NEJ Committee on Ordained Ministry Statement of Mutual Understanding

March 8, 2019

As members of the Northeastern Jurisdiction Committee on Ordained Ministry1, we affirm the sacred worth and common humanity of all people, and therefore state and commit to the following in our work together:

We recognize the harm and pain that was caused at the Special General Conference Session of 2019, particularly within our LGBTQIA community;

We remember our baptismal covenant which calls us to support, nurture and care for all individuals in their call to ministry;

We recognize that within our Jurisdiction there is significant theological and cultural diversity, and that our Boards of Ordained Ministry may act contextually in order to examine and affirm candidates to fulfill ministry within their communities;

We reaffirm the separation of power between the Board of Ordained Ministry and the Episcopal office, commit to work collaboratively, and trust our bishops as risk-taking, temporal, and spiritual leaders in such a time as this;


As the Northeastern Jurisdictional Committee on Ordained Ministry, we:

  • Covenant to pray for each other in the uncertain months ahead;
  • Will live out the spirit of our connectional life together by communicating honestly and respectfully;
  • Seek to discern ways that we can move forward in this new environment;
  • Covenant to meet (or send a substitute) to all called meetings of the NEJ Committee on Ordained Ministry;
  • Support the work of our resident theological schools and seminaries as they prepare students for candidacy and ordination;
  • Will continue to live into our common values or principals as the NEJ Committee on Ordained Ministry;
  • Will hold each other to mutual accountability and find ways to work together toward the nurture of a culture of calling across the NEJ.


1 The NEJ Committee on Ordained Ministry is formed as defined by the Book of Discipline Paragraph 535.

Board of Ordained Ministry (BOOM)