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A statement from the Connectional Table | Vancouver, BC, Canada, October 29–30, 2026
The Connectional Table expresses its gratitude for the tremendous work of more than 250 United Methodist lay and clergy leaders at the Council of Bishops’ Leadership Gathering in Calgary, Canada, and online, October 20–24, 2026. Through worship, prayer, listening and holy conversation, participants offered a hopeful vision for the future of The United Methodist Church. The Connectional Table sees this as an important opportunity to voice its hopes for the work ahead.
The 16 recommendations emerging from the gathering, along with the realities and possibilities identified through communal discernment, invite our church to consider how we might more faithfully form disciples of Jesus Christ who, empowered by the Holy Spirit, love boldly, serve joyfully and lead courageously.
As the body charged with coordinating the mission, ministries and resources of our connection, the Connectional Table affirms its commitment to work with the Council of Bishops, general agencies and other partners to discern how these recommendations might inform our common work.
We encourage each part of our connection to consider where the emerging vision intersects with its responsibilities, gifts and opportunities for ministry. We also recognize that faithful action will require coordination, shared learning, appropriate stewardship of resources and mutual accountability. Above all, we believe the measure of our work must be its contribution to the mission of the church: equipping local congregations and ministry communities to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Our connectional structures exist to serve that mission, not the other way around.
The Connectional Table commits to engaging the recommendations as they are further developed, encouraging collaboration across our wide connection, and helping establish transparent processes for learning, evaluation and accountability.
May we move forward with humility, courage and openness to the Holy Spirit, trusting that the church yet to be will emerge not from the work of any one gathering or entity, but from the faithful participation of the whole body of Christ.
Media contact: Paul Gómez, Lead, Connectional Ministries, Council of Bishops / Connectional Table, pgomez@umcom.org