Day Seven: May 18, 2016
Council of Bishops Offers Way Forward, Delegates Approve Plan
Bishop Bruce R. Ough, president of the Council of Bishops and leader of the Minnesota Conference, addressed the General Conference today, May 18, 2016. He presented, "An Offering for a New Way Forward" to the plenary floor, as a follow up to yesterday's approved motion asking the Council of Bishops to meet to outline a way forward. Click here to read yesterday's statement from the Council of Bishops. During the morning break, Bishop Paul L. Leeland affirmed his support for this statement. After discussion on Wednesday afternoon, General Conference delegates voted 428 - 405 to approve the plan. Click here for UMNS story. Photo by Paul Jeffrey, UMNS.
AWF Episcopal Nominee Speaks with SEJ Delegates and Guests
Dr. Lawson Bryan, senior minister at Montgomery FUMC and AWF Episcopal Candidate, spoke to the Southeastern Jurisdiction today, May 18, 2016. Delegates and guests have gathered for the past two days during the lunch break to hear from fourteen candidates. Yesterday, seven of the candidates spoke to the SEJ gathering. All candidates were asked to answer two questions within a six-minute time frame. The first question asked nominees to name two of the most important accomplishments in their ministry, while the next question allowed this group to inform SEJ delegates where their passion lies and how they would bring it to life, if elected. Dr. Bryan focused on the AWF Academy for Congregational Excellence, the first conference agency created for the sole purpose of leadership development among laity and clergy, and the Montgomery FUMC Adult Respite Ministry as two of his most important accomplishments. The Respite program was launched by asking, "What needs to happen in our community that will not happen unless a church does it?” He continued to emphasize his core belief of having a positive impact on the Church by saying, "My passion is helping individuals, local churches, districts, and annual conferences discover that they can act immediately to make disciples and transform the world." Full article here. Photo by Luke Lucas, AWF.
Bishop Swanson: ‘Evil is going, too.’
“If you are going to go, there is a shadow figure that follows you also. You need to know that while you go, evil is going also,” Bishop James Swanson Sr. told the delegates to General Conference 2016 in his sermon during May 18 opening worship. The Mississippi Episcopal Area bishop said that those living out the General Conference theme of “Therefore go” should remember this. Swanson preached on the passage of Matthew 12:43-45 about an unclean spirit wandering through the dry places in search of a place to rest, then returning home and bringing seven other evil spirits with it. More here. Photo by Paul Jeffrey, UMNS.
United Methodists Celebrate Imagine No Malaria, Launch Abundant Health
(UMNS) - United Methodist members and leaders, global health innovators and an “American Idol” star took the stage today to celebrate the success of Imagine No Malaria, an initiative of the people of The United Methodist Church aimed at ending malaria deaths. The multimedia event, which was held at the denomination’s quadrennial legislative gathering, being held through May 20 at the Oregon Convention Center, also marked the official kick off of The Abundant Health: Our Promise to Children campaign. The 12-minute celebration, a collaboration between United Methodist Communications and the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM), featured a highlights video of the grassroots campaign that has engaged donors of all ages, showcased the impact of the initiative on the continent of Africa and debuted “Able,” a song commissioned by Imagine No Malaria as a gift to United Methodists across the globe. Jeremy Rosado, a Top 12 contestant on Season 11 of “American Idol,” performed the song to more than 1,000 people attending the event. The song is available as a free download at Amazon Music and the Imagine No Malaria website, as well as on YouTube. More here. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
AWF Clergy Works on GC Secretary Staff
Rev. Ashley Meyer, associate pastor at Cokesbury UMC in Pensacola, FL, is serving as volunteer staff for the 2016 General Conference Secretary office. She also served in this capacity at GC 2012 in Tampa, FL. This office is responsible for maintaining the official record of the daily proceedings, for collecting and processing the petitions submitted, for the appropriate referencing of the petitions to the legislative committees, and for a variety of other matters relating to the functioning of the General Conference. In addition to these responsibilities, Rev. Meyer has been tracking legislation, working on calendar items and readjusting based on plenary session outcomes. She commented, "It’s been an honor to serve our connection through this opportunity. The most important function of serving on the Secretary's staff is to ensure that delegates are equipped with whatever they might need to get their work done. I am amazed at how many people volunteer their time to be here, to help delegates learn the details of the legislative process (which can certainly be confusing!), and to be a calm and reassuring presence. The Secretary's staff is filled with faithful, diligent, caring servants of Christ. They are also quite funny, and function at impressively high levels in spite of significant sleep deprivation!" Photo by Luke Lucas, AWF.
Prayer a Vital Component of GC2016
Prayer has proven to be an integral part of General Conference 2016. The Upper Room sponsored “60 Days of Prayer” leading up to this quadrennial meeting and asked conferences and local churches from around the world to participate in this reflective movement. A prayer labyrinth was available in the Oregon Convention Center to encourage delegates and guests to enter into a time of prayer and spiritual meditation. Many times the plenary sessions would pause for prayer time before significant votes or action. Dr. Cory Smith, AWF Director of Connectional Ministries, offered his reflection on prayer at the conference. He stated, "In the past 24 hours the Council of Bishops have encouraged the General Conference to 'pause for prayer.' I appreciate these wise words. Petitions, points of order, and demonstrations seems to move the large body of General Conference to a fight/flight mode of working together. I pray that we are becoming more open to the power of prayer and the importance of relying upon God's Word and the Holy Spirit to shape our thoughts, words, and decisions." Pictured above is Rev. Emily Kincaid, executive minister at Orange Beach UMC, at the labyrinth in the convention center. See this online. Photo by Luke Lucas, AWF.
AWF Delegate Prayer & Profile
"Gracious God,
We pray you'll be our eyes, help us to see as you see.
We pray, you’ll be our mind, help us to know your will.
We pray, you’ll be our heart, help us to love as you love.
Lead, guide, and direct all our attitudes and actions.
Guide us with your grace and may the only thing between us be Christ.
Amen."
-Pat Luna
Pat Luna is a lay delegate from Point Washington UMC in the Marianna-Panama City District. This is her second time to serve as a General Conference delegate. She is actively involved in the Academy for Spiritual Formation, Blue Lake trustees and the General Board of Church & Society where she is the vice chair of the trustees. Pat is a writer for The Upper Room's Disciplines and Alive Now, and has trained the UMC in Mozambique for GBOD in 2001-2002. She owns Compass Consultants where she leads capital campaigns for local churches.
AWF Photo Galleries from General Conference
Luke Lucas, AWF Communications Specialist, is covering general conference through photography. He is capturing our delegation and friends at work. Ann Jacob, reserve delegate from the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, reads a statement on church unity adopted by the Global Young People's Convocation and Legislative Assembly. She presented the statement adopted in July 2015 during the afternoon plenary on May 18 at the 2016 United Methodist General Conference. Photo by Luke Lucas, AWF. Click here to see galleries.
Tomorrow's Highlights
Streaming Schedule (Reminder: All times are Pacific Standard, UTC-7)
- 8:00 AM: Worship (10:00 AM CDT)
- 8:00 AM: Commissioning of Missionaries [Download program]
- 9:00 AM: Reports/Calendar Items & Conference Business (11:00 AM CDT)
- 9:55 AM: Vital Congregation Moments (11:55 AM CDT)
- 10:20 AM: Calendar Items & Conference Business (12:20 PM CDT)
- 12:29 PM 200th Anniversary: Death of Francis Asbury (12:29 PM CDT)
- 12:25 PM Vital Congregations Moments (2:25 PM CDT)
- 2:00 PM: Calendar Items & Conference Business (4:00 PM CDT)
- 3:58 PM: Recognition of Neil M. Alexander (5:58 PM CDT)
- 4:20 PM: Calendar Items & Conference Business (6:20 PM CDT)
- 6:00 PM: Report from the Committee on Peace (8:00 PM CDT)
- 6:10 PM: Closing Devotion (8:10 PM 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 Service: United 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
Friday, May 13, 2016
Saturday, May 14, 2016
Monday, May 16, 2016
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
