General Conference E-news Update – May 1, 2008
In The News - Thursday, May 1
Daily Wrap-up for May 1
Click here to read the complete daily wrap-up for Thursday, May 1.
United Methodist mission statement revised
(UMNS) United Methodist General Conference delegates have refined the denomination's mission statement to infuse a mission directive into the life and work of the church. The statement now reads, "The mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world." The latter phrase was added in the revision and will now appear in the United Methodist Book of Discipline , the church's official law book. Bishop Gregory Palmer of the Iowa Conference, newly installed president of the Council of Bishops, said in an interview that the change, recommended by the Council of Bishops and the Task Force to Study the Episcopacy, gives the church a way to live out its directive to make Christian disciples. More>>
United Methodists will pledge to ‘witness'
(UMNS)People who join United Methodist churches henceforth will promise to be faithful in “their witness” as well as in their “prayers, their presence, their gifts and their service.”The 2008 United Methodist General Conference voted April 30 to add the witness phrase to the liturgy the church uses when a person makes a profession of membership.
The new phrase highlights the mission and evangelistic responsibility of church membership. More>>
Gates thanks United Methodists for partnership
A UMNS Photo |
(UMNS) United Methodists have decided to wipe out malaria because “brothers and sisters don't sit back and let each other die,” said William H. Gates Sr., co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
“I am here today to thank you,” he told the 2008 United Methodist General Conference on May 1. “We are proud to be your partner in this campaign to end the world's worst killer of children. We believe the campaign cannot succeed without you.” The United Methodist Church is a founding partner of the Nothing But Nets anti-malaria campaign, which fights the disease by purchasing and distributing insecticide-treated sleeping nets in Africa. More than $20 million has been raised since the campaign began in 2006. The church also recently received a $5 million grant from the U.N. Foundation, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to fight malaria and other diseases of poverty. The money will support a fund-raising and educational campaign to help prevent deaths related to malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. More>> |
Church joins global health campaign
(UMNS) The United Methodist Church “ramped up” its commitment to fight malaria by agreeing to enter into a capital campaign to raise $75 million to $100 million for global health. “This is a milestone in the church’s long history of caring for the poor and the whole person,” said Bishop Janice Riggle Huie on May 1 in announcing the 2008 General Conference’s approval of the Global Health Initiative. “This is a milestone in the church’s long history of caring for the poor,” says Bishop Janice Riggle Huie. Agencies and boards of the church will join with the United Nations Foundation and other organizations to combat the diseases of poverty: HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. The initiative represents an expanded global partnership, Huie said. The hope is that the partnership, led by the people of The United Methodist Church and organized by the U.N. Foundation, will raise $200 million to fight malaria in Africa. Development of the partnership has received support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. More>>
United Methodists support people of Tibet, Sudan, Taiwan
(UMNS) United Methodists have officially affirmed support for “the people of Tibet and their struggle for independence and autonomy.”
The action came May 1 as General Conference, the denomination's top legislative body, met at the Fort Worth Convention Center. The petition on Tibet was among the consent calendar items approved that day. More>>
Judicial Council elects first woman president
(UMNS) The Rev. Susan Henry-Crowe is the new president of the Judicial Council of The United Methodist Church. She is the first woman to lead the denomination's “supreme court.” The 2008-2012 council met May 1 to elect officers and organize. The other new leaders are Jon R. Gray, vice president, and the Rev. Belton Joyner, secretary. The group will have an orientation meeting in July in Chicago and will convene in late October for its first official session. Henry-Crowe, a clergy member of the South Carolina Annual (regional) Conference, has been dean of Cannon Chapel and Religious Life at Emory University since 1991. Elected in 1992 to her first eight-year term on the Judicial Council, she was elected to a second term in 2004. More>>
Pictured: Members of the 2008-2012 Judicial Council of The United Methodist Church pose for a photo following their presentation to the denomination's 2008 General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. From left are: Ruben Reyes, Dennis Blackwell, Kathi Austin-Mahle, Belton Joyner, Susan Henry-Crowe, Jon Gray, Angela Brown, Beth Capen and Bill Garrison. A UMNS photo by Neill Caldwell. |
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Interpreters assist General Conference delegates
(UMNS) A 140-member team of interpreters and technicians is making it possible for nearly 300 international delegates to the 2008 United Methodist General Conference to participate in worship, committee discussions and floor debates.
Interpreters for the April 23-May 2 legislative meeting are available for nine languages: American Sign Language, 3; French, 30; German, 6; Korean, 6; Mandarin Chinese, 4; Portuguese, 27; Russian, 10; Spanish, 10; and Swahili, 26.
They work in two-person teams, allowing each a slight break after 30 consecutive minutes of translations. The breaks are only partial during committee work, as the "off" person must keep track of petition numbers and other resources. Language-equipment technicians and transporters are also multilingual, although they do not serve as interpreters. More>>
Exhibit Narrates the Journey to Inclusiveness
(UMNS) Edie Sunday of Saginaw, Texas, recalled being a teenager visiting Lake Junaluska Assembly in North Carolina after the 1968 merger that created The United Methodist Church and seeing black youth and white youth from the same hometown worshipping together for the first time. “The tragedy of that era was that they were all Methodists but because of this stupid segregation thing, they had never even met.” said Sunday. More>>
On the Floor
Bob Moon (left), pastor of Martha Bowman United Methodist Church in Macon, and Joseph Roberson (right), pastor of South Columbus United Methodist Church, both spoke on the floor of General Conference Wednesday evening addressing two different petitions. Bob Moon was quoted in yesterday's General Conference wrap-up written by United Methodist News Service.
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May 1, 2008 - Video
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Morning Worship
"Precious Lord, Take My Hand" performed by Grace Notes of First United Methodist Church of Plano, Texas;
"How Great Thou Art" performed by Christ United Methodist Church of the Deaf Choir of Baltimore, Maryland
Windows Media | QuickTime
Agenda Items for Friday, May 2
| 7 A.M. |
Committee on Calendar and Agenda |
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Committee on Reference |
| 8 A.M. |
Choral music |
| 8:15 A.M. |
Plenary call to order |
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Morning worship |
| 9:05 A.M. |
Reports (as necessary) |
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Committee on Courtesies and Privileges |
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Committee on Calendar and Agenda |
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Committee on Presiding Officers |
| 9:20 – 10:25 A.M. |
Plenary—calendar items and conference business |
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Report from the General Council on Finance and Administration |
| 10:25 – 10:45 A.M. |
Morning break |
| 10:45 A.M. – 12:30 P.M. |
Plenary—conference business |
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12:10 P.M. Celebration: 100th anniversary of the Social Principles (12 minutes) |
| 12:30 – 2:30 P.M. |
Lunch recess |
| 12:40 – 1:10 P.M. |
Service of Holy Communion |
| 2:30 – 3:40 P.M. |
Plenary—conference business |
| 3:15 P.M. |
Celebration moment (20 minutes) |
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End of business; recognitions; closing worship |
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Final adjournment |
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