453. 1. Honorable Location.--a) An annual conference may grant associate members or members in full connection certificates of honorable location at their own request; provided that it shall first have examined their character at the conference session when the request is made and found them in good standing; and provided further, that this relation shall be granted only to one who intends to discontinue service in the itinerant ministry. The board of ordained ministry shall provide guidance and counsel to the locating member and family as they return to a new relationship in the local Church.48 Upon recommendation of the board of ordained ministry, an annual conference may offer transition assistance.
b) Location shall be certified by the presiding bishop. Ordained ministers located according to the provisions of this paragraph shall not continue to hold membership in the annual conference. After consultation with the pastor, located ordained ministers shall designate the local Church in which they shall hold membership. As clergy members of the charge conference, they shall be permitted to exercise ministerial functions under supervision of the pastor in charge. They shall have all the privileges of membership in the church where they elect to hold charge conference membership except as set forth in The Book of Discipline. When approved by the executive committee of the board of ordained ministry, a person on honorable location may be appointed ad interim by the bishop as a local pastor. Otherwise the exercise of their ministry shall be continued under the supervision of the pastor in charge of the charge conference in which their membership is held. A copy of the annual report to the charge conference shall be forwarded to the registrar of the board of ordained ministry in order for location to be continued. Failure to submit the report for two consecutive years shall result in location being discontinued. If location is discontinued, the provisions of 454 shall be invoked. They shall report to the charge conference and the pastor all marriages performed, Baptisms administered, and funerals conducted; and shall be held amenable for their conduct and the continuation of their ordination rights to the annual conference within which the charge conference membership is held. The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to persons granted involuntary location prior to the General Conference of 1976. The names of located members after the annual passage of their character shall be printed in the journal.
c) Ordained ministers on honorable location may request the annual conference to grant them the status of honorable location--retired. Requests for retired status shall be stated in writing to the bishop, Cabinet, and registrar of the board of ordained ministry at least ninety (90) days prior to the annual conference session.
2. Withdrawal to Unite with Another Denomination--When ordained ministers in good standing withdraw to unite with another denomination or to terminate their membership in the denomination, their credentials should be surrendered to the conference, and if they shall desire it and the conference authorize it, the credentials may be returned with the following inscription written plainly across their face:
A. B. has this day been honorably dismissed by the ____________ Annual Conference from the ministry of The United Methodist Church.
Dated: ____________________
__________________________ , President
__________________________ , Secretary
3. Surrender of the Ordained Ministerial Office--Associate members or members in full connection of an annual conference in good standing who desire to surrender their ministerial office and withdraw from the conference may be allowed to do so by the annual conference at its session. The ordained minister's credentials shall be surrendered to the district superintendent for deposit with the secretary of the conference, and his/her membership may be transferred to a church which he/she designates, after consultation with the pastor, as the local Church in which he/she will hold membership.49
4. Withdrawal under Complaints or Charges--When clergy members are accused of an offense under 2623 and desire to withdraw from the membership of the annual conference, it may permit them to withdraw under the provisions of 2628.2. The ordained ministers' credentials shall be surrendered to the district superintendent for deposit with the secretary of the conference, and their membership may be transferred to a local Church which they designate, after consultation with the pastor.50
5. Withdrawal between Conferences--In the event that withdrawal by surrender of the ministerial office, to unite with another denomination, or under complaints or charges, should occur in the interval between sessions of an annual conference, the member's credentials shall be surrendered to the bishop or district superintendent along with a letter of withdrawal from the ordained ministry. Both the credentials and the letter of withdrawal shall be deposited with the secretary of the conference. This action shall be reported by the board of ordained ministry for confirmation by the annual conference at its next session.51
48See Judicial Council Decision 366.
49See Judicial Council Decision 552.
50See Judicial Council Decision 552.
51See Judicial Council Decision 552.
General Conference Webmaster: Susan Brumbaugh
PETS Creator: John Brawn
1992 Book of Discipline: ¶ 453
1996 United Methodist General Conference