United Methodists Grant Deacons Sacramental Authority

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20081114/united-methodists-grant-deacons-sacramental-authority.htm

[The Christian Post] 15 Nov 2008--The United Methodist Council of Bishops recently adopted guidelines for granting deacons sacramental authority under certain circumstances during a meeting earlier this month.

Under the approved guidelines, to be effective in January, bishops have the authority to allow deacons to administer Holy Communion and perform baptisms based on their interpretation of a new sentence in the United Methodist “Book of Discipline” on the ministry of deacon.

The new sentence in Paragraph 328 of the “Book of Discipline” on the responsibility of the deacon reads: “For the sake of extending the mission and ministry of the church, a pastor-in-charge or district superintendent may request that the Bishop grant local sacramental authority to the deacon to administer the sacraments in the absence of an elder, within a deacon’s primary appointment.”

In other words, it is up to bishops’ discretion whether the circumstance warrants the need for a deacon to administer the sacrament.