2003. Responsibilities--The responsibilities of the General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns shall be:
1. To enable ecumenical and interreligious understanding and experience among all United Methodists, including assistance to all United Methodist agencies.
2. To recruit and provide ecumenical leadership training and opportunities for all United Methodists with special attention for youth, young adults, and racial ethnic minority persons.
3. To provide resources and counsel to conference Commissions or Committees on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns and to local Church leadership.
4. To develop or assist in the development of resources and other educational materials which will stimulate understanding and experience in ecumenical and interreligious relationships.
5. To develop and interpret the primary relationships of The United Methodist Church to ecumenical and interreligious organizations (such as the World Council of Churches, regional councils of churches, the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., the World Methodist Council, and Consultation on Church Union), to United Churches which include a church formerly related to The United Methodist Church or its predecessors, to churches with which a concordat of exchange of voting delegates has been established by General Conference and to churches which have entered into a formal covenanting act with The United Methodist Church. We further encourage dialogue with other organizations such as the National Association of Evangelicals.
6. To pursue or initiate relationships and conversations with Christian ministries and denominations that are not a part of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., to seek areas of cooperation and common cause in the advancement of the cause of Christ.
7. To pursue or initiate relationships and conversations with other Christian churches on possible church unions and in general bilateral or multilateral dialogues.
8. To develop and engage in dialogue, cooperation, and unity discussions with the historic members of the Methodist denominational family in the United States--namely, the African Methodist Episcopal, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion, and the Christian Methodist Episcopal churches, and all those Wesleyan bodies in the United States related to the World Methodist Council. (See 2403.)
9. To report to General Conference on developments in Christian unity and interreligious issues and to make recommendations on any specific proposals for church union.
10. To pursue or initiate relationships and conversations with the Jewish and other religious and ideological communities in dialogue and in cooperative efforts.
11. To consider resolutions, pronouncements, and actions of ecumenical and interreligious councils and agencies, to be responsible for appropriate United Methodist responses, and to initiate or to channel counsel to ecumenical and interreligious bodies.
12. To receive reports from the Consultation on Church Union, the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., the World Methodist Council, and the World Council of Churches on their work, such reports to include relevant financial information.
13. To maintain a close relationship with the General Board of Church and Society and the General Commission on Religion and Race, as they seek to coordinate denominational support and cooperation in eradicating racism, promoting social justice, and enhancing Christian unity.
14. To receive copies of all requests for funds from ecumenical and interreligious bodies to all United Methodist agencies and to review for possible recommendations to both the ecumenical and United Methodist agencies.
15. To enable and review the ecumenical and interreligious involvements, programming, and funding of all United Methodist program agencies; to review funding of ecumenical agencies by United Methodist program agencies through examination of the disclosure records annually provided to the General Council on Finance and Administration; to report findings and make recommendations to those agencies and to the General Council on Ministries and to the General Council on Finance and Administration as requested.
16. To advocate for adequate funding for the core budgets of the major ecumenical and interreligious agencies.
17. To provide from its own budget where possible supplementary funding for cognate units in ecumenical agencies and ad hoc ecumenical and interreligious enterprises.
18. To report to the General Council on Ministries and recommend to the General Council on Finance and Administration the total goal and constituent allocations of the Interdenominational Cooperation Fund for submission to General Conference and to administer all aspects of the fund in accordance with guidelines established in consultation with the General Council on Finance and Administration and with the Council of Bishops. (See 918.)
19. To receive and administer funds allocated to it through the General Conference or the General Council on Finance and Administration and other sources.
20. To report annually to the Council of Bishops on aspects of Christian unity and interreligious developments, issues, and trends.
21. To channel and recommend to the Council of Bishops qualified United Methodists for service as representatives on ecumenical councils or agencies and to special meeting or assemblies, and to name such representatives to councils, agencies, or assemblies not named by the Council of Bishops.
22. To work as partners with agencies of The United Methodist Church on matters of mutual concern.
23. To care for other matters as may be deemed necessary by the commission or requested by the General Conference, the Council of Bishops (see 2405), or the General Council on Ministries.
General Conference Webmaster: Susan Brumbaugh
PETS Creator: John Brawn
1992 Book of Discipline: ¶ 2003
1996 United Methodist General Conference