432. The Act of Ordination--Ordination is a public act of the church which indicates acceptance by an individual of God's call to the upbuilding of the church through the ministry of Word, Sacrament, and Order and acknowledgment and authentication of this call by the Christian community through prayers and the laying on of hands.
It is a rite of the church following New Testament usage as appears in the words of Paul to Timothy: "I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands" (II Timothy 1:6).
United Methodist tradition has entrusted persons in the ordained ministry with the responsibility for maintaining standards: for education and training and for examination and granting credentials to those who seek ordination. By the authorization of the clergy members of the annual conference, candidates are elected into the annual conference and are ordained by the bishop, who will use the historic language of the Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As ordinations are acts of the whole church, the text and rubrics of the orders for ordination are to be used as approved by the General Conference.
Ordination, thus, is that act by which the church symbolizes a shared relationship between those ordained for sacramental and functional leadership and the church community from which the person being ordained has come. The community is initiated by God, is given meaning and direction by Christ, and is sustained by the Holy Spirit. This relationship is a gift which comes through the grace of God in assurance of the ministry of Christ throughout the world.
General Conference Webmaster: Susan Brumbaugh
PETS Creator: John Brawn
1992 Book of Discipline: ¶ 432
1996 United Methodist General Conference