Council of Bishops announces members of human-sexuality commmission

The United Methodist Council of Bishops has announced the membership of the Commission on a Way Forward.

"After three months of diligent and prayerful discernment, we have selected eight bishops, 11 laity, 12 elders and one deacon to serve on the commission," said Bishop Bruce R. Ough, president of the Council of Bishops. "This group is representative of our theological diversity."

Ough said the makeup of the 32-member commission is roughly comparable to U.S. and Central Conference membership. 

All of the members of the commission have already indicated their willingness and availability to serve. The team of moderators --  Bishop Ken Carter, Bishop Sandra Steiner-Ball and Bishop David Yemba -- soon will convene the commission to begin to organize its work and finalize its meeting schedule.

The commission's mission is to  "bring together persons deeply committed to the future(s) of The United Methodist Church, with an openness to developing new relationships with each other and exploring the potential future(s) of our denomination in light of General Conference and subsequent annual, jurisdictional and central conference actions." 

The 2016 General Conference gave a specific mandate to the Council of Bishops to lead The United Methodist Church in discerning and proposing a way forward through the present impasse related to human sexuality and the consequent questions about unity and covenant. 

The commission is a group appointed by the Council of Bishops to assist the council in fulfilling this mandate. As such, the council has appointed bishops from across the global connection to serve on the commission alongside laity and clergy. While clergy and laity will vote at a General Conference on these matters, the bishops have the responsibility to lead the church. Thus, the commission is designed to inform the council’s leadership of the General Conference. After hearing concerns that the proposed composition did not include enough laity, three additional laypersons were added from the original pool of more than 300 nominees.

At its fall meeting, scheduled for Oct. 30 to Nov. 2, the council will make a decision about a called General Conference and will review a plan to conduct additional and complementary work in annual conferences designed to broaden the conversation with hundreds of lay and clergy members.

The members of the commission are:

• Jorge Acevedo — Florida, elder, male
• Brian Adkins — California, elder, male
• Jacques Umembudi Akasa — Democratic Republic of Congo, laity, male
• Tom Berlin — Virginia, elder, male
• Matt Berryman — Illinois, laity, male
• Helen Cunanan — Philippines, elder, female
• David Field — Switzerland, laity, male
• Ciriaco Francisco — Philippines, bishop, male
• Grant Hagiya — California, bishop, male
• Aka Dago-Akribi Hortense — Côte d’Ivoire, laity, female
• Scott Johnson — New York, laity, male
• Jessica Lagrone — Kentucky, elder, female 
• Thomas Lambrecht — Texas, elder, male
• Myungae Kim Lee — New York, laity, female
• Julie Hager Love — Kentucky, deacon, female
• Mazvita Machinga — Zimbabwe, laity, female
• Patricia Miller — Indiana, laity, female
• Mande Guy Muyombo — Democratic Republic of Congo, elder, male
• Eben Nhiwatiwa — Zimbabwe, bishop, male
• Dave Nuckols — Minnesota, laity, male
• Casey Langley Orr — Texas, elder, female 
• Gregory Palmer — Ohio, bishop, male
• Donna Pritchard — Oregon, elder, female
• Tom Salsgiver — Pennsylvania, elder, male 
• Robert Schnase — Texas, bishop, male
• Jasmine Rose Smothers — Georgia, elder, female
• Leah Taylor — Texas, laity, female
• Deborah Wallace-Padgett — Alabama, bishop, female
• Rosemarie Wenner — Germany, bishop, female
• Alice Williams — Florida, laity, female
• John Wesley Yohanna — Nigeria, bishop, male
• Alfiado S. Zunguza — Mozambique, elder, male

• Sandra Steiner Ball — West Virginia, bishop, female
• Kenneth Carter — Florida, bishop, male
• David Yemba — Democratic Republic of Congo, bishop, male

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