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BOA ACTION: Motion to adopt the resolution to rename the World Ministries Center, amended to refer to the Operating Committee the actual name for the building; Motion to adopt a “doing business as” (dba) for the church: Free Methodist Church – U.S.A. with date of conversion of the name to be determined by the Operating Committee in an orderly fashion.
BOA Action: Motion to adopt the resolution to rename the World Ministries Center, amended to refer to the Operating Committee the actual name for the building; Motion to adopt a “doing business as” (dba) for the church: Free Methodist Church – U.S.A. with date of conversion of the name to be determined by the Operating Committee in an orderly fashion.
GCRCC Status: forwarded for April 2011 BOA action
Introduced by: Pacific Northwest Conference General Conference Delegates
Written by: Tom Froula, Celeste Cranston, and Frank Kline
Related to Paragraph(s) #: TBD
Whereas:
WHEREAS Ministry within the Free Methodist Church is diffused across the entire world, including six continents,
WHEREAS The ministry of the Free Methodist Church now exists in more than 81 countries, and
WHEREAS In 2007 there were approximately 1,000 Free Methodist churches with 74,000 members in the United States and 730,000 members worldwide.
WHEREAS Thanks to the goodness of God and the energy of many clergy and laity inspired by the Holy Spirit, the Free Methodist church in the United
States is only one of 14 General Conferences, and
WHEREAS Thanks to the goodness of God and the energy of many clergy and laity inspired by the Holy Spirit, there is now more than one General
Conference on the North American continent, and
WHEREAS The nomenclature of an entity can critically enhance or undermine its purpose and the communication of its mission, and
WHEREAS Referring to Indianapolis as the center of the world can appear ethnocentric to peoples outside the United States and therefore possibly offensive to the scores of people (both clergy and laity) who are deeply involved in ministry all across the world, and
WHEREAS The costs of changing the name of the corporation can be avoided by operating under a name which is a d/b/a (doing business as),
Therefore, be it resolved:
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the name of the facility located in Indianapolis, Indiana and currently called “World Ministries Center” be changed to “Free Methodist Church – USA Denominational Offices,” and further that the denomination operate under the name (or d/b/a) “Free Methodist Church – USA”.
Does the resolution have a direct relationship to the vision and mission of the Free Methodist Church?
Yes.
How will the proposed change help us accomplish our vision and mission?
Insitutional and organizational names communicate value, perspective, and importance. The Free Methodist family around the world dwarfs the Free Methodist Church in the United States. Appropriately naming the denomination and the denominational headquarters signals our understanding of how we relate to the worldwide Free Methodist family.
The Resolutions Committee rates this resolution as:
(A) Support – recommend adoption
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