2011 World Methodist Council/Conference

The World Methodist Council is currently meeting in connection with the 20th World Methodist Conference in Durban, South Africa.  The Council has been meeting since August 1, and it will end its meeting today, August 3.  The Conference will begin tomorrow, August 4, and continue through August 8.

The World Methodist Conference takes place every five years.  In 2001, I had the privilege of serving the Church of the Nazarene as one of four official delegates to that year's Conference in Brighton, England.  The 2011 theme is "Jesus Christ - for the Healing of the Nations."

The WMC, having just received three new denominations into its membership, now has 77 member denominations in 135 countries.  (-  I have to say, I have always had a problem with that last number, because the Church of the Nazarene, itself, has a presence in over 156 world areas!  So, I'm not sure where they are getting their figures, but . . .)

For news releases throughout the Conference, you can visit this page at the World Methodist Council site.  (I would have had this information up earlier, but they just published news articles, today.)

There are seven World Methodist Council denominations in the United States.  They are:  the African Methodist Episcopal Church; the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church; the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church; the Church of the Nazarene; the Free Methodist Church; the United Methodist Church, and The Wesleyan Church.