wfn.org | General Conference petition deadline set for Dec. 3, 1999

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Sept. 21, 1998	Contact: Thomas S. McAnally*(615)742-5470*Nashville,
Tenn.        {532}

NOTE:  The 2000 General Conference logo is available for use with this
story.

By United Methodist News Service

Individuals and groups wanting to change policies, procedures and
practices of the United Methodist Church have about 14 months to submit
petitions to the General Conference, the denomination's top lawmaking
body.

The next meeting of the General Conference, which convenes every four
years, will be in Cleveland, May 2-12, 2000.

Petitions must be postmarked  by Dec. 3, 1999, 150 days before the
opening day of the General Conference. (The 1996 Book of Discipline,
Paragraph 507.5, incorrectly stated petitions must be in 120 days before
the opening of the conference. A correction was released soon after the
book was published late in 1996. )

The General Conference,  the only body that can speak officially for the
denomination, comprises nearly 1,000 delegates -- half clergy and half
lay. After each conference, revised editions of the Book of Discipline
and Book of Resolutions  are released.   

General Conference delegates can change anything in the Book of
Discipline except the church's Constitution. Any recommended changes in
the Constitution must be ratified by the annual (regional) conferences. 

Before the most recent General Conference in 1996, the petitions
secretary received 8,000 petitions from individuals, agencies, churches
and annual conferences. Because identical petitions are grouped together
as one, the final count was 3,070.

Petitions secretary for the 2000 conference is Sheila McGee, associate
editor of  Circuit Rider, a magazine for United Methodist clergy
produced by the United Methodist Publishing House. Her appointment was
announced in July by General Conference Secretary Carolyn Marshall of
Veedersburg, Ind.    

At the 1984 General Conference, McGee served on the staff of Newscope, a
weekly newsletter for church leaders produced by the United Methodist
Publishing House. For three general conferences she worked with the
Daily Christian Advocate, first as managing editor in 1988 and later as
associate editor in 1992 and 1996. The Daily Christian Advocate reports
actions and official proceedings of the gathering. 

In the past, some special-interest groups have mounted campaigns to send
multiple copies of the same petition to the General Conference, but
Marshall and McGee emphasize that is wasted effort for everyone
involved. In addition, petitions that simply ask for language to be
unchanged are not necessary or desired, they said. 

McGee is urging people to submit their petitions as early as possible.
"Don't wait until the last minute. Petitions postmarked after Dec. 3
(1999) will not be processed."  If  petitions are transmitted by a means
other than a national postal service, they must be in the hands of the
petitions secretary no later than 150 days before the opening of the
conference.

Each petition should deal with one topic and be submitted in duplicate.
It must be signed by the person submitting it and accompanied by
appropriate identification, such as address, local church, or United
Methodist board or agency relationship.  

Petitions for changes in the Book of Discipline should contain
strike-out lines on words to be deleted, and words to be added should
appear in boldface. If this is inconvenient or technically impossible,
McGee said the writer should be clear about what is recommended for
deletion and addition.  

Each valid petition is given a number and title. Each legislative
committee deals with petitions related to a series of paragraphs from
the Book of Discipline. Petitions related to the Book of Resolutions are
sorted by subject matter. In 1996, there were 10 committees. A
legislative committee can recommend to the full delegation concurrence
or non-concurrence with the language as submitted or may change the
language and then recommend concurrence.  Legislative committees can
also submit majority and minority recommendations.

For the first time, petitions can be filed by e-mail. They should be
sent to petitions@umpublishing.org and the e-mail should include the
petitioner's phone number. The preference for e-mail attachments is
Microsoft Word, but they may also be submitted in Microsoft Excel and
Word Perfect.    

Petitions sent by mail should be addressed to: Sheila McGee, Petitions
Secretary, P.O. Box 801, Nashville, TN 37202.  For questions related to
petitions, call (615) 749-6488.
# # #

United Methodist News Service
(615)742-5470
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