(UMNS)  More than 3,000 United Methodists from around the globe are presently converging on Fort Worth, Texas for General Conference 2008. The General Conference is the top legislative body of The United Methodist Church. The General Conference meets every four years to determine the denomination's future direction. It is the only body that can speak officially for the denomination, which represents 11.5 million members worldwide. The voting membership consists of 994 delegates representing an equal number of clergy and lay delegates, each elected by the annual (regional) conferences. Of those 994 delegates, 290 of those are from outside the United States. Simultaneous voice translation for delegates will be available in English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Swahili, Russian, Korean and Mandarin Chinese, as well as American Sign Language.

On April 29, delegates will be addressed by Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.  Sirleaf, Africa's first elected female head of state and Liberia's first elected female president, is a United Methodist.  Bill Gates, Sr., co-chair of The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and father of billionaire Bill Gates, Jr., will address the delegates and guests on May 1. 

The Council of Bishops, the top staff executives of the church's general agencies, and the Connectional Table, a 60-member group responsible for coordinating the mission, ministries and resources of the church, will also be calling upon United Methodists far and wide to join together in focusing the expression of their faith in four “areas of focus.”

• Developing principled Christian leaders for the church and the world
• Creating new places for new people and renewing existing congregations
• Engaging in ministry with the poor, and
• Stamping out killer diseases by improving health globally.

Worship, special addresses, celebrations, and other selected plenary sessions will be available on live video streaming. All live streaming can be found here.

Watch Opening Worship Live Tonight
Watch tonight's Opening Worship Service “Celebrating God's Promise of Hope” live online at 6:00 p.m. CST by clicking here. Bishops Janice Riggle Huie and Gregory Vaughn Palmer will be preaching. If you have a slower internet connection, there is an option available to listen to the audio portion of the opening service.

South Georgia Delegates Travel to Fort Worth
During the 2007 Annual Conference session members of the South Georgia Conference elected 12 delegates, along with six alternates, to represent them at the 2008 General Conference in Fort Worth this week. For the past few months, the delegates have been studying 1,564 pieces of proposed legislation that they will consider during the 10-day legislative marathon.

Leading the General Conference clergy delegation is Dr. Hal Brady, senior minister of St. Luke UMC in Columbus. Dr. Brady has served on General and/or Jurisdictional Conferences from three different annual conferences: North Georgia, North Texas and South Georgia. Dr. Charlene Black, retired college administrator and member of Statesboro First, will lead the General Conference lay delegation. This will be Dr. Black's fourth General and/or Jurisdictional Conference to attend.

The clergy delegation to General Conference includes: Hal Brady; Joseph Roberson, senior pastor of South Columbus; Bob Moon, senior pastor of Martha Bowman in Macon; Mike McAfee, senior pastor of Albany First; Brad Brady, Macon District Superintendent; and Robert Beckum, Vice President for Church Relations and Development at Magnolia Manor. Alternates are Cindy H. Autry, pastor of Epworth in Columbus; Edwin “Buddy” Cooper, pastor of St. Paul UMC in Columbus; and Hugh Davis, Thomasville District Superintendent.

The laity delegates include: Charlene Black; Bill Hatcher, Mayor of Statesboro; Roy Blackwood, forester from Statesboro; Sunshine Bird from Rincon, kindergarten teacher; Taylor Phillips, senior judge in Georgia; and Steve Rumford, president of the Methodist Home for Children and Youth. Alternates are Miriam Hagan, treasurer/administrator of the conference; Gloria Gilmore, retired tax auditor and former United Methodist Women president; and Mark Shelnutt, attorney from Columbus.

Each delegate has been assigned to a legislative committee, which begin meeting on Thursday. Click here to view the committees which South Georgia delegates have been assigned to. Click here to view a list of petitions assigned to each legislative committee. Click here to learn how the legislative process works.

Ten Day Schedule
Click here to view the ten day schedule of General Conference.

Online Legislation Tracking
Visit http://calms.umc.org/2008/ to track legislation online. The South Georgia Conference Council on Finance and Administration has submitted a petition to General Conference and can be tracked by entering petition number 80501. You can also search petitions by keyword, submitter name, committee assignment and a variety of other ways.

Visitor's Guide
United Methodist News Service has created a Visitor's Guide to General Conference. Click here to view.  

Important Issues
Below are a few of the issues delegates will deal with over the next ten days. Click here for a more detailed overview.
• Future meetings -- The Commission on the General Conference is proposing the number of delegates to the assembly be limited to between 500 and 600. The planning body also wants to allow annual conferences to set term limits for delegates if they choose. If adopted, the changes would take affect for the 2012 General Conference, which will be held in Tampa, Fla.
• Four areas of focus for the denomination -- The Council of Bishops, the top staff of the church's general agencies and the denomination's Connectional Table, a 60-member group responsible for coordinating the mission, ministries and resources of the church, are proposing four areas of focus: leadership development -- developing principled Christian leaders for the church and the world; starting new congregations and revitalizing existing ones; engaging in ministry with the poor; and fighting the diseases of poverty, such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.
• The budget -- Delegates will consider a $642 million spending proposal presented by the General Council on Finance and Administration.
• Social Issues – Social issues will again be at the forefront of delegates' debates. Issues as diverse and connected as abortion, the war in Iraq, human sexuality, AIDS, the environment, race relations, immigration, and stem cell research, In addition, a new "Social Creed" is being proposed to update the original, which was first adopted 100 years ago, in 1908.  

In the News
•  Bishops elect Goodpaster as president-designate - The bishops of The United Methodist Church have chosen the leader of the Alabama-West Florida Annual (regional) Conference as their president-designate. Bishop Larry M. Goodpaster, 59, was unanimously elected April 19 to lead the council in two years. His tenure will begin in 2010 at the conclusion of the presidency of Iowa Bishop Gregory Palmer, who will assume the presidency from Bishop Janice Riggle Huie during the 2008 General Conference this spring. Palmer was elected last November to a two-year term. More>>
•  Agency withdraws petition on Caterpillar divestment - After direct meetings with Caterpillar Inc., the United Methodist Church's social action agency says it will withdraw a petition calling for divestment from the heavy equipment manufacturer. The petition, sent to the denomination's top legislative body, charged that the company profits from illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and contributes to the occupation by supplying Israeli Defense Forces with heavy equipment. More>>
•  General Conference to include emphasis on health - A new focus on health at the 2008 General Conference will include daily fitness walks and a Health and Wholeness booth offering blood pressure checks, relaxation exercises, massage chairs and interactive health information. More>>

Agenda Items for Tomorrow (Thursday, April 24)
You can watch the following addresses live tomorrow. Click here to watch the live streaming.
•  The Episcopal Address , titled "The Foundation for Hope," will be delivered on behalf of the Council of Bishops by Bishop Sharon Brown Christopher of the Illinois Area. The address, which is intended as a time when the entire body of bishops speaks to the church, will be given April 24 sometime between 9 a.m. and  10 a.m. CST.
•  The Young People's Address -- the first of its kind for the church and mandated by the 2004 General Conference -- will also be Thursday at 11:35 p.m. CST. Six United Methodists ranging in age from 15 to 28 have been chosen to develop this historic report, titled "Many Voices, One Call."
•  The Laity Address will be given by Lyn Powell Thursday afternoon at 2:30 CST. Powell is the lay leader of the North Georgia Annual Conference. Her address to General Conference is titled "Disciples Transforming the World."

Stay Connected Throughout General Conference
Stay up to the minute on General Conference 2008 news at www.sgaumc.org. Your conference site also contains a link to the main General Conference web site, www.gc2008.umc.org.