The Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters (SCCCM) of the United Methodist Church held the first of its regular meetings last October 23-25, 2009. Their venue was the historic Scarritt-Bennett Conference Center in Nashville, Tennessee. There were 39 members present, led by its Chairperson Bishop Patrick Streiff of the Central and Southern Europe Episcopal Area. The SCCCM consists of lay and clergy representatives from Central Conferences and the 5 Jurisdictions of the denomination, including representatives from various agencies such as the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM), General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA), etc.
The various central conferences gave their presentations regarding their respective areas, describing their most significant contributions to the United Methodist Church and to the larger Body of Jesus Christ. The significant challenges, present mission and ministry opportunities in their respective areas were also presented.
Also included in the meeting were presentations and discussions on global mission opportunities related to the Four Areas of Focus of the Church, the Worldwide Nature of the Church Task Force presented by its Chair, Bishop Scott Jones, and the General Church Financial data as presented by Scott Brewer of GCFA. The GBGM representative and head of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), Rev. Sam Dixon, engaged the group with a lengthy discussion on the agency’s plans regarding management of its resources in pursuit of the denomination’s global mission and ministry presence. The closure of Area Finance Executive Offices (AFE), particularly those in central conferences in Africa and the Philippines, was raised. As the agency plans to replace AFEs with regional auditors, there were concerns over the potential loss of checks and balances in the management of grants.
Small groups were created during the meeting to deal with other concerns that are not usually brought out in a larger group. A participant from Africa commented that “this meeting is much better than the General Conference.” The participants dialogued well and met with a common understanding that there is still much work to be done towards the next and final meeting of the committee in 2011 in South Africa.
The Philippines Central Conference official delegation was composed of Bishop Lito C. Tangonan as the bishop representative, Ms. Phebe G. Crismo, lay representative and Rev. Johann M. Osias, clergy representative. With them were Bishop Leo A. Soriano as Central Conference bishop representative from GCFA and a fellow Filipino, Rev. David Valera, who serves as clergy representative of the Western Jurisdiction.
