Optimistic mood midway through General Conference

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Key points:

• A sense of quiet optimism pervaded the General Conference at the end of the first week.
• Delegates, pages, observers and others said the atmosphere was markedly different from past General Conferences.
• One observer said: “We are working together in a friendly manner and there is a real sense of the body moving towards a shared goal.”

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The familiar feeling of frustration in your gut is noticeably absent in the Rev. Kevin Young, who has attended every General Conference since 2008.

The pastor of First United Methodist Church in Montrose, Colorado, is beginning to think he might finally return home from General Conference satisfied with the results. He attends as an observer.

“I’m very hopeful that we’re going to turn a corner,” said Young, whose long hair, beard and glasses give him a serious Jerry Garcia vibe. “I depend on people who count the votes much more closely than I do,” he said.

“And, of course, no one knows for sure, but everything I have heard at this General Conference seems united in a desire to move forward and leave some really terrible things behind.”

As General Conference passed the halfway point on April 26, progress had been made in committee meetings related to what used to be the issue of third-rail sexuality. In a very unscientific poll among delegates, pages, observers and other interested people, the mood was largely optimistic.

“I feel that we are doing well in this General Conference, that our voices are being heard: those of progressives and even me as a traditionalist,” said Lucille Grace Hilario, lay delegate and director of connectional ministry in the Central Philippine Conference.

Thomas Kemper, former senior executive of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries and consultant for Wespath Benefits and Investments, said 2024 “is night and day for all the conferences I have experienced before.”

“I love it,” Kemper said. “There is so much grace, so much real fellowship and so much attempt at discernment among Christians, that he had not seen before. “I’m very happy about that.”

Sung-ok Lee, connection officer for Women United in Faith, said she was “quite surprised by the way things are going well.”

Lee is monitoring legislation related to Women United in Faith and any legislation related to women, children and youth.

“We are here to make sure women’s voices are heard,” Lee said.

“Most of the regionalization requests are being approved and the atmosphere seems somewhat different than at past General Conferences,” he added. “We’re very happy right now.”

Last week, the General Conference approved much of the legislation that aims to give different geographic regions of the United Methodist Church equal standing in decision-making. Under the

With regionalization legislation, the United States and each central conference (church regions in Africa, Europe and the Philippines) would become regional conferences with equal authority to adapt the Book of Discipline, the denomination’s policy book, to achieve greater missionary effectiveness.

The legislation would allow conferences to set their own rules regarding the role of LGBTQ people in the church, including whether they can marry in a United Methodist church and be ordained pastors.

The Rev. Troy Comstock, pastor of Servants of Christ United Methodist Church in Houston, is attending his third General Conference as an observer.

“There’s a different mood and a different feeling,” he said. “This feels much more peaceful and friendly than previous General Conferences.”

Comstock, who works with Reconciling Ministries to help LGBTQ people feel welcome in the denomination, sees a greater sense of equality this time around.

“We are not fighting among ourselves,” he said. “We are working together amicably and there is a real sense of the body moving towards a shared goal.”

Some attendees are concerned about issues that generate less attention.

“One thing I heard was an anti-bullying resolution,” said Karen Smith, a deaconess candidate from Menard, Texas, and a General Conference observer. “It may not be the most important thing we do in our entire conference this year, but it could be important for one or several kids.

“I think it’s important that we understand the practical aspects well and I like that we are involved in society.”

Other less publicized efforts at General Conference include apologies for sexual abuse involving the denomination and the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893 with the help of Methodists, including President William McKinley.

In addition to changing the language of the Social Principles regarding sexuality, there are other recommendations that condemn governments to use coercion (including extrajudicial killings) to silence political opponents, reaffirming the denomination’s long-standing opposition to the death penalty and affirming that health care is a basic right.

There is also an effort to call the denomination “United Methodist Church” whenever it is referred to, prohibiting the use of simply “Methodist.” That would differentiate the denomination from other denominations that use “Methodist” in their name.

The people who attend General Conference are “a good mix,” said the Rev. Andrea King, pastor of Emmanuel United Methodist Church in Beltsville, Maryland. She attends as an observer.

“There are some older people who have been around for a while and there are several newer people who are coming in,” he said. “So you can see the ebb and flow of demographics.”

King said good planning by committees and subcommittees is paying off at the Charlotte Convention Center.

“They’ve been doing that work very diligently,” he said, “so from our understanding, things are moving along at a good pace.”

For Filipino delegate Hilario, regionalization legislation is key to maintaining unity in the denomination.

“We have different principles,” he said. “We are very conservative in the Philippines. …We believe what the Scriptures say about marriage, that marriage is between a man and a woman.

“It is better not to divide us,” he said. “(Regionalization) would make our conversation more open.”

The positive side is that Grace sees no further conflicts once conferences are able to set their own policies regarding sexuality.

“I think that’s the only topic I’m not comfortable with,” she said. “Other than that, everything is fine.”

Patterson is a reporter for UM News in Nashville, Tennessee. The Rev. Thomas E. Kim contributed to this report. Contact him at 615-742-5470 or (email protected). To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to free daily or weekly summaries.

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