{"id":12873,"date":"2016-05-16T22:03:15","date_gmt":"2016-05-17T05:03:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/?p=12873"},"modified":"2016-05-17T00:27:23","modified_gmt":"2016-05-17T07:27:23","slug":"may-16-wrap-up-week-two-begins-with-elections-celebrations-protests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/may-16-wrap-up-week-two-begins-with-elections-celebrations-protests\/","title":{"rendered":"May 16 wrap-up: Week Two begins with elections, celebrations, protests"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Joey Butler<\/strong>
\nMay 16, 2016 | PORTLAND, Ore. (UMNS)<\/h4>\n

Before tackling the pile of petitions before them, delegates to General Conference 2016 voted to fill vacancies in key positions on the Judicial Council, the University Senate and the Commission on General Conference. And then, voting officially began.<\/p>\n

Opening worship<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cGod is the host for our \u201cbanquet,\u201d be it General Conference or God\u2019s \u201ckingdom on earth,\u201d Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey said in her sermon on May 16<\/a> at General Conference, the denomination\u2019s top legislative body.<\/p>\n

The Louisiana Episcopal Area leader reminded those attending General Conference 2016 that God calls all to \u201cbear fruit for God\u2019s sake.\u201d Preaching from Matthew 22:1-14 and the parable of the king\u2019s wedding banquet, she said God invites people to come as they are, but not to stay as they are.<\/p>\n

Commission on General Conference elections<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Rev. Gary W. Graves will be the new secretary of General Conference, succeeding the Rev. L. Fitzgerald \u201cGere\u201d Reist II. Graves has served as petitions secretary of General Conference since 2004, and he is former conference secretary of the Kentucky Conference.<\/p>\n

Others elected to the Commission on the General Conference are Betty Katiyo and the Rev. Mills Maliwa, Africa Central Conference; Phebe Cosmiano, Philippnes Central Conference; the Rev. Beth Ann Cook and the Rev. Gary George, North Central Jurisdiction; the Rev. Joseph DiPaolo, Northeastern Jurisdiction; the Rev. Laura Merrill and the Rev. Juliet Spencer, South Central Jurisdiction; Steven Furr, Southeastern Jurisdiction; and Marie Kuch-Stanovsky, Western Jurisdiction.<\/p>\n

The lack of youth delegates among the 864 delegates to General Conference 2016 means that for the second time in a row, the commission that runs the denomination\u2019s top legislative assembly won\u2019t have a youth delegate<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Judicial Council elections<\/strong><\/p>\n

Delegates to General Conference 2016 filled open positions<\/a> for two clergy and three lay members on the nine-member Judicial Council during elections on May 16.<\/p>\n

The new clergy members are the Rev. \u00d8yvind Helliesen of Norway and the Rev. Luan-Vu Tran of Lakewood, California. Elected as lay members were Ruben Reyes of Manila, Philippines; Deanell Reese Tacha of Lawrence, Kansas, and L\u00eddia Rom\u00e3o Gulele of Maputo, Mozambique.<\/p>\n

Judicial Council members are elected for eight-year terms, and\u00a0four council members elected or re-elected in 2012 are still serving those terms<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

University Senate elections<\/strong><\/p>\n

Elected to the University Senate are the Rev. Owan Kasap Tshibang, North-West Katanga Conference; the Rev. Djoman Nathanael Ohouo, C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire Conference; the Rev. Bill T. Arnold, Kentucky Conference; and the Rev. David F. Watson, United Theological Seminary.<\/p>\n

Plenary pauses for Black Lives Matter demonstration<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chanting \u201cBlack Lives Matter! Black Lives Matter,\u201d close to 150 United Methodists swarmed the plenary floor<\/a> at General Conference May 16 to voice concern for the oppressed and marginalized. Clergy and lay men and women of all races \u2014 many wearing the rainbow stoles that signify full inclusion for LGBTQ \u2014 carried a banner proclaiming, \u201cAll #BlackLivesMatter: bisexual, transgender, poor, heterosexual, lesbian, gay, disabled, women, men, youth and children.\u201d<\/p>\n

The demonstration began shortly after the 2 p.m. plenary session, presided over by Bishop Michael Coyner of the Indiana Episcopal Area. After demonstrators left the plenary, Coyner called for prayer before business resumed.<\/p>\n

Votes of note<\/strong><\/p>\n

– General Conference 2016 delegates approved a petition to make Rwanda a provisional annual conference of The United Methodist Church.<\/p>\n

– Delegates narrowly defeated an effort<\/a> to add two bishops right away, in Nigeria and in Zimbabwe. Instead, they favored the recommendation of the Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters<\/a> to add five bishops after General Conference 2020.<\/p>\n

– The Ministry Study Commission titled \u201cDeepening the Theology of Ordination\u201d passed on the first consent calendar<\/a>. It provides clarity around the meaning of ordination, sacramental authority and the Holy Spirit\u2019s role in that.<\/p>\n

– The Rev. Stephen Wende, a Texas Conference delegate, made a motion<\/a> asking to set aside everything but closing and opening prayers until the plenary considers all committee-approved petitions and \u201cnecessary elections.\u201d His motion was referred to the Committee on Agenda, which recommended unanimously that there be no changes to the schedule.<\/p>\n

Celebrations<\/strong><\/p>\n

As Africa University approaches its 25th anniversary, delegates to the 2016 General Conference took a few moments Monday afternoon to celebrate the Zimbabwean school. \u201cYou and The UMC have answered a call to witness through this transforming ministry,\u201d Munashe Furusa, vice chancellor of Africa University, told delegates.<\/p>\n

United Methodist Women called attention to the\u00a0plight of\u00a0poor and marginalized communities\u00a0struggling with water contamination\u00a0during a lunchtime rally<\/a>\u00a0May 16 at the Oregon Convention Center plaza. The event was part of the\u00a0UMW Day celebration<\/a>\u00a0during\u00a0General Conference, commemorating UMW\u2019s upcoming 150th anniversary.<\/p>\n

The May 16 session also contained celebrations for The United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry, the church\u2019s Four Areas of Focus and the 250th<\/sup> anniversary of John Street Church in New York City.<\/p>\n

In other news<\/strong><\/p>\n

More than 1,500 United Methodist clergy have signed a letter<\/a> stating they would refuse to fill the pulpit of a LGBTQ pastor who was removed for \u201cGod\u2019s given sexual orientation or gender identity.\u201d<\/p>\n

United Methodist bishops have adopted a \u201cCovenant of Accountability<\/a>,\u201d in which they pledge to work for church unity and remain in community with each other despite differences in Christian conscience.<\/p>\n

Butler is a multimedia editor\/producer for United Methodist Communications. Contact him at <\/em>newsdesk@umcom.org<\/a> or 615-742-5470.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Joey Butler May 16, 2016 | PORTLAND, Ore. (UMNS) Before tackling the pile of petitions before them, delegates to General Conference 2016 voted to fill vacancies in key positions on the Judicial Council, the University Senate and the Commission on General Conference. And then, voting officially began. Opening worship \u201cGod is the host for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":12886,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[449,3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-12873","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general-conference","8":"category-umns"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/26992728431_770d697354_k.jpg?fit=2048%2C1007&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2l75j-3lD","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12873"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12873\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12880,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12873\/revisions\/12880"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}