FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 15, 2019
Chicago, IL—The Connectional Table is proud to announce the launch of Emerging, a digital collection of essays, articles and other content discussing what may be taking shape in the life of our connection as a result of the outcome of the 2019 Special Session of the General Conference.
The purpose of the website, www.emergingmethodism.com, is to be a venue of conversation including voices from a multiplicity of viewpoints. The hope is that it will help lead us to forge a compelling consensus toward what to teach, how we teach, who we are, and how we will continue to live together in ministry. It is not a forum for debate or for proposals about structure, but a space to invite critical thinking and reflection on what is emerging in Methodism.
The project draws inspiration from Isaiah 43:18-19: “Don’t remember the prior things; don’t ponder ancient history. Look! I’m doing a new thing; now it sprouts up; don’t you recognize it? I’m making a way in the desert, paths in the wilderness.”
Content will reflect on at least one of the following topics:
Leadership: Our Call- Ecclesiology: Our Church
- Theology: Our Beliefs
- Missiology: Our Mission
- Polity: Our Structure
- History: Our Story
The first selection of content is authored by such UMC figures as Cynthia and Lovett Weems, Jr., Ashley Crowder-Stanley, the Rev. Dr. Kah-Jin Jeffrey Kuan, Bishop Christian Alsted and more. With the help of a steering committee and an editorial team, the project is being led by the Rev. Kennetha J. Bigham-Tsai, Chief Connectional Ministries Officer of the CT, and Neil Alexander, President & Publisher Emeritus of The United Methodist Publishing House.
“In the midst of the uncertainty facing our church, we believe that God is doing something new,” said the Rev. Bigham-Tsai. “We want to hear a variety of voices that can inform the conversation and help us all perceive what God is doing in and through The United Methodist Church.”
The Emerging project is currently accepting content submissions and suggestions from across the connection. The Connectional Table seeks to represent in the project a diverse range of theologies, ideologies, races/ethnicities, genders/gender identities, sexual orientations, ages, cultures, nationalities and more. If you are interested in submitting to Emerging, please reach out to Director of Communications Emily Clemons at contact@emergingmethodism.com.
Emerging can be found online at www.emergingmethodism.com and on Twitter and Instagram @EmergingProject.
About the Connectional Table: The Connectional Table works to steward the mission, vision and ministries of The United Methodist Church. For more information, please visit connectionaltable.umc.org.
Media Contact: Emily Clemons
Director of Communications
773-714-1517 x6464
eclemons@umc.org