March 23, 2021
The Council of Bishops of the worldwide Methodist Church surprisingly canceled the virtual special session of the general conference planned for May 8th. He wants to discuss how to proceed in April.
On March 22nd, the Bishops of the worldwide Methodist Church held an online meeting. “After many discussions, the bishops came to the decision that, in the best interests of the Church, they should cancel the special session of the general conference scheduled for May 8, 2021 at this time,” said a press release following the meeting has been published. General conference is the highest governing body of the Methodist Church worldwide.
Pandemic forces postponement
In February, the council of bishops announced the one-day special meeting after the commission responsible for preparing the general conference announced that the meeting, which had been postponed to September 2021 due to the pandemic, would have to be postponed again by one year to September 2022.
Virtual variant not possible
It had been clarified in advance whether it might be possible to hold the general conference meeting virtually. However, the group responsible for the clarification had identified insurmountable obstacles in its report: The delegates are in different time zones, which would lead to a time difference of up to 16 hours. Furthermore, trouble-free access to the Internet would not have been guaranteed in all regions of the world. It also remained unclear how the security of the votes could have been guaranteed.
Maintain the ability to act
The special virtual conference on May 8th should have served to suspend certain regulations of church law, so that the delegates could vote on 12 regulations by post. The primary purpose of these provisions was to regulate the administrative capacity to act during the delay in general conference. However, the plans to hold this meeting have been criticized from various quarters since it was announced. Above all, the virtual one-day meeting would have faced similar logistical challenges as those for a multi-day meeting.
Advice on how to proceed
The bishops announced that they will use their regular meeting in April to plan the further necessary steps up to the session of the general conference from August 29 to September 6, 2022 in Minneapolis on the basis of hearings currently taking place.
“We have learned a lot in the past few weeks,” said Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey, president of the council of bishops, quoted in the press release. The time gained will enable even more intensive listening. “We are grateful for the collaboration that has been cultivated with the General Conference Commission and especially grateful for the work that has already begun planning the special session.”
Bishops remain in office
The decision to cancel the meeting means that different bishops cannot retire for the time being. The church order of the worldwide Methodist Church allows resignations or new elections of bishops only after the meeting of the general conference. Bishop Patrick Streiff, the Methodist bishop responsible for Switzerland, announced earlier this month that he would continue to exercise his office.
SF / Sources: Heather Hahn, UMNews, Press release from the Council of Bishops
Featured image: Bishops Ciriaco Q. Francisco (left) and Patrick Streiff confer on the podium during the General Conference of the United Methodists 2019 in St. Louis. Photo of Mike DuBose, UMNS.
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General Conference
General conference is the supreme governing body of the worldwide Methodist Church (United Methodist Church). The conference can revise canon law and pass resolutions on current moral, social, political and economic issues. It also approves programs and budgets for church-wide activities. The one planned for 2020 Conference in Minneapolis (USA) has since been postponed to August 29 to September 6, 2022.
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