Learn more about 2019 General Conference
The 2019 Special-Called General Conference (GC2019) held February 23-26, 2019 in St. Louis, Missouri will gather Conference representations from around the world.
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Why a Special-Called Conference?
The purpose of the Special-Called General Conference will be to receive and act on a report from the Commission on A Way Forward based on the recommendations of the Council of Bishops. The 32-member Commission was authorized at the 2016 General Conference in Portland, Oregon, and appointed by the Council of Bishops to examine paragraphs in The Book of Discipline concerning human sexuality and explore options to strengthen the unity of the church.
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Who gets to go?: Learn more about the delegates
Nearly 1,000 delegates are elected by annual conferences (at annual conference sessions) to attend General Conference. They represent all annual conferences around the world.
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The Indiana Delegation
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Clergy
Kimberly Reisman, Chair
Tony Alstott
Dave Neckers
Lisa Schubert-Nowling
Russ Abel
Mitch Norwood
Beth Ann Cook
Cindy Reynolds
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Laity
Tyler Best
Allison Curts
Ed Fenstermacher
John Lomperis
Amy Land
Leanna Zimmerman
Jim Ottjes
Manet Shettle (serving in place of Doris Clark who died January 27, 2019)
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Reserve Delegates
Douglas Worthington, Laity
William Amerson, Laity
Jill Howard, Clergy
Mike Dominick, Clergy
Greg Pimlott, Clergy
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Can I contact a member of the delegation?
You may email the delegation at their shared inbox 2019gcdelegation@inumc.org which goes to every member of the delegation.
Interested in serving in this capacity in the future?
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What will they be voting on?
The Commission on A Way Forward put forward three plans to be discussed and acted upon: One Church Plan, Connectional Conference Plan, Traditionalist Plan.
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Can I watch the General Conference live?
The 2019 Special-Called General Conference will convene February 23 and will adjourn February 26. You can watch live coverage beginning February 23 at 10 a.m. EST here.
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How can I stay up to date during the General Conference?
We will be sending daily email updates from St. Louis, highlighting what has happened each day. We will also be posting regularly to social media (#gc2019) throughout the day. Haven’t ‘liked’ our Facebook page? You can do that here.
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What can I (and my church) do right now?
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We invite you to pray each day between now and February 26 from 2:23 p.m. - 2:26 p.m. (reflective of the meeting dates of the 2019 General Conference). For three minutes each day, we encourage you to pray for our Indiana delegates, our global representatives, and the work of the 2019 Special-Called General Conference.
Our Conference Prayer Coordinator, Darlene Neckers, shares the following note and encouragement of prayer:
We are less than a month away from the Special Conference. As you are all aware, we need to continue to be diligent in prayer for this gathering. Spend time in worship, thanking the Lord for truth, direction, and wisdom.
God’s word tells us to release our anxiety. “ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 4:6-7. NIV
TIP: Try writing down your anxieties about this Conference, and then rewrite those words into a prayer to pray this month.
Pray also for Godly wisdom for all the delegates and the Council of Bishops. Pray that the busyness of preparing to go will not keep them from spending time in prayer. Pray that they will seek God with all their hearts and minds.
This is a crucial time when we need wisdom.....God’s wisdom. “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.” James 3:17.
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