Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Preparing for St. Louis

The special called session of General Conference will begin in just a couple of days in St. Louis - deep breaths, everyone!


Do not be afraid or discouraged, 
for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. 
He will be with you; 
he will neither fail you nor abandon you. 
- Deuteronomy 31:8

How did we get here?

The General Conference of the UMC meets every four years to do the official business of our denomination. Increasingly, the debates and disputes related to the church's understanding of homosexuality have overshadowed any other work of General Conference, so a decision was made in 2016 to allow the Council of Bishops to find "A Way Forward" for our denomination. It was determined that we would "hit the pause button" on all legislation dealing with human sexuality, and reconvene in February of 2019 in St. Louis.



You can read more about this here. You can also find information about United Methodist polity, the history of our position on homosexuality, and how Christians interpret scripture differently on this topic on our church's website.

Consequently, the Bishops created a Commission on a Way Forward, a diverse group of United Methodist clergy and laity who met together over many months. The report of the Commission on a Way Forward was made available to the Bishops, and later to the entire church, in 2018.

As we head into GC2019, a number of plans are on the table:
You can find a chart outlining the first three plans, here

It will be the work of General Conference 2019 between February 23 and 26 to choose one of these plans to refine and then work together to refine it.



You are invited to be in prayer with United Methodists around the globe during this critical time of discernment for the church.

  • If you would like to participate with those attending General Conference in the Day of Prayer that will be held on Saturday, February 23, you can join General Conference via live stream here. A schedule for this prayer event can be found here.
The general schedule for General Conference is as follows:
  • Saturday, Feb. 23 - Day of Prayer
  • Sunday, Feb. 24 - "Pick a Plan Day," where delegates rank all legislation a high or low priority and elect a chairperson for Legislative Day
  • Monday, Feb. 25 - Legislative Day, where delegates deal with all petitions before the Special Session. (All 864 delegates will comprise one legislative committee.)
  • Tuesday, Feb. 26 - Plenary Day, where delegates enact legislation from Legislative Day
I serve as a Reserve Delegate from the Central Texas Conference (i.e. I am part of the delegation, but do not have a vote). I will be in St. Louis Saturday through Wednesday and will periodically post updates on this blog. If you would like to have updates delivered to your inbox, please sign up using the box on the right. (note: if you are viewing this on a mobile device, you will likely need to click "view web version" at the bottom of this page in order to see the panel on the right side.)

I know that our God is with us always, and I know that so many faithful Christians are seeking to discern and do God's will in this matter. I also know that change will inevitably occur as a result of this conference. And not knowing what that change will be, or if we are truly prepared to face it, is difficult. I've already heard from church members who share that they are considering leaving our congregation, and it saddens me to think that Arlington Heights UMC may not be a place where all feel that they can worship God. It also saddens me to think that our congregation could be a place where all would not feel welcome. 

So I keep breathing, and praying, not only for the delegates of General Conference, not only for the United Methodist Church, but for the members, attenders, and the mission field of Arlington Heights UMC. I am grateful to know that God holds us all in the palm of his hand.

God Bless,

Rev. Mary

Additional Resources:



Advanced Daily Christian Advocate (ADCA).  This is the book of everything about the GC. All delegates receive this before GC, and receive an updated copy daily during GC: https://mainstreamumc.com/resources/gc-2019-advance-daily-christian-advocate/
List of Petitions (i.e. modifications to the plans presented by the Way Forward Commission) that are “in harmony” & “not in harmony.” Our Judicial Council has already weighed in on these, in the hopes that GC does not vote for something that will ultimately be overturned as against our UM Constitution:
Videos:
Panel Discussion with 4 perspectives on General Conference.  Great for a church that wants to hear from all sides. 1.5 hours   https://www.umnews.org/en/news/perspectives-on-a-way-forward
Presentation by Mark Holland supporting the One Church Plan.  1 hour.  https://vimeo.com/316156508


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