Those difficulties led the United Methodist Council of Bishops to cancel plans for a one-day virtual General Conference last year. The Commission selected Charlotte as the site that best met our varied needs. I value all of our churches, and I dont want any church to disaffiliate, he said. Our request for clarification is to simply ask for specific clarification so that our work, both in the Annual Conferences and the General Church, can function with uniformity and alignment. The Rev. Rich Jones, Northwest Texas Conference delegate and lead pastor of Wolfforth United Methodist Church. The Pacific Northwest Conference of The United Methodist Church is called to be a community, diverse and united in Gods saving love, sent out in vital life-giving ministry for Chief among those is: Will delegates elected to the 2020 General Conference be able to serve in 2024, or will annual conferences need to elect new slates? "We engaged in a fair, thorough, integrity-filled discussion of the alternatives," said Simpson. Similarly, the Minnesota Conference leadership committed to live into the vision conference voters approved in 2019. WebUnited Methodists to Meet in Charlotte for Worldwide Conference The 2024 United Methodist General Conference will be held April 23 May 3, 2024, at Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. A forum for discerning God's future for The United Methodist Church, hosted by St. Stephen UMC, Mesquite, TX. UM News. We are grateful to James Haun for his leadership as Local Host Committee Chair and his service on the Commission on the General Conference, said Simpson. In another matter, the COB voted last month during the December 21, 2022 meeting to request a declaratory decision regarding Paragraph 413 of the 2016 Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church. 3: In regard to delegates who were elected from two previous annual conferences for the postponed 2020 General Conference that have since merged, (a) which delegates previously elected are eligible to serve at the postponed 2020 General Conference; and (b) if the merged annual conference is entitled to fewer delegates, what is the process under the Discipline for determining who among those previously elected is eligible to serve, including the date for determination of the delegates? The Book of Discipline updated by each General Conference says annual conferences are to elect delegates no more than two annual conference sessions before the calendar year preceding the session of General Conference. The delegates to the postponed General Conference were elected in 2018 and 2019. WebUnited Methodists to meet in Charlotte for worldwide conference. Also unclear is what General Conferences delay means for bishop elections. ResourceUMC.org/GiveUMCom. Advocacy groups across the theological spectrum responded to the third postponement of General Conference. The next General Conference will be in 2024. The United Methodist Church and its predecessor bodies typically have held a General Conference at least every four years since 1792. However, there is one church, First United Methodist Church in Columbia, that has elected to stay the course and stay a part of the UMC, at least until the annual conference of 2024 is completed. Commission members received a report based on conversations with multiple officials of the U. S. Department of State outlining the massive backlog of visa applications in some areas. Simpson expressed appreciation to all of those in the Dakotas-Minnesota Area who were involved in planning for hosting and providing volunteers for the Minneapolis event. The Commission on the General Conference announced today that the 2024 United Methodist General Conference will be held April 23 May 3, 2024, at Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. Joseph F. DiPaolo announced that he had resigned from the General Conference commission. More Who We Are General Conference Official Site Find information, news and resources for our next General Conference, April 23 May 3, 2024, at Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North General Conference is the top policy-making body of The United Methodist Church. UM News. Nashville, Tenn.: As the pandemic continues and the wait time for visas stretches to over two years in some countries, the Commission on the General Conference announced today that the 2020 General Conference cannot be held in 2022 due to COVID-related and governmental policies/constraints. With no protocol, annual conferences are responsible for handling church disaffiliations. After the commission's announcement, Council of Bishops President Cynthia Fierro Harvey said in a statement that she and her fellow bishops would begin "to explore various pathways for sustaining the worldwide mission and witness of The United Methodist Church, given the announcement of this further and understandable delay.". Manila, Philippines was chosen as the site for the 2024 General Conference. General Conference is the top policy-making body of The United Methodist Church. The Wisconsin Delegation has scheduled informational sessions throughout the Wisconsin Annual Conference in the coming months. WebThe Commission on the General Conference announced today that the 2024 United Methodist General Conference will be held April 23 May 3, 2024, at Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. Our work in these specific areas needs to be conducted in a manner that is consistent across the church, said COB President Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton of New York Area. However, the Book of Discipline already offers procedures for churches to disaffiliate with property under limited conditions. SoYoung Kim, pastor of Salem United Methodist Church in Barrington, Illinois, said now is the time to prioritize church recovery and revitalization not separation. We continue to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit, seeking creative ways to be in mission and ministry as ambassadors of Gods unconditional love.. Amid rising church disaffiliations, Council of Bishops President Thomas Bickerton called people who are staying United Methodist to change the conversation and reclaim Gods calling on the church. 2024. The additional delay of General Conference brings additional complications. 2: If a person was elected as a lay or clergy delegate for the postponed 2020 General Conference and that persons status as a lay or clergy person has changed since election by the annual conference, do 34-36 of the 2016 Book of Discipline require that the delegate be declared ineligible to serve as a delegate in the status as elected and thereby creating a vacancy to be filled by the election of a new lay or clergy delegate if there is no reserve delegate to fill the vacancy? In addition, commission members described an increasingly complex interview process in some areas requiring two or three interviews, which also creates a roadblock that would preclude participation by many delegates outside the United States of America. Good News argues that the launch of the Global Methodist Church would open the way for local churches to use the Disciplines Paragraph 2548.2. In the meantime, both the Western North Carolina Conference delegation and the Minnesota Conference leadership announced how they hope to live into a hopeful and inclusive future. The United Methodist Churchs highest court ruled that new delegate elections are not required for the long-delayed and potentially pivotal 2020 General Conference, now set for 2024. Like what you're reading and want to see more? Read the Commissions announcement. May 10, 2022. 615.742.5406. A technology study team appointed by the Commission reported in February 2021 that it wasnt feasible to create a virtual alternative of the General Conference that would safeguard the integrity of the voting and credentialing process, meet legal requirements, and support the complexity of the legislative committees required by 507.11 including but not limited to interpretation in multiple languages, and meaningful participation across multiple time zones. Mulenga, Director of Communications WebUMC General Conference 2024. Do you have a question about The United Methodist Church? Question for Clarification No. Meanwhile, leaders of a planned new theologically conservative denomination announced that they are moving up the launch date without waiting for General Conference to act. What happened is that the 2020 General Conference has been postponed to 2024. WebThe Commission on the General Conference announced on March 3, 2022 that the 2022 General Conference session, postponed from 2020, would be further postponed until 2024. The Commission on the General Conference announced today that the 2024 United Methodist General Conference will be held April 23 May 3, 2024, atCharlotte Convention Centerin Charlotte, North Carolina. That has left other bishops to take on expanded assignments. The focus of my reflections here is on this question: What are the implications of this development for the postponed 2020 United Methodist General Conference that is now scheduled to be held in 2024?. The Council of Bishops is. However, some churches already have decided to leave. General Conference draws delegates from four continents. However, there is one church, First United Methodist Church in Columbia, that has elected to stay the course and stay a part of the UMC, at least until the annual conference of 2024 is completed. WebGeneral Conference, which was scheduled to meet in August 2022, has been re-scheduled to 2024. Learn more General Conference 2020 General Conference further postponed to 2024 2024. The commissions responsibility is not to ensure that the postponed General Conference would be held as scheduled this summer but to take necessary measures to assure full participation of all General Conference delegates, she told United Methodist News. At the end of the day, I think we are all becoming weary and drained from waiting for the inevitable in perpetuity, said Jessica Vittorio, a General Conference delegate from the North Texas Conference. Like what you're reading? Subscribe to our Its Time email filled with resources for our local churches. The Rev. General Conferences further delay is now the fifth major change since the event was originally scheduled for May 2020. Secretary of the General Conference, Gary Graves, said the further postponement raises a number of additional questions not specifically addressed in The Book of Discipline 2016. While many churches and organizations have adapted technology for events that are based heavily on presenter/observer situations, that is not the type of gathering that embodies a General Conference. The bishops made the decision to seek clarification during a special session of the COB meeting held via Zoom on Friday, January 6, 2023. The visa issue is a reality that is simply outside our control as we seek to achieve a reasonable threshold of delegate presence and participation. The next General Conference will be in 2024. The Global Methodist Church has launched, and traditionalist United Methodist churches and clergy are publicly announcing their intention to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church to join the new traditionalist Methodist denomination. That means that everyone who was elected in 2020 is on the delegation for 2024. General Conferences further delay is now the fifth major change since the event was originally scheduled for May 2020. Too much has changed in United Methodism to hold a General Conference in 2024 with delegates elected in 2019, many of whom will not even be United Methodists when the General Conference meets in 2024. Full participation of delegates in Christian conferencing as a means of grace was not seen as possible under these circumstances. WebThe Commission on the General Conference announced today that the 2024 United Methodist General Conference will be held April 23 May 3, 2024, at Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. Hahn is assistant news editor for UM News. The Wesleyan Covenant Association has been shepherding the formation of the Global Methodist Church, and DiPaolo serves on the associations leadership council. Good News, a like-minded advocacy group, offered its support for the move in an email accidentally released before the General Conference commissions announcement. United Methodists reacted to General Conferences third postponement this time to 2024 with strong emotions ranging from outrage to relief. Hahn is assistant news editor for UM News. The Philippines Central Conference is more attentive to the post-quarantine era as far as ministry is concerned.. Bishops do not have a vote on the commission. After 3 hours of discussion, he said, the vote to postpone was 14-9 with one abstention. They also argued that the visa issues could be overcome. In the meantime, 11 U.S. bishops have stepped down or taken on new roles as they bumped against the denominations age requirements for bishops to retire. Many also expressed weariness with the uncertainty that has faced the The Commission selected Charlotte as the site that best met our varied needs. With so much at stake, the commission received conflicting calls on whether General Conference should move forward. Learn more General Conference 2020 General Conference further postponed to 2024 Ask The UMC, a ministry of United Methodist Communications, will. It is about to get eased from COVID-19, and we have time to breathe to focus on mission and ministry because of the postponement of the General Conference.. Many also expressed weariness with the uncertainty that has faced the denomination since before the pandemic. According to Sara Hotchkiss, Business Manager of the General Conference, moving the legislative gathering to 2023 was an option that was discussed, but was not found to be feasible due to a number of reasons, including but not necessarily limited to the logistical challenges of planning, the remaining backlog of visa applications and interviews, and the proximity to the 2024 General Conference. The last General Conference was set to happen in Minneapolis, Minnesota, until the pandemic made it necessary to postpone the quadrennial legislative event until 2024. Retired Bishop Warner Brown Jr. also is serving as interim bishop in Sierra Leone after the 2020 passing of Bishop John Yambasu in a car crash. Commission members remain hopeful and pray that the worlds circumstances improve to help make the next General Conference not only possible, but a reminder of the witness of The United Methodist Church as a global representation of the body of Christ.. The further postponement of General Conference has implications for Wespath, the United Methodist pension agency that the Global Methodist Church also plans to use. I want to give everyone the space to do what needs to be done without feeling like anyone is missing a window of opportunity.. WebGeneral Conference, which was scheduled to meet in August 2022, has been re-scheduled to 2024. Questions, anger follow General Conference delay. Citing long wait times for visas, General Conference organizers announced that The United Methodist Churchs top lawmaking assembly long postponed by pandemic must wait until 2024. Dr. Maidstone This is significant language in that the General Commission on General Conference did not cancel the conference, they postponed it. WebThe Commission on the General Conference announced on March 3, 2022 that the 2022 General Conference session, postponed from 2020, would be further postponed until 2024. ( Read more) General Conference the only body that can speak for the church has the final say on whether the protocol takes effect as written. While the COB appreciates the clarity and guidance on that issue, the bishops feel that the decision has generated a number of other We continue our steadfast scenario planning, seeking security and certainty for our customers first and foremost, said Andy Hendren, Wespaths top executive, and also working with stakeholders from all viewpoints, in a neutral, bridge-building, and non-anxious way, to serve the church as it changes even as its future is still in flux.. 615.742.5406 (o) 615.483.1765 (c), Rev. More Who We Are General Conference Official Site Find information, news and resources for our next General Conference, April 23 May 3, 2024, at Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North That means that everyone who was elected in 2020 is on the delegation for 2024. Phone: (608) 837-7328 or (888) 240-7328, Tuesday, April 23, 2024 to Friday, May 3, 2024. That includes legislation to move United Methodist clergy to a new retirement plan as well as a proposal to give more flexibility to disaffiliating churches in handling pension liabilities. About General Conference Meetings of the Connectional Table in Atlanta were productive, with efforts to come up with a consensus budget, move toward a U.S. regional conference and streamline the leadership bodys own membership all moving forward. Commission on the General Conference The Commission will meet again on March 28 to continue the work of preparing for the postponed 2020 General Conference and looking ahead for possible solutions that may help avoid delays in future meetings should unforeseen circumstances occur or persist. A decision about the 2024 General Conference delegation seems to be currently in the hands of the Judicial Council of the United Methodist Church. However, she said she respects that some members feel they have to leave for their own survival. At this point, the United Methodist Church needs to conduct new elections of delegates for the 2024 General Conference. Tom Kim, Chadrack Longe, E Julu Swen and Phileas Jusu also contributed to this report.