Information Shared by Bishop Wills: Petitioning General Conference

Paragraph 507 of The Book of Discipline states “Any organization, clergy member, or lay member of The United Methodist Church may petition the General Conference…” In doing so, it answers the age-old question – “What do I do if I want to change something about the UMC?” Perhaps you don’t agree with a resolution in The Book of Resolutions. Perhaps you have a great idea about how your church should be structured differently. Perhaps you would like to encourage a particular ministry and see it assigned as the duty of a particular local church committee or General Board or Agency.

Once you have decided to petition the General Conference to adopt your idea, there are several steps to take in the process. You must decide whether your idea is a petition which will require further action or a resolution which will be printed in The Book of Resolutions and make a political, social, or theological statement on behalf of the entire denomination. Petitions may seek to make changes in The Book of Discipline or may be non-disciplinary and address the work of the local church or any other level of church structure without a Disciplinary mandate. You must also decide whether your petition will have financial implications in the budget process of the General Conference.

Paragraph 507.2 states “Each petition must address only one issue if the Discipline is not affected; if the Discipline is affected, each petition must address only one paragraph of the Discipline, except that, if two or more paragraphs in the Discipline are so closely related that a change in one affects the others, the petition may call for the amendment of those paragraphs also to make them consistent with one another.” In other words, don’t send in one petition which addresses Global Warming, child care at the Annual Conference session, and voting rights at various stages of the Ordination process unless you are extremely creative.

As you write your petition or resolution, please be very clear about the words you would like to add or delete from the current (2004) edition of The Book of Discipline or The Book of Resolutions. Detailed instructions may be found at gc2008.umc.org.

Two significant changes have been made in the submission process. First, we are asking that all petitions and resolutions be submitted digitally. You may do so by e-mail, by use of a 3.5” diskette or CD, or through a link on the General Conference website. This speeds the processing of your material greatly. It also increases the accuracy of our completed materials by reducing the chance of typographical error or omission. In order to meet the needs of some of our Central Conference members, non-digital submissions (typed or legibly printed only) will be received until September 1, 2007. This should be an avenue of last resort, however.

The second change involves the printing of a rationale for the petition. Fifty (50) words will be allowed for each petition. This should eliminate the need to write a petition in the form of a resolution with several “Whereas” sections explaining why everyone should agree with you.

Please remember that all items must be postmarked by October 26, 2007, if being submitted through a national postal service. All items submitted by any other means must be received by October 26, 2007.

While the street address used for commercial overnight carriers has not changed, there has been some confusion in the assignment of the Post Office box number used for the receipt of petitions. All items submitted via the United States Postal Service should be mailed to:
Gary W. Graves, Petitions Secretary
United Methodist General Conference
P.O. Box 188
Beaver Dam, KY 42320-0188

The local Post Office has assured that they will do their best to catch any items which come in with an incorrect earlier address, but if an item is returned to you, please re-submit it to the above address prior to the October deadline.

Please take this opportunity to be involved in the decision-making life of The United Methodist Church. One of the first steps of Christian conferencing is the prayerful offering of an inspired idea. As we receive and process those offerings from around the world, we begin to move toward an exciting time together in the presence of God.

Rev. Gary Graves
Petitions Secretary