This is an update on discussions of Western Jurisdiction task group reports.
As many know, our Western Jurisdiction has been working on a way forward for our future. The latest work provides thoughts on potential legislation or resolutions for consideration by the next session of the Jurisdictional Conference. A previous announcement was made by the Western Jurisdiction General Conference First Elects that asked everyone to save the date of November 13 for an open forum discussion of these proposals. Since then, we have learned that the Association of Annual Conference Lay Leaders is holding an event that day that is open to all laity and clergy across the denomination called “Returning to the Beloved Community: Compassion Fatigue, Lay Leadership and the ‘PTSD’ of the Pandemic.” For this reason, we will not hold a jurisdiction-wide event that day. However, we still take our responsibility seriously to collect feedback on the task group reports and the schedule created at the last Special Western Jurisdiction meeting.
These five reports have been consolidated down to four for our further work (links are embedded):
- Mission Statement Report
- Permeable Boundaries Report
- Episcopacy Report
- Structure, Organization and Financial Considerations Report
Our new plan, which recognizes the importance of more local discernment in smaller groups, includes:
- Discussion events to be held by annual conferences, coordinated by the delegations at a time that works for that conference. Look for more details from your delegation.
- Written feedback on the task group reports will be accepted through the jurisdictional website, beginning no later than November 13. There will be an announcement when this is ready, including links to a brief introductory video and a form for submitting comments.
The goal of these discussions is to help shape the intentions of the jurisdiction members as we consider turning the work of the task groups into legislation to be considered at a session of the Jurisdictional Conference. We seek input from all who are interested.
We look forward to your support of this important work.
Blessings to all!
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This article was originally published on the Western Jurisdiction UMC website, https://westernjurisdictionumc.org on Thursday, November 2, 2021.
