Delegates meet to determine important issues

By Rachel L. Toalson
Managing Editor
Southwest Texas Conference delegates to General Conference met March 29 to discuss and review what they considered important legislation to be addressed at the international gathering April 23-May 2.
Jay Brim, delgation leader, said issues like the global nature of the church, higher education in ministry, abortion, human sexuality, membership, women’s issues, the church budget and revision of the United Methodist hymnal will settle near the top of the priority list for delegates.
Delegates will attend General Conference in Fort Worth with an understanding of the issues but are given freedom to make their own individual decisions about them, Brim added.
Decisions made at General Conference have an important impact on the future of the church, said Tara Thronson, a lay delegate from Austin.
“The changes we make to our church policy have a direct impact on how we can carry out our mission statement of reaching disciples for Christ,” she said. “The decisions made in Fort Worth can either help or hinder us in welcoming younger generations to The United Methodist Church. We’re in that pivotal point in the life of the church.”
“General Conference makes some decisions about our shared policy that make a difference in the way every local congregation operates and is allowed to do ministry,” said Byrd Bonner, another lay delegate.
General Conference is the top policy-making body for the church, revising The Book of Discipline and Social Principles. It adopts resolutions on current social, moral and public policy and economic issues. As many as 1,000 delegates—half laity, half clergy—help make those decisions.
The legislative body also approves budgets and plans for denomina-tionwide programs for the next four years.
For weeks before General Conference, delegates sift through more than 1,500 pieces of proposed legislation and petitions sent by annual conferences, local churches, agencies and individuals that propose changes in the Discipline and Book of Resolutions, which details the Church’s position on social justice issues.
Brim said he is keeping an eye on policies that might cut the time it takes for clergy members to be ordained and those that propose to restructure the church.
Bonner said he will look out for the restructuring of the church.
“It’s important to both the worldwide nature of the church and how you relate to each other in different parts of the globe as Christians and United Methodists,” Bonner said. “The budget is a big deal, too. It certainly has an impact on every local congregation.”
Thronson said the piece of legislation that is “dear” to her heart is membership.
“What I hear from people my age is they feel like the church is hypocritical and closes the door on too many people,” she said.
Brim said General Conference has the ability to unite the church as a whole.
“If the leadership comes out of General Conference, the clergy and the laity, united on something, then they can spread that enthusiasm down to a local church level,” he said. “But, ultimately, nothing that’s done at General Conference will have any effect on the local level unless the leadership takes it to the local level.”
For a more detailed list of General Conference issues and petitions, visit www.umc.org.