficult for church members to obtain visas and travel internationally. The unstable financial market had an impact on the council’s budget.
“The fragile nature of the whole world and the fear that 9/11 put into people was also very painful,” he recalled.
Today, as the 64-year-old pastor from the United Methodist Virginia Annual (regional) Conference, prepares to retire, the council’s 74 members, representing more than 132 countries, have strengthened their bonds and are looking to the future.
United Methodist Bishop William Hutchinson, who is completing a five-year term in the council’s presidium, believes the Rev Dr Freeman has given “exceptional leadership” to the council.
“He has travelled tirelessly, he has led with a strong theological grounding, he has led with great openness to all communions of the Wesleyan family,” said the bishop, who leads the denomination’s Louisiana Area.
Nominated to succeed the Rev Dr Freeman in the General Secretary position is Bishop Ivan M. Abrahams, most recently the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, which covers six countries, including South Africa.
The election of Bishop Abrahams, the first top executive for the council to be selected from outside the United States, will take place just before the Aug 4-8, 2011 World Methodist Conference meeting in Durban, South Africa.
One of the purposes of the council, the Rev Dr Freeman explained, “This to be that place where the (Wesleyan) family can come together for accountability, for mutual support, for affirming each other, for the sharing of resources”.
Mutual support is particularly important for churches in countries like Bangladesh, where Methodists are a tiny minority. “ The small membership churches really enjoy being with the larger family because they feel a connection they don’t feel at home,” he said.
In the last decade, new members joining the council have included the Methodist Church in Colombia, Methodist Church of Bangladesh, Wesleyan Methodist Church in New Zealand and the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Australia. Becoming part of the council, the Rev Freeman added, “gives them a status and a recognition outside of their own boundaries”.
Technological changes over the past decade – from emails to cell phones to Skype – have made communication easier with even the most remote members.
Beyond the Methodist/Wesleyan family, the council is known for its ongoing ecumenical dialogues with Roman Catholics, Anglicans and the Salvation Army. Dialogues with the Orthodox and Baptist World Alliance are expected to resume in the near future. Such connections are significant, the Rev Dr Freeman pointed out, “because it gives us a greater understanding and awareness and appreciation of each other and it helps strengthen the church all the way down to the grassroots level”.
Social justice issues
The council has increasingly addressed “hot-button social issues” during recent years and the Rev Dr Freeman credits Bishop Abrahams, his nominated successor, for that emphasis.
Bishop Abrahams has served as Co-chairman of the council’s Social and International Affairs Committee for the past decade. “He brings a strong South African social consciousness to this office,” the Rev Dr Freeman said. “ The people called Methodist want to weigh in on those kinds of issues and concerns.”
The 2011 conference in Durban, under the theme “Jesus Christ – for the Healing of the Nations”, marks the council’s 20th world gathering.
Having the conference in South Africa also “affords a timely opportunity to acknowledge the growth of the church in the global South, the struggles of national identity and independence the world over, and ongoing need for the church to practice the peace of God,” said the Rev Dr Joy J. Moore, Associate Dean for Black Church Studies and Church Relations at Duke Divinity School, who will be one of the speakers at the World Methodist Conference.
– Linda Bloom is a United Methodist News Service multimedia reporter based in New York.
US Presidents with Methodist ties
NASHVILLE – United Methodists have a long history of ties with US Presidencies. In fact, Methodism began its relationship with the Presidency through the general who would become the nation’s first elected leader.
After the Revolutionary War, Methodist Bishop Francis Asbury approached George Washington (1789-97) twice, first presenting an anti-slavery petition from Methodist bishops, and later to assure the new President of Methodist support for the new republic.
It would be more than a century after the nation’s birth, however, before a Methodist would be in the White House as President. Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-81) attended Methodist schools and, as President, attended Foundry Church, a Methodist church in Washington, DC, with his wife, Lucy. One of the founders and the first President of the Home Missionary Society (a precursor of United Methodist Women), Lucy was known affectionately by White House guests as “Lemonade Lucy” because she did not serve alcohol at White House functions, following Methodism’s commitment to temperance.
Less than two decades later, another Methodist, William McKinley (1897-1901), was elected President. Early in life, he had considered the Methodist ministry, but later became a lawyer. He remained active at the Methodist Church of the Saviour in Canton, Ohio. He served as Sunday School superintendent and trustee.
A century later, George W. Bush (2001-09) entered the office as the nation’s first United Methodist President. Raised in Presbyterian and Episcopal churches, he became a United Methodist after marrying his wife, Laura, a lifelong Methodist, in 1977. Both attended and taught Sunday School at Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas.
Other Presidents who had Methodist connections included James K. Polk (1845-49), Andrew Johnson (1865-69), and Ulysses S. Grant (1869-77). – United Methodist News Service.