Tentative Plans Made for UMC General Conference 2008
The United Methodist Church shortened the days for its quadrennial General Conference in an effort to be more effective and efficient in conducting business.
The United Methodist Church shortened the days for its quadrennial General Conference in an effort to be more effective and efficient in conducting business.
According to a United Methodist News Service report, the denomination’s top legislative assembly shortened the General Conference by two days from previous years as well as cut the expected budget for the assembly by $250,000.
The General Conference, held once every four years, is the UMC’s only legislative assembly that can change the denomination’s book of discipline. Nearly 1,000 delegates gather for the assembly from around the world to set church policy and conduct other businesses for the next four years. The last Conference was held in 2004.
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The 17-member Commission on General Conference met in April 2-6 in Chicago to set the general framework for the 2008 gathering.
According to the UMNS, the commission set Fort Worth, Texas as the venue and April 23 to May 2 as the date of the conference. They also chose the theme “A Future With Hope” for the upcoming assembly.
One of the emphases during the commissioners’ meeting was how to increase efficiency and decrease costs for the next assembly. At that light, the commissioners decreased the General Conference’s $6.66 million operating budget by $250,000.
“How a denomination spends its money reflects how it values its ministries,” said Sandra Lackore, the denomination’s treasurer, to the UMNS.
Commissioners hoped that by reduing the length of the Conference, efficiency could be increased and costs could be cut. They also discussed ways to broaden the role of the General Conference so it could be a place of ministry for the church rather than a simple process to rewrite the church’s laws.
"I want to make sure that Christian conferencing remains before us during General Conference," said Joel Huffman, commission member representing the Western Jurisdiction and is treasurer of the Desert Southwest Conference, to UMNS.
For more information on the general conference or on the United Methodist Church, visit: www.umc.org
