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So That's the United Methodist Church...
"Not everyone around us was Catholic," Patricia Hampl writes in her book Virgin
Time, recalling her childhood neighborhood. "Mr. Kirby, a widower who was our
next-door neighbor, was Methodist -- whatever that was."
An inclusive, theologically pluralistic, non-dogmatic Christian church that encourages its
members to "think and let think," is hard to characterize with precision. Maybe the
following could help to describe The United Methodist Church:
- It is a church in which a warmhearted personal experience with Jesus Christ is
central in its teaching, preaching and outreach.
- It is a world-wide church upon which the sun never sets, for it is in mission and ministry for Christ
in more than 90 countries worldwide.
- It is the only church in the United States that has a local church in every community with a
population of 10,000 or more.
- It is a church that is open to all people. It has more Native Americans and Asian American
members than any other. It is second in number of Hispanic American members. It has more
African American members than all but six other denominations.
- It is a church that owns and operates many colleges, children's homes, homes for seniors and
hospitals.
- It is a church that owns and operates the oldest and largest church-owned publishing house in the
world.
- It is a church that cares about people who are hurting; it feeds a million children every day. Within
hours of a natural disaster anywhere in the world, it is there through UM Committee on Relief to provide aid and
love.
- It is a church that gives more beyond the local church to benevolences per member than any other.
- It is a church with a social creed that has been and still is the marvel and model of much of
Christendom in the area of the social Gospel.
- It is a church with a connectional structure and ties every one of the more than 38,000 local
churches together in common purposes and a united ministry around the world.
- It is a church that offers a fantastic smorgasbord of resources to every local church -- leadership,
financial and program resources.
- It is a church that is ecumenical in its outlook and one that is always ready to cooperate with other
Christians in advancing the cause of Jesus Christ.
So that's Mr. Kirby's church -- and that's the connectional church of which Asbury is proud to be part!
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