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tirsdag 09. desember 2008 22:55 |
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Methodism
Methodism is represented in ca. 130 countries and there around 80 million baptized members in the different branches of the movement. It has active worldwide missionary effort.
The Methodist Church in Norway
The United Methodist Church in Norway has approximately 12,500 baptised members in 48 congregations found all the way from Hammerfest in the north to Lista in the south.
Methodism has its roots in the revival in The Anglican Church in England that started in 1738 and was led by John Wesley. However, the Methodist Church in Norway was started by Norwegians returning from the US in the early 1850’s. The first congregation to be registered was in Sarpsborg in 1856. The church’s theology, as with Methodism elsewhere has a distinctive emphasis on God’s grace and its power to change the lives of those who believe in the salvation that God offers to all mankind. Methodists baptize their children because they recognize that God’s grace also reaches out to these. The church’s Communion Table is open to all who love God or who really desire to love God. Methodists do not distinquish / discriminate between men and women with regard to pastoral or diaconal ministries.
Organisation
The Scandinavian and Baltic countries have one bishop common to the whole area. Bishop Øystein Olsen, from Norway, is the current bishop. In Norway there are 2 district superintendents who represent the bishop in the day-to-day running of the church at the national level.
Each congregation is built up according to the United Methodist Church’s Book of Discipline and there is an annual conference where reports are presented and elections held for the committees with responsibility for different aspects of the church’s ministry.
The local congregation is run by voluntary workers, under the (spiritual) leadership of the pastor(s) who are assigned to the congregation by the bishop on an annual basis. The work of the church is financed by the voluntary giving of the members and friends as well through refunds of those parts of the members taxes that have gone to finance the work of the Norwegian State Church.
Educational Institutes
Methodist pastors in Norway are educated in cooperation with the MF Norwegian School of Theology in Oslo. In addition the Methodist Church is responsible for the Betanian Diaconal College in Bergen (www.betanian.no) and the Soltun Folk High School in Evenskjær / Harstad ( http://soltun.fhs.no) .
Hospitals / Diaconal Institutes
Stiftelsen Betanian Bergen
Stiftelsen Betanian Oslo
Stiftelsen Betanian Skien
Misjonary Society
The Norwegian Missionary Society is relatively small in size, but it can point to results of real spiritual, physical and social significance for people in Angola, Liberia, India, Zimbabwe and The Ukraine.
(http://misjon.metodistkirken.no)
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