United Methodist Social Creed

A proposed new Social Creed will be presented to The United Methodist Church General Conference, the denomination’s top law-making body, during its meeting April 23-May 2 in Fort Worth, Texas. The new creed has been developed by the General Board of Church & Society (GBCS) at the direction of the 2004 General Conference in commemoration of the denomination’s first social creed adopted in 1908.

This new creed, if adopted, will be the third Social Creed in the denomination’s history. The current creed was adopted in 1972 following the 1968 union of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church.

“The new Social Creed represents the global nature of the church,” said Bishop Jane Middleton, who took over as chair of the Social Creed Revision Task Force after Bishop Susan Morrison retired. “We participated in consultations in the Central Conferences in Europe, Africa and the Philippines. It was an exciting experience to look at language and theology, and their implications in those contexts.”

The new Social Creed represents the global nature of the church.

The Rev. Neal Christie, GBCS assistant general secretary for Education and Leadership Formation, described the 1908 Social Creed as a “vocal and urgent expression” of public witness to remind Methodists that systemic, social transformation goes hand in glove with growth in personal piety. “The Social Creed reflected our Methodist missional commitments to faith in Jesus Christ as evidenced in social justice,” he said.

Social vs. confessional creeds

The Social Creed is not parallel with the confessional creeds of the church, emphasized Bishop Middleton. “The confessional creeds represent the vertical line of the cross, our theological relationship with God,” she explained. “The Social Creed is the horizontal line, our relationship to the world and God’s people.”

The task force consisted of six people, three of whom are GBCS board members and three others to provide Central Conference representation, theological and musical expertise.

The proposed new creed reflects more current use of language, and is more liturgical and poetic in its presentation than its predecessors, according to its drafters.

We came up with a liturgical form that ought to be able to encourage musical forms.

Bishop Morrison said the task force wanted the new creed to be user-friendly. “It wouldn’t necessarily connect to my generation,” she said, “but would connect to the younger generation. That’s why we came up with a liturgical form that ought to be able to encourage musical forms. I have a dream of a rap form, jazz form.” A musical rendition of the proposed creed was sung at the Pre-General Conference Briefing in Fort Worth earlier this year.

First truly global creed

Christie said the text of the “first truly global” Social Creed in the denomination’s history “seeks to name and confess our participation in the brokenness of our world and affirms alternative futures reflective of God’s vision for a beloved community.”

The proposed creed can be spoken and sung as a proclamation. “It is truly evangelical in its intent to mirror the desires of the global church, a public witness that affirms in timely language our challenge to respond to God’s prophetic ministry through Jesus Christ,” Christie said. He described the imagery as poetic and invitational.

It is truly evangelical in its intent to mirror the desires of the global church.

Bishop Middleton said the new Social Creed may be one of the tools to help say who United Methodists are. “But I view it more as a statement of our marching orders as United Methodists for social holiness,” she said.

The current Social Creed is not “real accessible,” according to Bishop Morrison. She pointed out that it is not in the Book of Worship, but rather in the Book of Discipline. “We wanted to draft a creed that could be the introduction to every week’s worship,” she said.

Minimal exposure

Bishop Middleton agreed with her colleague’s assessment. “The Social Principles and the Social Creed have only minimal exposure across the United States,” she commented. “They cannot shape us if people are not exposed to them. We believe the liturgical form will make it more acceptable.”

The Rev. Greg Stover of West Ohio Conference, who participated with the bishops in a discussion of the proposed Social Creed at the Fort Worth briefing agreed. Stover said he doesn’t believe the Social Creed is itself a vision, but it does call United Methodists to “a broader vision” of the world. “It provides a set of values to guide our actions as individuals and congregations in the revelation of Jesus Christ,” he declared.

It declares where we stand as people of the Word, in piety, and in the context of the way we do ministry.

The proposed new creed is intended to enable all United Methodists to say: “Here we stand,” according to Bishop Middleton. “It declares where we stand as people of the Word, in piety, and in the context of the way we do ministry,” she said.

The proposed new Social Creed follows.

Proposed United Methodist Social Creed

God in the Spirit revealed in Jesus Christ,
calls us by grace
          to be renewed in the image of our Creator,
          that we may be one
          in divine love for the world.
And so shall we.

Today is the day
          God cares for the integrity of creation,
          wills the healing and wholeness of all life,
          weeps at the plunder of earth’s goodness.
And so shall we.

Today is the day
          God embraces all hues of humanity,
          delights in diversity and difference,
          favors solidarity transforming strangers into friends.
And so shall we.

Today is the day
          God cries with the masses of starving people,
          despises growing disparity between rich and poor,
          demands justice for workers in the marketplace.
And so shall we.

Today is the day
          God deplores violence in our homes and streets,
          rebukes the world’s warring madness,
          humbles the powerful and lifts up the lowly.
And so shall we.

Today is the day
          God calls for nations and peoples to live in peace,
          celebrates where justice and mercy embrace,
          exults when the wolf grazes with the lamb.
And so shall we.

Today is the day
          God brings good news to the poor,
          proclaims release to the captives,
          gives sight to the blind, and
          sets the oppressed free.
And so shall we.

Editor's note: You can read and learn more about the 1908 Social Creed and the current Social Creed on this Web site at 1908 Social Creed and current Social Creed.