General Conference Day Two: Legislative Prioritization

February 24, 2019

"It’s a historical moment in our church and I wanted to be a part of that history. I also wanted to be here in support and prayer for those who make these difficult decisions.”
-Rev. Jean Tippit, Discipleship Pastor at Christ UMC

In the News

Opening Worship: Today was the second day of General Conference and began with worship, song and prayer. Bishop Ken Carter, Resident Bishop of the Florida Annual Conference and the President of the Council of Bishops, delivered a sermon of unity saying, "You are the people of the cross and flame. It might even be possible to say in these three days that you are the stewards of the cross and flame." Click here to read the United Methodist News Service's coverage of his sermon.

Legislative Prioritization and Elections: Today's goal was to prioritize the legislative pieces presented to the delegates. The plans and petitions were listed one at a time on the video screens in numerical order by petition number(s). Delegates then indicated whether they considered each a high priority or a low priority by pressing either 1 or 2 on their voting device. This prioritization does not indicate a final vote. More here on this process. The morning session primarily focused on dedicated time for the Council of Bishops and Commission on a Way Forward Report to be presented to the delegates. Click here to read UMNS coverage on what received the highest priority votes. Rev. Joseph Harris of the Oklahoma Conference was elected chair of the legislative committee. The Vice-chair elected was Betty Kazadi Musau from the North Katanga Conference. Carlene Fogle-Miller, from the North Georgia Conference, was elected Secretary of the legislative committee.

Legislative Work: Up first on the priority list of legislation pieces were petitions 90016 and 90017 (paragraph 1504) related to Wespath's recommendations for pension liabilities and CRSP Amendment. The voting body gave these petitions the highest priority ranking in this morning's session. The Commission on a Way Forward has asked Wespath for information and analysis about the potential pension impacts of its proposals. The full Wespath report is on pages 168-169 of the ADCA. The petitions passed in the legislative committee with a vote count of 768-44 and will be considered by the body in plenary session for a vote. It was determined that due to time, the delegates would discuss the next petition in line tomorrow morning (The Traditional Plan, 90032–90048).

Referral to Judicial Council: Dr. Jeremy Pridgeon, clergy delegate and senior minister at Montgomery FUMC, asked for a Judicial Council declaratory decision on the constitutionality of (Book of Discipline) paragraph 304.5 in light of paragraphs 16 and 33 of the constitutionality of the United Methodist Church. He received a second and obtained well over the needed twenty percent of the voting body (453-321) for it to be referred to Judicial Council. The Judicial Council ruled before the session adjourned that it had previously answered the question in decision 1321.

AWF Spiritual Directors: The Alabama-West Florida Spiritual Directors are available to anyone in our conference who would like prayer in the coming days. Click here and Rev. Ashley Davis, AWF Director of Connectional Ministries, will coordinate your request.

AWF Clergy Make the Journey to St. Louis for Historic Conference

(Rev. Jeremy Steele for AWF Conference) - In addition to our delegates, bishop and some of the conference staff, several dedicated United Methodist leaders from our conference have made the long pilgrimage to Saint Louis joining over 3,000 other observers to have a front seat at this historic gathering. The question we asked was why? Why carve out almost a week in your schedule? Why travel over 500 miles? Why sit in a room listening to motions and legislation debates upon which you can not ultimately vote? For Rev. Jean Tippit, associate pastor at Christ UMC in Mobile, AL it starts with history. “It’s a historical moment in our church and I wanted to be a part of that history.” But it doesn’t end there, she also said, “I also wanted to be here in support and prayer for those who make these difficult decisions.” Full feature here.

Legislative Tracking

Search for legislation submitted by petition number, keyword or submitter. As General Conference progresses, the information will be updated regarding the actions taken on each piece of legislation. Legislative tracking here.

ADCA and Agenda

Advance Daily Christian Advocate: The Daily Christian Advocate (DCA) is the official journal of the General Conference of The United Methodist Church. It serves as the record of those who have been elected to serve as a delegate, the legislation submitted, and the decisions made by the General Conference. Click on the date to access each DCA.
Saturday, February 23, 2019
Sunday, February 24, 2019

Tomorrow's agenda is below:
8:00 – 8:20 A.M.
Worship

8:20 A.M. – 12:30 P.M.
Morning Session 1
Break
Morning Session 2

12:30 – 1:30 P.M.
Lunch

1:30 – 6:30 P.M.
Afternoon Session 1
Break
Afternoon Session 2
Worship

6:30 P.M.
Adjournment