The United Methodist Church’s highest court faced multiple questions related to rules for church disaffiliations and deadlines for General Conference legislation in its November 2021 meeting.
Instead of meeting for a few days in one location, the Judicial Council has been meeting online over a period of months and publishing decisions as they are ready.
Your support of The General Administration Fund apportionment supports the legislative body of the denomination, the Judicial Council.
Most of the 22 items on the docket dealt with issues raised during the 2020 and 2021 U.S. annual conference seasons.
Prompting the most questions before the court is the Discipline’s new Paragraph 2553 — approved by the 2019 Special General Conference in St. Louis. Passed during the same lawmaking the church law allows congregations to exit with property “for reasons of conscience.”
Since General Conference first took up the legislation for Paragraph 2553, the Judicial Council has faced multiple questions about the disaffiliation law. The court has since ruled the legislation in line with the denomination’s constitution and specified that a simple majority of annual conference voters must ratify any disaffiliation agreement.
The court determined that the law took effect immediately after the 2019 General Conference.
The Judicial Council also ruled that it was unconstitutional for the Commission on the General Conference to nullify the paragraph between sessions of the legislative assembly because of improper voting during the 2019 special session.
Since 2019, dozens of United Methodist churches across the denomination’s theological spectrum have used Paragraph 2553 to depart.
However, these actions have not ended questions about the new law. This Judicial Council session, six docket items — more than a quarter — stem from bishops’ decisions of law related to the paragraph.
The Judicial Council also faces questions related to the deadline for submitting legislation to the coming General Conference, now twice postponed by the pandemic to 2022.
The Book of Discipline says that petitions can be submitted until 230 days before General Conference. The Discipline also allows annual conferences to submit legislation if they meet between 230 and 45 days before General Conference.
The General Conference commission announced that any petitions submitted after the original deadlines for what would have been the 2020 General Conference would be treated as late legislation. That puts the decision of whether General Conference considers the late-arriving petitions in the hands of the Committee on Reference, a bishop-appointed group of 24 delegates that typically meets the day before General Conference opens.
“The commission has remained consistent with the understanding of postponement as opposed to cancellation,” commission leaders said in an emailed statement to United Methodist News. “Under postponement, the General Conference petition process is ongoing.”
Three docket items — two from Alaska and one from Arkansas — question the commission’s interpretation of petition deadlines.
excerpt from a story by Heather Hahn, assistant news editor, UMNews
One of seven apportioned giving opportunities of The United Methodist Church, the General Administration Fund implements trustworthy administrative oversight, supports the legislative processes of the church and curates The United Methodist Church’s rich history. Please encourage your leaders and congregations to support the General Administration Fund apportionment at 100 percent.
