The Administrative Council Improves the Road Map of the UMC in Eurasia

December 3-4, the Administrative Council

of the United Methodist Church in Eurasia discussed the Road Map on the way towards 2015 in detail.

The participants of the discussion agreed to the fact that it is important to have a strategic plan. There was raised a question which practical steps we are able to take now, what we can add to the document “Self-sufficiency on the local level” suggested by the Cabinet to emend it by the next meeting of the council?
In the result of the discussion the council approved steps in four directions.

Informing and interpreting:

1.    Printed materials should contain clear to everyone statement of the Road Map principles. Brochures and posters with illustrations will be needed.

2.    Video: appeal of the church leaders, interviews, clips about the realization of the Road map in the local churches.

3.    Oral information: constant reference in the sermons of the local church pastors to the Road Map progress in the given church, district, the UMC in Eurasia. Contact with the local churches should be through the superintendents.

Legal aid

The Administrative council and the UMC Eurasia office are ready to provide legal assistance:

1.    to give pastoral certificates and certificates of the local churches
2.    to give consultations (with the help of the handbook “Consultant Plus” in the office
3.    to exchange experiences in solving unusual legal situations
4.    to work out a new model statute of a local church
5.    the question about creating a brochure with the legal information to help local church pastors remains open.

Assistance in transition to self-sufficiency

It is planned to develop a questionnaire and to hold a survey of parishioners of the local churches on the item of the Road Map concerning self-sufficiency on the local level.

Members of the council have also taken a decision to use their influence in the districts to implement the principles of the Road Map.

At the meeting of the council Bishop Hans Vaxby said: “We should give reports about how we are developing, and ask others hoe they are moving. We should share the information about how        the process is going on. We will help people to know about the Road Map with our doings. Why are we doing it? – We want people to become dedicated Christians. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. There is already some information in the Bishop’s column on the website www.umc-eurasia.ru”. (Read about it the article “Prepare for the future” on this website).
Bishop promised to address this theme in his New Year letter as well.
“Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to passЭю (1 Thessalonians 5:24). Amen!”
In The United Methodist Church in Eurasia it is announced two weeks of prayer and fasting from December 6 to December 20, 2009.
Prayer weeks mean that people in each congregation will pray during two weeks.
During the prayer they will imagine how the Eurasia Road toward 2015 and further will look like. It is important what will be happening in the hearts of people during this time.

Sergey Pugachev, area communicator UMC Eurasia