The United Methodist General Conference that meets every four years is currently underway in Charlotte, North Carolina. The official conference began on April 23rd and will end on May 3rd. The passage from Psalm 46, which is always a good thing to remember, will lead their spiritual mindset for the conference: “…and know that I am God.” As the only entity that can speak on behalf of the denomination, General Conference will make updates and changes to the United Methodist Book of Discipline. 862 delegates, which were elected from Africa, Europe, Asia and the U.S., will make up the official body of people who have voting rights to set the policy and direction of the church. It is estimated that as many as 7,500 people will attend the General Conference.

For a clearer understanding of what types of things are voted on, this excerpt is taken from A Guide to General Conference.

During the 11-day session, delegates will revise the Book of Discipline, which regulates how local churches, annual conferences and general agencies are organized. The Discipline includes policies regarding church membership, ordination, administration, property and judicial procedures. The assembly may modify most paragraphs by a simple majority vote, but amending the Constitution of The United Methodist Church requires a two-thirds affirmative vote, followed by a two-thirds affirmative vote of the aggregate number of members voting in annual conference sessions. Revoking or changing the Articles of Religion or Confession of Faith requires a two-thirds affirmative vote of the delegates, and three-fourths of the annual conference members must concur. Delegates also revise the Book of Resolutions, a volume declaring the church’s stance on social justice issues. The statements in the book are considered instructive and persuasive but are not binding on members. Because of the delay in scheduling this General Conference, every item in the entire Book of Resolutions will expire in 2024 unless renewed by action of this General Conference. In addition, the assembly approves plans and budgets for churchwide programs for the next four years and elects members of the Judicial Council and University Senate.

As The United Methodist Church has been going through a split regarding our understanding surrounding same-sex marriage and the ordination of those in the LGBTQ community, it is no surprise this conversation will be front and center in much of the legislation. Though it would seem that many of our siblings who take a more conservative stance on these issues have left the church, that is simply not true. Amongst the challenges that face the continued opposition of what we hope and pray to come to fruition, we are a global denomination. This means people who live in countries where homosexual relationships are still criminalized, even to the point of death, are a part of the voting delegates. Please do not read this in any way to say, “THEY are the problem.” This is simply to say, where we in America do not face the same potential backlash on such a large scale, we are mindful of our siblings in other countries who are putting their families at risk surrounding these conversations. However, there has been some legislation set forth that could localize the decision regarding the performance of same-sex marriage and the ordination of those in the LGBTQ community. This gives us the opportunity to mitigate the risk of harm to all our siblings as much as possible while still fighting for what is right.

Will you join me in prayer? Pray that we finally do what is right and fully embrace in word and deed our siblings in the LGBTQ community. Will you join me in praying for our siblings who must weigh the risk to their own families surrounding these decisions? Pray for the delegates and the way they allow the Holy Spirit to move in their hearts and in their votes. Pray for the volunteers who are a part of the running of General Conference, from the food, to the cleaning of the space, to the music, to the translators, to the travel, to printing of programs and passing them out, to the things we don’t even realize are being done behind the scenes. Pray that, no matter what comes out of General Conference, we at Sewickley United Methodist Church continue to live into our convictions that the Holy Spirit has worked within the very fabric of who we are. Pray that we continue to fight for, and fully embrace, those in the LGBTQ community and the rights they have. “…AND know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10b.

From one light to another,
Pastor Hannah Loughman

Photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News