1996 Book of Discipline: Paragraph 357| General Conference 2000

¶ 357. Withdrawal from the Ordained Ministerial Office--1. Withdrawal to Unite with Another Denomination⁵⁴--When ordained members in good standing withdraw to unite with another denomination or to terminate their membership in the denomination, their credentials shall be deposited with the conference secretary, and if they desire it and the conference authorizes it, the credentials may be returned with the following inscription written plainly across their face:

[FTN] 54. See Judicial Council Decision 696.

A. B. has this day been honorably dismissed by the ____________ Annual Conference from the ministry of The United Methodist Church.

Dated: ____________________

__________________________ , President

__________________________ , Secretary

2. Leaving the Ordained Ministerial Office--Ordained members of an annual conference in good standing who desire to leave their ministerial office and withdraw from the conference may be allowed to do so by the annual conference at its session. The ordained minister's credentials shall be given to the district superintendent for deposit with the secretary of the conference, and his or her membership may be transferred to a church which he or she designates, after consultation with the pastor, as the local church in which he or she will hold membership.⁵⁵

[FTN] 55. See Judicial Council Decision 552.

3. Withdrawal Under Complaints or Charges--When clergy members are accused of an offense under ¶ 2624 and desire to withdraw from the membership of the annual conference, it may permit them to withdraw under the provisions of ¶ 2629.2. The clergy member's credentials shall be surrendered to the district superintendent for deposit with the secretary of the conference, and their membership may be transferred to a local church that they designate, after consultation with the pastor.⁵⁶

[FTN] 56. See Judicial Council Decisions 552, 691.

4. Withdrawal Between Conferences⁵⁷--In the event that withdrawal by surrender of the ministerial office, to unite with another denomination, or under complaints or charges, should occur in the interval between sessions of an annual conference, the clergy member's credentials shall be surrendered to the bishop or district superintendent along with a letter of withdrawal from the ordained ministry. Both the credentials and the letter of withdrawal shall be deposited with the secretary of the conference. This action shall be reported by the board of ordained ministry to the annual conference at its next session.⁵⁸ The effective date of withdrawal shall be the date of the letter of withdrawal.⁵⁹

[FTN] 57. See Judicial Council Decision 696.

[FTN] 58. See Judicial Council Decision 552.

[FTN] 59. See Judicial Council Decision 691.



	1996 Discipline ¶ 357
	`¶ 357. Withdrawal from the Ordained Ministerial Office--1. Withdrawal to Unite with Another Denomination⁵⁴--When ordained members in good standing withdraw to unite with another denomination or to terminate their membership in the denomination, their credentials shall be deposited with the conference secretary, and if they desire it and the conference authorizes it, the credentials may be returned with the following inscription written plainly across their face:` `[FTN] 54. See Judicial Council Decision 696.` `A. B. has this day been honorably dismissed by the ____________ Annual Conference from the ministry of The United Methodist Church.` `Dated: ____________________` `__________________________ , President` `__________________________ , Secretary` 2. Leaving the Ordained Ministerial Office--Ordained members of an annual conference in good standing who desire to leave their ministerial office and withdraw from the conference may be allowed to do so by the annual conference at its session. The ordained minister's credentials shall be given to the district superintendent for deposit with the secretary of the conference, and his or her membership may be transferred to a church which he or she designates, after consultation with the pastor, as the local church in which he or she will hold membership.⁵⁵ `[FTN] 55. See Judicial Council Decision 552.` `3. Withdrawal Under Complaints or Charges--When clergy members are accused of an offense under ¶ 2624 and desire to withdraw from the membership of the annual conference, it may permit them to withdraw under the provisions of ¶ 2629.2. The clergy member's credentials shall be surrendered to the district superintendent for deposit with the secretary of the conference, and their membership may be transferred to a local church that they designate, after consultation with the pastor.⁵⁶` `[FTN] 56. See Judicial Council Decisions 552, 691.` 4. Withdrawal Between Conferences⁵⁷--In the event that withdrawal by surrender of the ministerial office, to unite with another denomination, or under complaints or charges, should occur in the interval between sessions of an annual conference, the clergy member's credentials shall be surrendered to the bishop or district superintendent along with a letter of withdrawal from the ordained ministry. Both the credentials and the letter of withdrawal shall be deposited with the secretary of the conference. This action shall be reported by the board of ordained ministry to the annual conference at its next session.⁵⁸ The effective date of withdrawal shall be the date of the letter of withdrawal.⁵⁹ `[FTN] 57. See Judicial Council Decision 696.` `[FTN] 58. See Judicial Council Decision 552.` `[FTN] 59. See Judicial Council Decision 691.`
	PETITIONS: Main \| Discipline Index \| Search \| About GC2000: Main \| DCA \| Delegates \| Committees \| Studies \| Articles \| News \| Audio/Video \| Music \| Downloads \| About PETS Database Design - John Brawn \| PETS Webmaster - Susan Brumbaugh Have questions about General Conference? Call InfoServ at 1-800-251-8140, 8AM-4:30PM Central Time, Monday-Friday. Email: infoserv@umcom.umc.org Website Copyright Š2000 United Methodist Communications; All Rights Reserved

1996 Discipline ¶ 357