General Conference concluded with some important business: the adoption of the budget and the deploying of bishops world-wide. Churches on the African continent will gain two bishops, while the number of bishops in the US, currently 39 and intended to be 46, will be 32. This means some bishops will oversee two episcopal areas, as Bishop Leonard Fairley did here in NC and in the Kentucky-Red Bird Annual Conference. The base rate for apportionments dropped as part of an approximately 40% cut to the denomination’s budget.
More language regarding same-sex marriages and LGBTQ clergy was removed from the Book of Discipline, and a path for churches that disaffiliated under Paragraph 2553, which expired December 31, 2023, to reaffiliate with the UMC. Provisions were also made to allow clergy with past or pending charges relating to their own sexuality or participation in same-sex weddings to be reinstated.
In an exciting change, the Order of Deacons will now be able to celebrate the sacraments of baptism and communion in their settings where contextually appropriate. Deacons are asked to be educated and evaluated in a process fundamentally the same as elders; this move gives them the privilege and authority to share the sacraments with those in their care.
A petition to give Licensed Local Pastors a vote in General Conference matters was defeated as part of a package of petitions that were bundled together and defeated at the end of the General Conference. This is sad news but hopefully it will come up again in 2028.
In significant news, the General Conference also approved apologies to Hawaii for the role Methodists played in the takeover of the island nation and to survivors of sexual assault and abuse. These apologies mark our desire for accountability for the ways we have participated, wittingly and unwittingly, in the silencing of abuse victims and acts of colonialism that caused harm. In the same vein, we approved a resolution decrying violence and discrimination against Asian Americans and calling on us to expose and root out white supremacy as part of our commitment to justice.
Some helpful links:
UM News Daily Digest: daily-digest-may-3-2024
NCCUMC update: May 3, 2024
Video wrap-up of the General Conference’s work: GC video wrapup
Printed Legislative wrapup: general-conference-legislative-recap-final-2.pdf
I’m sure more information will follow as we continue to process and understand all the implications. Watch this space and your email for more.