800 Baptism. It is contrary to the principles and usage of the Methodist Church to confer what purports to be baptism on any person known to have been already baptized at any time.
801 Residential Schools. Where candidates for membership are pupils in a Methodist residential school the Church Council responsible under clauses 8 and 9 of the Deed of Union and this Section shall be that of the nearest appropriate Local Church, as arranged between the chaplain of the school and the Superintendent of the Circuit. See also S.O.s 621 and 631(3).
802 Preparation Class. The Church Council shall itself or through the Pastoral Committee arrange preparation classes for all candidates for membership. The classes shall be led by a minister or other suitable person and shall be such as to prepare each candidate for the commitment involved in membership of the Methodist Church and to enable the leader to report to the council, directly or through the committee, as to the matters of which the council must be satisfied under Standing Order 803. See the second note to S.O. 801 above.
803 Admission. Before approving admission to membership the Church Council shall be satisfied of each candidate's sincere acceptance of the basis of membership in the Methodist Church as shown by evidence of life and conduct, by fidelity to the ordinances of the Church and by the maintenance of Christian fellowship in the means of grace. As to persons received from other Christian communions see the directions of the Conference of 1970, set out in Appendix B to Entry into the Church in The Methodist Service Book (p. A42), and explained in a report of the Faith and Order Committee adopted by the Conference of 1981 and set out in the Minutes of Conference, 1982, p. 31, as amended in 1993.
804 Public Service. (1) A public service of reception into membership and confirmation should be held at least once a year either for a Local Church or for a group of Local Churches. (2) If any candidate approved by the Church Council is unavoidably absent from the public service of reception and confirmation the minister or other person in pastoral charge of the Local Church shall arrange for his or her reception and confirmation at a suitable time and place in the presence of members of the Local Church.
805 Baptismal Roll. A roll of baptized children shall be kept and periodically reviewed by the Church Council of each Local Church. The council shall satisfy itself that all possible oversight of such children is maintained and suitable instruction given, as they are able to receive it, to prepare them for Christian discipleship. This Standing Order concerns the Baptismal Roll, commonly called the Cradle Roll', kept with a view to the pastoral care and Christian nurture of baptized children. As to the baptism register see S.O. 807 (1).
806 Children. The Church Council shall keep in constant review the names of the children growing up in the Local Church and provide for their needs at each stage of their development. When they sincerely desire to serve Jesus Christ and are receiving regular instruction in the Bible and the Faith they shall be treated as candidates for membership. Before such children are admitted into membership the classes in which they have been meeting shall take the form of, or be supplemented by, the preparation class required by Standing Order 802.
807 Registers. (1) The names of all persons, whether children or adults, who have been baptised shall be entered into a baptism register kept for the purpose in each Local Church or Circuit. (2) The names of all children for whom thanks have been given in a public act of thanksgiving after their birth or adoption shall be entered into a thanksgiving register kept for the purpose in each Local Church or Circuit separately from the register of baptisms. (3) The names of all persons who have been confirmed in a service of public worship shall be entered into a confirmation register kept for the purpose in each Local Church or Circuit.
808 Members of other Methodist Churches. (1) Members of Methodist churches overseas who join in the life and worship of the Church while living in its territory may be received as members by transfer in the same way as members removing from one Circuit to another, and shall always be encouraged to do so. (2) Nevertheless, if such members retain strong links with their home churches and wish to retain their membership there, they may be admitted into membership of the Church without such a transfer upon compliance with Clause (3) below. (3) Before approving such a person for admission to membership the Church Council shall: (i) satisfy itself that the applicant is currently a member in good standing with another Methodist church overseas ( the home church ); and (ii) obtain confirmation that the discipline of the home church permits the dual membership contemplated; and (iii) inform the applicant s minister, class leader and pastoral committee in the home church, or the persons with comparable duties, of its intention to act under this Standing Order and of the effect of doing so. (4) Such persons, if approved by the Church Council, shall be admitted into membership in accordance with Clause 8 of the Deed of Union, and shall then have all the privileges and duties of members and be subject in all respects to the discipline of the Methodist Church as members. In particular Clauses 9 and 10 of the Deed of Union and Sections 02 and 81 of Standing Orders shall apply, subject to Clauses (5) and (6) below. (5) It shall be the responsibility of the Church Council and Pastoral Committee of the Local Church of which such a person is for the time being a member, and the minister and class leader with pastoral responsibility, to co-operate fully with the corresponding bodies and persons in the home church in maintaining pastoral care of that member, and in particular the Pastoral Committee shall consult with the corresponding body in the home church whenever a question arises as to a disciplinary charge under Section 02 or as to lapse of membership for persistent absence under Clause 10 of the Deed of Union and shall inform that body of any action taken. (6) When such a member returns to the territory of the home church the Pastoral Committee shall record the fact that he or she has ceased for that reason to be a member of the Church, but shall do so in a separate category from lapse or transfer and shall inform the appropriate officer of the home church.
810 Roll of Church Members. (1) The Pastoral Committee shall record in a book or roll, to be kept for the purpose, the names of all the members of the Methodist Church belonging to the Local Church, and shall examine the roll name by name not less than once in each year. For the committee see S.O. 644. For the duties of circuit ministers see S.O. 526 ( 1). As to members who are pupils in a Methodist residential school see S.O. 631(3) and 801. (2) The number of members returned for each Local Church shall be recorded in the minutes of the Church Council after each annual review. The annual return is of membership at the 1st November (S.O. 644 (8) (i)).
811 Community Roll. (1) The Church Council shall establish a community roll or card-index system in which the names of all those who are within the pastoral care of the Local Church shall be recorded. This shall include baptized children, children in family church or Sunday school and adolescent or adult adherents as well as members. (2) Every effort shall be made to lead those who are not members to the commitment involved in membership and to this end the roll shall be reviewed not less than once in each year. A name shall be taken off the roll only when it is clear that the person has completely severed connection with the local community of the Church. See also S.O. 815. (3) The procedure of transfer set out in Standing Order 813 shall apply to those whose names are on the community roll as well as to members. (4) The number on the community roll, including members, shall be recorded in the minutes of the Church Council after each annual review.
812 Returns of Membership. (1) The numbers on the membership roll and the community roll shall be reported by the Superintendent to the district associate secretary for church membership and by him or her to the Chairman of the District, the secretary of the Synod and the district [. . .] secretary for ministries. For the district secretary referred to see S.O. 403. (2) In all returns of membership the number of members shall exclude persons in training for membership. For members in training see S.O. 802 and 806.
813 Transfers General. (1) The utmost care shall be taken to give notice by forwarding the record card in the event of the removal of members and non-members from one Circuit to another and to ensure that they are visited on arrival by a minister or probationer of the Circuit to which they have removed. An acknowledgement slip should be sent by the recipient minister or probationer. When a member removes to Scotland from another District and there is any doubt about the Circuit or Local Church to which membership should be transferred or there appears to be no Methodist church in the area then the secretary of the Methodist Synod in Scotland should immediately be informed. As to the transfer of local preachers see S.O. 565 (4), 568 (5)(ii). (2) It shall be the duty of a class leader or pastoral visitor to send to the minister or probationer in pastoral charge of the Local Church the name and new address of any member of the Class who is removing. Notes for giving this information are included in the class books. As to members who are pupils in Methodist residential schools see S.O.s 631(3) and 801. (3) The minister or probationer in pastoral charge of the Local Church shall be responsible for carrying out the transfer of members removing from one Circuit to another. (4) Members formally transferred from one Circuit to another shall invariably be received and their names entered on a membership roll in the receiving Circuit, even if they do not meet in worship or fellowship and it accordingly becomes necessary to visit them in accordance with clause 10 of the Deed of Union. When a transfer cannot immediately be made a letter of pastoral commendation shall in all known cases be sent to a minister or probationer in the new Circuit. A member who has removed to another area shall be transferred immediately to the nearest church until such time as a firm decision is made by the member concerned. For ceasing to meet see cl. 10 of the Deed of Union (Book Il, Part I). As to persons received from other communions see the note to S.O. 803 (2). (5) Enquiry shall be made in the Pastoral Committee as to what removals of members have taken place either to or from the Local Church and whether in each case a proper transfer has been made. The Conference of 1990, in replying to a memorial concerning the difficulties sometimes experienced in obtaining transfers of membership from overseas Methodist churches, indicated that in such cases a Local Church, if satisfied that there has been a serious attempt to obtain a proper transfer and that there are adequate grounds for accepting that the person concerned is a member in good standing, may properly use its discretion in accepting the member as by transfer', taking care to inform the overseas church of the action taken.
814 Special Cases. (1) Notes of removal for members removing from Circuits in any of the Welsh Districts into English Circuits in London shall be sent to the secretary responsible for London Mission affairs. This now affects only the Cymru District, as the sole District where the work is carried on wholly or mainly in the Welsh language (S.O. 003 (iv)). The secretary responsible for London Mission affairs is a secretary of the Home Mission Division. (2) Notes of removal for and information regarding Methodists removing overseas shall be sent to the appropriate officer of the overseas church as listed in the Minutes of Conference, or if no name and address are listed, to the Secretary of the Conference. As to Methodist members arriving from overseas see S.O. 809 and the note to S.O. 813(5) above.
815 Status of Lapsed Members. The name of a person who has ceased to be a member pursuant to clause 10 of the Deed of Union shall be retained on the community roll unless he or she requests that this shall not be so. For cl. 10 of the Deed see Book II, Part l. For the circumstances in which a name is to be removed from the community roll see S.O. 811 (2).
827 Readmission. The Conference, mindful of the purpose for which the Methodist Church was raised up and believing in the possibility of repentance and forgiveness, declares that any person expelled from membership under Section 02 may at any time be admitted again after application to a Church Council. Readmission shall take place only if the council, in the light of all the relevant evidence, is satisfied that the person concerned is sincerely penitent and has made, or is prepared to make, such reparation as is possible. In cases where the decision to expel a member was made by a connexional committee the Secretary of the Conference shall be consulted before the member is reinstated.
828 Consultation. In all cases where a person ceased to be a member as a result of a decision of a connexional committee or the Conference under Section 02 or by the action of the President or the Conference under clause (4) or (6) of Standing Order 786 the Secretary of the Conference shall be consulted before the person is readmitted.
830 Procedure. If a request is made by any person whose previous marriage has been dissolved, whether such a person is a member or not, to be married in a Methodist Church or by a Methodist minister elsewhere, or should a civil marriage already have been contracted by any such person and a request made that a religious service in a Methodist Church follow such a marriage, the request shall be considered by the minister concerned after he or she has interviewed both parties. Every endeavour must be made to uphold the principles and ideals embodied in the conference statement on divorce and the conference declaration on the Christian view of marriage and the family. Should the minister be in any doubt as to the proper course to take he or she shall refer the matter to the ministers of the Circuit or, if in a single minister Circuit, to the Superintendent of a neighbouring Circuit. In all cases the Chairman shall be consulted, and may convene a small group to assist him or her. Persons other than ministers who may be requested to officiate at such marriages shall act under the direction of the Superintendent. Under no circumstances does the Conference require a minister to officiate at the marriage of a divorced person should it be contrary to the dictates of his or her conscience to do so.