{"id":12481,"date":"2016-05-10T17:43:47","date_gmt":"2016-05-11T00:43:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/?p=12481"},"modified":"2016-05-10T17:43:47","modified_gmt":"2016-05-11T00:43:47","slug":"plan-umcs-fate-still-up-to-gc2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/plan-umcs-fate-still-up-to-gc2016\/","title":{"rendered":"Plan UMC\u2019s fate still up to GC2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Heather Hahn<\/strong>
\nMay 10, 2016 | PORTLAND, Ore. (UMNS)<\/h4>\n

The 2016 General Conference now has the responsibility of determining what happens to three commissions that Plan UMC Revised has put on the chopping block.<\/p>\n

The Judicial Council, The United Methodist Church\u2019s top court, ruled May 10 that the revised version of the agency restructure known as Plan UMC has parts that violate the denomination\u2019s constitution and other parts that are entirely constitutional<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In Decision 1310<\/a>, the court mostly rejected legislative language that would give the Connectional Table, a church coordinating body, new authority in the hiring and firing of agency top executives.<\/p>\n

However, the church court affirmed that General Conference has the authority to discontinue commissions, as proposed under Plan UMC Revised. The ruling did not remark on the plan\u2019s proposal to increase African representation on agency boards.<\/p>\n

Lonnie Brooks, one of the main drafters of Plan UMC Revised, considered the ruling mostly a win. He said fixing the plan to bring it in line with the Judicial Council ruling \u201cis fairly simple.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether such changes benefit the multinational denomination remains up to General Conference delegates to decide.<\/p>\n

Erin Hawkins, the top executive of the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race, sees the ruling as an opportunity for the lawmaking assembly \u201cto engage in a serious conversation about the issues\u201d the commissions deal with.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow we can talk about the real mission of the church, which is to meet people wherever they are and to be a voice of justice in a world that is rife with injustice,\u201d Hawkins said.<\/p>\n

The May 10 ruling comes after the Judicial Council overturned the original Plan UMC as unconstitutional on the last day of the 2012 General Conference. That previous agency restructure had garnered nearly 60 percent of the lawmaking body\u2019s vote.<\/p>\n

What the plan does<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u201cPlan UMC Revised\u201d<\/strong><\/a> includes the following changes to the current structure:<\/p>\n