Dismantling Racism Team (DRT)

At the end of April and early May, the 2020 General Conference of The United Methodist Church will finally be held in Charlotte, North Carolina. Many pieces of legislation will be brought forward, but what the DRT wants to highlight is a proposal to restructure the global church with a plan called Worldwide Regionalization. According to material from the Connectional Table, “The regionalization proposal aims to address what many United Methodists see as a longstanding problem limiting the denomination’s missional effectiveness—namely that the church in the U.S. and the central conferences have unequal standing in decision-making.” The proposed legislation would create a U.S. Regional Conference and the current Central Conferences— Africa, Central and Southern Europe, Congo, Germany, Northern Europe, Philippines, and West Africa— would also become Regional Conferences. Each Regional Conference would have equal standing and the autonomy to adapt specific parts of The Book of Discipline that have to do with the organization and administration of the church.

Why is this such a big deal and why does the DRT care about it? Because this proposal attempts to acknowledge and remove the practices of colonialism that have been part of Methodism since the beginning. The values expressed by the groups behind the proposal include equity, unity, de-centering the U.S., honoring each region’s cultural context, and decolonizing our mission, relationships, and structure. “The regionalization puts an end to imposing cultural views of one region of the world onto another, fostering a sense of identity and belonging that’s essential in our global connection. By celebrating the diversity of our respective mission settings, regional governance offers a vibrant and hopeful vision for The United Methodist Church now and into the future.”

To read more about the Worldwide Regionalization proposal or watch a video spotlighting the words of United Methodist bishops from each of the proposed regions, visit https://www.resourceumc.org/en/churchwide/the-connectional-table/region….