Day Nine: May 19, 2016

AWF Reserve Delegates Provide Support and Prayer

The Alabama-West Florida General Conference delegation is comprised of ten delegates; half clergy and half lay. In addition to these ten persons, the AWF elected an additional ten Jurisdictional Conference delegates at Annual Conference 2015. This group has been actively serving all week as reserve delegates when breaks are needed and have also provided support through prayer. The entire delegation is staying connected with one another using the app, "GroupMe." Each morning the delegation rises to a devotion on this app written by a delegate. Rev. June Jernigan, reserve delegate and District Superintendent of the Baypines Districted commented, "It's been an honor to serve as the first reserve clergy delegate to the 2016 General Conference. The entire AWF delegation has worked diligently and with great commitment to their task. The worship services each day have been meaningful and moving. The legislation work has been slow and tedious. My prayer is that as the United Methodist Church we will find ways to continue building spirit of trust among all delegates. Trust is critical to our work as Christian brothers and sisters in God-directed decision making." Pictured above are the reserves: Dr. Cory Smith, Rev. Jackie Slaughter, Rev. June Jernigan, Frank Dunnewind, Rev. Rurel Ausley, Rev. Emily Kincaid, Frank Moore and Rev. Tonya Elmore (not pictured, Dr. Rob Couch). Photo by Luke Lucas, AWF. 

COSROW Celebrates Milestone Anniversaries for Clergy Women

The General Commission on the Status and Role of Women celebrated two milestones within the life of the United Methodist Church at an order of the day in today's plenary session at General Conference 2016. Narrated by Rev. Grace Imathiu of the Community UMC in Naperville, IL, a video entitled, “Are We There Yet?” explored two significant milestones related to female clergy. In 1956, the General Conference session held in Minneapolis, MN, allowed full clergy rights to twenty-seven Methodist clergy women. Today we celebrate the 60th anniversary of that moment in history. Also, at the 1976 General Conference session in Portland, OR, clergy women were elected to be delegates for the first time in history. Retired Bishop Sharon Brown Christopher was one of thirteen women to be a clergy delegate in 1976. This marks the 40th anniversary of that memorable moment. Click here to see full story and watch video here. Photo by Luke Lucas, AWF. 

AWF Petition to Withdraw from RCRC Passes

Petition number 60837, entitled "Withdraw from Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice" was passed by the General Conference voting body with a vote of in favor of 425 to 268. This petition was co-sponsored by the AWF Conference, along with the Mississippi, North Carolina, Indiana and Western Pennsylvania Conferences. The petition reads, "RCRC is a one-sided political lobby that opposes all disapproval or limitation of abortion. RCRC's advocacy often directly contradicts our Social Principles on abortion, but it still uses our Church's name. Several annual conferences and many United Methodist leaders have urged the Church to end all association with RCRC." Petition 60838 was also approved that requires The General Board of Church & Society to withdraw their membership from RCRC. Click here to read the AWF petition to General Conference. 

29 New Missionaries Commissioned at General Conference

(UMNS) - “We commission you to take the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ into all the world.” Twenty-nine times the ancient phrase was intoned as The United Methodist Church sent new missionaries from 11 countries to serve in 16 lands. The liturgy of commissioning, both solemn and joyful, was believed to be the first as part of a United Methodist General Conference. The new missionaries will serve as church developers, chaplains, teachers, health practitioners or administrators, agricultural specialists and youth workers. Six of the 29 will work in the health field. Four will engage in ministries with migrants. More here. 

N. Oswald Tweh, Liberian, is New Judicial Council President

(UMNS) - United Methodists from Norway and Mozambique are among the new members of the denomination’s Judicial Council. Delegates to General Conference 2016 filled open positions for two clergy and three lay members on the nine-member council during elections on May 16. The new clergy members are the Rev. Øyvind Helliesen of Norway and the Rev. Luan-Vu Tran of Lakewood, California. Elected as lay members were Ruben Reyes of Manila, Philippines; Deanell Reese Tacha of Lawrence, Kansas, and Lídia Romão Gulele of Maputo, Mozambique. More here. 

Wilson Presents Native American Petition

Rev. Robin Wilson, AWF delegate and Discipleship legislative committee chair, again presented a piece of legislation at this morning's plenary session. She presented petition number 60851 which addressed appropriateness of using Native American names as mascots for sports teams. An amendment to the main motion was defeated, thus the legislation was voted upon and passed with a vote of 628-173. More here. 

AWF Photo Galleries from General Conference 

Bishop Mike Watson, Resident Bishop of the North Georgia Conference and elected out of the AWF Conference and Bishop Larry Goodpaster, Resident Bishop of the Western North Carolina Conference and former AWF Resident Bishop were honored at today's retirement ceremony. They joined sixteen other retiring bishops at today's celebration. Luke Lucas, AWF Communications Specialist, is covering general conference through photography. He is capturing our delegation and friends at work. Photo by Luke Lucas, AWF. Click here to see galleries. 

AWF Delegate Prayer & Profile

"Almighty God, you have created us to give you praise and glory. You call us to useful and holy lives, which reflect the love you have shown us in Christ. While we are weary, restore our hope, so that in all things, we place our church in your hands. May the people of the United Methodist Church be blessed to be a blessing, as we seek to discern your will in our lives, at general conference and beyond. In the name of Christ we pray, Amen."
-Rev. Robin Wilson

Rev. Wilson is the co-senior pastor at Dauphin Way UMC in the Mobile District. As previously noted, she was elected to chair the Discipleship legislative committee work and has presented several petitions from the plenary floor at General Conference. This is her second time as a GC delegate and was a jurisdictional and reserve delegate in 2008. She serves on the General Board of Discipleship and has served on various conference-level boards. 

Tomorrow's Highlights

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

• 8:00 AM: Worship (10:00 AM CDT)  
• 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)  
• 2:00 PM: Calendar Items & Conference Business (4:00 PM CDT)
• 4:20 PM: Calendar Items & Conference Business (6:20 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
Wednesday, May 18, 2016