Well over 1,200 laity and clergy from across the North Georgia Conference attended District Gatherings for information on the 2019 Special General Conference this month. The regional gatherings were held at Cascade UMC Atlanta, Hamilton Mill UMC Dacula, Greensboro UMC, and Kennesaw UMC. Each session included prayer, song, and Holy Communion.  In a video message, Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson reminded attendees that the church exists to be the body of Christ in the world. She called on the North ...

"Gracious God we are your children standing in need of your wisdom and of a vision larger than ourselves. Pour your Holy Spirit upon us." - Bishop Sue praying at the Special General Conference As United Methodists leave St. Louis and the 2019 Special General Conference, there is much we don't know. After a day of debate and discussion, the majority voted in favor of the Traditional Plan (438 to 384) in today's plenary session. However, a portion of the plan is known to be unconstitutional. The ...

Photo: Rev. Joe Harris, Chair (Mike Dubose, UMNS)  On Day 2 of the Special General Conference, the 864-member body met as a legislative committee. Rev. Joe Harris of the Oklahoma Conference served as chair. All 76 petitions were before the legislative committed to determine which petitions will be voted on by the conference in plenary session tomorrow. Today the body only sent forward the Traditional Plan with amendments and two plans that allow churches, with some limitations, to leave the ...

Just as North Georgia United Methodists began gathering for worship this morning, General Conference convened for its first official day of the 2019 Special Session with worship.  Bishop Ken Carter, president of the Council of Bishops, preached.  Acknowledging that all gathered brought enough luggage for a few days and some measure of anxiety, he lifted the assurance that so many are praying for this body around the world.  Bishop Carter preached that "God is able." Paraphrasing John Wesley ...

Today marked the beginning of a significant time in the life of The United Methodist Church. Eight hundred and sixty-four delegates, bishops, media and observers gathered in St. Louis at the Dome at America’s Center for a Day of Prayer and Preparation. The day was organized by the Praying Our Way Forward team, led by Bishop Deborah Wallace-Padgett and Bishop Al Gwinn. The Praying Our Way Forward effort began in 2016 in the North Carolina Conference, and wrapped up in the West Angola Episcopal ...

Delegates and observers from around the world will gather at the Dome at America’s Center, February 24-26, 2019, for the Special Session of the United Methodist General Conference. The General Conference is the only body that speaks officially for the 12.6 million-member church. The event will be available via live video streaming at UMC.org/live. The day preceding the start of General Conference, February 23, has been designated as a day of preparation and prayer as a culmination of the Praying...

Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson has received several questions asking for help in understanding United Methodist sisters and brothers in Christ who feel differently on the topic of human sexuality. She offers a reflection from Rev. Dr. Dan Johnson, who recently retired. He wrote the reflection below to Trinity UMC in Gainesville, Florida, following the 2016 General Conference. How can Christians see this issue so differently from one another? The truth is that within our Trinity family (and the ...

The Praying Our Way Forward team of the Council of Bishops has released details of a Day of Prayer, which will take place from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CST in the St. Louis America’s Center Convention Complex on Saturday, February 23, the first day of the 2019 Special Session of General Conference. The event will be live-streamed at www.umc.org/live. The denomination-wide 'Praying Our Way Forward' initiative launched on New Year’s Day 2017 with 75 weeks of focused prayer for The United Methodist ...

Members of the North Georgia Annual Conference will elect delegates to the 2020 General and Jurisdictional Conferences during the 2019 Annual Conference Session, June 11-14, at the Classic Center in Athens.  General Conference is the global gathering of The United Methodist Church where mission and ministry priorities are established and The Book of Discipline is reviewed for revisions. General Conference is the policy-setting body of The United Methodist Church. The 2020 General Conference ...

Photo: North Georgia's Delegation at work at their final gathering before the 2019 Special General Conference By SYBIL DAVIDSON   North Georgia's delegation to General Conference 2019 has been preparing for their work in St. Louis for more than a year. They held their final in-person meeting last month.  Gathering at Mount Pisgah UMC in Johns Creek, delegation chair Mathew Pinson offered the devotional. Pinson was elected to the role in 2015 for the 2016 General Conference and reaffirmed for ...