General Conference Delegation Gathers for Prayer and Learning, Elects Fullerton Vice Chair of Delegation

By Sybil Davidson

North Georgia's Delegation to the 2024 General Conference gathered at Columbia Drive UMC on Saturday, February 23, to listen and pray, to discuss and learn more about key legislation, and to elect a new head of the lay delegation.

Rachel Fullerton was nominated and elected to lead North Georgia’s lay members of the delegation. She will coordinate and work together with Rev. Dr. Byron Thomas, head of the delegation.

Rev. Dr. Alice Rogers offered the day's devotional, centering the gathering on hope. 

Neal Christie, a member of the Christmas Covenant team who was involved in drafting important legislation before the General Conference, shared two presentations. One on regionalization legislation and one on the revised Social Principles. 

Likely the most significant legislation before the 2024 session of the General Conference is regionalization. This movement is an effort to simplify and standardize our church structure while maintaining and affirming our connection and unchanging doctrinal standards. Regionalization has broad support and is the result of nearly unprecedented worldwide collaboration. The legislation will eliminate the "Central Conference" language and instead establish 7 Regional Conferences of which the U.S. will be one.

Regionalization will be before the members of General Conference in the form of 8 petitions. If passed, parts of the legislation will then be before Annual Conferences for ratification. 

The revised Social Principles is a document 12 years in the making, with input from members of every Annual Conference. The revisions seek to make the Social Principles more succinct and reflective of the worldwide nature of The United Methodist Church.

At its next gathering, the delegation will hear from Wespath. That meeting is Saturday, March 23, at Trinity UMC Cartersville. 

"General Conference is about more than legislation, it's about building community with the mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world," said Rev. Dr. Byron Thomas, head of North Georgia's General Conference Delegation. "That is the greatest opportunity." 

North Georgia United Methodists can visit www.ngumc.org/GC2024 for regular updates on General Conference.