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Petition and resolution results from AC16
June 4, 2016 / By Shannon Hodson / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Discussion and voting for the petitions and resolutions brought to the 2016 Annual Conference session began in the afternoon plenary on June 2 and continued in the morning plenary on June 4. Here are the results of each resolution.
UNYAC2016.1 – Local Church Right to Choose Insurance Provider, withdrawn
This resolution called for each local church within the Upper New York Conference to be given the opportunity to seek and contract with its own insurance provider. It has the stipulation that coverage recommendations be provided by the Conference Board of Trustees.
UNYAC2016.2 – Change District Names, not supported
So that all districts are described based on their geographic locale, this resolution called for the following districts to have name changes, effective July 1, 2016, or deferred to the Cabinet for the appropriate change dates:
Cornerstone District becomes the Jamestown/Olean District
Crossroads District becomes the Syracuse District
Genesee Valley District becomes the Rochester District
Mountain View District becomes the Corning/Elmira District
Niagara Frontier District becomes the Buffalo/Niagara District
Northern Flow District becomes the Watertown District
UNYAC2016.3 – Restoration of Funding for Campus Ministries, supported with an amendment to include local churches in the process being developed to apply for funds.
This resolution called for an increase in the budget for campus ministries – including $80,000, restoration of the chaplain position at Syracuse University and that this amount increase by $15,000 each of the following three budget years to more fully fund other campus ministries. It also called for the Conference Board of Higher Education to clarify and develop a process by which colleges and universities apply to receive these funds and to advertise and promote the process.
UNYAC2016.4 – Ensuring Support for All Ministries, supported
This resolution called for budget salaries for persons involved in ministries outside of the Conference (yet-to-be approved by the Conference) to fall under the “must-pay” or fixed portion of the budget of the UNY Conference.
UNYAC2016.5 – Restoration of Funding of the New York State Council of Churches, not supported
This resolution called for the Conference to renew its financial support of New York State Council of Churches (NYSCC) by making a minimal commitment of $10,000 to be taken by a special Conference-wide offering. It also called for the UNY Conference to make a pledge of $20,000 for 2018 and increasing this amount by $2,750 each of the following four budget years to eventually equal $30,000, which is close to the $31,000 that the Conference previously pledged to the NYSCC.
UNYAC2016.6 – A Call for Budget Transparency, supported
This resolution called for the Conference Council on Finance & Administration, beginning in 2018, to provide the Conference members with a detailed accounting of the proposed budget, listing the pay and benefits packages of each salaried employee separately from other operating costs. It also called for “must-pay” items to be marked as such and all “second tier” commitments to be noted.
UNYAC2016.7 – The Many Shades of God’s Hands, withdrawn
This resolution called for a task force to develop a five-year plan for youth ministry in the Conference to reach or surpass the recommendations of “The Book of Discipline.” This taskforce would have a process to ensure all races and cultural backgrounds within the Conference are represented and involved in the youth ministry at the Conference and district levels and that all members of the taskforce work to increase their cultural competency. The details and primary tasks of the committee are explicitly detailed in the resolution. Click here to read the full resolution.
UNAYC2016.8 – A Resolution to Study and Consider Carbon Pricing, supported
This resolution called for the UNY Conference to study the issue of carbon pricing and to consider endorsing – at the 2017 session of Annual Conference – carbon pricing within the United States that is implemented in a structured, predictable way, in a manner that does not hurt persons of low income, and in conjunction with removal of fossil fuel subsidies.
UNYAC2016.9: UNYUMC Responds to Gun Violence, supported
This resolution called for the Conference to classify every United Methodist Church as a “weapon-free zone.”