April 16, 2024
By Rev. Dr. Scott Field
All eyes in the Methodist world are turning toward Charlotte, NC for the UMC General Conference that begins next week. But first, let me tell you about last week.
A Three-Day Retreat in Africa
I spent last week in Africa meeting with 149 others, mostly UM General Conference delegates, for three days. They had gathered from an impressive array of countries and annual conferences. Some of them had visas for travel to the US, had received travel itineraries, and were hoping the actual tickets would arrive shortly. Others, though duly elected as delegates, are not going to be present and seated in Charlotte because they a) received letters of invitation too late to schedule a visa appointment or b) were denied a visa. For the most part, those who were denied visas will not be replaced by their elected alternate delegates because any invitation to alternates has been far too late to schedule a visa appointment. The result looks to be a major suppression of African voices and votes.
The WCA’s Fair for Some Fair for All initiative seeks to let African voices be heard. The usual UM voices heard from Africa are those aligned with the preferred UM institutional priorities at General Conference. Those are the vetted and approved voices, the “go along to get along” voices. We have used a series of podcasts and WCA Outlook posts to lift up other voices and to point out the current institutional injustice of how disaffiliation has been administered by the UMC.
I cannot speak for the African UM delegates with whom I spent three days together last week. I don’t need to. They come to Charlotte with a clear intention to make their voices heard. Though the number of African delegates may be suppressed, and the number of African votes restricted due to UM administrative action/inaction, they are not coming as spectators. These delegates will not be silent, and they will not leave the General Conference with any doubt about where they stand, why they stand where they stand, and the potential outcomes of UM General Conference actions. I believe it is fair to say many of the African delegates are deeply frustrated at the way in which their church has disrespected and dismissed them.
Okay, okay, Scott, but there is more than Africa on the agenda at General Conference
No doubt.
Though the various advocacy voices, including the Wesleyan Covenant Association, have promoted their/our agendas, delegates to the General Conference have major organizational, administrative, and financial issues to debate, decide, and resolve for the next chapter of United Methodism. Decisions on these cannot be delayed until the next General Conference: accommodating or adjusting a budget reduction of 40%, a new clergy pension program, decisions on how many bishops in how many episcopal areas, regionalization, a revised social principles document, and how fast/how far to go with the LGBTQIA+ agenda.
The WCA will, along with our partner Good News, have a team in Charlotte to monitor developments through the legislative committees and plenary actions of the General Conference. And we’ll report on developments as warranted.
But we do not, as they say, have a horse in this race.
That is, we will not be engaged in political maneuvering, lobbying, or advocating except in one area: allowing a fair, simple, feasible, uniform exit path for those congregations and annual conferences that, after a process of discernment, choose to leave the UMC. Our secondary concern is the “separate but equal” regionalization proposal. If disaffiliation is authorized that allows for congregations and annual conferences to exercise their choice to remain UMC or not, then whether regionalization is approved or not is of little concern to us.
Approving a feasible time-limited pathway to disaffiliation removes the prospect of continuing conflict within the UMC by allowing those who choose to leave to do so. The result is a UMC with congregations and annual conference who genuinely want to #StayUMC. Authorizing disaffiliation allows the conflicts of the past and present to be resolved so General Conference delegates can focus on the UMC of the future. As one African put it, “Disaffiliation provides for a win-win at General Conference.”
Supporting a disaffiliation pathway early in the General Conference, through legislative committee actions and early plenary approval, clears the way to focus on the other major administrative, organizational, and financial matters of the UMC which should not, maybe cannot, be delayed to General Conference in 2026 or 2028.
Stay in the Loop with Us at General Conference
We’ll be posting WCA Outlook as usual. We’ll upload brief video updates on the WCA YouTube Channel during the General Conference, too.
Make time to pray for the delegates, the leaders, and the outcomes of this General Conference. Our agenda may be limited, but it is a serious matter of simple fairness.
And, again, many thanks for the generous support of the Fair for Some Fair for All initiative. You’re making a difference. I saw it last week, and it is glorious!