by Steve | Jun 8, 2020 | In the News, Perspective E-Newsletter
Bishop Gregory V. Palmer delivers the episcopal address during the 2016 United Methodist General Conference in Portland, Oregon. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
“What a season we have been through and what a week we are in,” wrote Bishop Gregory V. Palmer of the West Ohio Annual Conference. “The angst and pain are palpable. I need you to know I share that pain and I see me in some way shape or form every time I see video clips from Minneapolis and around the country. I have no illusion. It could have been me. That’s the world in which we live.
“The death of George Floyd is a painful sequel to much that we have seen before,” Palmer continued. “God help us if you please. I grieve for the Floyd family and all the families that have had the same or similar experience. God heal their hearts. I shudder as I watch the burning in Minneapolis, but I do watch and choose not to look away. Looking away perpetuates avoidance. I look not to condone but to be drawn deeper into the compassionate heart of Jesus our savior. Lord give us eyes to see.” (His entire message is found HERE.)
Within our society and around the world, the horrific deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery have sparked passionate protest, intense soul-searching, and purposeful prayer. At this time, Christians are looking for ways to be a faithful witness to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus and his kingdom of compassion, righteousness, and justice.
Our national, state, and local leaders are in need of great wisdom at this time. This also goes for the leaders of The United Methodist Church. Local pastors are in need of prayer, as are our bishops. Here are statements from four bishops that may help you think, pray, and respond with greater spiritual insight.
* Bishop Sharma Lewis, Virginia
Bishop Sharma Lewis
“When do we as children of God decide that God is calling us into action? When do we decide that mere words or social media interactions for a few days are just not enough?
“When do we as children of God decide that the systemic racism in our society, whether manifested overtly or covertly, is a sin that hinders our relationship with Jesus Christ and is antithetical to the gospel?”
https://vaumc.org/bishop-lewis-calls-for-action-against-systemic-racism/
* Bishop Bruce R. Ough, Dakotas-Minnesota
Bishop Bruce R. Ough
“Now, it is our responsibility as persons of faith, and particularly as followers of Jesus in the Methodist tradition, to address this pervasive pandemic of racism. We are compelled to address this pandemic with the same intensity and intentionality with which we are addressing COVID-19.
“We begin by acknowledging that racism is sin and antithetical to the gospel. We confess and denounce our own complicity. We take a stand against any and all expressions of racism and white supremacy, beginning with the racial, cultural, and class disparities in our state and country that are highlighted by the coronavirus pandemic.”
https://www.unitedmethodistbishops.org/newsdetail/pandemic-of-racism-14011039
* Bishop Jonathan Holston, South Carolina
Bishop Jonathan Holston
“As United Methodists and followers of Christ, we commit ourselves to social justice and to opposing racism in all of its forms. We encourage frank and thoughtful conversation and respectful collaboration with a common goal of justice for all. It is our obligation to be a beacon of love when hatred threatens to blot out the light of hope.”
https://www.umcsc.org/bishop-holston-seeks-pentecost-prayers-for-justice-and-peace-amid-racial-tension-unrest/
Bishop Holston wrote in a later statement, “When we witness inexplicable injustice, anger is understandable, protest is appropriate, and action is vital. Violence and destruction, though, is never the answer.
“We are encouraged to see people flood the streets to peacefully call for justice and an end to oppression. This is faith in action – the bedrock of our commitment to social justice as United Methodists and followers of Christ.”
https://www.umcsc.org/bishop-holstons-statement-on-violence-following-peaceful-s-c-protests-of-george-floyd-killing/
* Bishop Frank Beard, Illinois Great Rivers
Bishop Frank J. Beard
“It is the job of every Christian to serve as conduits of grace, mercy, and love so that the dark forces of our world might experience the liberating light of Jesus Christ. It is our job to help stamp out hatred in any form. Therefore, I encourage all United Methodist to pray for the families that are affected by this most recent tragedy, as well as those suffering a similar plight in recent months. I remind us all that it is our duty, as sisters and brothers, to stand-up, speak-out, and advocate for those that are hurting and marginalized, so that justice may become a reality.”
https://www.igrc.org/blogpostsdetail/14010915
In a separate statement, Bishop Beard offered practical suggestions as we wrestle with the issues of race, prejudice, and injustice.
“Dealing with racism is not easy and it takes a lot of energy and forethought that will often move us into uncomfortable places. Speaking up and out is important, even though people often are scared to say anything because they worry that if they say the wrong thing, they might get in trouble or find themselves being labeled. It is crucial for Christians to create safe sanctuaries where we can have difficult conversations about racism and other topics that promote injustice.”
Beard offered 10 ways that Christians can begin to “address systemic injustice and discrimination.”
- Becoming aware of policies and practices that promote disparities based on race, ethnicity, stereotypes, or economic status.
- By employing the use of empathetic listening that is engaging and helps with validating the feelings and personal experiences of persons of color, without being dismissive or making explanatory comments that seek to rationalize or soothe away their pain.
- Learn to recognize and understand your own privilege and experiences that are based on skin color and power.
- Share your own story as you engage in tough conversations about race and injustice. Your story will help foster deeper understanding for you and for others as you interact together.
- Recognize that America is NOT a “melting pot” but rather a “garden salad” containing a blend of unique colors and flavors meant to be experienced together. DO Not give in to the myth that you must be “color blind.”
- Seek to identify with those that are marginalized and who face the effects of a system that thrives and survives on racist behavior and practices.
- Use the power of your own personal finances by taking a stand with your money. Be aware of the practices of those you do business with.
- Create safe places for difficult conversations, utilizing people experienced in providing diversity training.
- Develop and foster relationships with people of color based on mutual respect and concern for each other’s well-being.
- As people of faith, pray for and with others, that Jesus’ prayer for unity would become a reality.
https://www.igrc.org/blogpostsdetail/simple-strategic-steps-christians-seeking-to-do-something-significant-14014492
by Steve | Jun 1, 2020 | In the News, Perspective E-Newsletter
An engraving of an 1882 painting recreating Asbury’s ordination as bishop at the 1784 Christmas Conference.
By Thomas Lambrecht –
“Conferencing” is at the heart of Methodist history and tradition. In 1744, only a few years after starting the Methodist movement, John Wesley called together the small group of preachers who formed the core of the movement for a “conference” meeting. They gathered to discern “how we should proceed to save our own souls and those that heard us.” Their agenda was simple, but comprehensive: “1. What to teach, 2. How to teach, and 3. What to do, that is, how to regulate our doctrine, discipline, and practice.”
Ever since, the “conference” has been part and parcel of how Methodists do church. The 1744 conference became an annual affair, a gathering of all the preachers (lay and clergy) who were “in connexion” with John Wesley. Thus, the “annual conference” became the center of Methodist organization. As the church was formed in America and grew, the number of annual conferences multiplied, covering different geographical parts of the country, and later, of the world. Each annual conference formed a geographical section of the general church. To maintain unity, a General Conference consisted of representatives from all the various annual conferences, making decisions on behalf of the whole church. When the church was broken up into regions in 1939, those bodies were called jurisdictional conferences and later central conferences (i.e., jurisdictions outside the U.S.), for the purpose of electing and assigning bishops. Within each annual conference, there are sub-regions called districts that have a “district conference.” And of course the basic building block of the denomination is the local “church conference” or “charge conference.”
Conferences are far more than geographical organizational units. They represent the intuitive genius of Wesley’s organizational mind that identified collective decision-making as an essential component of church structure. Many Protestant denominations in Wesley’s time were governed by irregularly meeting synods or councils that would gather only when necessary. Wesley saw the strength to be gained by collective decision-making by a body of people that is held in constant relationship and mutual accountability.
The idea of collective decision-making was instituted early in the Church’s history, at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15), which was called to decide whether Gentile converts must be circumcised and required to follow the Law of Moses. Such collective decision-making allows the Holy Spirit to speak through the diversity of voices who are part of the collective. Reaching agreement among a broad group of leaders often results in a more faithful decision and one that is able to consider more of the ramifications of that decision. It has the added benefit of gaining “buy-in” from the same group of leaders that will have to implement the decisions that are made.
The Wesleyan Covenant Association (WCA) has just released Part Seven of its draft Book of Doctrines and Discipline, addressing the role of annual, regional, and general conferences in a new global traditional Methodist denomination. Additional provisions about conferences may be found in the proposed Constitution, ¶203, Articles VI-VIII, that was previously released. Sections previously released may be reviewed on our website resource page here.
As the WCA considered the wisdom of retaining our conferencing system of decision-making and organization, we also realized the current United Methodist system had strayed off the path in a number of ways that need to be corrected if Methodism is to recover its vitality.
First, the UM system has reversed the hierarchy in an unhelpful way. The annual conference and General Conference were instituted as means to support and empower the work of the local church, which is (we say) “the most significant arena through which disciple-making occurs.” Instead, in recent years, it seems like the local church has existed to support the work of the annual and General Conference. In its reformation of the conference system, the WCA strives to make crystal clear that conferences exist to support the local church, not the other way around.
Second, and relatedly, the annual and General Conferences have grown too large in structure and demand too many resources. The “needs” of ministry at the regional and global levels siphon off too much time and financial resources from local churches, which then weakens the local ministry rather than strengthens it. This is seen in the amount of time pastors spend on annual conference business outside their parish and bishops spend on global church business outside their annual conferences. Many local churches do not see the value to them of the work that annual conference and general church agencies do “on their behalf.”
Accordingly, the WCA’s proposal calls for a lean annual conference structure demanding lower apportionments and less time investment in bureaucracy and meetings, with more time and financial investment in work that explicitly supports the ministry of local churches, including the aggressive planting of new congregations. Bishops and district superintendents are relieved of many of their administrative responsibilities and expected to focus their time and energy within their districts and annual conferences, while still building connections to the worldwide church based on mutual ministry, rather than meetings (see Part Six of the draft Book of Doctrines and Discipline.)
The general church would have only five agencies (called “commissions”) to handle the coordinating and facilitating work of the denomination. (More details on these commissions are found in Part Eight of the WCA’s draft “Book of Doctrines and Discipline” which will be released soon.) The annual conference would have only four required boards or committees to facilitate its work. (It could form more as needed.) The emphasis is really on reducing the amount of structure and reorienting the work of the annual conference and general church to support the local church’s ministry.
Third, as the church has grown over the last 100 years, its Book of Discipline has gotten too prescriptive and controlling, with all kinds of mandates and requirements that often hamper the work of the local church. The current Discipline is 819 pages (not including the index). I have a 1926 Discipline that is only half that size and includes worship rituals, judicial decisions, a description of the course of study, and a directory!
Accordingly, the WCA proposal allows annual conferences to structure themselves in a way that makes sense for them, aside from the minimal requirements for four agencies. This will allow conferences to stay lean in structure, yet nimble enough to adapt to changing circumstances. It will also allow for cultural differences in various parts of the world to be reflected in variations of structure and process. At the same time, nearly all the provisions in the draft “Book of Doctrines and Discipline” would meet the needs and requirements in conferences around the world. The WCA has worked to craft a book that would apply equally well in Bulgaria, the Philippines, the U.S., or Zimbabwe. This will allow for greater uniformity on the essential matters, while allowing flexibility in many other matters.
Finally, in an effort to take the focus of the church off of the (sometimes contentious) General Conference, the WCA proposal in ¶ 203 (Article VI) of the draft “Book of Doctrines and Discipline,” envisions General Conference meeting only once every six years, instead of quadrennially. For the first six years, it would meet every two years in order to fine tune the general church’s core teachings and governance structure as we live into a new reality. But thereafter, General Conference will be reserved for making the larger policy decisions and letting annual conferences and local churches focus on their ministry.
The WCA’s proposals are just that — proposals. They will be presented as legislation to the convening conference of a new global traditional Methodist church. We hope you will consider them and give constructive feedback as we compile ideas to guide the formation of a new Methodist denomination that focuses both on biblical faithfulness and on ministry effectiveness and fruitfulness.
Thomas Lambrecht is a United Methodist clergyperson and the vice president of Good News.
by Steve | May 22, 2020 | In the News, Perspective E-Newsletter
By Thomas Lambrecht –
The Rev. Nicky Gumbel leads Holy Trinity Brompton church in London, home of The Alpha Course. Photo: Holy Trinity Brompton
In times of crisis, people often turn to God. There is some anecdotal evidence that is happening now with the coronavirus pandemic.
Bible downloads in Google Play and App Store exceeded 2 million in March, the highest total ever for the month. Attendance at the on-line Alpha Course doubled at Holy Trinity Brompton Church in London, one of the largest churches in England. (That course — now taken by an estimated 23 million people around the globe — enables non-Christians to ask questions about faith and Christianity.)
A survey found that 44 percent of respondents believe that the pandemic and the resulting economic meltdown is a wake-up call for us to turn back to God or a sign of coming judgment. The same survey found that over 20 percent of non-Christians reported that they have responded to the crisis by starting to read the Bible, listening to sermons or Bible teachings, or engaging in conversations about spiritual things.
When a crisis hits, many people turn to engage the big, existential questions of life: Why am I here? Who am I really? Is there a God? What will happen to me when I die?
Churches have the unique opportunity to point people to the answers to these kinds of questions and to walk with them during a time of discovery and spiritual growth. God can use crises like this one to influence the spiritual life of a whole generation.
Churches are to be commended for the ways they are reaching out and serving their communities through making and distributing masks, providing food, helping people pay the rent, and serving immigrant communities in the U.S. and the needs of the poor around the world. These practical ways of helping people survive in the midst of the health and economic crises are an essential work of the church. God gives us what we have, so that we can be a blessing to others.
At the same time, Christian teaching compels us to not only provide for the physical needs of people but for their spiritual needs, as well. The church can speak to the existential questions of life like no others can. Through faith in Christ, we have the answers to who we are, why we are here, and what our future entails. God has specially equipped the church to truly feed the soul.
In the midst of the death, illness, and hardship of our times, we can offer an eternal perspective that transcends our earthly travails.
I was reminded of this by Dr. Kevin Watson’s recent summary of Charles Wesley’s sermon, “Awake, Thou That Sleepest.” He points out that one of Wesley’s main points is this earth is not our permanent place. “This is not thy home,” Wesley says. “Think not of building tabernacles here. Thou art but ‘a stranger, a sojourner upon earth’; a creature of a day, but just launching out into an unchangeable state. Make haste; eternity is at hand” (II.5).
Having that eternal perspective changes how we view and how we cope with the ups and downs of everyday life, including this unforeseen pandemic. We realize that we are not just living for the present, but for eternity. The trials and difficulties of life are overshadowed by the promised joys of an eternity lived in fellowship with the Lord. We look forward to the time when “God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (Revelation 21:3-4).
Ravi Zacharias (Ben May/Ravi Zacharias International Ministries)
We learned this week of the passing into eternal life of Ravi Zacharias, a prominent evangelist and expert in apologetics from India. His 48-year global ministry touched countless lives, and his 27 books continue to share his message about his Savior, Jesus Christ.
Ravi’s eternal perspective is summed up in a hymn written by the New England Puritan, Richard Baxter (1615-1691), that Ravi quoted just weeks before his unexpected death:
Lord, it belongs not to my care
Whether I die or live;
To love and serve Thee is my share,
And this Thy grace must give.
If life be long, I will be glad
That I may long obey;
If short, yet why should I be sad
To welcome endless day?
Christ leads me through no darker rooms
Than He went through before;
He that unto God’s kingdom comes
Must enter by this door.
Come Lord, when grace hath made me meet
Thy blessed face to see;
For if Thy work on earth be sweet
What will thy glory be!
Then I shall end my sad complaints
And weary sinful days,
And join with the triumphant saints
That sing my Savior’s praise.
My knowledge of that life is small,
The eye of faith is dim;
But ’tis enough that Christ knows all,
And I shall be with Him.
As we labor hard to serve the needs of others during this pandemic and recession, we are simultaneously reminded to turn our eyes and the eyes of those we serve to heaven, to eternity, and to the Lord. The church is uniquely positioned to lift up the One who said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and the one who lives by believing in me will never die” (John 11:25-26).
Jesus asked Martha, “Do you believe this?”
Do we? Do we live it?
Living with an eye on eternity changes everything. We can winsomely share Christ with others who are seeking him now without knowing what or whom they seek. His presence will give meaning to their lives as it does to ours, and it gives us the strength and the courage to face the challenges of each new day. By faith we can say, “It is enough that Christ knows all, and I shall be with Him.”
Thomas Lambrecht is a United Methodist clergyperson and the vice president of Good News.
by Steve | May 18, 2020 | Magazine, Magazine Articles, May/June 2020
By Rob Renfroe –
We are living in a time of great turbulence and anxiety. The coronavirus pandemic has stirred panic. As Christians, part of our lifelong discipleship is seeking to allow faith to overcome our fears.
“Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?” asked Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matthew 6:25-34).
The Latin word from which we derive “anxiety” means “to choke.” The Anglo-Saxon root for “worry” means “to strangle.” And that’s what worry does. It chokes the life out of us. It suffocates our spirits. It strangles our ability to make good decisions.
Jesus asks: “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” The obvious answer is: None of us can extend our lives by worrying. Not for an hour. Not for a minute. Not for a second. In fact, research tells us just the opposite. Physically, anxiety can lead to hypertension, heart attacks, and a compromised immunological system. Emotionally, it can make you irritable and unstable.
We think we worry because of external circumstances. But that’s not true. You can put two people in identically bad situations, and one will worry and one will not. That’s because worry is determined more by our internal condition than our external condition.
If there is little faith within us, the smallest concerns will fill our hearts with great anxiety. But if we take hold of faith – and let faith take hold of us – there will be little room for fear within us. Jesus provides a prescription for letting go of worry.
First, he tells us to have faith in God’s character. “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:26). If God can meet the needs of the birds who have to go out and find food every day, certainly he can provide for us who have the ability to work, and save, and plan.
Do you believe God knows you, loves you, is aware of all your needs, and will provide for you? Not everybody does. I remember praying with an elderly man many years ago who was suffering with cancer. He had lost his wife and he felt alone and he was hurting. I asked him if he knew that God loved him. I’ll never forget his answer. He said: “It feels like God doesn’t even know my name anymore.”
There will be many times in our lives when it will feel as if God does not care about us and that he’s not working for our good. And we must decide: Will I trust my feelings or will I trust my God? Will I trust that God is a good, wise, powerful, and loving heavenly Father who knows what I need?
“God is too good to be unkind and he is too wise to be mistaken,” it has been said. “When we cannot trace his hand, we can always trust his heart.”
I know it’s a frightening time for some of us. Life is uncertain and full of peril. It always has been and it always will be. What’s not uncertain is the character of God. He is our heavenly Father, he knows us, he loves us, he is powerful and wise and he will provide for us.
Second, have faith in God’s promises. “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you,” said Jesus (Matthew 6:33, ESV).
When we face difficult times, we turn to something. We look for something to trust in and to stand on. Some of us look to our finances. As long as they’re strong, we’re confident and we feel like we can handle whatever the world throws at us. Some of us trust our wisdom and our intellect. Some of us turn to our resourcefulness. Whatever we trust in, one day we will find it insufficient.
When your wife is diagnosed with cancer, when your child is addicted to drugs, when a friend betrays you, when your heart is broken, you are going to find that you need a strength that is greater than what you possess or this world can provide. And you will need to trust in the promises of God: “I know the plans I have for you, plans for good and not for evil” and “Come unto me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest” and “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths” and “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
When you’re anxious and afraid, the strength you need will not come from having all the right answers, but from having faith in the promises of God that he will be with you and provide for you all that you need.
Third, have faith that with God’s help you can overcome. The apostle Paul put it this way: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).
Loss of a loved one, a divorce, getting laid off, illness, financial set backs – nobody wants any of these things. All of them are difficult and painful and give us all kinds of reasons to be anxious and worry. But through faith in Christ, you can do what you need to do to overcome.
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself,” said Jesus. “Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34).
You can’t be anxious about the future and live a full, joyful, Christ-centered, Spirit-filled life in the present. You can live worried about tomorrow or you can live powerfully today – but you can’t do both. “Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows,” said Charles Spurgeon, “but only empties today of its strength.” God has promised to give you everything you need for today. Don’t give that strength away by worrying about something that may never happen tomorrow.
Instead, offer a prayer that opens yourself to God’s presence and strength. Or, help someone who’s struggling. Listen to praise music and read Scripture. Before you get out of bed in the morning, count your blessings and declare, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
Stop looking at your portfolio every day. It’s bad – and it’s going to be that way for a while. Stop addictively watching the news. You can stop accepting the anxiety of the people around you. Just because they’re worried, you don’t have to be. There is something worse than getting sick. That’s living afraid.
But fear is not the mark of the Christian. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline,” writes Paul (2 Timothy 1:7). Christian living is walking in power, love, and the self-discipline to do what we can do today and to leave the rest to God.
Has worry ever solved a problem? Has worry every created a solution or given birth to strength or brought God’s power to a desperate situation?
People who are free from burdensome worry are people who make decisions and act. They determine what they can do and they do it. And then they live their life holding on to faith in the character of God, in his promises, and in the belief that with God’s help they can and they will overcome.
by Steve | May 18, 2020 | Magazine, Magazine Articles, May/June 2020
The Minneapolis Convention Center — scheduled to host the 2020 General Conference — announced it is now cancelling gatherings of 50 or more people through May 10. Before the convention center’s decision, the Commission on the General Conference had scheduled a teleconference March 21 to consider postponement of The United Methodist Church’s top legislative assembly. Photo by Dan Anderson, courtesy of Meet Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Convention Center.
By Heather Hahn –
With the coronavirus disrupting lives worldwide, General Conference organizers determined they have no choice but to postpone The United Methodist Church’s top legislative assembly.
The Minneapolis Convention Center – scheduled to host the 2020 General Conference – cancelled gatherings of 50 or more people through May 10. The shutdown covers the first five days of the denomination’s 10-day meeting, which was set to draw 862 delegates, 66 bishops, and others from four continents.
“This news is not unexpected based on the current guidance from health officials and we expect to move forward with new plans as quickly as possible,” Kim Simpson said in a statement. She is the chair of the Commission on the General Conference that plans the big meeting.
The commission’s executive committee, which met by teleconference March 18, decided the venue’s announcement meant that General Conference could no longer go forward May 5-15 as planned. However, commission members do not yet know how quickly they can announce new dates.
The convention center said it made its decision based on guidance from the Minnesota Department of Health “to protect the public’s health and slow the rate of the transmission of COVID-19.”
“Each week, we will seek guidance from MDH on changes to this policy or in the end date,” the convention center added. Before the convention center’s decision, the full Commission on the General Conference had scheduled a teleconference to consider a possible delay.
The Council of Bishops executive committee requested postponement March 13 in response to the life-threatening virus and increasing travel restrictions that might prevent nearly half of the delegates from reaching the U.S. About 43 percent of General Conference delegates come from Africa, Europe or the Philippines.
Bishop Bruce R. Ough, who leads the Minnesota and Dakotas conferences, is a member of the bishops’ executive committee. “I believe the safety of the delegates and the fairness of the conference’s legislative processes are paramount,” Ough said.
“The Dakotas-Minnesota Area has worked very hard to extend extraordinary hospitality to the General Conference delegates and guests. If the Conference is postponed, there would, of course, be disappointment. However, this disappointment would not dampen the area’s openness to working with the Commission on the General Conference to reschedule the event in Minneapolis.”
As of April 20, Johns Hopkins University — which is tracking cases — reported that the coronavirus had infected 2.4 million people and killed more than 166,000 worldwide. In the U.S., more than 41,000 people have died from COVID-19.
“The health and safety of participants, as well as their families and communities, is a primary concern. This includes our concern for the Minneapolis area,” General Conference organizers said in a joint email to UM News. The leaders include Simpson, the Rev. Gary Graves, General Conference secretary, and Sara Hotchkiss, business manager.
“We also want to do all that is within our power to ensure that all delegates are fully able to participate in the many important decisions we are currently facing as a church,” they said.
Under The United Methodist Church’s constitution, General Conference is to meet every four years “at such time and in such place” as determined by General Conference itself or “by its duly authorized committees.” The General Conference commission, which is elected at General Conference, is that duly authorized committee. Only the full commission is able to set a new date or decide on an alternate plan.
The convention center’s announcement means that the church will not incur significant financial penalties for cancellation of the contract.
General Conference is not like a typical church meeting or worship service, some of which have already moved online because of the virus.
The 10-day international legislative meeting resembles a session of the U.S. Congress with elements of a United Nations general assembly.
Multiple interpreters work with hundreds of delegates throughout the gathering to translate proceedings. During the first week of General Conference, delegates meet simultaneously in different legislative committees – 14 were planned for this year. The delegates then come together to vote in plenary during the second week. All votes are by secret ballot, using secure voting devices of limited range. Many delegates come from countries where internet connections are unreliable, if available at all. The logistics of General Conference involve obtaining hundreds of visas and reserving hotel rooms, flights, and the venue needed for more than 1,000 people.
For this year’s gathering, the General Conference commission also was adding stricter requirements for credentialing after an investigation found four ineligible people cast votes during the 2019 General Conference using credentials of absent delegates.
General Conference organizers and the bishops acknowledge the legislative assembly scheduled this year comes at a particularly sensitive time for the church. United Methodists have submitted multiple proposals to resolve the denomination’s longtime debate over homosexuality by splitting the denomination.
General Conference also faces other critical decisions such as setting the denomination’s four-year budget and electing numerous leaders including the members of the Judicial Council, the denomination’s top court.
“We will be moving forward responsibly and that includes a number of complex matters that must be planned for,” General Conference organizers told UM News.
Heather Hahn is a multimedia news reporter for United Methodist News.
