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BY J. RICHARD PECK
United Methodist News Service

The 2008 General Conference of The United Methodist Church opened its April 23-May 2 legislative session with a Communion service celebrated at a table made of wood from trees destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

The conference began on the 40th anniversary to the very day when, in nearby Dallas, the Evangelical United Brethren Church united with the Methodist Church to form The United Methodist Church.

The theme of the event, which shaped the future of the 11.4 million member church was "A Future with Hope."

Hope and challenge
"General Conference is important to the life of our church as it helps to set direction for the church. This General Conference particularly captured the hope of delegates on the first full day with the Episcopal Address, General agency reports on the focus of the denomination, the Connectional Table report on the seven pathways of the church, and the Young Peoples' Address, which engaged delegates in a future of possibility and openness," said Bishop John R. Schol of the Washington Area.

"It was a hopeful day on which we cast a vision that will enable us to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. We also celebrated our accomplishments through Nothing but Nets, reconstruction along the Gulf Coast, and the development of Africa University," the bishop said.

While celebrating this hope, Bishop Schol also sees a number of continuing challenges for the church:

Discovering how to honor and maximize the church's global nature; living with integrity as we celebrate diversity; and refusing to get caught up in the bureaucracy of the church while membership in the United States is declining and millions are suffering from poverty, killer diseases and an absence of the Spirit in their lives and communities.

General Conference was a time of Holy Conferencing, said the bishop, in which United Methodists could celebrate their impact through the ministry of Christ, highlight the areas in which they struggle, and commit themselves to work together to be the Body of Christ.

"It also reminds us that all ministry is local and it is local congregations and mission institutions that demonstrate God's grace in the world. The denomination's role is to strengthen our ministry at the local level," he said. "I am hopeful because we have committed to developing principled Christian leaders for the church and world, creating new places for new people and renewing existing congregations; engaging in ministry with the poor; and stamping out killer diseases of poverty by improving health globally."

Delores Oden, the co-chair of the Baltimore-Washington Conference agreed with the bishop.

As a first-timer to General Conference, Oden said she stood in awe of the possibilities inherent in the connectional system and, while she enjoyed seeing how the Book of Discipline and Resolutions are created, she is even more hopeful that the spirit of the gathering will transfer from the convention center to the local church.

A worldwide church
While the legislative arm of the church has always included delegates from Africa, Asia and Europe, this gathering seemed less centered on issues confined to the United States than earlier quadrennial gatherings. That was partially due to the fact that 278 of the 992 delegates came from outside the United States - 100 more than the number that attended the 2004 session. It also was the result of proposals from a six-member task force studying the global nature of the church.

During the week, delegates approved 23 constitutional amendments that would make it possible to make the United States a central conference similar to conferences in other countries. The amendments, which must be ratified by a two-thirds vote of the aggregate total of annual conferences, also would change the words "central conference" to "regional conference." A 20-member committee will bring recommendations to the 2012 General Conference in Tampa, Fla.

Presentations delivered
A highlight of the gathering occurred when Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a United Methodist, addressed the assembly. "This is a special honor for me," she said. "I am the first African leader and the first female president to address the General Conference of The United Methodist Church."

Her nation has faced countless challenges as it recovers from civil war, but Sirleaf assured the church that raised her that "Liberia is on the way back."

William H. Gates Sr., co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, thanked the denomination for being a partner in the Nothing But Nets campaign to eliminate malaria from the continent of Africa. More than $20 million has been raised since the campaign began in 2006.

Bishop Sharon Brown Christopher delivered the Episcopal Address in a non-traditional way on behalf of the Council of Bishops. The message was filled with songs, multimedia and multisensory images about how people received and gave hope, and were transformed by encounters with Christ. She attributed some of the U.S. membership decline to "ruptures in our United Methodist relationships. Left or right, conservative or liberal, we treat our baptized brothers and sisters as if they are our enemies" and seek to destroy those who have a different viewpoint or perspective, she said.

The first-ever Young People's Address to General Conference was given by a diverse group of six young people. The presentation included videos, photos, drumming and singing. "We have shared stories of persecution, homelessness, and what it means to be a young person in a world desperately in need of Jesus," said Matt Lockett of Seattle, one of the presenters. "What you do with what you have heard is really up to you."

Homosexuality debated
On May 1, a day after the General Conference continued the Social Principles statement declaring homosexuality to be "incompatible with Christian teaching," some 200 witnesses for inclusion were allowed to walk through the aisles of the legislative gathering. Participants covered the Communion table with a black shroud to mourn conference actions that deny gays and lesbians the right to serve as clergy and legislation that holds the practice of homosexuality to be "incompatible with Christian teaching."

A legislative committee had approved a statement that withdrew the incompatibility clause and noted that faithful people disagree on the topic, but "all seek a faithful witness." A minority report from the committee called for the retention of the clause. The majority report was replaced by the minority vote by a 516-416 vote. A subsequent final vote of 501-417 made it official.

In approving the minority report, the assembly also affirmed that all people are "individuals of sacred worth created in the image of God."

In a separate resolution, the conference asked the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, the church's social advocacy agency, to develop educational resources and materials on the effects of homophobia and heterosexism, the discrimination or prejudice against lesbians or gay men by heterosexual people.

In related action, delegates let stand language in the Book of Discipline regarding pastoral authority over church membership, even though a majority report of a legislative committee recommended the congregation change the language to make it clear that pastors and congregations "are to faithfully receive all persons who are willing to affirm our vows of membership."

Controversy has occurred over a 2005 decision by the Judicial Council supporting a Virginia pastor who denied membership to a man in an openly homosexual relationship.

Committees formed
Delegates created a new, 24-member standing committee on faith and order to help bishops and the church reflect on matters of faith, doctrinal teaching, order and discipline. The group will also provide study materials upon the request of the bishops, the Connectional Table or General Conference.

The conference called for a continuation of the study of ministry. The delegates asked for the creation of a 28-member study group to address the ordering of ministry, the separation of ordination and conference membership, and the streamlining of the ordained ministry candidacy process.

Delegates approved the creation of a hymnal revision committee and authorized it to bring a proposed hymnal to the 2012 General Conference.

Budget adopted
The $642 million budget, which was approved, calls for a 1.2 percent increase over each of the four years from 2009 to 2012. The finance leaders acknowledged this increase does not keep up with inflation projections.

For the first time, the budget was developed on an outcome-based model shaped around the denomination's four areas of focus:

• Developing principled Christian leaders for the church and the world.
• Creating new places for new

people and renewing existing congregations.

• Stamping out diseases of poverty by improving health globally.
• Engaging in ministry with the poor.

Fewer bishops
Delegates approved a plan that will result in one less bishop in four of the five U.S. jurisdictions, beginning in 2012. The Northeastern Jurisdiction will see this reduction earlier as it plans to combine the North Central New York, Troy, Western New York and Wyoming annual conferences, with the Pennsylvania portion of Wyoming going to the Central Pennsylvania Conference and Vermont moving from Troy to the New England Conference.

In other items

• The legislative body increased the retirement age of bishops from 66 to 68.
• The two United Methodist Churches in Bermuda were officially welcomed to the denomination as part of the Baltimore-Washington Conference.
• Five new members were elected to the Judicial Council. They are expected to bring a more "moderate" voice to the church's Supreme Court.
• The United Methodist Board of Church and Society and the Women's Division of the Board of Global Ministries will continue as members in the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. General Conference affirmed, 416-384, its 35-year relationship with the interfaith association.
• Delegates learned that church members raised $3 million for the restoration of churches damaged by Hurricane Katrina. More than $60 million was given through the United Methodist Committee on Relief for humanitarian aid in the Gulf Coast.
• The United Methodist Church in Côte d'Ivoire, the largest regional conference of the worldwide denomination with almost 700,000 members, received its full rights and responsibilities. As a result, United Methodists in the West African country, which has only two delegates at this General Conference, will receive significantly greater representation at future assemblies.

A future with hope
Within the Baltimore-Washington Conference contingent, some of the delegates, like the co-chair, Rev. Laura Easto, expressed their hope at a new spirit of unity and purpose that seems to be stirring within many in the denomination.

Sandy Ferguson, conference director for mission and social justice ministries, said she prays for what seems like a new day dawning across the worldwide church.

"There's always hope," she said. "As a people of God we embrace a resurrection hope."

The 2012 session of General Conference will be held in Tampa, Fla.

Melissa Lauber contributed to this report.