What to know about General Conference
Why we're having it, who can vote, and what they're voting on
The called Special Session of General Conference is finally here. The Feb. 23 – 26 meeting – taking place in St. Louis, Missouri – is the denominations largest meeting and typically occurs quadrennially; the next General Conference happens in 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. However, this year’s General Conference is a special meeting, set up specifically […]
Process Developed to Prioritize Legislative Committee Work at Special Session
Nashville, Tennessee: The Commission on the General Conference has devised a process for determining the order in which legislative proposals will be considered by the single legislative committee during the 2019 Special Session of the General Conference. Petitions which compose a plan will be considered together as one unit. Petitions which are not part of a plan […]
Hearts not broken
contributed by Rebekah Miles, General Conference 2019 Delegate When I was a kid, the weeks before General Conferences were exciting. I remember our father, a clergy delegate, sitting up on my parent’s double bed with a stack of papers at his side, the telephone cradled under one ear and a pencil behind the other, counting […]
Praying Our Way Forward team unveils details of February 23 Day of Prayer
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Praying Our Way Forward team of the Council of Bishops has released details of the Day of Prayer, which will take place from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CST in the St. Louis America’s Center Convention Complex on Saturday, February 23, the first day of the 2019 Special Session of General […]
A grace-filled church
contributed by John Miles II, Senior Pastor of First UMC Jonesboro In the fall of 1974, I was a freshman at Hendrix College in Conway. Every Sunday morning, I would put on my three-piece polyester suit and walk to Conway First United Methodist Church. At the time I was not sure I believed in God, […]
Seventy-eight legislative petitions headed for St. Louis
DALLAS, Texas — The General Conference Committee on Reference has determined that 78 petitions submitted for consideration by the 2019 General Conference are in harmony with the purpose of the special session to be held February 23-26, 2019 in St. Louis, Missouri. All those petitions must receive a vote in legislative committee, according to a […]
What can the new year bring?
contributed by Dede Roberts, Senior Pastor of Asbury UMC As I write this, I am finishing a day of reflecting on 2018 and planning for 2019. I have had enough experience to know that some of my plans will come to naught, but some will flourish and bear fruit. So I set goals and plan, […]
Looking to the past, preparing for the future
contributed by Karon Mann, General Conference 2019 Delegate In his book The Singing Thing, author John Bell says, “We are creatures of our past, we cannot be separated from it.” He was referring specifically to the music of our past, particularly hymns and religious songs that evoke strong feelings or memories, but smells can elicit […]
Committee on Reference to meet in January
Nashville, Tenn. — The Committee on Reference will meet in advance of the 2019 Special Session of the General Conference in order to determine whether petitions submitted by organizations and individuals are in harmony with the call to the special session, as required by ¶14 of The Book of Discipline 2016 and Judicial Council Decision 1360. This […]
A prayer for General Conference
contributed by Asa Whitaker, General Conference 2019 Delegate A few days after publishing this column, I will — with God’s help — deliver a sermon in my local church that I have entitled “Living in the presence of God.” As some of you will probably imagine, I have spent a great deal of time, study, […]