People
The people involved in Methodist organisation are as follows.
The individual Christian who is a Member of a Methodist Society is both a member of a Class, a group of nominally 12, under a Class Leader, and also a member of a local Methodist Church or Society. The Class Leader has some pastoral responsibility for the Class.
Early Methodism (as organised by Wesley) had Local Preachers and Travelling Preachers. A Local Preacher was a layman, perhaps a farmer in our example, appointed to preach within his own Circuit. A Travelling Preacher, or Minister in modern Methodism, is appointed by Conference to serve for a limited time in a Circuit and then move around the country to any other Circuit where Conference may send him. In John Wesley's time, this could be as little as a few months. As Methodism became more settled as a denomination, this was from one to four years, now typically five to ten years. Some Circuits may also have Lay Pastors.
The non-pastoral work is done by Society Stewards and Circuit Stewards. These are appointed to various functions, such as Treasurer, or Property Steward, etc. to look after various practical needs. Usually these are voluntary workers, but some situations also require paid staff.
Read more about this topic: Methodist Circuit
Famous quotes containing the word people:
“... woman does not see what people of intellect perceived fifty years ago: that suffrage is an evil, that it has only helped to enslave people, that it has but closed their eyes that they may not see how craftily they were made to submit.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)
“Go down, Moses
‘Way down in Egypt land,
Tell ole Pharaoh,
To let my people go.”
—Unknown. Go Down, Moses (l. 1–4)
“If people must be talking about me, I would have it to be truthfully and justly. I would willingly return from the next world to contradict any person who described me other than I was, although he did it to honour me.”
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)