Letter from Bishop Stefan Zürcher on the end of General Conference

Today, Friday, May 3, 2024, the General Conference of The United Methodist Church came to a close in Charlotte, NC. 

Bishop Stefan Zürcher, Bishop in charge of The United Methodist Church in the Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe, has written a letter to the leaders of the Church in the countries of his episcopal area. In it, he addresses the regionalization decision, which strengthens the existing rights of the Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe by including them in the constitution.
 
With regard to questions of human sexuality, Bishop Zürcher points out that the General Conference has expressly given the Central Conferences the authority to determine the definition of marriage and guidelines for marriage ceremonies as well as the requirements for candidates for pastoral ministry and ordination for their own area.
 
Above all, however, he encourages the people of the Central Conference: "Guided by God's Spirit, let us always seek new ways to reach persons in order to tell them the Gospel where they are and where they live. Together with the persons to whom God has sent us, let us search for ways of being church that open the door to becoming disciples of Jesus Christ. Let us boldly experiment with creative forms of proclamation so that our neighbors and friends can hear and accept the Good News with their questions and needs. Let us learn from each other and support each other.
 
You can find the whole letter here.
 
Urs Schweizer, Assistant to the Bishop, Zurich/Switzerland
Friday, May 3, 2024