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Day Four: May 13, 2016

Day Four at General Conference

The majority of day four at general conference was spent with delegates focusing their work in legislative committees as thy continue to discern and review petitions in the thirteen committees. Prior to that work, the morning featured inspiring worship and messages. Bishop Sally Dyck of the Northern Illinois Conference delivered the sermon. The Laity Address was given by six persons from around the connection, which focused on discipleship with a purpose. Click here to read the transcript of the Laity Address. As part of the Connectional Table report, Hannah Foust (pictured above), a 14-year-old youth from Carmel, Indiana, spoke of the remarkable work she has done providing water wells in Burkina Faso. She emphasized that this area is rated as the third most miserable place on earth, where water is scarce, and death and illness are a part of everyday life. She said, "When I first learned about Burkina Faso, I instantly felt a responsibility to help the children there, like I was their older sister." Click here to read her presentation. Appadurai Moses Rathan Kumar, General Secretary and Treasurer of General Council on Finance and Administration, presented details about the budget that the conference body will vote upon next week. He stated, "When the budget is presented to you next week, you will be voting on the base percentage of 3.266%. This is the lowest amount recommended to the General Conference using this formula in 16 years." Click here for full report. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.

Preparing for General Conference – Interviews with United Methodist Women Delegates

Annette Apitz from United Methodist Women sat down with four delegates to General Conference. Clara Ester, AWF lay delegate from the Mobile District, was interviewed about what she is looking forward to the most in the coming days. Click here to read more

Dakotas-Minnesota Bishop is New President of the Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church

(UMNS) - Bishop Bruce Ough, bishop of the Dakotas-Minnesota Area of The United Methodist Church, today became president of the Council of Bishops of the 12.3 million member global United Methodist Church. Bishop Ough assumed the presidency of the Council from Bishop Warner H. Brown, Jr., of the San Francisco Episcopal Area with a ceremonial passing of the gavel ceremony during a meeting of the General Conference, the denomination’s top legislative body that is gathered for its quadrennial meeting. More here

UMW Day: Water and Witness

(UMNS) — Nearly 150 years later, members of United Methodist Women “are living out the same commitments as our predecessors” for spiritual growth, service and advocacy for women, children and youth, says Harriett Olson, UMW’s top executive. On May 16, highlights of UMW Day will include a commissioning, a rally on water rights and a seven-minute presentation on the floor of General Conference. Linda Bloom reports.

Interviews with United Methodist Leaders

(UMNS) — Casual conversations with United Methodist leaders about what is happening at General Conference 2016 can be found in the Digital Lounge. Check out interviews with Don Messer and Linda Bales Todd about the United Methodist Global AIDS Fund, as well as interviews with various leaders on other topics. Visit the lounge.

Audio Stories Cover Range of Topics

(UMNS) – Audio podcasts at General Conference 2016 are just a click away. Hear a young Iowa delegate tell about the church’s role in her life, follow the Episcopal Address, learn about the role of the Daily Christian Advocate and get the latest on technology training for delegates. Check them out.

AWF Delegate Prayer & Profile

"Dear Lord,
It is Friday the 13th. Some people consider this an unlucky day. However, we know that any day that You have made is not unlucky. It’s a day of promise, a chance to see You bring Your promises to fruition. It is a new day filled with hope.

It’s also close to being a transition day as we begin to close out the first week of General Conference in Portland, Oregon. We start to wind down our legislative committees and then next week move into the plenary sessions. Give us wisdom as we make decisions about the United Methodist Church. Give us clarity of vision and sincerity of heart. And most of all, let us be true to You, Our Maker and Redeemer, the Lord of our life.

We thank you for this day. May we continuously give You glory!"
--Dr. Steve Furr

Dr. Furr is completing his second quadrennium as lay leader for the Alabama-West Florida Conference. He is an active member of Jackson FUMC in Jackson, AL, and has been a delegate for the last five general conferences. Dr. Furr is a family medicine physician in the Jackson, AL, area. 

Tomorrow's Highlights

Streaming Schedule (Reminder: All times are Pacific Standard, UTC-7)

  • 8:00 AM: Worship (10:00 CDT) 
  • 8:45 AM: Plenary Session  (10:45 CDT) 

General Conference 2016: Live Stream Archives

On-demand and downloadable versions of the daily General Conference plenary sessions, worship, and addresses are now available. View here

Stay Connected

Live stream: Follow the action with live streaming video. Don’t miss a minute of the big event.

Social Media: The GC Twitter account will show a real-time conversation. Follow @UMCGC to get the 4-1-1 and join the global conversation using the hashtag #UMCGC. For AWF tweets, use #AWFGC. Follow General Conference on Facebook to stay well informed.

Digital Lounge: Stay clued in by visiting the digital lounge to watch interviews with notables and newsmakers, as well as folks who are out of the spotlight but critical to the event’s success.

Mobile App: The General Conference mobile app has everything you need in the palm of your hand.

United Methodist News ServiceUnited Methodist News Service will be posting breaking news stories all day, every day, as well as in-depth coverage and analysis. Follow them on Facebook and Twitter or, subscribe to the UMNS daily digest and get the news in your inbox; then click to learn more.

GC Website: Find everything in one place at the General Conference website for an easy, user-friendly experience.

Miss One? 

If you were unable to catch the action of General Conference, click on the daily archive below for Alabama-West Florida Conference daily updates. 

Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Thursday, May 12, 2016

 

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