The Committee on Ordained and Diaconal Ministry will face the most daunting challenge of the 11 General Conference legislative committees, one thousand and fifty two petitions, one third of the total 3,070 pieces of legislation, have been assigned to that group, compared to only 546 handled by the same committee at the 1992 General Conference. The Committee on Church and Society will take on the next highest number of petitions, 330.
According to General Conference Secretary Carolyn marshall, the large number of members (110) of the Ordained and Diaconal Ministry Committee will make it possible to have more than the normal number of subcommittees. In addition, the presentation of Ministry Study legislation to the plenary session set for tomorrow should reduce the amount of time needed to process this legislation.
Legislation assigned to other committees breaks down as follows: Local Church, 302; Financial Administration, 263; conferences, 253; General and Judicial Administration, 247; Discipleship, 212; Independent Commissions, 198; Global Ministries, 153; and Higher Education and Chaplaincy, 54.
Of the petitions sent t the General Conference, general agencies submitted 1,005. Annual conferences added an additional 835, with Western North Carolina sending the most, 161.
The Council of Bishops put together the largest package of legislation of any single group, including 280 petitions in the Study on the Ministry. Ann Bateman and Patricia Meyers of Oregon followed with 95 petitions related to the Ministry Study. The UM Rural Fellowship sent 80; the Methodist Federation for Social Action, 65; the Aldersgate Covenant group based in Denton, Texas, 51; and the Diaconal Ministry clearness Committee from Claremont School of Theology, 29.
The most petitions from a single individual came from Jerry Eckert, a retired clergy member of the Wisconsin Conference, who submitted 44. Ted Agnew, retired professor from Stillwater, Okla. followed with 24, while Gary Thurman, laymember of First UMC in Midland, Texas, and Thomas Oden, a professor at Drew University Theological School, tied with 20 each.
Disciplinary changes are involved in a majority of the legislation facing this quadrennium's General Conference. Delegate will weigh a variety of proposals for a restructure of the Church, from general agencies to annual conferences and local congregations. Most petitions are designed to allow greater flexibility for mission and ministry. Proposals likely to stir debate include a call to eliminate GCOM and the assignment of greater power to the Council of Bishops, homosexuality, the Ministry Study, the Baptism Study, and church finances.
Petitions are assigned to legislative committees based on a division of disciplinary paragraphs established by the Commission on General Conference. Marshall noted that those assignments were reviewed yesterday by the Committee on Reference. After consideration by the appropriate legislative committee, the original petition may be amended and/or forwarded to the plenary session with a recommendation of "concurrence" or "non- concurrence."
by: Joan Shoup