No-Shows a Problem for General Conference

by

April 19, 2024 | UM News

Key points:

  • The Commission on the General Conference says 73% of delegates from Africa, Philippines, Europe and Eurasia are confirmed to be at the General Conference that begins April 23 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
  • But it’s unclear how many of the remaining delegates will be able to participate.
  • Some African United Methodists have warned that their part of the church will be significantly underrepresented in Charlotte.
  • Opinions vary on whether the General Conference staff members did all they could to help delegates overcome visa obstacles.

United Methodist officials are acknowledging a struggle to get delegates from Africa and other non-U.S. parts of the church to General Conference, the crucial legislative assembly that convenes April 23 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The Commission on the General Conference reported in a press release on April 18 that 269 delegates — representing 73% of the allotted delegates from Africa, the Philippines, Europe and Eurasia — are confirmed. But the commission said 39 such delegates — 11% —  will not be attending and no replacements will be available.

Others’ prospects for arrival remain uncertain.

The commission said that 62 delegates from central conferences “could potentially be seated,” which would mean 89% participation from those areas. But the commission said 46 such delegates “have not communicated their status.”

Central conferences are church regions in Africa, Europe and the Philippines.

“Travel arrangement coordination will continue as visas are approved to accommodate as many delegates as possible so long as their travel allows them to participate in the General Conference,” the commission said.

Denied visas and an inability to get passport or visa interviews were cited by the commission as key reasons delegates won’t get to Charlotte.

All General Conferences are consequential, but this one comes after a wave of disaffiliations and will see delegates make a series of decisions crucial to the future of United Methodism.

This General Conference has 862 voting delegates, with 55.9% from the U.S., 32% from Africa, 4.6% from Europe/Eurasia and the remainder from concordat churches that have close ties to The United Methodist Church.

While the commission did not offer a breakdown by region, Africa is clearly the area most likely to be seriously underrepresented. The Philippines, the second-largest non-U.S. area in delegates, is expected to be right at full representation, a church official there said.

In recent weeks, leaders of three African caucuses of the denomination — United Methodist Africa Forum, Africa Voice of Unity and the African Initiative — have expressed concern about empty seats among the African annual conference delegations.

“There will be over 70 Africa delegates who won’t be able to attend,” the Rev. Ande Emmanuel, leader of Africa Voice of Unity and a Southern Nigeria Annual Conference delegate, predicted to United Methodist News recently.

UM News’ reporting suggests annual conferences in Liberia, Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire are among those that could have a high percentage of absentees.

“What we are sure of is that many of our delegates will not be able to travel,” the Rev. Philippe Adjobi, a district superintendent in the Côte d’Ivoire Annual Conference and member of Bishop Benjamin Boni’s cabinet, said by email. “We wonder what this General Conference would look like?”

Justine Kaluwazhi is a Zambia Annual Conference delegate who recently messaged UM News, saying her request for a visa to the U.S. had been turned down.

“As (I) am speaking, the tears is just coming out to miss such important events,” she told UM News by email.

Titus Bellison is a lay delegate from the Northern Nigeria Conference who also won’t be coming to General Conference, having been unable to get a visa in time. He said by email that he felt General Conference staff could have done more to work with U.S. embassy officials to help secure visas.

“Though we are not able to attend and no provision (has been made) for us to participate online, I wish all the delegates who have made it to Charlotte a successful deliberation,” Bellison said.

Absent delegates are a reality of every General Conference.

AU Choir Cancels

It’s become a General Conference tradition to hear the choir of Africa University, the pan-African United Methodist school in Zimbabwe.

The choir was scheduled to be a big part of the General Conference that begins April 23 in Charlotte, North Carolina, but had to cancel last month — because of struggles to get visas to the United States.

“It’s devastating for the young people,” said James Salley, president and chief executive officer of Africa University Inc. and associate vice chancellor for institutional advancement for Africa University.

Salley, a longtime delegate to General Conference, said 16 students and two directors had planned to come.

“It’s not like we had 18 Zimbabweans applying,” Salley said.

But the obstacles have been overcome before. Salley said the choir made its General Conference debut in 1996, and has performed at every General Conference since, except the 2019 special General Conference in St. Louis.

“Out of all the things that sought to divide us, Africa University and the choir was something that united us,” Salley said.

At the 2019 special General Conference in St. Louis, 31 delegates did not attend, mostly due to visa issues. At the 2012 General Conference in Tampa, the Committee on Credentials reported that 952 delegates out of an authorized 988 had “credential status.”

“A 30-40 range of absences is not unusual,” said the Rev. Alan Morrison, a past business manager of General Conference.

The General Conference in Charlotte could see double that, though the situation is in flux and delegates may be arriving after the conference begins.

Church officials point to special challenges.

This General Conference was supposed to occur in 2020 but was twice delayed due to the COVID pandemic, which also has affected wait times for visa request appointments at U.S. embassies and consulates.

The 2019 General Conference saw instances of voting by people who were not eligible to do so, which has caused the Commission on the General Conference to put in additional safeguards.

“I believe that while there have been significant struggles, the effort to have full participation of all Central Conference delegates at General Conference by the commission staff has been thorough,” said Council of Bishops President Thomas J. Bickerton. “The level of complexity that the commission is dealing with is greater than any of us would have imagined.”

Kim Simpson, chair of the Commission on the General Conference, also defended the staff.

“The process has simply been harder than anticipated,” she said. “Despite numerous attempts to reach people and convey needs, we often did not receive correct and legal information for duly elected delegates to obtain the necessary documentation for them.”

The comments by Simpson and Bickerton were in the Commission on the General Conference press release, which said commission staff started early to help delegates get visas, anticipating delays.

But Emmanuel and Adjobi said official invitation letters to General Conference —important to getting a visa — were late arriving. Last year, the General Conference commission asked staff to start sending invitation letters immediately after the commission’s May meeting and that the commission receive updates on how many letters have been sent.

“What I can say is that after several reminders, both from the secretariat of the annual conference and those concerned themselves, the last letters of invitation — around 10 — reached us on March 30, 2024,” Adjobi said. “Judge by yourself.”

Some Africans also say not enough has been done to get African reserve delegates to Charlotte, to ensure representation. And there have been complaints about late travel arrangements.

“As we speak, we have delegates who have not received their tickets whilst they have visas,” said the Rev. Lloyd Nyarota of the United Methodist Africa Forum, in an April 18 text.

Jorge Lockward is a member of the Commission on the General Conference. While he’s glad conference staff have reported on the delegate numbers situation, he’s not happy with their work in helping non-U.S. delegates get visas and flights to Charlotte.

“To be unnecessarily waiting for confirmation of a trans-continental airplane ticket one week before the General Conference is both unprecedented and nerve-wracking,” Lockward said. “The report should have included at the very least an apology to all the delegates who have experienced these stresses, regardless of their causes.”

He added: “The report completely ignores the deep issues of injustice and lack of parity between U.S. delegates and most central conference delegates. This is a huge elephant in The UMC living room that must be addressed.”

“Because Africans are not fully represented, we ask that the presiding bishops and committee chairs make special effort to call on Africans to speak and that delegates listen closely to what we say.”

– Africa Voice of Unity press release

Emmanuel suggested a way to compensate at General Conference.

“Because Africans are not fully represented, we ask that the presiding bishops and committee chairs make special effort to call on Africans to speak and that delegates listen closely to what we say,” he said in an Africa Voice of Unity press release.

The Rev. Mark Holland leads the caucus Mainstream UMC, and he has been critical of General Conference secretary, the Rev. Gary Graves. Holland said he was grateful for the commission report on delegate representation but called it “woefully overdue.”

“Our biggest concern all along has been the unusual delay in all communications from the General Conference secretary to delegates,” Holland said. “It would be hard to believe the secretary’s delays have not exacerbated an already challenging process. Nevertheless, I trust those of us who are present will be faithful to the work of the church.”

Graves did not answer questions posed to him by UM News earlier this week about African representation at General Conference. But he’s quoted in the press release.

“I’d like to thank the commission and staff for their diligence at every step of implementing the processes approved by the Commission on the General Conference to maintain the safety of individuals and the integrity of the work,” he said. “Though we understand that the results may not please every member, I hope members can find peace knowing that many have worked faithfully and prayerfully to offer hospitality and facilitate a successful event at every level on behalf of The United Methodist Church.”

Sam Hodges is a Dallas-based writer for United Methodist News. Gladys Mangiduyos contributed.