General Conference petition deadline set for Dec. 3, 1999
9/21/1998 NOTE: The 2000 General Conference logo is available for use with this story. by United Methodist News Service Individuals and groups wanting to change policies, procedures and practices of the United Methodist Church have about 14 months to submit petitions to the General Conference, the denomination's top lawmaking body.
The next meeting of the General Conference, which convenes every four years, will be in Cleveland, May 2-12, 2000.
Petitions must be postmarked by Dec. 3, 1999, 150 days before the opening day of the General Conference. (The 1996 Book of Discipline, Paragraph 507.5, incorrectly stated petitions must be in 120 days before the opening of the conference. A correction was released soon after the book was published late in 1996. )
The General Conference, the only body that can speak officially for the denomination, comprises nearly 1,000 delegates -- half clergy and half lay. After each conference, revised editions of the Book of Discipline and Book of Resolutions are released.
General Conference delegates can change anything in the Book of Discipline except the church's Constitution. Any recommended changes in the Constitution must be ratified by the annual (regional) conferences.
Before the most recent General Conference in 1996, the petitions secretary received 8,000 petitions from individuals, agencies, churches and annual conferences. Because identical petitions are grouped together as one, the final count was 3,070.
Petitions secretary for the 2000 conference is Sheila McGee, associate editor of Circuit Rider, a magazine for United Methodist clergy produced by the United Methodist Publishing House. Her appointment was announced in July by General Conference Secretary Carolyn Marshall of Veedersburg, Ind.
At the 1984 General Conference, McGee served on the staff of Newscope, a weekly newsletter for church leaders produced by the United Methodist Publishing House. For three general conferences she worked with the Daily Christian Advocate, first as managing editor in 1988 and later as associate editor in 1992 and 1996. The Daily Christian Advocate reports actions and official proceedings of the gathering.
In the past, some special-interest groups have mounted campaigns to send multiple copies of the same petition to the General Conference, but Marshall and McGee emphasize that is wasted effort for everyone involved. In addition, petitions that simply ask for language to be unchanged are not necessary or desired, they said.
McGee is urging people to submit their petitions as early as possible. "Don't wait until the last minute. Petitions postmarked after Dec. 3 (1999) will not be processed." If petitions are transmitted by a means other than a national postal service, they must be in the hands of the petitions secretary no later than 150 days before the opening of the conference.
Each petition should deal with one topic and be submitted in duplicate. It must be signed by the person submitting it and accompanied by appropriate identification, such as address, local church, or United Methodist board or agency relationship.
Petitions for changes in the Book of Discipline should contain strike-out lines on words to be deleted, and words to be added should appear in boldface. If this is inconvenient or technically impossible, McGee said the writer should be clear about what is recommended for deletion and addition.
Each valid petition is given a number and title. Each legislative committee deals with petitions related to a series of paragraphs from the Book of Discipline. Petitions related to the Book of Resolutions are sorted by subject matter. In 1996, there were 10 committees. A legislative committee can recommend to the full delegation concurrence or non-concurrence with the language as submitted or may change the language and then recommend concurrence. Legislative committees can also submit majority and minority recommendations.
For the first time, petitions can be filed by e-mail. They should be sent to petitions@umpublishing.org and the e-mail should include the petitioner's phone number. The preference for e-mail attachments is Microsoft Word, but they may also be submitted in Microsoft Excel and Word Perfect.
Petitions sent by mail should be addressed to: Sheila McGee, Petitions Secretary, P.O. Box 801, Nashville, TN 37202. For questions related to petitions, call (615) 749-6488.
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