Friday, May 3, 2024
General Conference Update: South Georgia Edition
Today is the final day of the General Conference! In the coming days and weeks, South Georgia Conference leaders will prepare and share resources to help you interpret and talk about the General Conference with your congregation. Bishop David Graves plans to record a video message at the conclusion of General Conference that will be shared later today or tomorrow.
Rev. Doreen Smalls: 'We are the church'
Rev. Doreen Smalls, head of the delegation and District Superintendent of the Northwest and Southwest Districts, shares a message to South Georgia United Methodists. Watch video
A Letter from Bishop Graves - May 2
Bishop David Graves presided over the afternoon session of General Conference on Thursday, May 2, 2024. Photo by Larry McCormack, UM News.
Bishop David Graves shares this letter with South Georgia United Methodists about the removal of restrictive language in the Book of Discipline.
Two additional items that may be helpful to you:
Deacons can now preside at sacraments in their appointments
Some of our South Georgia Deacons from L to R: Revs. Grace Guyton, Teresa Edwards, Maddie Henderson Herlong, Julia Norman, Aimee Baxter, and Fran Magoni.
(UM News) - In what presiding Bishop David Graves called a “historic moment,” General Conference on May 2 passed new legislation granting authority to deacons to preside at the sacraments in their ministry settings. This means deacons can now offer Holy Communion and conduct baptisms where they have been appointed to serve, whether that is a church, outreach ministry or mission. Deacons and elders are considered clergy in The United Methodist Church, but deacons are ordained for ministries of word, service, compassion and justice — serving as a bridge between the church and the world. Elders are ordained for ministries of word, sacrament, order and service.
“It’s hard to express what it means to me to be able to offer the sacraments with a full heart, free and open hands not bound by the former restrictions,” said Rev. Teresa Edwards, a deacon who serves as an associate pastor at Vineville UMC in Macon, Georgia.
Rev. Meg Procopio, a deacon and associate pastor at Isle of Hope UMC, agrees it was really good day.
"With compassion and justice we serve the connection between the church and the world," said Rev. Procopio. "The world longs for connection. Sacramental authority unties the Deacon’s hands to extend the table." Read story
Anne Packard elected to serve on General Commission on Archives and History
(UM News) General Conference has elected more than 175 people to a variety of commissions and councils, including the Commission on the General Conference, University Senate, John Street Church trustees and Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters. Delegates also elected 650-27 on one simple yes ballot a slate of people nominated by the Council of Bishops for the denomination’s general boards and agencies. Anne Packard, Curator and Archivist of the Moore Methodist Museum, has been re-elected to serve a second term on the General Commission on Archives and History.
Votes of Note
Not a vote, but a great highlight to note: Yesterday's morning session of General Conference began with a celebration of our mission work around the globe. New missionaries were commissioned and will be deployed by The United Methodist Church to share the gospel, offer medical care, start new churches, care for the needs of severely impoverished children and serve in numerous other ways. The United Methodist Church is actively fulfilling the Great Commission and the call of Christ to serve the poor and vulnerable.
- (UM News) General Conference delegates supported a revision of the Social Principles that deletes the phrase “the practice of homosexuality… is incompatible with Christian teaching.”
- (UM News) Delegates affirmed “marriage as a sacred, lifelong covenant that brings two people of faith (adult man and adult woman of consenting age or two adult persons of consenting age) into a union of one another and into deeper relationship with God and the religious community.”
- (UM News) After today's votes, delegates have now worked to adopt the entire slate of revised Social Principles submitted by the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, the denomination’s social witness agency. The Social Principles represent the denomination’s public stance on issues of the day and are not church law.
The 2012 General Conference set the UMC General Board of Church and Society on an journey to revise the Social Principles. The goal was for the statements that guide United Methodist public witness to be more succinct, more theologically grounded, and more globally relevant.
Over the last 8 years, Church and Society held listening sessions around the globe to learn from United Methodists what they thought of the social teachings and how they might be improved. A writing team of 52 United Methodists from Africa, Europe, the Philippines, and the U.S., drafted the proposed revised Social Principles. That draft then received input from more than 4,000 United Methodists worldwide before the final submission.
This is the first such revision in nearly 50 years.
Schedule for Friday, May 3
Today's agenda includes:
8:00 - 9:00 A.M. - Worship
9:00 - 10:00 A.M. - Plenary Session
- Opening Prayer
- Monitoring Report
- Administrative Committee Reports
- General Commission on Finance & Administration Report
- Calendar Items & Conference Business
- Announcements
10:20 A.M. - 12:00 P.M. - Plenary Session
- Opening Prayer
- Calendar Items & Conference Business
1:30 - 3:40 P.M. - Plenary Session
- Opening Prayer
- Recognition of General Conference Staff and Local Host Committee
- Calendar Items & Conference Business
4:00 - 6:00 P.M. - Plenary Session
- Opening Prayer
- Calendar Items & Conference Business
- Evening Devotion
6:00 - 6:30 P.M. - Closing Worship
Spotted in Charlotte
What's happening at General Conference
Wrap-ups from United Methodist News
Conference Updates
Stories and Videos
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Following General Conference
There are multiple ways you can follow along with General Conference.
Praying for General Conference
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.
General Conference Resources
Have questions about General Conference? Ask The UMC
Have questions about what’s happening at the General Conference, or how things work, or who was at the microphone when, or what specific actions mean? Ask The UMC is on site at the legislative assembly, ready to reply by email or live chat. Non-General Conference questions are welcome, too, as always. Learn more
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
Advance Edition Daily Christian Advocate
The Advance DCA contains all legislation submitted for consideration by the delegates at 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
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)
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