Notes from General Conference

Last Friday evening as I sat down to dinner with the other folks at General Conference from Oregon-Idaho, my phone rang.  I took the call from my 16 year old daughter, who excitedly told me that she had won 2 tickets to “Mama Mia”, coming to Eugene’s Hult Center the following Tuesday evening.  She was thrilled, after trying every day that week to be the first caller with the correct answer.  I celebrated this “up” moment with her long distance.  

About 10 minutes later, she called back, this time in a definite “down” turn.  Plaintively she asked for my help, wondering if I could find a way out of her dilemma.  It seems she had just remembered her band concert scheduled for the same night, same time as Mama Mia.  What’s a clarinetist to do?!

Kate’s own ups and downs are echoed in my own experience of General Conference, 2008.  Back in my office now, I remember so many “up” moments of worship, the celebration of mission, the making of new friends and political allies.  And then I quickly flash back on  few of those “down” times as well…those decisions which seemed driven solely by financial fears, the inability of the Conference to take the message of the young adults to heart, the rancor and distrust which marks too many of our relationships in this body of Christ.  What’s  United Methodist to do?!

Perhaps our answer is the same as it was for Kate.  We have to honor our commitments.  We have to be the people we know God calls us to be.  We have to recognize our importance to the whole body - whether it is our wind ensemble, or our church.  And if that means occasionally letting go of the “show” in favor of the work, so be it.  I trust that our work eventually will bring us all many more “ups” than “downs”.  

I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of General Conference.  And for all that is to come.

Donna

Thank You to everyone for your comments and prayers. We’ve felt like you were with us (and some were by watching the streaming video) and your kind words lifted us up. Most of us checked the blog regularly, but for those without computer access I would occasionally print off the latest batch of comments so they could be passed around on the bus or at breakfast.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You! We are a connected church and all of you are the connection!

It’s 12:30am, Friday night. In a marathon session of voting with limited debate and almost no discussion we passed all legislation at about 11:15, only 15 minutes after the time we voted to end.

As fast as it went, some important things were passed in those last hours. Maybe the spirit was working to limit debate and the parlimentary trickery that at times confused the conference. A constitutional amendment to say all people are welcome in the church, a new definition of a family, and the opportunity for deacons to adminster the sacraments in special ministry settings.

Keep checking the blog in the next few days. As the delegation catches up on sleep and sorts through their minds and suitcases, they’ll find new stories to share. We’ll get some updated information on the legislation for you too.

I posted a few more pictures tonight, and there will be more next week.

All are invited to join Methodist Federation for Social Action and Oregon-Idaho Reconciling United Methodists on Saturday, May 10 for a post-General Conference gathering.  We will gather at Morningside United Methodist Church in Salem.  From 9:30 to 11:30  we will share reflections on General Conference from some of the members of our delegation and volunteers who served at GC in Fort Worth, wrapped in an environment of worship.  At 11:30 lunch will be available for $5, followed by a question and answer time to further discuss General Conference issues.  We will end at 1:45. 

There will also be a laity workshop at Annual Conference about the General Conference.

We are in our last day at General Conference.  The displays are being dismantled, Cokesbury has closed its store, and the last large stack of petitions is before the body.  It has been a grueling ten days.  A few days ago as some of us walked to dinner one person asked, “Are we having fun yet?”  It was a sobering question.  There have been many painful moments in these ten days and much hard work.  Fun is not a word I would use to describe General Conference.  And so I had to ask myself why I am here…and I have been mulling over how I might answer that question for the past several days.  Read the rest of this entry »

It’s been another late night. Laura and I held fast to the table while we went through the measures on the world wide church (passed - kinda), allowing probationary (now to be called provisional) members and local pastors (with certain restrictions) to vote for General Conference delegates, and requiring all church bodies (even your local church committees!) to have ethics policies. Occasionally things slowed down a bit……

I spoke with a friend from Finland at lunch. We’ve enjoyed being on the General Commission on Communications together. He felt the protest was a “spiritual assualt.” “Why should I be forced to make a choice to stand in support or sit? I think the church’s position is fine where it is.” We talked some more, and I tried to share the pain I know people feel when they hear the church say that the life God has given them is incompatible with Christian teaching. I worked hard to listen, and believe he did too; yet we didn’t resolve anything. But then, I hope to have another four years on the Commission to continue the conversation.

It’s been a roller-coaster kind of day. There has been more discouraging information about yesterday’s process, but the witness this morning (described by Laura in her post) was a powerful moment. It was planned to primarily be an act of mourning for the brokenness of the church, which I believe many delegates were feeling, even many who do not agree with us on the issues. I saw delegates standing who I know were against our positions, because they said so in committee and in the plenary debate. There were many tears, and I believe there is the beginning of healing in acknowledging that grief. Wholeness is far away, but this was so much better than “business as usual”.

At lunchtime today, I had the opportunity to begin to bridge one of the yawning gulfs that became so obvious yesterday. Read the rest of this entry »

With my handy press pass (my temporary title is “Assistant to the Conference Communications Director”!), I was able to attend a press briefing this afternoon about the witness and the holy conversations following.  The panelists at the briefing were Bishop Gregory Palmer (new president of the Council of Bishops), Bishop Sally Dyck (who will be presiding tonight), and Bishop Scott Jones, along with the Rev. Dr. Gail Murphy-Geiss (chair of the Commission on General Conference) and the Rev. Troy Plummer (director of the Reconciling Ministries Network).  I now believe that “pulling the plug” on the live-streaming video was indeed not intentional.  Read the rest of this entry »

 Perfect the majority report.  Amend the minority report.  Parliamentary inquiry.  POINT OF ORDER! Argument in favor.  Argument against.  Motion to refer. Call the Question.  POINT OF ORDER!  The legislative process grinds on.  It’s the eighth day of General Conference and hours pass by as a committee of nearly 1000 debates, discerns, and decides the stances and actions of the United Methodist Church.  One might wonder how God is possibly at work in this complicated process of determining the mind of the church! Read the rest of this entry »