This morning, I had the privilege of being prayed for by my Florida pastors at Cypress Lake UMC. I’m heading to Charlotte next Sunday for two weeks as a clergy delegate from Missouri for the 2020 General Conference. And, no, “2020” wasn’t a typo.
As I’ve been preparing for this road trip, I’m discovering that packing as a retiree is wonderfully freeing. At previous General Conferences, I’d be looking for shoes that were both professional looking and comfortable. This year, I’m just planning to wear my Hokas with every outfit, just one more way in which living la vida retiree is wonderful.
So, why is this Missouri retiree who’s a full-time Florida resident headed to General Conference?
For the United Methodists that are reading, here’s a brief history and three things to watch for:
To catch you up:
In 2019, a special General Conference was held to resolve the disagreements in the UMC around sexual orientation. In spite of tempered optimism that a middle way might be found, the punitive “Traditional Plan” passed, presumably surprising the traditionalists who had been busily building a new denomination.
Quick Sidebar for a Sally Summary of the Traditional Plan: If I were to rip the Sunday morning offering out of the hands of the ushers and run off to the Bahamas to spend it in wanton living with someone other than my husband, I would be entitled to a church trial (in addition to some much-needed mental health care.) If I were, however, to officiate the marriage of two people who have demonstrated their love for each other over the years and are of the same gender, I would be placed immediately on unpaid leave for a year, and I would lose my ordination if I dared to do that again.
Reaction to the Traditional Plan was swift. One byproduct of this reaction was the election of progressive-minded delegations throughout much of the US for the 2020 General Conference. In Missouri, a group came together to create a moderate/progressive slate of delegates that was beautifully inclusive. To our happy surprise, the entire slate was elected on the first ballot, an unheard-of event, resulting in me being one of six clergy elected in Missouri, plus six laity. We all set about preparing ourselves for General Conference to be held in May 2020.
And then COVID.
The challenges of holding a gathering of people from around the globe (40% of the delegates are from outside the US) during a global pandemic were huge, especially given the waxing and waning of the virus in different countries at different times. After a couple of attempts to hold it sooner, the 2020 General Conference was finally rescheduled to April 22-May 3, 2024. Nope, it’s not the 2024 General Conference, it’s the rescheduled 2020 General Conference, and so those of us who were elected in 2019 are headed to Charlotte next week.
As for the traditionalists who “won” the 2019 General Conference, many of them have left to create their new denomination, the Global Methodist Church, or have simply left. There will still be some traditionalist delegates at General Conference. Some traditionalists, I hope, feel they still have a place in the UMC. We have much to learn from each other. Other traditionalists may be like the man who spoke on the floor of the SCJ Jurisdictional Conference, who said he intended to serve the purpose for which he had been elected, to keep the UMC from becoming too progressive. While I admire this man’s sense of higher purpose, my fear is that there are others whose sole goal is to burn down the church on their way out. Or perhaps I’m just a wee bit cynical after the General Conferences I’ve attended or observed.
So, here’s my take on the three main priorities from People Who Know These Things:
1. Regionalization: At its heart, regionalization would give the US UMCs the same privileges as UMCs outside the US, to adapt certain parts of the Discipline to the missional needs of their area. Currently, the US must abide by everything in the Discipline in ways that others don’t. Plus, delegates from around the world have to spend their time voting on US-centric legislation, such as US pension plans that conform to US laws.
One happy byproduct of Regionalization is that we’d lose the term “Central Conferences,” which is how we refer to everyone outside the US currently. When the UMC finally reunified in 1939 after dividing over slavery before the US Civil War, the Black churches and pastors in the US were placed into a Central Conference, which wasn’t our finest hour. We’ve since corrected that error, but it will be nice to lose that terminology when everyone around the world including the US will have their own region.
One important note: Regionalization alone won’t magically solve our issues around sexual orientation. There will be a limited number of decisions that can be made regionally, and our biggest documents are unchangeable by region.
What to watch for: If we’re able to have an early vote and pass Regionalization, it will be an indicator of trust around the globe in our ability to move forward together. It’s a constitutional amendment, so even if it is ratified by the General Conference by the required 2/3 vote of delegates, it would then go to all of the Annual Conferences, where 2/3 of the aggregate votes in every Annual Conference must affirm Regionalization before it becomes law. It will likely be 2025 before Annual Conferences will hold those votes if it does pass General Conference. And, one historic note: I was at the General Conference in 2008, when a similar amendment passed the General Conference and then was defeated at the Annual Conference level.
2. Revised Social Principles: This document has been years in the making, created by a committee of some of our finest minds. It’s a timely update of the heart and soul of our witness for social justice. This version does not contain the harmful language about sexual orientation.
What to watch for: If the Revised Social Principles remain intact and pass early, many of the resolutions that have been submitted to remove harmful language will be blessedly moot.
3. Remove Harmful Language: Beyond the Revised Social Principles, there are other areas to remove harmful language. And, if the Social Principles don’t pass, we’ll work on removing the harmful language line by line through the legislative committee process.
What to watch for: Surely we can get this one done. She says hopefully.
4. One More Thing: Did you notice what isn’t there? The greatest hopes for this General Conference are to get rid of the negative stuff, not to add positive, permissive language yet. We won’t magically fix everything in Charlotte this year. If we can get the three things above done, however, we will be well on our way to our new future. The Council of Bishops has already called another General Conference for 2026. I assume their thinking is that we’ll build on the foundation that we set in Charlotte.
So, there’s your scorecard to keep track of how things are going at General Conference. I’ll post updates periodically through General Conference. And, even if you’re not playing along, please join me in praying along for this important moment in our denomination.
