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Elder (Methodism)
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An Elder in the Methodist Church -- sometimes called a Presbyter or Minister -- is someone who has been ordained by a Bishop to the ministry of Word, Sacrament, Order, and Service. Their responsibilities are to preach and teach, preside at the celebration of the sacraments, administer the Church through pastoral guidance, and lead the congregations under their care in service ministry to the world.
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An Elder in the Methodist Church -- sometimes called a Presbyter or Minister -- is someone who has been ordained by a Bishop to the ministry of Word, Sacrament, Order, and Service. Their responsibilities are to preach and teach, preside at the celebration of the sacraments, administer the Church through pastoral guidance, and lead the congregations under their care in service ministry to the world. The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church states that
The office of Elder, then, is what most people tend to think of as the pastoral, priestly, clergy office within the church. In most of the denominations within Methodism, ordination to the office of Elder is open to both men and women.
Ordination and Apostolic Ministry
The Purpose of Ordination
The Act of Ordination
Standards
According to the Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church,
Marriage of Elders
Article XXI of the Articles of Religion state that:
Apparel
While not presiding at a service of worship, elders in the United Methodist Church are sometimes seen wearing the clerical collar and clergy shirt in public. Preaching tabs can also be worn around the neck in lieu of the clerical collar. It should be noted that many Methodist elders choose not to wear clerical clothing in their daily activities.
When presiding at a service of worship, Methodist elders are often seen wearing church vestments, namely the pulpit robe or alb, and to a lesser extent, the chasuble. Stoles that reflect the season of the Christian year are worn over the vestment. Other elders choose not to wear vestments and are often seen in suits, dress clothes or casual clothing.
Educational requirements
In most cases, Methodist elders must have graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in liberal education or equivalent degree in a college or university listed by the University Senate of the United Methodist Church and must have a Master of Divinity or equivalent degree in a school of theology (seminary). However, individual Annual Conferences may require that a Master of Divinity or equivalent first professional degree be the minimum standard for entrance into the Annual Conference's Order of Elders, or presbyterate. While not often used and just beginning to develop as an informal tradition, a United Methodist Elder may place the initials "OP" (Ordinate Presbyterium [Order of Elders]) after his or her name in formal title or signature. This is a result of the changes made by the 1992 and 1996 General Conferences which revamped many aspects of the ordained offices in the United Methodist Church's polity and doctrine and made the Order of Deacon a permanent, rather than transitional, office. These reforms also elevated the previously unordained office of Diaconal Minister, who were lay persons performing specialized tasks within a congregational or ministry staff setting (such as music, education, youth ministry, etc.) to ordained status as permanent Deacons as well. The informal use of "OP" is starting to be used to differentiate between the two permanent Orders, making clear that the person in question is, in fact, an Elder in full time, vocational, ordained, itinerant (unique to Elders) ministry.
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