DALLAS, TEXAS - Council of Bishops president Bishop Bruce R. Ough has challenged fellow leaders in The United Methodist Church to find a common moral and prophetic voice to attend to the household of God. 

Photo: Bishop Ough addressed General Conference 2016. Photo by Dave Stucke, Dakotas Conference.

Delivering the president's address at the Council of Bishops today in Dallas, Texas, Bishop Ough implored fellow bishops to be “diligent and prayerful in attending to the fear in our own household, but let us not forget that Jesus calls us to attend to the fear that grips the entire household of God.”

“Colleagues, if there was ever a time for this Council to speak to the nations with clarion voice, with righteous judgment, with a call to repent and give one’s heart to God, it is now,” Bishop Ough declared.

Bishop Ough addressed United Methodist bishops from Africa, Europe, Asia and the U.S. and others gathered for the Council of Bishops’ spring meeting in the wake of a complex Judicial Council ruling that the consecration of a gay bishop violates church law.

He acknowledged that the church is “rightly watching” how the bishops will lead in this moment and as we go forward, and urged them to remember and affirm that ministry and life in the church continues.

“From the beginning of the Methodist movement, we have gone to every corner of the globe to proclaim the promise of Easter:  In Christ, the stones of your life can be rolled away and you can be set free,” said Ough, referring to the narrative of the first Easter (Mark 16-1:4).

“Thousands of congregations, on four continents, and scores of annual and central conferences are daily rolling the stone away for individuals and communities to experience the hope and joy of new, abundant resurrected life,” said Ough.

Click here to read United Methodist News Story about the Council of Bishops meeting.