General Conference is the official policy making and vision discerning body of the United Methodist Church. Representatives, half clergy and half laity, from every region of the globe that contains a United Methodist Church come together every 4 years to revise the Book of Discipline and set the direction for the church. The 2016 meeting was…
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State of the Church: Where do we go from here?” on Monday, Mar. 4, following the Special Session of General Conference 2019 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. with time for Q& A. Questions for this Q &A period may be sent to wayforward@vaumc.org prior to the event and during the event. For questions about…
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Bishop Lewis has issued a statement regarding the Special Session of General Conference. A PDF of this letter is available here.
We began with continued debate on the Traditional Plan. And amendment was proposed to delete proposal 90032 from the Traditional Plan. A point of order was given that there are rumors of vote buying. Motion to refer to investigation by the ethics committee. Requires 1/5 vote. Passed. Resuming amendment discussion. Speeches for and against. Failed.…
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It is easy to forget when going to a city that, no matter how beautiful it is, it is still a city. Last night after dinner, I experienced a graphic reminder of this. As we exited the restaurant after dinner, we heard a sound similar to a metallic scraping. The sound was difficult to identify,…
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As I sit at lunch, I am a bit stunned as to the events today. It would be no surprise to recognize that I favored the One Church Plan for its ability to allow multiple theological convictions to remain together in fellowship, as I believe we are called to do. And that plan, the one…
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Again, we began in worship. After administrative committees gave their reports, we began business. The first Bishop presiding is Bishop Palmer. The first petition comes from a standing committee and deals with specifying the implementation time within Central Conferences of any changes in the Book of Discipline from this confrence. An ammendment was offered, and…
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After lunch, we began looking at the One Church Plan. There were passionate speeches for and against. An ammendment was offered to correct part of one portion that the Judicial Council found problematic. It tied, and therefore did not pass. A second amendment was offered to correct another portion that the Judicial Council found problematic…
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Monday morning fittingly began with worship and praise, with a liturgy focusing on how faith can be a dividing or uniting force. As we began the legislative session, an attendance check was reported. There are several missing, and one entire delegation is absent. Most all absences are the result of issues regarding visas. The chair…
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The beginning of the afternoon session was dominated by making sure the voting equipment was working properly. After several tests and moments of assistance, we were off into business. One reflection is that parlimentary procedure seems slow and cumbersome at times, however it does attempt to give an even playing field for all concerned. The…
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