Bishop Sally Dyck presides over the General Conference Session on the morning of April 30, 2012. Photo by Patrick Scriven.
By David V. Valera
GC 2012 has just voted NOT to have a “set aside” Bishop. The following is a quote from the original posting at umc.org
“Under the proposal, the president would serve full time for four years without the responsibilities of overseeing a geographic area. The president would be the denomination’s chief ecumenical officer, help align the strategic direction of the church and focus on growing vital congregations, among other duties.The intent is to enable the president to focus better on the global church. The president would also help give The United Methodist Church a more prominent voice on the public stage.Currently, the council president serves a two-year term and retains a residential assignment. The presidency now rotates among the U.S. jurisdictions and the central conferences.Proposals to have a full-time president go back at least to 1968 and the merger that created The United Methodist Church, but none has been approved.
To be adopted, a constitutional amendment must be approved by two-thirds of the delegates to General Conference and two-thirds of the aggregate number of members attending annual conferences.” To find out more, visit umc.org
