The Bethany CME Lay Ministry
Reach, Teach, and Minster to All of God's People, -Equipping the for Greater Works and Service for Him.
Mission
The Lay Ministry aids the CME Church in equipping and enabling her members to engage in effective ministry in the Name of Jesus Christ by focusing on The Laos (the whole people of God). The Department, thus, develops information and promotes initiatives that will strengthen and empower “God’s People” to provide meaningful and effective ministry, particularly at the local level of the church. By promoting the Lay Ministry Beliefs of Studying, Seeking, Sharing, and Serving, the Department of Lay Ministry seeks to live out its mission to “Reach, Teach, and Minister to All of God’s People, – Equipping Them For Greater Works and Service For Him.”
At Bethany CME Church the Lay Ministry consists of the missionaries, ushers, stewards, stewardess, and trustees.
The Commission of Social Justice and Human Concerns
Our Purpose: To determine the witness of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in terms of the social, economic, and political issues of the day.
The Commission on Social Justice and Human Concerns met on August 23, 2023, and makes the following recommendation:
OPERATION VACCINATION
From October 1 through November 30, the CME Church would observe Operation Vaccine to ensure that every member of the church would be up to date and receive the necessary vaccines, especially those that work to prevent the seriousness of diseases such as Covid, the flu and RSV. This would be accomplished with the support and cooperation of the Departments of Lay Ministries, Ministry to Men, the Women’s Missionary Council, and the Connectional Young Adult Ministry.
KNOW YOUR HERITAGE MONTH
The month of February, 2024 would be Know Your Heritage Month in the CME Church. From December 2023-January 2024, each local CME is asked to collect banned books, especially those written by African American authors or tell stories about African Americans. Each church would hold an open house where members of the community would be invited to come to check out and read these books. One resource is to check with local libraries for banned books before they are disposed of or destroyed.
POLICTIAL ALIGNMENT & VOTING RIGHTS
By building the necessary relationships with elected officials, we can act effectively on the recommendations of The ALC of the Congressional Black Caucus as it pertains to legislative action to eliminate the Electoral College and to reduce voter suppression efforts to change voter registration laws nationwide that allow for voters to remain on voter rolls indefinitely.
CME LEGISLATIVE DAY
Each state where CME Churches are located observe a CME Legislative Day, including naming honorary CMEs to be part of the effort. Know the issues that are happening in your state so proper strategies can be developed to organize visits and legislative asks.