Wednesday, April 24, 2024
You are receiving General Conference email updates as a current subscriber of The South Georgia Advocate e-newsletter or because you signed up to receive General Conference emails. If at any time you would like to be removed from GC email updates you can do so through the unsubscribe button at the bottom of this email. If you know others who would like to receive GC email updates they can subscribe here.
General Conference Update: South Georgia Edition
The long-delayed 2020 General Conference began Tuesday, April 23 as delegates from around the world gathered in Charlotte, NC to begin their work. The day began with delegate training and continued with Opening Worship. The first plenary session was held in the afternoon to organize the business of the conference and to hear reports from the Commission on General Conference and Committee on Agenda and Calendar.
Wednesday, April 24
Today's agenda includes:
8:00 - 8:30 am | Worship | Live Streamed
8:30 - 10:30 am | Plenary Session | Live Streamed
- Episcopal Address (delivered by Bishop Jonathan Holston)
- Monitoring Report
- Report on the Social Principles Revision
- Nominations
10:55 am - 1 pm | Plenary Session | Live Streamed
- Young People’s Address
- General Book of Discipline Report and Dialogue
- Financial State of the Church
- Jurisdictional Study Committee
- Announcements
2:00 - 4:30 pm | Organization of the Legislative Committees
Spotted in Charlotte
Clockwise from top left: Patsy Thomas and Allison Lindsey; Tony Crosby; Bishop Graves talks with Ben Martin and Jimmy Asbell; Michael Culbreth; Nancy Graves, Allison Lindsey, Jimmy Asbell, Scott Hagan; Richard Shinhoster; Ben Martin; Doreen Smalls and Scott Hagan. Stay tuned for more sightings of South Georgia delegates, volunteers, and guests in Charlotte!
Opening Worship: Bishop Urges ‘Spirit of Hope’
(UM News) — In the opening worship service for the postponed 2020 United Methodist General Conference, Council of Bishops President Thomas J. Bickerton encouraged delegates to embrace a “spirit of hope” and commit to the revitalization of The United Methodist Church. Bickerton, who leads the New York Episcopal Area, declared this General Conference a seminal moment. “It is time to move forward as a denomination with new purpose and energy,” he said. Read story
April 23 GC wrap-up from UM News: What happened on Day 1
Access a recap of the day’s activities for 4/23/24.
General Conference Resources
General Conference Guide
An important resource for delegates, church members and journalists, this guide contains information about the conference schedule, the legislative process and historical background. Download the guide: English | Français | Português
Schedule
This agenda outlines the daily schedule of the 2024 General Conference in Charlotte, NC.
View full agenda here
View abbreviated version here (this version indicates when there will be live stream)
Advance Edition Daily Christian Advocate
The Advance DCA contains all legislation submitted for consideration by the delegates at the upcoming General Conference. View ADCA
Daily Christian Advocate & Legislation Tracking
The Daily Christian Advocate is the most important reference for delegates of General Conference (and those closely following the session). It contains daily transcripts of the conference proceedings, news stories and features, and daily summaries of legislative committee actions. General Conference delegates and first reserves receive free access to the website DailyChristianAdvocate.org. Others may access the site for a one-time fee of $49.99, which allows you to create an account and have ongoing access through General Conference, including legislation tracking. View the DCA
Following General Conference
There are multiple ways you can follow along with General Conference.
- Live Stream: General Conference will be live streamed at www.UMCGC.org/live
- General Conference website: www.UMCGC.org
- South Georgia Conference website: www.sgaumc.org/gc2020
- SGAUMC Facebook: www.facebook.com/sgaumc
- Social Media: Follow the hashtag #UMCGC
- These newsletters updates!
Prayer
Praying for delegates, bishops, speakers, and all those who lead and attend the General Conference sessions is a powerful way to participate. Pray for God to guide the General Conference’s decisions, for Christ to lead us into the future, and for the Holy Spirit to empower us to go on toward perfection in our love of God and one another. Join with others from South Georgia as we pause to pray each day 4:01 pm. View daily prayers here.
Top Tools for Sharing with Your Local Church
#1 GC by the Numbers Infographic - This one-page infographic provides a quick snapshot of General Conference by the numbers.
#2 The Road to General Conference Infographic - Gain a better understanding of The UMC with this information detailing the church's structure from the local church, to the district, through the annual conferences and beyond with the infographics below. (4 pages)
