Oregon Convention Center Photo by Bruce Forster
OCC
Oregon Convention Center, site of the 2016 General Conference of The United Methodist Church.
Long Walks, Good Food and Lots of Preparation Yet to Do
Random thoughts and impressions from the Pre-General Conference Briefing held Jan. 20-22 in Portland, Ore., site of the 2016 General Conference scheduled May 10-20.
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Shout-out to the Oregon-Idaho Conference Host Committee. These folks are hospitality on the hoof, always smiling and ever helpful and gracious. Special thanks to Brett for helping me register my disability issues with the convention center.
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Of all the pending arrangements for General Conference, leaders most need to work on teaching the alternative decision-making process now known as Rule 44. Also, delegates (and observers, for that matter) need to understand that Rule 44 is the discernment process, and "Christian conferencing" is the spiritual attitude that underlies the process. (Thanks to Judi Kenaston, chair of the General Commission on the General Conference, for clarifying the distinction for me).
It's vital that leaders make sure delegates understand that Rule 44 involves returning a recommendation on legislation back to General Conference for a final decision. Judging from hallway conversations, several annual conferences in the Southeastern Jurisdiction are poised to block Rule 44 during the first business session on May 10. That would be sad and unfortunate, because at this point any process that will move General Conference from its politically polarized paralysis toward genuine spiritual discernment would be a good thing. Here's hoping the Holy Spirit will move across the resistance.
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Fearless Forecast: Plan UMC Revised is toast, and not just because the Judicial Council didn't take the bait last fall on assessing its constitutionality. Three reasons:
- Much clarification of ministries, program coordination, and improved efficiency has occurred among boards and agencies since 2012, resulting in a more organic flattening of denominational operations with attendant cost savings.
- The metric justifications for Plan UMC Revised – the Towers-Watson and APEX management reports from five years ago – are outdated.
- The strategy that the Rev. Clayton Oliphint kept repeating in Portland – "It's already been approved by General Conference" – impressed no one except the most diehard "command-and-control" advocates. Again, too much effort has been invested in developing globally equitable participation from all regions of the worldwide United Methodist Church to go backward. Besides, General Conference isn't bound by the wishes of any previous assembly. Like the U. S. Congress, each GC session can do what it has the votes to do – or to undo.
Look for some compromise structure proposal, such as "Way of Reason" idea for a U.S. Central Conference coming from the North Texas and Central Texas conferences, to capture the flag.
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Photo by Fran Walsh, United Methodist Communications
Rev. Fred Day
The Rev. Alfred T. (Fred) Day III, top executive of the General Commission on Archives and History.
Insight's "Atta" Award for the most interesting presentation at the briefing goes to the Rev. Fred Day, top executive of the General Commission on Archives and History. As the briefing's first speaker, he made American Methodism's contentious history come alive, and put into glorious context the realities of our nearly three centuries of decision-making. Attaboy, Fred!
UMNS Photo by John C. Goodwin
Hawkins 2012
Erin Hawkins, top executive of the General Commission on Religion and Race
Insight's "Atta" Award for best response goes to Erin Hawkins, top executive of the General Commission on Religion and Race. Check out the UM Communications video of the panel discussion on structure to see her represent against Plan UMC Revised's advocate, the Rev. Clayton Oliphint. Attagirl, Erin!
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Kudos to United Methodist Communications for organizing and running the Pre-General Conference Briefing. These events just keep getting better, and this was by far the most coherent and valuable briefing I've attended in 28 years of going to General Conference. Session moderators, who were all communicators, were excellent. Linda Bloom of UMNS' New York office led the pack by keeping both panelists and audience from straying into debates rather than Q&A. 'T'aint easy to corral them political critters, but Linda did it with discipline and grace.
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Most General Conference venues involve lots of walking over long distances. The Oregon Convention Center somehow seems longer than most venues. Its facilities don't seem to have enough bathrooms for the anticipated thousands of people who will attend. Also, this person with a disability found the convention center not very friendly to those with mobility impairments. Be prepared for these environmental issues, everyone.
On the other hand, the MAX rail line works well, if a bit slowly at times. Plus, Portlanders readily give up their seats to "honored citizens" (Portland's term for elders) and people with visible handicaps. MAX's reliability should help transportation to the convention center. Hope the buses work as well. Ten-day passes on the system are available at all ticket kiosks. However, I fear for the crush at the smallish Portland airport. It's not crowd-moving like Chicago's O'Hare or Dallas' DFW. Pray for patience – and apply for TSA pre-approval check-in.
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A (Sort of) Final Note: Portland has really good food, as long as you stay away from national chain restaurants. It appears to be a matter of civic pride for hospitality businesses to serve excellent meals. Even the hotel food, which can be notoriously plastic, was tasty, abundant and well prepared. Well done, Rose City! See you in May.
"Views from a Ridge" is the blog of United Methodist Insight Editor Cynthia B. Astle.