310–313

Article 7. The Ministry

310. The General Conference shall from time to time enact provisions for the training, qualification, and ordination of the ministry. Every Wesleyan minister must be a member of some Wesleyan church, and each ordained minister must be a member of a district. An ordained minister is a minister of the gospel fully invested with all the functions of the Christian ministry.

313. The constitutional rights of ministers in The Wesleyan Church, if not under discipline, shall include the right to:

(1) Preach the gospel, and in the case of ordained ministers, to administer baptism and the Lord’s Supper, to perform all parts of divine worship, and to solemnize the rite of matrimony.

(2) Be eligible, in the case of ordained ministers, for election to any office in the Church for which ordained ministers are eligible.

(3) Contract the pastoral relationship with local Wesleyan churches subject to the other provisions of this Constitution (313:6; 323:1-2).

(4) Enjoy the use for religious meetings of the church building or buildings of the pastoral charge to which appointment has been made by the district conference.

(5) Serve the assigned pastoral charge without interference by unauthorized activities of another minister of The Wesleyan Church.

(6) Transfer in the manner prescribed by The Discipline from one district to another, subject to the approval of the district superintendent and the General Superintendent.

(7) Have recourse, even if under discipline, to a proper court of jurisdiction in any matters involving complaint against the minister’s character or ministerial conduct and to appeal the decision of such court.