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Overview

As one of the church’s fourteen general agencies, the Commission serves to bring about the full inclusion of women in the life of The United Methodist Church (UMC). Our charge is to challenge the church to “a continuing commitment to the full and equal responsibility and participation of women in the total life and mission of the church.”

With this commitment, the UMC affirms itself as “part of the universal church, rooted in the liberating message of Jesus Christ, that recognizes every person, woman or man, as a full and equal part of God’s human family.” (The 2000 Book of Discipline, ¶ 2102)

The Commission is funded through the World Service Fund as a part of the general benevolences of the UMC. Our forty-three members, elected from across the church, include at least one third racial ethnic persons and a balance of laywomen, laymen, and clergy with relatively equal numbers of women and men.

Theology Grounded in the Gospel

The life and work of the Commission are grounded in the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Judeo-Christian scriptures. Within that Word is expressed God’s profound desire for justice and peace.

Genesis: The creation stories tell of God making female and male in God’s own image. God placed them in the garden to work in harmonious partnership.

Old Testament prophets: They call for justice, speak out against inequities, and stand with the oppressed and marginalized.

Jesus Christ: Christ, our inspiration, had women as friends, disciples and witnesses, challenged the conventional sexism (a belief that women are inferior and men are superior) of his time.

Apostle Paul: He calls the people of God to create a world where the gifts of both women and men are celebrated and used, where “there is neither male nor female, but all are one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)

In many ways the church, the body of Christ, has followed the world by embracing the sin of sexism, rather than living out of the scriptural vision of justice and mutuality.

The General Commission on the Status and Role of Women (GCSRW) stands as the UMC’s confession of its participation in this sin and as the church’s commitment to embrace more fully the promise of the gospel: Abundance of life for all persons.

(Source:  http://www.cosrow.org)