PITTSBURGH -- A group of United Methodist Church (UMC) leaders is exploring the idea of having one agency coordinate the church's ministries and finances. The move would break the denomination's tradition of keeping money handlers separate from the programs, according to the United Methodist News Service.
The General Council on Ministries is considering dissolving itself and the General Council on Finance and Administration, combining their functions into a proposed general church council. The governing boards would remain intact, with the addition of representatives from the new council, according to the UMNS.
The General Council on Ministries expects to approve its "Living Into the Future" proposal in March. Pending any further revisions, the proposal will then go to the church's legislative assembly, the General Conference, which meets in Pittsburgh in 2004.
Finances have traditionally been kept separate from the UMC's programs and ministries as a way of ensuring accountability, said Sandra Kelly Lacklore, the top staff executive of the denomination's finance agency. However, some people inside and outside the general agencies say the policy has created a situation in which the finance agency often wields too much clout over programs, according to the UMNS.
