Online materials available for Pre-General Conference Briefing

Registration materials and an agenda are available online for the Pre-General Conference News Briefing, which will be Jan. 24-26, 2008, in Fort Worth, Texas.

The briefing will help first-elected lay and clergy delegates, church communicators and secular journalists prepare for General Conference 2008, the top legislative assembly of The United Methodist Church. General Conference will meet April 23-May 2 in Fort Worth.

For delegates who are not first elected or heads of their delegations, a limited number of additional spaces are available at the briefing. Likewise, the briefing is open to any church communicator - whether at the local, annual conference or general church level - who wants to attend.

The briefing will be at the Hilton Fort Worth Hotel, across the street from the convention center where General Conference will meet.

Sessions at the briefing will address topics such as the operation of General Conference as well as key issues and legislation facing the assembly. An Issues Fair will give participants an opportunity to visit with representatives of general agencies and official caucuses and learn more about their specific ministries. Participants also will get a tour of the center as well as the surrounding area.

In addition to plenary sessions, the communicators and delegates will have the opportunity to focus on specific topics of interest in breakout sessions. Sessions for communicators will deal with covering General Conference, interpreting the event afterward for their annual conferences or local churches, and preparing for jurisdictional conferences. The breakout sessions for delegates will focus on holy conferencing, including such topics as staying focused on God's will, grounding and rooting the conversation, and listening to one another.

The agenda has been planned by a diverse group that includes United Methodist Communications staff, a Central Texas Conference team, the president of the United Methodist Association of Communicators, and a committee that includes a staff member of the United Methodist Board of Discipleship and several conference directors of connectional ministries.

Registration details, an overview of the agenda and information on hotel arrangements are available at www.gc2008.umc.org. The registration cost of $225 per person covers expenses associated with the briefing, including three meals: a Fellowship Dinner on Jan. 24; Issues Fair box lunch Jan. 25; and Breakfast with the Ethnic Initiatives of The United Methodist Church on Jan. 26. The fee is based totally on the cost of holding the briefing.

Participants have the option of paying online at the Web site or mailing in their payment (by check only).

Participants should make their own hotel reservations by calling 1 800 HILTONS. To receive the $124 (single or double) rate, reservations should be placed by Dec. 19, 2007. When calling, use the Group Code: GFCA (not GCFA).

Further details about the briefing are available by contacting Customer Service at United Methodist Communications at (888) 346-3862 or CSTeam@umcom.org.