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Susquehanna Daily LINK - June 10, 2016


Lisa Bender


Rev. Matthew Lake


Rev. Anna Layman Knox PHOTOS BY SANDII PEIFFER Report of the 2016 General Conference Delegation By Brenda Leigey


The Susquehanna Annual Conference sent ten delegates to be part of the 864 delegates


attending Conference in the 2016 General Portland, Oregon. Lisa


Bender, a lay delegate, shared with the Annual Conference the daily routine of meeting, working, praying, and voting as laity and clergy on behalf of the global church delegation, stating that 40 percent of the delegation in attendance was from outside the United States. Daily worship and sermons by the bishops were designed and focused around the theme of “Go.” The delegates and the global church were encouraged to stay humble, work for unity, and be the church. During one service, twenty-nine new missionaries were commissioned from eleven countries to serve in sixteen lands in order to reach out with the love of Jesus.


Matthew Lake, a clergy delegate,


shared with the Annual Conference some of the high points of the 2016 General Conference. There was great struggle, and emotions ran high over how we as the church would address difficult topics,


especially dealing with human sexuality. Two questions surfaced as individuals were interested


in the atmosphere of


General Conference. The first question, “What was it like to be on the actual floor of General Conference, particularly when the issues of human sexuality were being discussed.” Matt shared that there was a charge of emotions with feelings of uncertainty and deep mistrust. Discussion of unity in the United Methodist Church was also a highly charged topic. In the smaller venues that gathered, there was a sense of productive conversion, even in the midst of disagreement, with a desire to remain in unity. With the continued discussions about the concern about human sexuality there was also the question of, “Is that all that happened or did we just draw a line in the sand?”


The Council of Bishops encouraged


the delegates at General Conference to be patient as a special commission will be established so that the United Methodist Church can move forward when every possible option is discussed to help the church move forward in a new way. A discussion about the vision statement


of the United Methodist Church, Making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world, encouraged the delegates to remember what our primary focus is as a church united – not to be distracted by issues, but to humble ourselves before Jesus. The time to pray is now; the time to commit to pray deeply is now, discerning how the Lord will help us to move forward. Rev. Anna Layman Knox and Warren Heil shared with the Annual Conference some of the celebrations as the global church. “Imagine No Malaria” has raised 75 million in cash and pledges the last eight years.


The next Global Health commitment, Abundant Health:


Our Promise to


Children, has a goal to reach one billion children with life-saving interventions. The global church approved five new bishops to the


African Conference,


sending them to areas of the world that is adding to the number of new Christians. A new commission has been established to create a new version of the United Methodist Hymnal. Once completed and approved in 2020, it will enable local churches to customize the hymns they are


more familiar in singing. The delegates were deeply privileged serve


to together representing the


Susquehanna Conference, and hope their presence at the General Conference brought hope, grace, and unity to the global church. Rev. Larry Leland, speaking for the upcoming


representation attending


Jurisdictional Conference, said that after significant discussion and prayer, the delegation has chosen not to recommend endorsement of any candidate for the 2016 Jurisdictional Conference Episcopal election. Rev. Gere Reist was recognized for his


service of twelve years as the General Conference


Secretary, and a total of


twenty-four years at General Conference. His retirement was also celebrated. Bishop Jeremiah Park closed the presentation by offering words of encouragement to the laity and clergy and local congregations to be in a process of deep prayer and discussion as we engage with one another for the future and unity of the United Methodist Church.


Warren Heil


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