MFSA lives our belief that to be faithful witnesses to the Gospel of Jesus Christ is to be involved in the transformation of the social order.
Our four Areas of Priority are:
- Peace
- Poverty
- People’s Rights
- Progessive Initiatives
Founded in 1907, MFSA has been an irrepressible force in Methodism for over 100 years. In that time, just a few of the Federation’s long list of actions and achievements include:
- providing unparalleled support throughout the last century for the labor movement;
- leading the struggle for United Methodist divestment from South Africa;
- consistent and unswerving support for the ordination of women and the removal of all gender discrimination in our church;
- continuing dedication to the elimination of racism and ethnic discrimination in the UMC;
- landmark documented publications of the Far Right’s influence in the church;
- rallying United Methodists throughout the Connection to counter that influence;
- determination to protect our church’s support for reproductive choice;
- championing the cause of full inclusion for LGBT individuals in the life of the United Methodist Church; and
- providing a clarion call for the UMC to take concrete action for a just peace in Palestine and Israel, such as selective divestment by the UMC Board of Pensions.
MFSA mobilizes all its resources to make a major impact every four years at the denomination’s General Conference and Jurisdictional Conferences, the bodies that determine the future direction of the United Methodist Church.
MFSA works often through the ministries of the United Methodist Church, supporting and augmenting peace and justice UMC ministries in the local church, annual conferences, and at the national level.
However, MFSA is not an official UMC body – we are are not funded by the United Methodist Church. We are supported entirely by annual memberships and the contributions of concerned faith activists.
Because we are an independent organization, we can call our church to expand its understanding of the radical call of the Gospel to be the inclusive, justice-seeking, risk-taking Body of Christ.
We also take action on issues and initiatives that are beyond the scope of the church’s ministries, providing an irreplaceable voice for our United Methodist members in numerous ecumenical and interfaith coalitions and campaigns.
The California Pacific MFSA Affiliate
Our regional affiliate of MFSA is one of the strongest and most active in the nation.
Every June at the University of Redlands campus, Cal-Pac MFSA has a major role at the California-Pacific Annual Conference session, advocating for ministries and legislation that will promote the causes of peace and justice in our conference and throughout the church.
In recent years, just a few of the many resolutions we authored and/or helped to pass have achieved:
- a significant effect on the outcome of our state budget, according to the ecumenical church advocacy organization in Sacramento, California Church IMPACT: California’s State Budget Is A Moral Document
- Cal-Pac Conference support for the work of Rev. Sandra Olewine in Jerusalem, and for the cause of selective divestment to accomplish a just peace in Palestine and Israel
- official opposition by the Cal-Pac Conference to the ‘California Marriage Protection Amendment,’ Prop 8: Protecting Marriage Equality
- encouragement and community support for clergy and congregations who embrace and endorse the marriages of same-sex couples in their midst: Affirming Marriage Equality and Pastoral Response to Legality of Same-Gender Marriage in CA
Also at Annual Conference sessions, Cal-Pac MFSA has repeatedly and successfully endorsed progressive Cal-Pac delegates to Western Jurisdictional Conference and to General Conference.
Every four years, Cal-Pac MFSA sends many volunteers to General Conference to work as advocates on crucial social justice legislation and ministries for the global United Methodist Church.
Cal-Pac MFSA 