Connectional and-or Catholic
United Methodist identity is bound up, in part, with our understanding of the word "connectional." In ordinary speech, a connection is "a relationship in which a person, thing, or idea is linked or associated with something else." Almost every Christian church is connectional in the ordinary sense of that word. When United Methodists use the word, however, we are describing our particular manner of being connected with other members of the United Methodist Church. According to the Book of Discipline , we are connected by our historical standards of faith, our polity, our ethos, our distinctive way of doing things and our working together in mission (¶132). The connection is "experienced" through our systems of episcopacy, itinerancy, property, annual conferences and agencies. (¶701) The Book of Discipline is the cornerstone of our unique way of being connectional. For many United Methodists, the word "connectional" is not merely descript...