news stories
May 19 wrap-up: New missionaries, special GC costs
May 20, 2016 / By Joey Butler
A day after tabling potentially contentious legislation on human sexuality, General Conference 2016 moved through its calendar at a steady clip, possibly noticing that time to finish its task is running short. Though discussion on the difficult subject was avoided, that other difficult subject — money — had to be addressed. Would the “way forward” set the church financially backward? How much does the bishops’ plan cost? The …more
GC2016: Oppose mascots that demean Native Americans
May 20, 2016 / By Sam Hodges
Delegates to General Conference 2016 overwhelmingly approved a resolution calling on United Methodist agencies to raise awareness about the harm caused by sports teams that use mascots or symbols that disrespect Native Americans. The petition that passed May 19 had been amended in the Discipleship Committee, deleting language that would have called on United Methodist groups not to have meetings in cities that have sports teams with such mascots or symbols. There …more
Delegates react to plan to defer human sexuality petitions
May 20, 2016 / By Kathy L. Gilbert
Love will keep us together, the Rev. Eli Sule Yakku of Central Nigeria said at the end of a long day filled with both kind and harsh words on the floor of the 2016 General Conference over lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people and their role in The United Methodist Church. The day started with a silent vigil by LGBTQ clergy and clergy candidates. Delegates walked past people wearing robes …more
Americans are more polarized than ever. We United Methodists don’t want to be.
May 20, 2016 / By Tom Berlin and Mike McCurry
In an ever-more-polarized society, the United Methodist Church this week has tried to model an approach to disagreement that the U.S. political system would do well to emulate. Despite deep differences over gay marriage and whether gay men and lesbians can be ordained as clergy, we are working hard at our once-every-four-years meeting to stay united as we search for solutions. Like Americans, we United Methodists have …more
Imagine No Malaria celebration rocks the house
May 19, 2016 / By Crystal Caviness and Barbara Dunlap-Berg
“Our God is able!” Celebrating the success of the Imagine No Malaria initiative, launched in 2008, speakers, singers and dancers offered even more for United Methodists attending General Conference 2016 to imagine – Abundant Health: Our Promise to Children. “Health is the ultimate design of God for humanity,” said Bishop Thomas Bickerton, Imagine No Malaria chair. “Health and wholeness have been a hope for Methodists since John …more
GC2016 puts hold on sexuality debate
May 19, 2016 / By Heather Hahn and Sam Hodges
General Conference delegates apparently have hit the pause button on the denomination's quadrennial debates related to homosexuality. Late afternoon May 18, the delegates voted by 428 to 405 to accept the recommendation of the Council of Bishops to delay a debate on homosexuality at this gathering of the denomination’s top legislative assembly and let a proposed commission study church regulations. The bishops asked for the …more
May 18 wrap-up: Sexuality dominates debate in unexpected ways
May 19, 2016 / By Joey Butler
Last week it was debating how to debate. Today, it was voting on whether to vote. A day of tension, frustration and confusion ended in a decision to “put a pin in it.” Delegates to General Conference 2016 spent most of the day deciding whether to move forward on dozens of petitions regarding the denomination’s stance on human sexuality, or whether to refer that difficult subject to …more
Offering a Way Forward: A Statement from the Council of Bishops
May 18, 2016 / By UNY Communications / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Editor's Note: Below is a statement released by the Council of Bishops on Wednesday, May 18, 2016: "Your bishops were honored to receive the request of General Conference to help lead our United Methodist Church forward during this time of both great crisis and great opportunity. As far as we can discover, this is the first time that a General Conference has ever made such a request of the Council …more
Green light for new hymnal project
May 18, 2016 / By Sam Hodges
The United Methodist Church is on track to get its first new hymnal since 1989, and this one will be Internet-cloud based and print-on-demand — the first high-tech hymnal for a mainline denomination. General Conference 2016 approved on a consent calendar Tuesday, May 17, a petition authorizing the creation of a 15-member Hymnal Revision Committee. That was the big green light needed for the United Methodist Publishing House and Discipleship Ministries to move …more
Conference pleads with bishops for leadership
May 18, 2016 / By Kathy L. Gilbert and Sam Hodges
Delegates asked the Council of Bishops to lead the church out of the “painful condition” it is in after an address by Bishop Bruce Ough that called for unity but did not address full inclusion of LGBTQ people. The Rev. Mark Holland, a delegate from Great Plains, said the May 17 call for unity did not provide a path forward. He asked the Council of Bishops to meet today …more