This study will include information gleaned from the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. website and the United Methodist Church website. Readers will learn the purpose of the website and the mission and services of each denomination. Each denomination addresses tough issues such as homosexuality, the war in the Middle East, and even immigration. Issues such as these have caused denominations to split and create new denominations in the recent past. Ironically, the Presbyterian Church and the Methodist Church are currently debating these hot topics in the Christian faith at their annual conferences this year.
The Presbyterian website only touches briefly on information for those new to the Presbyterian faith or for those wanting to learn more. The website provides a brief history of the denomination as well as its position on the basics of the faith. Such basics include Jesus, the Bible, the Holy Spirit, sin and salvation. This information is useful to a variety of readers such as those new to the Christian faith, those new to the Presbyterian denomination, and those just seeking to learn more about the Presbyterian Church.
The purpose of the Presbyterian website appears to be to educate members or potential members on everything Presbyterians believe. No call to action or call to faith is present. Much of the language is geared toward those who are familiar with Christian lingo. This makes it appear the website is informational only, not as a tool to convert new believers, and not to obtain members from other denominations.
Much of the information about the Presbyterian Church is not surprising. They believe God is present in Jesus Christ who died for our sins. Faith in Jesus is necessary for salvation. The Holy Spirit guides believers in their lives.
New information includes the fact that the Presbyterian Church directly traces their foundations to the writings of John Calvin. Calvin was actually a lawyer, not a traditional pastor. Presbyterians arrived in America from “England, Scotland, and Ireland” (http://gamc.pcusa.org/ministries/101/). The first organized Presbyterian group was founded in America in 1706 (ibid).
Other new information about the Presbyterian Church is that the elders, the leaders of the church, are actually ordained. Elders are elected by the rest of the congregation. Usually, in other denominations, ordination is reserved for the actual pastors of the church. Ordination officially recognizes a person’s call to service.
In regards to social issues, the Presbyterians take a forward approach. One example is the fact that for anyone receiving health care benefits through the Presbyterian Church; these benefits will extend to same-sex partners. Most denominations do not approve of same sex unions.
In addition, the Presbyterian Church is comfortable ordaining women. Even though we are well into the 21st century, some denominations do not allow women to have leadership roles in the church. Women may be ordained on either the elder level or on the pastoral level in the Presbyterian Church.
The Presbyterian Church is vocal in its “opposition to capital punishment” (fhttp://gamc.pcusa.org/ministries/101/capital-punishment/). The church believes that Jesus’ death on the cross precludes the need for capital punishment. Another reason for the church’s opposition to capital punishment is that it brutalizes the society that uses capital punishment (http://gamc.pcusa.org/ministries/101/capital-punishment/).
The Presbyterian Church website offers resources for churches online such as bulletin inserts, nomination forms, fund application forms, worship aids such as litanies and hymns, church policies and manuals, videos on current issues, and church publications. These resources are probably available offline as well. The videos are obviously only available online.
The Presbyterian Church also provides relief to flood victims, youth ministries, evangelism all over the world, and ministry to college students. Other services include fighting hunger and fighting human trafficking, Presbyterians also provide support for congregations that speak languages other than English.
No visible mission statement is located on the Presbyterian Church’s website. The Presbyterian Church is obviously liberal because it allows benefits to same-sex couples, is against capital punishment, and allows women in ministry. The website has posts regarding current events and political topics dated June of 2012. The public is invited to leave comments and some comments are from this month as well.
In some ways, the United Methodist Church main website is similar to the Presbyterian website. The Methodist Church website offers extensive information to its readers. The purpose of the website appears to be to inform, not to convert new believers or to convert believers from other denominations. The Methodist website uses language that is known only to those raised in the church. People who have no exposure to the church or the Christian faith will not understand the information provided.
Under a heading called We Act in Society, the Methodist Church states that it supports abstinence of alcohol. That seems surprising because in some ways, the Methodist Church is progressive. For example, Methodists ordain women.
The website also tells readers that the Methodist Church has four main areas of focus which are:
Combatting the diseases of poverty by improving health globally.
Engaging in ministry with the poor.
Creating new places for new people and revitalizing existing congregations.
Developing principled Christian leaders for the church and the world. (http://www.umc.org/site/c.lwL4KnN1LtH/b.4443111/k.F4C8/Four_Areas_of_Focus.htm)
The United Methodist Church is extremely active in current events. When a tornado destroyed Joplin, MO in May, 2011, the church sent money and volunteers to help clean up the damage and rebuild the city. Another commentary on society is the implicit statement that church members should be concerned about and informed about current events. This is evident by the United Methodist News Service. This service covers current events in the national news as well as major happenings in the Methodist Church.
The Methodist Church provides many services online. Examples include directories of churches, districts, conferences, bishops, boards, agencies, and publications. The Methodist Church provides camps for children during the summer months. The Methodist denomination sponsors hospitals and facilities for older adults.
The mission of the United Methodist Church is “The mission of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world” (http://www.umc.org/site/c.lwL4KnN1LtH/b.2295473/k.7034/Mission_and_Ministry.htm). The mission statement simply means they want to make everyone Disciples of Christ. In common terms this means the church wants to make everyone aware of who Jesus Christ is, what Jesus Christ did on the cross, what it means, and to persuade people to accept Jesus Christ as their savior so that they are saved from their sins.
This group seems to be moderate as they are still struggling over their stance on homosexual unions and homosexual pastors. Struggling with homosexuality shows conservative tendencies. One liberal tendency of the group is the fact that they embrace women as ordained ministers. They are liberal in that they believe that everyone is in ministry through their daily lives. Some conservative faiths such as the Catholic faith believe that only the priest can be in ministry. When the liberal and conservative tendencies are taken into consideration, the end result is that the United Methodist Church is moderate in their beliefs.
The United Methodist website news service has stories dated as recently as today, so, yes; they have posts on current events. Recent stories include one on immigrant college students and one on same sex marriages. The news service allows the public to make posts on the stories so the public is involved by making current comments on the news stories.
Both the Presbyterian and Methodist websites are modern looking. Both are loaded with information such as current liturgy readings, history of the denomination, structure of the denomination, their missions, and much more. Each denomination’s website is interactive with videos. Both websites heavily promote missions. It is amazing how much information is available on both websites. It is probably impossible for one person to completely explore each website, even over an extended period of time. With so much information, there is probably something for everybody on each website.
References
The Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.pcusa.org/.
The United Methodist Church. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.umc.org.
