Nashville, USA - The high court of the United Methodist Church is holding its first meeting outside the United States in acknowledgment of the denomination's worldwide growth.
The Judicial Council is set to meet April 25-28 in Manila, Philippines.
In 2000, an attorney from Cabanatuan City, Philippines, Rodolfo Beltran, was elected to the panel, the first person outside the United States to serve on the court. He invited the other members to hold a meeting in his home country.
At the meeting, the council will reconsider its decision from last year on the number of delegates that the Methodist Church of the Ivory Coast can send to the 2008 General Conference. That assembly is the top policy making body for the church.
The United Methodist Church claims more than 8.2 million members in the United States and about 11 million total worldwide.