Methodist Family Day

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2, 13:7)

Yesterday, we kicked off our day with worship by celebrating our relationships with other denominations belonging to the wider Methodist family. We also remembered the Bishops, Bishop’s spouses, delegates, and General Conference volunteers who have passed away since the General Conference last gathered.

Bishop David Wilson preached a message challenging the General Conference to “make your decisions on behalf of the next seven generations”.

Then, we entered the plenary sessions. Several petitions were ratified today including:

·       Legislation that allows clergy to perform and churches to host same-gender weddings but does not require clergy to perform or churches to host same-gender weddings.

·       Legislation that allows LGBTQIA+ persons to become ordained clergypersons.

·       Legislation that passed a new account-based retirement plan for clergy who participate in the retirement system.

·       Legislation to remove the disaffiliation agreement for churches to disaffiliate through paragraph 2553 that expired on December 31, 2023. There has been and will continue to be a process for United Methodist churches to discontinue their participation in the United Methodist church, but there will no longer be a special process for congregations to disaffiliate.

In the evening, I spent several hours in an Interjurisdictional Committee on Episcopacy meeting (which is why this update is arriving in the morning). Thank you all for your ongoing prayers. We still have two days to go!