“Get out of the silos we have created and break down the walls we have built,” she said. “Put behind the false narratives and the lies that have trapped us into hurtful debates and theological discourses.
“Take hold of the new things that God is doing in our lives and in the continuing history of the church. Let us continue the spiritual movement by the power of the Holy Spirit witnessing to the risen Christ to this broken world.”
The above words came from Bishop Ruby-Nell Estrella, as part of the service of commissioning 16 new full-time missionaries and the celebration of 200 years of Global Ministries in the United Methodist Church and it’s predecessor denominations.
The work of the General Conference continued with the election of members of several Commissions that are part of the General Conference, including the assignment of bishops to the general boards and agencies of the church. While not particularly controversial, this was time-consuming. Concerns were expressed about inclusion of youth and young adults on these teams, as well as ensuring equity between the regional conferences that have been established (pending ratification by the annual conferences).
After lunch, the General Conference turned its attention to the last remaining portions of the revised Social Principles. There was some debate on the issue of marriage, with the final wording defining marriage as being between a man and a woman or two consenting adults–one of the Zimbabwe East delegation asked for the inclusion of “man and woman” to allow those in more traditional cultures to be able to point to a stance that more closely aligns with their local customs and laws. Once that language was hammered out, the legislation passed overwhelmingly, without debate on the removal of the phrase, “incompatible with Christian teaching,” to characterize LGBTQ persons.
In the afternoon, the GC celebrated giving sacramental authority to deacons when contextually appropriate, wrestled with and ultimately failed to give lifetime voting rights to certified lay missioners and deaconesses (both lay roles), discussed term limits for bishops and what should happen when a bishop retires. Presently, the UMC’s election of bishops in the US is for life, unlike most other areas. Rules were made to clarify what happens, for example, when a Central Conference bishop retires.
There are 24 petitions, 16 of which must be resolved by the close of the General Conference, plus the adoption of the budget and the report of the Council on Finance and Administration, still to be considered tomorrow, which is the last day of the Conference.
As of 8:30 pm, neither the UM News Daily Digest nor an NC Conference Delegation update have been released. They will be shared in the update on the final day of GC, which may not be posted until Saturday.
EDITED:
UM News Daily Digest for May 2: May 2
NCCUMC delegation update: May 2 video update