[RMC News] [2008 General Conference News] April 29th Two Stepping in Texas Report

[Strickland, Skip]

Two Stepping from Texas
General Conference 2008
Fort Worth, Texas
Walter “Skip” Strickland &
Olon Mulford Lindemood
 
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
 
Remember the table?
On Tuesday the Eucharistic Table opened even more!  Though the moment may have quietly slipped underneath the legislative momentum, the event was significant.  The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA ) and the United Methodist Church now share Full Communion.  Those in local communities can now know that the neighboring Churches that are ELCA can share in Eucharistic / Lord’s Table moments.  This is history and a welcome opening of a door! 
 
The General Conference experienced another historical moment in the afternoon. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia, first female head of state in Africa, spoke as political leader and as a faithful United Methodist church member.  She was boldly before us as a global leader educated by the United Methodist church since her birth.  After speaking she stepped into the delegates and greeted many.  A children’s choir, Hope for Africa Children’s Choir, were singing and dancing on the floor.  A beautiful moment in time as the President and several of the bishops stepped into the midst of the choir and began dancing and hugging.  Yes 
 it was as though the “Table” became even more global in a moment. 
 
The legislative work of the day was labor some as the conference was discovering how to maneuver amendments / minority reports / amendments to amendments
 and so on and on and on

 
Woven in the legislative maneuvers, a decision to reduce the number of bishops was adopted.  The ramification of such an adoption will mean that in the Western Jurisdiction there will be a reduction from current 6 bishops to the number to 5 bishops.  The nuances of the motion, plus a petition yet to be considered, still may have an additional impact on the number of Bishops in the Western Jurisdiction.  The initial explanation shared that the reduction of would occur in 2012. 
 
Yet another full day in Fort Worth was completed deep into the night.  7am to 11pm our delegates are working each day of the General Conference.
 
Please keep praying.
 
 
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
 
Observations by:
 
 
Olon Mulford Lindemood
Assistant to the Rocky Mountain Conference Director of Communications, Walter “Skip” Strickland, Video-grapher and good guy.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mail.rmcumc.org/pipermail/rmcnews_rmcumc.org/attachments/20080430/bcfbaf37/attachment.html