How to Search for Petitions
Every petition is assigned a number by the Petitions Secretary. This number has four parts separated by dashes. See Understanding Petition Numbers if you need more information. The first and most imporant part is the 5 digit serial number of the petition. All petitions for the 1996 General Conference were assigned sequential petition numbers starting with 20001. The most direct way to find a petition if you already know the petition number is by Petition Number. This page takes you to an index of Petition Numbers. Select the range of numbers that includes the Petition Number you are seeking, and then you will see a list of Petition numbers and their corresponding titles.
Many petitions directly address the 1992 Book of Discipline. Use this search if you are looking for one or more petitions which refer to a specific Paragraph Number in the Discipline. In this index, the Discipline Paragraphs are divided into ten main sections. Once you select one of the main sections, you will see a list of paragraph numbers (usually with section titles to help you find the correct paragraph). After you select the desired paragraph, you will see a list of Petition Numbers, with Titles.
Every Petition is assigned to a legislative committee. There are eleven legislative committees. The number of petitions assigned to each committee is pretty large. When you search by Legislative Committee you will see a list of full petition numbers which have been so assigned.
If you know the exact wording of the Petition Title you might be able to find it using this path. There are no keyword searches. You must select the first letter of the title in the next menu and then you will be presented a list of all petition titles which start with that letter.
The search by Petition Source is similar to the search by title above. There are no keyword searches. You must select the first letter of the petition source in the next menu and then you will be presented a list of all petition sources which start with that letter.
General Conference Webmaster: Susan Brumbaugh
PETS Creator: John Brawn
How to Search for Petitions
1996 United Methodist General Conference