Common Table for Church Vitality
The Common Table for Church Vitality ("Common Table") brings the issues, challenges and vision of this Conference into a "table" dialogue. This Common Table places leaders in trusting relationship with each other to pray, to work, to make decisions and to discern and respond to the leading of the Holy Spirit. The focus of the Common Table is to work with our Conference lay and clergy leadership to support the local church in the design and delivery of ministries, programs and events.
Organizing Principles
• The Common Table is a circle of spiritual leadership empowered by the Conference to envision, coordinate and prioritize the ministries and resources of the Conference. The Common Table reports annually to the members of the Virginia Conference on its work and offers recommendations for the goals of the Conference for the coming year(s).
• The Common Table interprets, engages and advances the vision of the Conference, as well as the mandates of The Book of Discipline, to benefit the ministry of the local church and our connectional ministry.
• The Common Table embodies the values of the Conference in its own work and advocates for those values in the work and ministry of the Conference and local churches.
• The Common Table primarily focuses on strategy, planning and creativity to realize the Conference vision. When appropriate, the Common Table addresses issues related to the administration of boards and agencies, budgets, policies and staff.
• The Common Table meets at least quarterly in open session as provided by The Book of Discipline.
• The Common Table includes others in its dialogue, as needed, to enhance its knowledge and understanding.
Selection of Common Table Members
• Common Table members serve four-year terms and are placed in annual classes.
• Common Table members are selected by the Conference Leadership Discovery and Development Team. The Bishop and existing Common Table members may make nomination recommendations to the Conference Leadership Discovery and Development Team.
Interface with Conference Boards, Agencies and Conference Staff
• The Common Table is a catalyst for the creative and cooperative functioning of the boards and agencies. However, the operations of the boards and agencies remain their own responsibility.
• Members of the Common Table are responsible for maintaining current knowledge and understanding of the ministries of each board and agency represented, to ensure that any issues from their areas of responsibility are brought to the Common Table.
• The Director of Ministries with Young People; Director of Communications; Director of Congregational Excellence; Director of Inclusivity and Lay Leadership Excellence; Director of Clergy Excellence; and Director of Justice and Missional Excellence serve as resource persons who are present at Common Table meetings.
•The Common Table includes the participation of specific board and agency representatives as appropriate.
Other Governance Issues
• The administrative functions of the Common Table are governed by a charter approved by the Annual Conference.
• Consistent with the budgetary process of The Book of Discipline, the Common Table determines the number of persons who are employed as Conference program staff and the functions that are assigned to each person.
• The Common Table ensures that all existing Conference boards, agencies, commissions, committees and task forces function consistently with the Conference vision statement and values and The Book of Discipline.
The Programmatic Work of the Conference
Most of our existing structure is mandated in The Book of Discipline. Our boards and agencies initiate, plan and execute the programs of the Conference. As prescribed in The Book of Discipline, the Council on Finance and Administration has the responsibility for budget recommendations to the Conference. The Common Table and the Council on Finance and Administration work together so that budget recommendations reflect consensus on the vision undergirding the mission and ministry of the Conference.
Common Table for Church Vitality (21 people)
The Bishop
The Conference Lay Leader
The Director of Connectional Ministries
These three persons are the primary leaders of our Conference in its annual conference session, in its spiritual witness and leadership of the churches and in its day-to-day functioning. At the Common Table, these leaders shepherd and interpret the vision. The Director of Connectional Ministries is the chairperson of the Common Table.
Equipping the Local Church (Two persons)
These two persons (lay and clergy) represent the work of:
Board of Discipleship
Board of Laity
Leadership Development Institute
Goodson Foundation
Stockton Academy of Evangelism
Mission and New Churches (Two Persons)
These two persons (lay and clergy) represent the work of:
Board of Global Ministries
Commission on Ethnic Local Church Concerns
Inter-Agency Commission on Charge Boundaries
Communications and Conferencing (One Person)
This person represents the work of:
Virginia United Methodist Communications, Inc.
Annual Conference Planning Committee
Site Selection Committee
Equipping Beyond the Local Church (One Person)
This person represents the work of:
Board of Higher Education Ministries
Board of Church and Society
Heart Havens, Inc.
United Methodist Homes, Inc.
United Methodist Retired Clergy Housing, Inc.
United Methodist Family Services, Inc.
Virginia United Methodist Assembly Center
Camps and Retreat Committees
Commission on Archives and History
Equipping for Inclusivity (One Person)
This person represents the work of:
Commission on Status and Role of Women
Commission on Religion and Race
Commission on Disabilities
Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns
Human Resources (Two Persons)
These two persons (lay and clergy) represent the work of:
Board of Ordained Ministry
Pension and Health Benefits
Commission on Equitable Compensation
United Methodist Women (One Person)
United Methodist Men (One Person)
Ministries with Adults (One Person)
This person represents the work of:
Adult and Family Sections, Council on Age Level & Family Ministries
Ministries with Youth (One Person)
This person represents the work of:
Youth Section, Council on Age Level & Family Ministries
Conference Youth Council
Ministries with Children (One Person)
This person represents the work of:
Children’s Section, Council on Age Level & Family Ministries
Children’s Initiative
Cabinet Representative (One Person)
This person represents the on-going work of the Cabinet in the deployment and supervision of clergy and the development of lay and clergy leadership at the district level.
Administration (One Person)
This person represents the work of:
Council on Finance and Administration
Conference Trustees
Rules Committee
United Methodist Foundation
President of the Board of Higher Education (One Person)
The elected Secretary of the Annual Conference Session will serve as Secretary for the Common Table.
Note: Persons representing separately incorporated entities do so solely for the purpose of communication. Separately incorporated entities remain independent, autonomous, incorporated bodies.
Conference Leadership Discovery and Development Team (CLDDT)
The Conference Leadership Discovery and Development Team is composed of 22 persons, including the Director of Connectional Ministries and the Conference Lay Leader as co-chairpersons. This team, composed equally of lay and clergy, includes one representative from each district and two members appointed by the Bishop to ensure inclusivity. Representatives of the Commission on the Status and Role of Women, Commission on Disabilities, Commission on Ethnic Local Church Concerns and Commission on Religion and Race monitor and have voice at these meetings. Procedures for forming the initial team, terms of service and rotation are found in the recommendation of the Rules Committee. For the first two years, there will be no rotation.
The Conference Leadership Discovery and Development Team identifies and secures excellent leadership for our Conference. The team meets at least quarterly and, at appropriate times, nominates individuals for election by the Annual Conference (unless specified by The Book of Discipline or Conference rules to be nominated in some other manner).
Given the scope and importance of these responsibilities, Conference Leadership Discovery and Development Team members are encouraged to give priority to this Conference-level leadership role.
The team designs, maintains and utilizes a profile database with entries submitted by District Nomination Facilitation Committees. In addition, chairpersons of Conference organizations and Conference staff provide input to the team concerning potential leaders and requirements for essential skills and knowledge.
Once the slate of nominations has been elected by the Annual Conference, the team ensures that proper orientation and education takes place so that all Conference leaders understand the nature, scope and objectives of their area of service. The team also provides Conference Leaders ongoing care and nurture to sustain them in their ministry.
The Conference Leadership Discovery and Development Team works to discover leaders who reflect the diversity of our conference in its ethnicity, church size and geographical area. Further, they endeavor to understand the positions to be filled as well as the pool of leaders who are either available or who need to be sought. In addition, they ensure leadership involvement for laity and clergy, for women and men, for all districts, for all age groups, for persons with handicapping conditions and for all ethnicities.
CLDDT Objectives
Identify and call servant-leaders into Conference ministry, promoting leadership excellence and matching spiritual gifts to ministry opportunities.
Ensure the training and equipping of servant-leaders.
Celebrate and nurture servant-leaders.
Connectional Ministries Staff
Staffing structure changes are important to better support local churches, improve communication and enhance ministry effectiveness
The working relationships of the staff are characterized by:
Networking with each other, as well as counterparts in other conferences.
Routines which blend centralized interface with each other, teamwork, and independent functioning in the field.
Minimal attention to the administrative needs of boards, agencies, commissions, and task groups. These administrative needs are addressed by the support staff and by the groups themselves.
It is both desirable and consistent with our Conference values that the staff be representative of the diversity of our conference, with respect to gender, age, ethnicity, and lay/clergy partnership. Upon recommendation of the Director of Connectional Ministries, the Common Table will determine the number and functioning of technical and administrative support staff.
The team works closely together to develop coordinated plans to assist local church ministries. This model facilitates matching of appropriate skills and resources to the local church need. Furthermore, it enables the identification of recurring church programming needs and the development of broader based resources directed to these needs.
Conclusion
The movement from a vision for ministry to the reality our vision statement defines will take a great deal of commitment and effort on the part of the members of the Virginia Annual Conference. It will require a leadership structure that is able to hear God’s calling and then create strategies and plans that benefit the work of the local churches and of our connection. It will also require the finest leaders available ... people who understand the needs of the local church and its ministry and who have the spiritual gift of leadership. Finally, the movement from vision to reality will require a talented and knowledgeable staff, focused on the opportunities for ministry in our local churches, so that we can truly be churches where all God’s people are welcomed at table, nurtured and transformed to be Christ to others in the world.
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