News about the postponement of the 2020 General Conference:
Well, the resolution to our 50+ year conflict over sexuality (especially "homosexuality"--see this reason for the quotes) has been postponed a third time! First postponed to 2021, then 2022, now 2024. Here's the UMNews story:
Citing long wait times for visas, General Conference organizers announced that The United Methodist Church’s top lawmaking assembly — long postponed by pandemic — must wait until 2024.
“We engaged in a fair, thorough, integrity-filled discussion of the alternatives," said Kim Simpson, chairperson of the Commission on the General Conference, in a press statement.
“The visa issue is a reality that is simply outside our control as we seek to achieve a reasonable threshold of delegate presence and participation. Ultimately our decision reflects the hope that 2024 will afford greater opportunity for global travel and a higher degree of protection for the health and safety of delegates and attendees.”
General Conference was scheduled to be in Minneapolis this year. In the press statement, the commission said a new already-secured venue would be announced at a later date as soon as logistical planning is complete....
Here's the official press release from March 3.
Nashville, Tenn.: As the pandemic continues and the wait time for visas stretches to over two years in some countries, the Commission on the General Conference announced today that the 2020 General Conference cannot be held in 2022 due to COVID-related and governmental policies/constraints....
Cynthia Astle, editor of UM-Insight.net site, details her understanding of the story:
While the decision to postpone General Conference had been rumored for over a week, nothing was certain until the General Commission on the General Conference made its formal announcement. A press release was posted late on March 3 after the UMW video and online announcement, followed immediately by the Global Methodist Church’s press release.
The postponement to 2024 resulted from what General Conference organizers called “COVID-related and governmental policies/constraints.” Both intractable factors forestalled the participation of Central Conference delegates in General Conference, according to the press release. Equitable participation in General Conference by delegates from outside the United States was among the criteria the commission used to make its decision....
Continued postponement of General Conference has pinched the denomination in many ways. For starters, no changes can be made to the 900-page Book of Discipline, the collection of church laws and policies that governs UMC theology and operations. This means that anything needing adjustment will have to wait until 2024.
The postponement also weighs heavily on the Council of Bishops. According to the Discipline, the election of new episcopal leaders in the United States can only take place at jurisdictional conferences held after General Conference meets. Bishops scheduled for retirement have departed active service without successors in place. Thus, bishops in every U.S. jurisdiction are doubling up on assignments, administering more than one annual conference over wide distances. For example, Bishop Kenneth Carter currently oversees both the Florida Annual Conference and the Western North Carolina Annual Conference.
Despite the Discipline’s constraints, speculation has arisen that jurisdictional conferences will be held in late summer or fall of 2022.
The postponement’s biggest effect on the UMC’s future is continued delay of considering of the Protocol of Reconciliation & Grace Through Separation, an independently negotiated proposal that would allow dissident congregations to leave the denomination with their local church property. The Protocol proposed to provide $25 million in start-up funds for a traditionalist denomination, a stipend that the Wesleyan Covenant Association has been counting on in its development of the Global Methodist Church. The Protocol also proposed to provide $2 million for progressive expressions of Methodism, an inequity that has long chafed progressive United Methodists. Where that money will come from is now a major question, since the UMC’s apportionments – “fair share” assessments to fund denominational ministries – have declined to 75 percent of requested amounts, largely due to attendance and membership declines because of the coronavirus pandemic....
Commentator Rev. Jeremy Smith of the Hacking Christianity blog, writes:
Because 2024 will be the postponed 2020 General Conference, then the legislation that was before the 2020 General Conference, and the legislation that came after (such as the Christmas Covenant, the Protocol, and a few others) will be up for consideration, and any new legislation can be submitted too, for a while. As well, important new legislation like the replacement of the Cross and Flame logo will be considered, which is great as it indicates we are moving into a more inclusive future by listening to underrepresented voices.
This postponement has special meaning for conservatives, progressives, and for the episcopacy.
- First, a new calculus for Conservatives to leave...
- Second, nothing new for Progressives...
- Third, new elections coming to get the Episcopacy back on track...
Read on for his analysis of the future possibilities...
Finally, here's the letter of hope and encouragement from Bishop Karen and the Mountain Sky Conference leadership:
Dear Sisters, Brothers, Siblings of the Mountain Sky Conference,
“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31
On March 3, 2022, we learned that the postponed 2020 General Conference will now be moved to 2024 due to COVID concerns and travel constraints. This decision has not been an easy one for the General Commission on General Conference to make, but concerns about equity and safety prevailed in their decision.
So many have been waiting for General Conference as the means to resolve the tension in our denomination over human sexuality. The hope was that a grace-filled exit could be offered to those churches and clergy that seek a more traditional spiritual home so that we all could focus on Jesus’ invitation to discipleship in the unique ways we are called.
Waiting is never easy. Yet, we know that God is at work in the waiting. It is only after months of gestation that the miracle of new life is born. As bleak as the days are between Good Friday and Easter morning, it is through the painful waiting that the miracle of resurrection bursts forth.
In short, it is in the waiting that miracles enter the world.
As bishop, chief financial officer, and cabinet, we believe that miracles abound in the Mountain Sky Conference. In spite of General Church struggles, we trust God’s work at the local church level. As we continue to be led by the Holy Spirit as followers of Jesus, we are being called to boldly offer our communities a word of hope and grace, that there is a God who loves them with a love that will never let them go. Our ministries are visible, tangible signs of God’s love. We know that lives are forever changed through the labors of hearts and hands of United Methodists in the Mountain Sky Conference.
We, along with the entire conference staff, will continue to serve you, to equip you with the tools and resources necessary to be a vital presence in your community, to pray with and for you as we help each other grow as disciples of Christ.
We know that there are some in our MSC family who will want to part ways with us. Know that as conference leadership, we will honor your decision to go where God is leading you. Conference leadership will work with each church that seeks to leave the Mountain Sky Conference.
United Methodism is alive and well in the Mountain Sky Conference. While we wait for General Conference 2024, we will not pause in our commitment to proclaim the Gospel and to deepen our love of God and neighbor.
Blessings,
Bishop Karen P. Oliveto
Ms. Angela Thomas, Chief Financial Officer
Rev. Deborah Christine, Dean of the Cabinet and MT East DS
Rev. Annie Arnoldy, Director of Connectional Ministries and Superintendent of Leadership Development
Rev. Jeff Rainwater, Superintendent of Congregational and Community Vitality
Rev. Mark Calhoun, Wyoming DS
Rev. Chris Carr, Trinity DS
Rev. Elizabeth McVicker, Utah/W. CO DS
Rev. Jessica Rook, Mile High Metro DS
Rev. Tezenlo Thong, Peaks/Pikes Peak DS
Rev. Jan Witman, MT West DS