General Conference Announcement and FAQs
Brothers and Sisters,
By now, you are probably aware that the Commission on the General Conference has again postponed the 2020 General Conference, and the Council of Bishops have set a date of May 8, 2021 for a Special Called Session of General Conference to be convened using virtual internet connections.
The Special Called Session is necessary in order to suspend the rules, so that paper balloting may be used to consider 12 pieces of legislation. These 12 pieces would resolve “roadblocks” in our Book of Discipline that prevent the church from functioning appropriately until circumstances allow for an in-person General Conference. The use of paper ballots allows for the fullest participation of all General Conference delegates across the denomination.
In an effort to provide answers and clarity to any questions you may have, particularly around what General and Jurisdictional Conferences can and cannot do, attached is a General Conference FAQ sheet. I encourage you to read this information carefully. While these steps are not perfect, and can never replace what only an in-person General Conference can do, they are necessary in order to allow our Conferences to move forward.
I applaud our Kentucky Annual Conference and Red Bird Missionary Conference churches for their prayerful patience as we continue to live in this liminal season. May we remember, “Our thoughts are not God’s thoughts and our ways are not God’s ways” – there are things God alone can see. In this unprecedented season of uncertainty, I ask that you continue to keep the Kentucky Delegation in your prayers as they face these challenges. May we not only pray and model the Lord’s Prayer, but the Gethsemane prayer, “Not my will, but your will, be done.”
Yours in Christ,
