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The United Methodist Church, since its inception, has been debating questions regarding social issues and the Church. In response to cultural and political debate, several General Conferences have added language to the Book of Discipline regarding various issues. The conflict regarding human sexuality has been a long-standing discussion which came to a climactic moment at General Conference 2016 in Portland, Oregon; but, the discussion was once again left at an impasse. At that time, the Council of Bishops formed a committee known as the “Commission on the Way Forward;” and, in February 2019, a called General Conference was held to review proposals and determine how we might move beyond this complicated theological issue.
A plan was made to continue working toward a way forward during the regularly scheduled General Conference in 2020. However, that conference was postponed due to the global pandemic and has been pushed back once again to the regularly scheduled General Conference to be held in 2024.
It is important that we, Bremen First United Methodist Church, engage in prayer and discernment as we anticipate the General Conference of 2024. To that end, the BFUMC Administrative Council approved a motion in January 2023, charging the church’s nominating committee to select an ad hoc committee who would be responsible for creating a way to provide our congregation with resources, videos, and web links to become informed and prepared as we move toward the General Conference and any potential decisions necessitated at that point. A committee of seven church members and one pastoral resource was approved by the Ad Council in March 2023. The committee meets regularly to discuss and update information to be shared and posted for review. The committee has worked independently of pastoral participation; our Associate Pastor, Brian Hammond, has been the committee point of contact for questions regarding sources, theology, or policy.
