May 1 - General Conference

This is my eighth day and frankly I'm tired! Today we moved quickly into petition work. The majority of the 1200 petitions submitted have been worked with in committees and we are able to approve the prior work by voting on the "consent calendar." We had an item today that was approved on the consent calendar and then faced a motion ro reconsider it. It was a significant issue - the elimination of security of appointment for clergy. For the last 60 years or so UM pastors have had a "guaranteed appointment." The principle has been that every church gets a preacher and every preacher (elder) gets an appointment. After some parlimentary movement today the issue of security of appointment was eliminated. This was actually the recommendation of the committee. I personally agree with this decision. Another matter that most of us in Missouri appreciate is the legislation that gives annual conferences great flexibility in structuring. It should help us put ourselves in position to strengthen local churches to make disciples of Jesus Christ. There were a number of other matters worked through. When we began the day there were 143 items to process and we had finished 11 of them. I imagine we improved on that some today but many are wondering how we will be able to complete the work. But these things do tend to work out. Our Missouri delegation had dinner together. It was a welcome time to relax and share together. This evening most of the time was devoted to ecumenical matters. Getting ready to turn in and give it a go tomorrow. Three more days! Keep us in your prayers. steve