Episode 105

InTheKnow: General Conference Highlights

Bishop Julius C. Trimble is the Resident Bishop of the Indiana Area of the United Methodist Church.

Bishop Trimble has the personal mission to encourage all people with the love of Jesus Christ to rise to their highest potential. It is his commitment to his personal mission that led Bishop Trimble to create the “To Be Encouraged” Podcast along with co-host Rev.Dr. Brad Miller.

Bishop Trimble says, “I am compelled by Jesus to share with you an encouraging word or two about Jesus, theology, the Bible, the pandemic, the environment, racism, voting rights, human sexuality, and the state of the United Methodist Church.”

To Be Encouraged with Bishop Julius C. Trimble is to be published weekly and is available at www.tobeencouraged.com and all the podcast directories.

https://www.inumc.org/bishop/office-of-the-bishop/

Episode 105.

Title: Three Significant Takeaways from Post General Conference “InTheKnow” Session

Introduction:

In this episode of "To Be Encouraged," host Rev. 1Justin Kingston engages in a rich conversation with guests Rev. Russ Abel and Rev. Dr. Aleze Fulbright following the General Conference. The episode delves into pivotal changes and key discussions that emerged from the General Conference, offering valuable insights and reflections for listeners.

Takeaway 1: Embracing Inclusivity and Removing Barriers

- The removal of prohibitive language concerning LGBT individuals from the Book of Discipline marks a significant step toward inclusivity within the United Methodist Church.

- Changes in the ordination process now facilitate inclusivity, ensuring that sexuality no longer acts as a barrier to progression.

- The decision to allow same-sex marriages and empower pastors in selecting whom to marry underscores a more welcoming and accepting approach within the church.

Takeaway 2: Regionalization and Constitutional Amendments

- Regionalization emerged as a major topic during the General Conference, with discussions focusing on U.S.-centric matters and ministry context relevance.

- The upcoming vote on regionalization in the annual conference sessions in 2025 raises the importance of education and information sharing to guide decisions.

- The constitutional amendments process, involving all annual conferences submitting information for potential voting, highlights the comprehensive nature of decision-making within the church.

Takeaway 3: Communication, Consensus, and Decision-Making

- Guest speakers stress the significance of open communication with superintendents and congregational dialogue to navigate disagreements effectively.

- Seeking consensus and guidance from God remains a central theme in decision-making processes, guiding pastors and congregations through challenging discussions.

- The emphasis on supporting one another, remaining focused on serving the world's needs, and expressing gratitude underscores the importance of unity and shared purpose within the church.

Closing:

As the episode draws to a close, the profound implications of the General Conference decisions are reiterated, emphasizing the ongoing journey toward inclusivity, unity, and informed decision-making within the United Methodist Church. Listeners are encouraged to engage in open dialogues, seek consensus, and embrace a spirit of inclusivity and understanding as the church moves forward in its evolving landscape.

Rev. Russ Abel Email:ds.eastdistrict@inumc.org

Rev. Dr. Aleze Fulbright central.district@inumc.org

Transcript
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Make sure we're getting live here on Facebook.

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For those of you who are in the webinar now, I think C, there's 86

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of you, 87. That's a lot. Hey. Welcome to our conversation

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regarding the, the general conference, the 2024 post or 2020

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postponed general conference that just happened over the last couple weeks in Charlotte. I

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am Justin Kingston. All I get is pastor of Monticello United Methodist Church. I'm

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gonna be your host for today answering or trying to make sure your questions get

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asked. I I hope not to have to answer any of them personally.

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But I'll be asking your questions if you post those. Here in the Zoom

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webinar, you can post those in the q and a section. You can pop a

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question in, and I'll ask those at the appropriate times for each topic. If you're

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on Facebook live, you can also, go

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ahead and and post on there, and then we'll be able to

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to answer those questions as well. So let me make sure that we're live

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streaming okay.

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And, while I'm doing that, doctor, Fulbright and Russ, why don't you guys introduce

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yourselves as well? We'll be glad

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to. Doctor Fulbright, would you like to go first?

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Greetings, everyone. My name is reverend doctor Elise Fulbright,

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clergy, delegate to the postponed 2020

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general conference. So grateful to see our numbers are increasing.

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There are over 300 and almost 20 of you. My word.

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No pressure.

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Well, thank you, Elise. I'm Russ Abel. I'm also a clergy delegate

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to, the the general conference that just ended a couple of

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days ago. We're so glad for you to join us, and we,

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we're appreciative. Those of you who are migrating over from another call, thanks for

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your endurance, and, we're really glad you're here. So,

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Justin, we're also glad you're here. Hey. Thanks,

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Aiden. Thank you. I'm happy to be here with

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you all as well. So just full disclosure for everyone out there,

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this is a conversation with Elise and Russ, and

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Justin's here as well. But this is not the official stance of the I and

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UMC, of the UMC, the GMC,

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the GMWGC, ACDC. We don't think or anybody

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else except for Elise and Russ. That that a fair

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statement for you all? I I think that's a fair statement, Justin.

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I would wanna make the disclaimer. We did not check with ACDC, but we

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assume we're not the official stand support. We sent them an email, but they have

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not responded yet. So that's kinda where we are at this point. Even

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in DMC, we're not. Run DMC. Yeah. That's that's a good

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one. Let's put it all out there.

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So, a lot of things happened at general conference, and we're still

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trying to I I think it's fair to say we're not even sure exactly what

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all happened at GC because things have to go through lots of different protocols and

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that kind of stuff. But hot topic issues. The first one that I think we

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should talk about, regionalization. What what

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does it mean? What is it? What actually happened?

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Who wants a bad leadoff? Yeah. So thank you, Justin.

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So why I want to share that during our time today, we are

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just going to be able to provide the high level

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matters that have become worldwide news related to The United

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Methodist Church. We will not have time to delve

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deeply into all the actions of over 650

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petitions that were voted upon at this

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postponed 2020 general conference. We will be very

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succinct, and we will be concise in this 30 minutes

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to be able to provide you with just the high levels. I imagine

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that within the districts, there will be opportunities to be

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able to have these conversations more in-depthly, and the

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cabinet is meeting this week to be able to provide more direction

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for how we can best communicate, working with our dynamic

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communications team to ensure that you are informed and

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being asked of all the actions of this postponed 2020

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General Conference. Additionally, one of the

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major matters that did pass at the

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postponed 2020 General Conference was regionalization.

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If you'll remember, when we started these conversations, regionalization

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became a great emphasis for us, understanding

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that with the possibility of regionalization, it will

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create opportunities for ministry to happen contextually

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and relevantly in the context of ministry across

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many regions because we are a worldwide entity.

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So there were specifically 8 petitions related to

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regionalization as a whole, one to create the US as a

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region and also to create regions across the

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central conferences, which is on continents and in in

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and in countries, throughout other parts of the world.

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And so those 8 petitions did pass. But what does that

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mean? Simply because it passed at

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general conference does not mean it goes into

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action immediately. The actions related to the

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regionalization, friends, had to deal with

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constitutional changes. Therefore,

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any constitutional change within the United Methodist

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Church has to go back to the annual

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conferences for ratification. We have talked

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about this quite a few times related to what ratification would

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mean. And the ratification means that in our

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annual conference session in 2025,

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We're not negating you coming to 2024. Come, register, all of

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that. But in 2025, that's

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when clergy and lay, members of the annual

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conference, will be able to lend their voice through

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vote on all the constitutional

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changes that will be taking place. So what we

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intend to do is this fall, we will have a series of town hall

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meetings to be able to educate and provide

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information for what these constitutional amendments will

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be so that when we come to annual conference session

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2025, you're informed, you're educated, and

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you're ready to lend your voice and vote to it.

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And ratification is a aggregate vote. So it's not,

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oh, Indiana passed it, and, oh, the

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Congo passed it. No. It is the collective,

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vote. Excuse me. The collective votes of all United Methodist

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annual conferences to be able to have

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a 2 thirds majority rat, ratification.

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So friends, simply because things have passed related to

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regionalization at general conference does not

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mean it will be Encouraged immediately, and it

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requires more communication, more information. And

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you if you are a lay member to annual conference and

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or a clergy member, will have opportunity to lend your voice

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through vote at our 2025 annual conference

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session. So some questions came in the chat. I think they're really

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quick for you, Elise. 1, so just a 100%.

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We are voting in 2025 on this, not 2024.

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We had the conversation, being able to really

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inform persons related to this matter of regionalization

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when our annual conference session is less than 4

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weeks away would be unfaithful, and it wouldn't be

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fair. There are so many means and

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parts of this regionalization plan that everyone needs to be

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aware of before you can just blindly offer your support

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for it. And so that's one of the things that we had talked about.

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There will be, hear me, some annual conferences

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across the connection that may incorporate this

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into this year's 2024 annual

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conference session. However, Indiana will

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not take that action until our annual conference

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session in 2025. Got it. So I

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think that was answered to that one.

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Context 1. Heard that. Okay. Make sure we got them all.

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If it is passed in 2025, when would it become effective? Is that something we

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can answer at this point? So, again, all of the

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annual conferences across the worldwide connection will

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have to go through this process of, being part of the

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ratification. And once all of the annual conference

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secretaries submit their information to the council of

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bishops, the council of bishops meet I'll tell you exactly

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when they meet. They would meet, in the fall of

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2025, potentially, and or it may be

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early 2026 to be able to

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constitute what that vote will be. So understand,

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constitutional amendments don't just happen overnight.

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They happen over time. And

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every person who is a lay member and clergy

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member of annual conferences have voice and vote

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in aggregate related to any constitutional changes.

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So that's one of the things that people get perhaps, misinformed

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about, And, we have an opportunity to help further

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educate us regarding our United Methodist polity and practices.

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And then there's, one more question here. With

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the can you give us a couple of examples of contextualization of ministry?

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Something specific. Mhmm. So one of the

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aspects is there will be a general book of discipline

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where there will be opportunities for the US and

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or other countries and continents to be able to apply

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the foundations of what we as United Methodists hold is

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true and being able to apply it in their

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context of ministry. Additionally, just like at this postponed

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2020 general conference, a lot of the matters that we

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were voting upon was were U. S. Centric

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specifically. And so in the era of regionalization,

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should it move to, implementation, we would

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not waste 12 days with those from

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other countries and continents being, holding them

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hostage, in my opinion, to vote on matters that is US

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centric. Like the pension plan. Like,

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the number of bishops within jurisdictions. Those types of

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things are irrelevant to a point to those that are

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serving in other countries and continents, but yet there

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was a robust debate and a lot of time spent

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related to these matters that are specifically US centric.

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So is it I think it means it's safe to

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say, I'm not sure, that Indiana clergy have to wait to see if our annual

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conference ratifies anything versus just going off of the general conference said or suggests. And

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the reality is, and I think I can answer this one maybe, Elyse, is that

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general conference has approved it, but it has to be ratified. And that

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process will take a long time because every annual conference has to vote.

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We are voting in 2025, so we will not know until at least after our

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vote if that's passed or not. Is that a fair statement? We would not know

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until all of the annual conferences have completed the process

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towards ratification, which could be as early

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as the end of 2025 or as late as the middle

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of 2026. Got it.

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So I answered that one. And if you were posting questions and answers in

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here, that's great. Thank you so much. If we've already answered it,

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I am dismissing it. And I Encouraged you if you missed an answer,

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I'll try to tell you if you have, that you can go back and watch

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the recording. But because of the time crunch we have, I can't, go

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back and ask questions have already been answered. Okay? So I think we're going

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to our next And I'll just I'll also Encouraged. If your

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district is holding some type of informational or

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some type of seminar related to the matters of general conference,

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show up so that your questions can be adequately

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asked and answered. We're not dismissing anyone, but there is

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so much that could be shared. We want it

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to be faithful to be able to share the high level matters

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that really does potentially affect the local

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context of ministry. So thank you, Justin, for the work you're doing.

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No worries. Let's let's go with the easy one.

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Restrictive language, Russ. You wanna take that one? We will talk about that.

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Why? Sure, Justin. Let me just jump

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into that. But before I do, let me just say,

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general conference was pretty wonderful. There was a wonderful

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spirit there. The worship was incredible. We even

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had kind of a Pentecost moment at one point, where

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people were dancing in the aisles, including bishops. It was just a beautiful thing

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in so many different places. And and you get again, with general

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conference, you just get to see the diversity of the church on

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display. Right? The whole proceedings, every plenary session being

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translated by 10 languages.

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It it it's just wonderful to see. So the the,

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restrictive language or the removal of harmful language, as we've

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been talking about, all of the

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prohibitive language in regard to LGBT folks

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in the book of discipline was removed by petition and

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action of the general conference. So,

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all of that's gone. The prohibitive language,

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like, homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teachings.

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So that's been removed from the book of discipline. There hasn't

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been Real quick question for you, sir. Is that immediate?

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That's, like, 3 questions I have. If you can answer that now, that'd be great.

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Glad to answer that. So, as anybody that

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knows me knows, I'm not great at short answers. So general

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conference legislation has all kinds of different times

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when it comes into effect. Generally, it's the

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January 1 of the year immediately following the general conference.

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As with ratification, it can be extended out after the ratification

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process. You can also attach to legislation

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a quicker effective date. And with these, pieces of

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legislation that removed the prohibited language, they took

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effect at the end of general conference.

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So they are in effect now.

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And what what some of the things that that means, Justin, I think it's really

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important. The first thing I would say

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is that no church has to change what they're

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doing. There there's there has been

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space provided for churches that want to, pastors that

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want to, make some changes.

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That can happen, and it's and consistent with the discipline now.

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But churches that don't want to, it is not imposed upon you.

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So, some things that that could happen,

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this means that sexuality is

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no longer, a criteria for ordination.

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It means that churches can host gay weddings and

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pastors can perform them. So it means

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we're a fully inclusive church, but it also

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means something else. Something that was really important connected to this that was

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also passed was the the reaffirmation

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of the pastor's right to choose whom they

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marry. Right? So we're all charged with,

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with discerning couples as they

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come to us on whether or not we'll do their wedding. You know,

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some couples, in the past, I know I have said no to some folks,

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who I just didn't feel like God was leading me to do that. And,

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and so that's still in effect, and in fact,

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reinforced, through this general conference. So,

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this is a big moment. Let's not let's not deny it. Right? So

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this this means that LGBT folks are,

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those restrictions that have been in place since 1972

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have now been lifted. But let's also be clear

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that it doesn't change the mission of The United Methodist Church. Right?

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We're still Jesus people. We're still, called to

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make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. That's our

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mission. What it means is that we've opened up a little

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bit, and we now can honor, our LGBT siblings

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and, and recognize that. So in a in a short

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sense, Justin, that's kind of what happened. I would

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also say that the votes were overwhelming. The

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votes were overwhelming for the removal of harmful language.

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So that's where we are right now. And

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what it how it will be lived out? That's a good question. How will this

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be lived out? That will become clear over time. Right?

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So we what we're bringing you are the decisions.

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We we don't know yet exactly how everything's gonna come into

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place. And so that will, kind of, we'll learn that

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together as we live into this and and as

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we continue to be the church.

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Awesome. So I have some some follow-up questions here that people are asking.

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Really? Yeah. I'm not trying to process.

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One is, I think they're kind of both in the same veins. Can the appointed

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pastor in charge decide if a same gender wedding were to be hosted

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on local church property? So how would that decision be made? Would it be a

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church decision or a pastor decision? And I know it's great. Doctor Lee's has

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muted herself to make sure that she did not have to answer that question.

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So that's a really important question, Justin, and one that was

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particularly brought to the floor at general conference.

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So, let's first understand

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that pastor and parish, preacher and congregation

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are a team. We serve God together, and so we discern

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together, and and we we seek to honor

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God with our decisions. The pastor

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is the person who is responsible for the spiritual life of

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the church, and that includes weddings and and

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functions like that. So there is a a paragraph in

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the book Bishop discipline, 2533, 2533,

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that specifically states that the church or

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the trustees can't make policies that inhibit the ministry

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of the pastor. So the pastor is the one

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who would decide. But, again,

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none of us work in a vacuum, and so we work with our

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our laity to make those kind of decisions.

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But in the end, the decision rests with the pastor.

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And, Elise, you wanna chime in on that one at all?

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I would also offer, it's no different than the

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building use policies that local churches have

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already incorporated, and I know many congregations

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that already have, facility use

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agreements and policies related to weddings incorporated.

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So this could be an opportunity for the trustees,

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which includes the pastor, to really begin discernment

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and decision making related to the building

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use, related to this particular matter

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specifically. But what I hear and what I agreed with,

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Russ, is this should not be a church fight

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related to this particular matter.

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Period. This is a part of your practices that you

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already have implemented within the local context of

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ministry. No different than safe sanctuary, no different than the

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other aspects of policy that you have already in place

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in local context of ministry. This is an

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opportunity to revisit these particular

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policies in concert with pastor

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to ensure that the congregation is able to move forward.

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So I have a question here, about the taking process.

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Will that be changing, and will it would be forbidden to

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inquire about incoming pastors' preferences on this issue, Either

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their personal sexual preferences or the their preferences

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towards this issue in particular. Yeah. So, Justin,

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that's kinda ties back to what I said earlier about living into

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things. So processes have to catch up with with decisions.

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Right? So we don't know exactly what the processes are gonna look like.

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You know, it certainly will become a conversation point.

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And so I how that will fit into the actual process of

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appointment making, I don't think any of us are clear yet.

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Got it. And, obviously, that's something that's gonna take some time to understand what that

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looks like. Before we move on to the next

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question, I wanna Jack can answer 2 real quick. 1, will

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be will there be will there be a booklet recapping general conference decisions emailed

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to churches or available for download at some point? So I

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I think that Elise has a resource that that she'd

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like to reference, I think, at this point. So,

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provided a resource that came from our

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United Methodist Communications team that just dropped today

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that gives, an overview of some

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of the high level decisions

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that were made at the postponed 2020 general conference. And I

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believe pastor Justin and his and or Noah is going to

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be able to either post that or have that available in

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this end. I imagine that our

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communicate communications team will again begin

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circulating information so that all will be well informed.

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And the entire scope of us being able to do this is so that you

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have facts and that you have accurate information.

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Because as I have been aware, even today, there is a

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circulation of false information and misinformation and

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misconceptions related to many of the matters that were

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discussed and decided upon at the postponed 2020 general conference.

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I posted that link in both the live stream and as an answer to the

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question that was posted. So if you if you need access to that, we can

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also send it out in an email as well. I'm sure it'll come out here

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soon in communications. Hey. Justin, I'd also like to just reiterate

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what Elise said earlier. Talk to

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your superintendent, or watch your newsletter

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for, town halls or that kind of meeting where

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we're gonna be continuing to talk about that. I know we have a couple coming

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up next Saturday in the east and northeast districts, and it's

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the it'll be able to be a little bit more of a conversation, and,

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we look forward to those opportunities to share, because this was a

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this was a historic this is an important general conference.

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But as with everything, context always helps. And,

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for for you to talk to a delegate or someone who is there, it just

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helps to know, like, exactly how was that and what was the

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atmosphere, what was the attitude as it happened.

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Just had a question come in. And I'm not sure at this I'm not

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sure if this is what they're asking, but it says what happens if the congregation

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is opposed to the removal of harmful language and does not want to follow the

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new decision? I realize that's not what was decided at GC is the question

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answered or the question's been asked there. Well, yeah, I I think I

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can speak to that. So because

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only prohibited language would because the only action was to

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remove prohibited language. Nothing is being forced on a church. So if a

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church makes that decision, hey, you know, we're thankful that people have a

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place and a church where they can go to be married as LGBT

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folks, but but we just don't feel like that's where we are. That's a

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decision that local church can make in conjunction with the pastor.

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So as I said, nothing's being imposed on people. And I think that's

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really important to understand. It's really a way you know, we talk a lot

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about decisions. And decisions, I guess, have to be

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made. But the the the the more important thing

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is consensus. How do we move forward together? And I think

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that the way this decision came about allows for

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consensus to build of, you know, we're gonna we're gonna respond to God in the

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way that God's leading us, and there's space within the United Methodist Church

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to do that. And if a pastor and a congregation disagree, that's a

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follow-up question that was just asked. What would your what would that answer be for

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me, Russ? Yeah. Easy easy to answer. You call the dean of the cabinet.

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That's the reverend doctor Elise Fulbright, and she can meet all

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conflicts in local no. I'm joking. That would

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be a time that would be a time to talk to superintendent.

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And, and I'll I I can guarantee you, this superintendent, the first thing

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we would do is we'd spend time praying together. And,

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let's let's listen for god.

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Got it. And then I think Go ahead. We're gonna

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move towards another question. And I think what Russ said

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needs to be stated and restated. The restricted language

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was removed, but there was no additional language

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added, which means that the United Methodist Church,

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since its inception in 1968, has always

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been this big tent, organization

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where there are persons with differing understandings,

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marrying cultures and theological positions that

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we have been together since 1968.

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So with the removal of the language does

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not change us continuing to be this big tent.

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So if your particular congregation does not necessarily

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align with the understanding

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of all persons. You still are able

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to do ministry contextually. That has

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not changed. Our love for Jesus Christ

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has not changed. The mandate of making

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disciples for Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world

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has not changed. There has simply been

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a redaction, a removal of language that has

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been restrictive for persons who are in ministry

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and even the ability to see Jesus within our

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context of the United Methodist Church. And I think that those who

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are unable to hear that, let's have a conversation

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without throwing translations and texts,

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but listening to what is being said, because I think that is

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key. I feel that there are far too many people in a uproar

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about something that they perhaps are not listening to what the

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actual decision was.

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So, there are lots of questions about a topic we're gonna get to in

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a second. Before we get to that topic, Russ, do do you wanna say

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anything about the revised principles? Yeah. So

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this is a big deal too. And let me say a disclaimer or

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a correction. Some of you who were in town halls with

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me, I gave you a bad answer about something, and I wanna clarify

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that now. Removal of harmful language, which is

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part of the revised social principles and the social principles themselves,

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they do not require ratification. In a couple of town

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halls, I said that. It was my mistake, and I apologize. So

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the revised social principles that passed,

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they did sort of 2 things. They they took the the ones we've

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had for for a very long time, and they,

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they made them more appropriate to today. They

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updated language. They also, condensed, which is not something

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United Methodists do very often, but they condensed something. So it's a little

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bit smaller than it has been. But it also and this is for

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me just in the key. I mentioned earlier the the simultaneous

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translations, 10 different languages, you know, at one Trimble.

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And, that's a sign that we're a diverse church, And

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there are a lot of United Methodist outside the United States.

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When the social principles were first written, that was not the

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case. And so it was written from a very US

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centric point of view. And so now it's more of a

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global point of view, honoring all voices, trying to do that

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in with equity and fairness. So, it it's that's a big

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deal, and I'm excited that that that that passed.

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Okay. So, surprisingly, there's not many questions

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on on that one. But Okay. So

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disaffiliation. There's been a couple questions about that. Some

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said that they were felt they were lead led to believe that they should wait

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to disaffiliate until this affiliate until after general conference if they felt that the general

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conference decision wasn't something they aligned with. Where does the church stand currently on

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this affiliation? Are there provisions for that? What does it look

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like? So as we all know, from the

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actions of the special call 2019 general conference that

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happened in Saint Louis, it created a new paragraph that

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we would live in for a season, paragraph

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2553, that gave the provisions for this affiliation.

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In that paragraph 2553, it specifically

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had a sunset date of December 31, 2023.

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That date has ended. There was legislation

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that came before the general conference. It went through

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legislative committee. It went to the floor in

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plenary, and it was voted down.

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Additionally, it was voted to remove paragraph

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2553 from the book of discipline.

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So let me say, as I have received emails today about

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promises made to wait for general conference, I'm not

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sure who you heard these promises from. However,

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we in the Indiana Annual Conference made no promises

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related to the matters of general conference. There was

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conversation related to let's wait and see what

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general conference would do related to all the matters that

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we have been discussing today. Wait and see what general

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conference would do. The General Conference has decided

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there are no exit paths out of The United Methodist

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Church. And so therefore, we get the

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opportunity to live as 1, the

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United Methodist Church that is full of diverse

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persons with differing understandings related to

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many theological matters. And as we move

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forward, we will have to commit to the mission of making

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disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. So to be

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clear, this affiliation has ended. It is no

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longer part of our record as United Methodist, and there are

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no other paths out of the

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United Methodist Church.

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Okay. I, I have some quick fire ones. If I can just get those

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out of the way real quick before we go on to the next topic. Will

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there be a, postponed 2024 general conference? We know

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if that's gonna happen or not yet. There will not.

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So what we just finished will serve as the postponed

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2020 and the 2024 general conferences.

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Got it. Awesome. That was an easy one to answer.

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Can a district or annual conference refuse to allow a person from going

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through the process of coordination based on their sexuality?

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Based on the actions that were taken were taken at,

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general conference, The matter of

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sexuality is no longer a prohibitive means for

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persons moving toward through the process of candidate

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towards ordination.

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Okay. And then

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this is more of a a general question. But

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if a church pastor elects to not marry an LGBTQ couple,

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if the church the couple seeks legal counsel unless they take legal action,

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would the conference help? So I guess the question is asking her how would that

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work? But my understanding is this is not a rule

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the law currently in in the book is for protecting.

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I'm not sure what that question is asking directly, but I wanna make sure I

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asked it. Mhmm. If that makes sense to you.

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Let me let me just take a short run at that. So

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Elise and I, or any superintendent, hopefully, any

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pastor would would never give legal advice.

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Right? So we just don't know that area. What I what

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I will imagine is in the next couple of weeks,

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we will get legal advice on what that means and,

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share that as soon as we have it. But at this point, we don't have

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any any, any way to address that question.

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I would also offer that, Russ, you just said

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it. In the local context of ministry, even even now,

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I have persons, period, who asked me to go

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through the premarital counseling and

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invite me to preside at their weddings. And if I

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discern that I can't truly bless their union, I say

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no for any person. So what

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makes this matter any different than any other

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person who has asked me or any pastor to marry?

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The thing is, I believe, that this becomes and has been

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a hot button matter. But please understand,

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pastors make the decision regularly when being invited

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to do funerals and even weddings related

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to if they will lend their gifts and service to it. So this is no

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different, friends. None.

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I'm kinda giving some general answers here.

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There's a question about deacons. That's something that we're not gonna cover today

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as much to my knowledge because it's just a time crunch we have. We're supposed

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to be done in, like, 2 minutes anyway. But there was a change in deacons,

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and I'm sure that we'll discuss that more annual conference. Is that a fair statement?

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Yeah. I I can I can address it really quickly? Drop it. Let's

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talk about it. The primary thing that happened for Deakin's by action of the general

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conference that will take effect January 1,

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2025, is that they will receive Sacramento

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privilege regardless of their appointment. So it used to be that,

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Deacon had to request sacramental privilege, do communion,

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do baptisms, but by this change, they'll have that authority as a

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part of their ordination. Well, just a just a

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clarification, it's based on their ministry context.

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So that was the language that was incorporated. But, again,

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we'll live into it, and it'll be further communicated. Yeah. And I think

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this is that's a good example, Justin, of you know, we just need to move

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a little slowly. Right? Because we all pick up and and

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retain different parts of what happened. And so it's gonna take a

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little time to live into it. Thank thank you for that correction, Elise.

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And even the matter of life as local pastors, because I know that that became

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a buzz, related to what the action was or wasn't. And, again,

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those are the types of things that we, as a cabinet need to have a

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conversation around, and there needs to be more formal communications

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around it. And I imagine that as the districts begin

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gathering over the next several days or, next several weeks, we

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will be able to offer more information related to

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that. But one thing I know to be true, and I know Russ is gonna

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chime in on this, even Bishop Offord, our licensed local

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pastors are integral to the life and ministry within

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the Indiana Annual Conference. And so we value

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our licensed local pastors. And I know that it's hard to hear

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amidst the news buzz that came about from this general conference.

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But please know the actions of general conference didn't

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change anything related to the matters of being able

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to serve as licensed local pastors within the United

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Methodist Church. Yeah. And I I just

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add add my, you know, thumbs up to that. You know,

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we we treasure, and see as

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colleagues all of our licensed local pastors,

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and I would encourage you just to know this really quickly.

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Some of what you're hearing is not quite correct.

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The legislation regarding local pastors was reviewed,

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was voted on. It just was not supported by the

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legislative group. There were efforts to bring it back, where

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there's a process at general conference to do that, But in the

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end, time was not our friend. And so,

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we can talk more about that at smaller gatherings, but know that you have our

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absolute support.

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There's a question about apportionments. We're gonna get to that point. Can we can we

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go up there now? Is that okay with you, Elise? Yeah. So, not to

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jump the gun, but with the annual conference apportionments being lowered to general

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conference, will Indiana local church's apportionments be lowered in the Indian annual

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conference as well? So the beautiful answer to

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that is yes. Like, that is one of the

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celebrations among many that happened at general conference

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that the general conference apportionment was

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reduced to 2.6 Excuse me. Let me make it

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make it very clear and in context. The general church

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apportionment for a period of time from 2025

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to 2020. Let me get the right numbers because I don't want because

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this is gonna be a livestream. From 2025

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to 2028, we voted on a budget of

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$373,400,000 That is what

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we voted upon as a budget. And

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the apportionment that is allocated to both annual

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conferences that does through our TIDE model,

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in the Indiana annual conference from 2025

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to 2026, the base rate is 2.6%.

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From 2027 to 2028, it will be

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2.9%, and this is a reduction from what the

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base rate was of 3.29. Here

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in Indiana, we have and hold a tithe model where we

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are asking local congregations to tithe 10%

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of your operating budget to the annual conference.

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And from that, the annual conference is able to fulfill our

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obligation as a connectional church to the

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apportionment. So there will be opportunities

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where the annual conference will be able to utilize

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the resources, the financial resources that congregations

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so faithfully offer into the general church apportionment

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and being able to retain a portion of those funds to be able

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to continue to do the work of ministry throughout

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Indiana in innovative and creative ways. So please know

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that we hear you and understand the complexities of

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I have 2 questions kind of on the same vein. Earlier, doctor Lee,

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you said that, there's currently not a way. No disfiliation

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agreement is currently available because 2553 has gone away. But there

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were, in the book of disciplines, ways for churches to close, to to

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leave, to go to different denominations. Are those still available at this point, or do

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those get removed as well? So closure and

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disaffiliation are 2 different things. And so let's be real

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clear about that. To close mean that you are discontinuing

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being a United Methodist Church or assets of your

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church becoming assets of Indiana in your conference. There

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are paragraphs 2549 to 2548

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and 2549 that still are in the book of discipline

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and relate to closures and extenuating circumstances

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that will require, far more process

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than what disaffiliation was able to hold. And so

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is there options, for closure? Absolutely. That's

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been in the book of discipline. But to be clear, closure and

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disaffiliation, those are 2 separate matters. And there are

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distinct differences related to those

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paragraphs. I believe

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there's also a a way, our process

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if you're seeking to join another denomination. To be honest, I'm not very

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familiar with that. So, I would if people

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have those kind of questions, again, I would encourage you to talk to your superintendent.

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Got it. This is a statement that was made. There was a

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on the consent calendar when the changes were made on,

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human sexuality, There was a statement made that the,

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church would not punish pastors or churches for

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not, doing LGBTQIA plus weddings. Can

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you explain kind of what that was? And was it a a portion of

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this one now? Or was it just kind of a statement that was made? C

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seen it a couple times. I don't know how people access the consent calendar. I

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think it's that they're asking here though. Is that what what was it? Because I

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think there was a statement made that said that pastors and churches who do not

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feel led to do LGBTQIA plus weddings will be protected for from any type

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of, backlash in that way from the from the United Methodist

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Church? Well, I I would I would answer that

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simply by saying the United Methodist Church seeks always to follow its own

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discipline. And so living

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within the discipline would include, the

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opportunity to do gay weddings now, but as

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we've said, there's no imposing of that on all churches.

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So I think it's it's kind of a question from earlier or a answer from

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earlier in in our in our time

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together tonight. Got it. And also

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being mindful of the sources for which you receive information.

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That that's gonna be key and essential because, Justin,

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as you just asked the question, there was never

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that language in the consent calendar related to if

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1 if a congregation or pastor chose not to,

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there was never imposition of any punishment at all. There's

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never been. So it was a protection from a

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protection from punishment is what it I read an article that

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the Indiana United Methodist Church's Facebook page posted, that

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essentially said that in the same consent calendar, that there was a statement that

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said we will protect the the right of churches. I believe it

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said to go with their conscience and context in this matter.

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So I think that's what it's asking about. The the question didn't say that directly,

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but I think that's what it's referring to because I read the same article also

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on the C Facebook page. Well, that what you just said

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is different than what you asked. Right. I think that's I think the the question

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is different there. Yeah. I think also,

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Justin, this is this is a philosophical question, I think,

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and those of you that know me, like, I know I like living in those

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moments. I think anytime you

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frame the question in terms of punishment,

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it's you've already changed the dialogue. And

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so I like to I like to think about how do we have discussions about

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discernment? How do we have discussions about faithfulness? How do we have

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discussions about moving together rather than crime and punishment?

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Because it just sets up a different dynamic. And so I'd encourage people

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to have those kinda holy conferencing conversations that that

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seek to listen really well to one another and seek to pray together before we

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talk and and during, like, the time we're talking and after we talk

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and all of that, and just kind of try to try to frame

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it in a different way. Got it.

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Elyse, there's a question about your position. You were elected to

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something. I saw I have no idea what it means. I'll be honest with you.

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I have no idea what it means, but can you explain to us in 30

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seconds what it means? And will you be leaving the IMEI? Able to

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explain in 30 seconds. More details to come, but thank you.

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Sounds good. Okay. I think

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we're about running out of time at this point. Was there anything that you

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guys wanna talk about that we did not get to? Yeah. Let me let me

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offer a couple closing thoughts, and then I'll turn it to Lise and you to

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finish. So

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it was exhausting. It was exhausting.

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It I just wanna I just wanna say we we so

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appreciate all the prayers and the text and emails of

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encouragement we got. They they they just really

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helped. And so you kinda buoyed us when when we were kinda

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sagging a little bit. And the last thing the the last thing I wanna say,

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I think it's the last thing, we'll see, is I just

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wanna thank our team. Our delegation

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was filled with people who were so incredibly faithful,

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and committed, whether they serve from annual conference

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of of 2023 or from annual conference

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of 2019. They they approached it with the same attitude

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and the same, spirit. And so I'm just really thankful

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for all the people on our delegation, and I would kinda say

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in the end, we're not done. So we still have

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jurisdictional conference in July to do, and so this team continues to

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work. And, we'll be at annual conference.

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If you see somebody you know is on the delegation, just please just tell them

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thank you. Because they've worked really hard and will continue to work

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hard through jurisdictional conference.

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And I would just echo that same thanks to our delegation. We had

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several delegation members who were chairs or vice chairs or

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subcommittee chairs of legislative groups. We had

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those that were serving as interpreters and pages and

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marshals. Indiana was well represented at this

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general conference, and for that, we are grateful. And

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also, we are still living into all of

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the decisions that this general conference, enacted.

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Please remember, there were over 650

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petitions that we acted upon as a

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church. And so considering that we just

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adjourned at 6:30 on May 3rd, which was

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just 2 days ago, to be able to provide you with

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just this point of information is a miracle in and of itself

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and for us not to be dragging as we are to

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do this. So we are grateful for you. We are grateful for all

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of our continued ministry to be able to show, share, and spread Jesus

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Christ. Pastor Justin, thank you for

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kind of, helping us over the last several months as we

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came up with this bright idea to be, informative of the annual

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conference in the know. We are grateful for our communications team

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organizing this and sending out information. This is a

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team effort, and it is simply a means of

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us ensuring that there is a place

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for you. Whoever you are, there is a place

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in Indiana for you. It doesn't matter if

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you have contextual differences or language differences

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or theological differences or orientation differences.

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There is a place for you in Indiana,

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and this is not just talk anymore, friends. We really

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mean it. Absolutely. And, Justin, thank you, Elise. And,

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Justin, I I also say thank you to you and maybe would just close my

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comments with just a little story real quick. Of course. There has to

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be. So and it's about grandkids.

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Gosh. What a what a shock.

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So general conference itself can be kind of a false environment

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that you live in for almost 2 weeks, and

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there were a couple things that kept me anchored.

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While I was at general conference, my newest

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grandchild was born. While I was at general

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conference while I was at general conference,

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somebody really dear to me got sick and went in the hospital.

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While I was at general conference, while we were all at general

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conference, 3 police officers were shot and killed

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in Charlotte. Why is that

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important to share? Because we can get so wrapped

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up in the workings and the decisions at general conference that we

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forget that we serve a hurting world on behalf of Jesus

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Christ. And that hurting world continued while we were in

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a in a convention center. That hurting world continues while we have

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discussions. And so let us not allow our

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our gaze to be diverted

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from our Lord and savior, because that's what

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we need to focus on. That's who we need to talk about. That's what we

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need to share together. And under the arms of Christ, there is room for all

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in The United Methodist Church as well. Thank you so much,

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Justin. Thank you, Elise, for, for your comments as well.

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Will you close us in prayer?

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Absolutely. I was just making sure that was to me. Yeah. Make sure It's

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like, I didn't like that look. It's like, as you're preaching the bible, I guess.

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Still working? So let's do let's

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pray together, friends. Gracious god, we just thank you so much for

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who you are and for the joy you bring to each of our lives even

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in the midst of hard things. We thank you, God, for grace,

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a grace that covers all, a grace that includes all, a grace that saves

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all. We pray, oh, lord, that as we receive that grace, it would

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so inspire us that we would be ready to run into the

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streets and even amongst our family

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to share the good news that you have

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loved the world so much that you sent your only son to be our savior,

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and that in him we find life, we

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find a way of life, abundant life, and eternal

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life. Therefore, oh god, through your spirit, send us into the world

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to be your people, to be your witnesses that all

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might know. In the name of Christ, we pray.

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Amen. Amen. So friends, for those of you

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alive, thank you for being here on Facebook and here in the webinar. Noah's gonna

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go ahead and turn those things off. So if you

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you ain't gotta go home, but you can't stay here, and hope the rest of

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your day is, is filled with joy and grace. Take it

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away, Noah. Thank you, everyone. Thank you.

About the Podcast

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An Encouraged Word for A Discouraged World