OIMC Delegation Prepares for General Conference

The OIMC General Conference delegation has been busy preparing for the 2008 General Conference to be held April 23-May 2, at Ft. Worth, Texas..

Rev. David Wilson, Delegation chair, said that OIMC will take fifteen observers, along with the six elected delegates and alternates to Ft. Worth. The delegation has met monthly since last September to organize and become familiar with legislation that will be proposed to the General Conference.

Rev. Wilson said there are several major issues that will be considered at the
General Conference, which is the denomination’s top legislation body.

One of those major issues is called, The Worldwide Nature of the Church. Specifically, this legislation would make the church’s five jurisdictions in the United States a regional body, similar to the church’s central conferences that currently exist outside of the United States.

The proposed structural changes to the denomination that acknowledge the fact that the church is growing outside of the United States and that 30 percent of United Methodist members now live outside the United States.

“Many of us are still studying to see how the petition would affect the work
of The Church within the total structure,” said Rev. Wilson. “The petition seeks ways for us to operate more efficiently, but there may be more unanswered questions within this petition.”

Another big issue will be the study of the episcopacy which includes a
proposal to reduce the number of bishops in each Episcopal area. The study was mandated by the 2004 General Conference as a cost saving measure for the denomination.

The continuation of National Plans for Ethnic/Racial Ministries will be included for this quadrennium as well. The racial ethnic plans include: The Native
American Comprehensive Plan, The National Plan for Hispanic Ministry,
Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century, Asian American Language Ministry, Korean American National Plan and Pacific Islanders Ministries.

The National plans include the continuation and implantation of developing new congregations, new leadership, partnering with the poor and
developing health initiatives.

Delegates to the 2008 General Conference will consider hundreds of proposals within a ten day period.

OIMC will be represented not only by their delegates, but also by
observers to the General Conference. The observers will be able to attend the legislative committee meetings and plenaries to observe the work of the
delegates. They will also assist the two OIMC delegates in the sharing of
information in committee work.

The General Conference team includes Josephine Deere, lay delegate;
Lupe Gooday, alternate and Jacob Tsotigh, jurisdictional alternate. Clergy
delegates include Margaret Battiest, alternate and Roger Scott, jurisdictional
alternate.

Clergy observers include, Revs. Anna Stilwell, Chebon Kernell, Walter
Quoetone, Jennifer Battiest, and Bernadine Dowdy. Lay observers
include Fawn White, Merle Berryhill, Joyce Deere, Pat Tah, Sue Burgess, Ron
Burgess, Kathy Littledave, Kerry Girty, Jim Roughface and Phillis McCarty.