United Methodist News Service Photo by Paul Jeffrey
Legislative Committee
A legislative committee votes during the 2008 General Conference in Fort Worth, TX.
Mirroring the U.S. Congress, General Conference's legislative work occurs in various committees, which review thousands of petitions and recommend them for action by the full body.
The Book of Discipline provides that any individual United Methodist, local church, annual conference, churchwide board or agency or specially constituted study group may submit petitions to change church rules. Some 1,600 petitions are expected to come before the 2012 General Conference.
Committees are organized according to the sections of the Book of Discipline that petitions would affect. For the 2012 session, there will be 13 legislative committees, plus the Standing Committee on Central Conferences, which deals with all petitions related to areas outside the United States. Delegates from each annual and central conference are allowed to choose the committee on which they will serve, based upon their order of election. Committees choose their chair, vice chair and secretary during an organizational session at General Conference.
The legislative committees for 2012 are:
1) Church and Society 1
This committee will deal with petitions related to work of the Board of Church and Society and the concerns of the Social Principles with the exception of Discipline paragraphs 161 and 162. This includes:
............................Social Principles Preface
............................Social Principles Preamble
160 ......................The Natural World
163 ......................The Economic Community
164 ......................The Political Community
165 ......................The World Community
166 ......................Our Social Creed
629 ......................AC: Board of Church and Society
661 ......................District Director of Church and Society
1001-1011 ...........General Board of Church and Society
2) Church and Society 2
This committee will deal with petitions related to paragraphs 161 The Nurturing Community and 162 The Social Community of the Social Principles in the Book of Discipline. This committee will review all petitions related to the church's stances on homosexual practice, abortion, sexual abuse, and similar topics.
3) Conferences.
This committee will deal with all petitions relating to the composition and activities of the General, Jurisdictional, Annual, Provisional, Missionary, and District Conferences, and Missions, including the Jurisdictional, Annual and District Connectional Ministries or equivalent. This includes Book of Discipline paragraphs:
8-l2 ..................... Constitution: Conferences
13-16 .................. Constitution: General Conference
23-27 .................. Constitution: Jurisdictional Conferences
32-36 .................. Constitution: Annual Conferences
37-41 .................. Constitution: Boundaries
42 ....................... Constitution: District Conferences
501-511 .............. General Conference (including opening statement)
512-528 .............. Jurisdictional Conference
529 ..................... Jurisdictional Agencies
530 ..................... Jurisdictional Coordination of Programs
531 ..................... Jurisdictional Program Agencies
580-583 .............. Provisional Annual Conferences
585-588 .............. Missionary Conference
590-591 .............. Mission
601-608 .............. Annual Conference
610 ..................... Annual Conference Agencies
653 ..................... AC: Committee on Disability Concerns
657-658 .............. District Conference
660 ..................... District Program Organization
4) Discipleship.
This committee will consider all petitions relating to the work and concerns of the Boards of Discipleship found in Book of Discipline paragraphs:
266-269 .............. LC: Lay Speaking Ministries
270 ..................... LC: Lay Missioner
533 ..................... Jurisdictional Youth Ministry Organization Convocation
534 ..................... Jurisdictional Young-Adult Organization
630 ..................... AC: Board of Discipleship
631 ..................... AC: Board of Laity
649 ..................... AC: Council on Youth Ministry
650 ..................... AC: Council on Young Adult Ministry
651 ..................... AC: Council on Older-Adult Ministries
659 ..................... DC: Lay Leader
664 ..................... DC: District Coordinator-Young Adult Ministry
666 ..................... DC: Board of Laity
667 ..................... DC: Committee on Lay Speaking Ministries
671 ......................DC: Council on Youth Ministry
1101-1107 ...........General Board of Discipleship
1108 ....................Financial Relationship of The Upper Room to the General Board of Discipleship
1109-1111 ...........GBOD: Education
1112-1116 ...........GBOD: Evangelism, Worship and Stewardship
1117-1121 ...........GBOD: Ministry of the Laity
1122-1127 ...........GBOD: Curriculum Resources Committee
1201-1212 ...........Division on Ministries with Young People
5) Faith and Order.
This committee will consider all petitions relating to Doctrinal Standards and Our Theological Task, the Ministry of all Christians and the Meaning of Ordination and Conference Membership found in Book of Discipline paragraphs:
101-104 ...............Doctrinal Standards and Our Theological Task
120-124 ...............The Churches
125-131 ...............The Ministry of All Christians
132-133 ...............Servant Ministry and Servant Leadership
134-136 ...............Servant Ministry
137-138 ...............Servant Leadership
139 ......................Called to Inclusiveness
140-142 ...............The Fulfillment of Ministry through the United Methodist Church
301-304 ...............The Meaning of Ordination and Conference Membership
6) Financial Administration.
This committee will consider petitions relating to the work and concerns of the Council on Finance and Administration, the Board of Pension and Health Benefits, and the United Methodist Publishing House. The budget and recommendations prepared by the General Council on Finance and Administration are submitted to this committee for study and review. Thereafter, when the General Council on Finance and Administration presents its report to the General Conference for action, the committee shall present its recommendations and may propose amendments. The committee deals with Book of Discipline paragraphs:
7 ..........................Constitution: Title to Properties
22 ........................Constitution: Restrictive Rule
611-619 ...............AC: Council on Finance and Administration
620-628 ...............AC: Clergy Support
638 ......................Episcopal Residence
639 ......................AC: Board of Pensions
640 ......................AC: Board of Trustees
652 ......................AC: Joint Committee on Incapacity
801-820 ...............General Council on Finance and Administration
823 ......................GCFA: Special Days Offerings
1501-1505 .......... General Board of Pension and Health Benefits
1506-1509 .......... GBOPHB: Annual Conference Pension Administration
1601-1642 .......... The United Methodist Publishing House
2501-2523 .......... Church Property
2551……………Trustees of Church Institutions
7) General Administration
This committee will consider the Connectional Table's "Call to Action" report and alternative proposals for the restructuring of The United Methodist Church. This includes
Book of Discipline paragraphs:
1-4 ...................... Constitution: General (including Preamble)
17-19, 21 ............ Constitution: Restrictive Rules
59-61 .................. Constitution: Amendments
262-265 .............. Local Church Special Sundays
701-723 .............. Administrative Order General Provisions
901-907 .............. Connectional Table
2406 ................... JUSTPEACE
8) Global Ministries.
This committee will consider all petitions relating to the work and concerns of the Boards of Global Ministries covered in Book of Discipline paragraphs:
536 ..................... JC: United Methodist Women
633 ..................... AC: Board of Global Ministries
647 ..................... AC: United Methodist Women
654 ..................... AC: Committee on Native American Ministry
655 ..................... AC: Advance Program
656 ..................... AC: Committee on Criminal Justice and Mercy Ministries
669 ..................... DC: United Methodist Women
821-822 .............. The Advance
1301-1312 .......... General Board of Global Ministries
1313 ................... GBGM: Mission Program Areas
1314-1317 .......... GBGM: Office of Deaconess
1318-1326 .......... GBGM: Women’s Division
1327 ................... GBGM: Health and Relief
9) Independent Commissions.
This committee will consider all petitions related to the commissions on Archives and History, Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, Communications, Religion and Race, Status and Role of Women, United Methodist Men, and membership or relationship to the World Methodist Council, Councils and Consultations of Churches, and the American Bible Society. These include Book of Discipline paragraphs:
5 ..........................Constitution: Racial Justice
6 ..........................Constitution: Ecumenical Relations
532 ......................JC: Commission on Archives and History
537 ......................JC: Committee on United Methodist Men
609 ......................AC: Director of Communications
632 ......................AC: Committee on Ethnic Local Church Concerns
641 ......................AC: Commission on Archives and History
642 ......................AC: Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns
643 ......................AC: Commission on Religion and Race
644 ......................AC: Commission on Status and Role of Women
645 ......................AC: Commission on Small Membership Church
646 ......................AC: Commission on Communications
648 ......................AC: United Methodist Men
662 ......................DC: Director Ethnic Local Church Concerns
663 ......................DC: Director Religion and Race
670 ......................DC: United Methodist Men
1701-1712 ...........General Commission on Archives and History
1907-1912 ...........Committee on Faith and Order
1801-1808 ...........General Commission on Communications
1901-1906 ...........General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns
2001-2008 ...........General Commission on Religion and Race
2101-2109 ...........General Commission on Status and Role of Women
2301-2303 ...........General Commission on United Methodist Men
2401-2405 ...........Ecumenical Relationships & Organizations
10) Judicial Administration
This committee will consider all petitions relating to the Judiciary, the Judicial Civil Administration review committee, and investigations, trials, and appeals covered in Book of Discipline paragraphs:
55-58 ...................Constitution: The Judiciary
636 ......................AC: Administrative Review Committee
2601-2612 ...........Judicial Council
2701-2719 ...........Investigations, Trials and Appeals
11) Local Church
This committee will consider all petitions, resolutions, etc., relating to the organization of the local church and its membership, programs, boards, councils, commissions, committees, etc., or relating to local church property covered in Book of Discipline paragraphs:
43-44 ...................Constitution: Charge Conferences
201-213 ...............Local Church
214-242 .............. LC: Church Membership
243-258 .............. LC: Organization and Administration
259-261 .............. LC: General
2524-2550 .......... LC: Property
12) Ministry and Higher Education
This committee will consider all petitions relating to the work and concerns of Ordained Ministries, Higher Education, Schools of Theology, and the Division of Chaplaincy and Related Ministries. This includes the report of the Committee to Study the Ministry and Book of Discipline paragraphs:
20 ....................... Constitution: Restrictive Rule
271 ..................... Certified Lay Minister
305-369 .............. Ordained Ministry
535 ..................... JC: Committee on Ordained Ministry
634 ..................... AC: Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministry
635 ..................... AC: Board of Ordained Ministry
665 ..................... DC: Committee on Ordained Ministry
1401-1409 .......... General Board of Higher Education and Ministry
1410-1421 .......... GBHEM: Division of Higher Education
1422-1423 .......... GBHEM: Schools of Theology
13) Superintendency
This committee will consider all petitions related to the work and concerns of United Methodist bishops covered in Book of Discipline paragraphs:
45-54 .................. Constitution: Episcopal Supervision
401-403 .............. Superintendency
404-416 .............. Superintendency: Bishops
417-425 .............. Superintendency: District Superintendent
426-427, 429 ...... Expressions of Superintendency
430-435 .............. Appointment-Making
637 ..................... AC: Committee on Episcopacy
668 ..................... DC: Committee on District Superintendency