Click the link on the right to see photos from the GC16 preview.
January 25, 2016
The 2016 General Conference Preview Jan. 20-22 in Portland, OR, highlighted some of the major legislation that has been proposed including term limits for bishops, changes to the ordination process, creation of a global Book of Discipline, and proposals to make the U.S. a Central Conference.
A total of 1,044 pieces of legislation were submitted to the 2016 General Conference, which will have 894 delegates from around the world. The General Conference takes place May 10-20 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland.
A revised version of Plan UMC, the proposal to restructure the Church that was ruled unconstitutional in 2012, is being proposed as well as new cloud-based United Methodist Hymnal.
Read the United Methodist News Service story Click the image for a larger version
The Preview also included discussion of Rule 44, which approaches legislation on selected topics through a group discernment process. Delegates had the chance to try out the process during the preview. Rule 44 will be used to address 99 legislative proposals that deal with human sexuality.
The slide at left shows the proposed legislation broken out by legislative committee. The center column is legislation on the topic of human sexuality, which has been selected for the group discernment process.
The Upper Room has created a prayer community for General Conference 2016. Find it at 60daysofprayer.org.
Meet the New England delegates
New England will send six delegates – three clergy, three lay – to the General Conference in May. The delegates to the Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference serve as alternates. See the delegate list here.
The Advance Daily Christian Advocate
The Advanced Daily Christian Advocate (ADCA) contains the agenda, rules, delegate listings, petitions, reports from the general agencies/commissions and study committees, information for delegates, and codes of conduct for the General Conference. Find a PDF version here
Need help with the terminology in the ADCA? Find a glossary of terms here
There’s an app for that – There is a mobile app for General Conference 2016; it is free to download and is available for Android and Apple devices. You can search for “United Methodist General Conference” in your app store or visit the general conference app website for a link.
Local information – The Western Jurisdiction has created a website with lots of information about Portland, OR, for those who will be attending the General Conference: http://westernjurisdictionumc.org/gc2016/
Looking ahead
The General Conference venues have been selected through 2028:
