3255-3260

3255. Regular Pastoral Service. The pastoral office is defined in 675. In The Wesleyan Church, pastoral service includes the pastor of a church or churches (735), and an assistant pastor (741). An ordained minister appointed by a district conference to any of these levels of pastoral service in connection with a Wesleyan church, developing church, or mission shall be placed on the appointed list (1240:1:A:2); a commissioned or licensed minister appointed as pastor or assistant pastor of a Wesleyan church shall be a voting member of the district conference (317; 1083:3; 1240:2:A; 1240:3:A; 3044:4; 3059:2e).

3260. Supply Pastors. A district conference (503; 1180:24b; 1240:5:E), or, in the interim of its sessions, the district superintendent and the district board of administration (1233:29, 36; 1310:20-21) shall have the power to appoint a supply pastor, who shall serve subject to the following regulations:

(1) A supply pastor may be a Wesleyan ordained minister or commissioned or licensed minister serving under some other appointment or an ordained minister on loan from one district to another (503; 1240:1:A:2b; 3100:2); a licensed special or commissioned worker (3460–3470); a minister in process of transfer from another denomination (3104); a minister who belongs to another denomination, a ministerial student, a lay minister, or a lay member.

(2) A supply pastor shall be appointed temporarily to fill the pulpit and to provide a spiritual ministry, but shall not have authority to administer the sacraments or to perform marriages unless that authority adheres on some other basis, and shall not perform the administrative function of the pastor except in filing of reports unless authorized to do so by the district superintendent (1310:8, 25). If a supply pastor is serving a congregation isolated from Wesleyan ministers, making it difficult to provide for administration of the sacraments (725:6), the district superintendent may grant the supply pastor special authorization to administer them.

(3) A supply pastor’s church membership shall not be automatically transferred to the church of service.

(4) A supply pastor shall be granted a certificate of authorization to supply on the form provided in 6240, and shall be a nonvoting member of the district conference unless qualifying as a voting member by some other right (1090:7).

(5) A supply pastor may be removed or replaced at any time by the district board of administration (1233:36; 1310:20-21; Gen. Bd. Policy on Ch. Disc. 5200:4; 5215:1).