Items for General Conference need action during spring

Church members who want to propose petitions for the Southwest Texas Conference to submit to the 2008 General Conference better get cracking.
Standing Rule 22 says that an appropriate Southwest Texas Conference agency must first act on proposals for consideration by the full annual conference session. The rule applies to items our conference wants to submit to the General Conference.
Our June 6-9 meeting in Corpus Christi is the last scheduled annual conference session before the next General Conference convenes in Fort Worth April 23, 2008.
Therefore, if our conference wants to propose changes to The Book of Discipline or The Book of Resolutions for consideration in 2008, the June meeting must approve them.
And to get a proposal on the annual conference agenda in June, an appropriate conference agency must consider it this spring.
For example, the Board of Discipleship, scheduled to meet Feb. 10, would need to act on items dealing with Christian education, evangelism, spiritual formation and worship.
The Board of Church and Society, scheduled to meet Feb. 17, would consider proposals concerning The Book of Resolutions, the United Methodist Social Principles, peace with justice concerns and areas of The Book of Discipline involving social action.
The Board of Global Ministries, scheduled to meet Feb. 24, should deal with changes to The Book of Discipline relating to Volunteers in Mission, the United Methodist Committee on Relief, health and welfare ministries, anti-hunger issues, and missionary outreach and service.
The Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministries, scheduled to meet March 2-3, would handle proposals relating to United Methodist colleges, campus ministries, and United Methodist college loans and scholarships.
Other conference agencies meeting during February and March could consider proposals on topics such as stewardship, lay speaking, scouting ministries, racial equality, sexual equality, children’s ministries, older adult ministries, clergy pensions, Hispanic ministries.
Check the calendar at www. umcswtx.org for agency meeting dates and times.
The March 17 Council on Ministries meeting offers the last opportunity before our June session for action on program proposals. The Council on Finance and Admin-istration’s March 30 session is the final chance for action on administrative or fiscal items.
Missing these spring meetings won’t stop Southwest Texans from sending petitions to the 2008 General Conference, however. Discipline Paragraph 507 says any United Methodist organization, clergy member or lay member may petition the General Conference.
Deadline for submitting proposals for consideration by the 2008 session in Fort Worth is Oct. 26.
Proposals sent in by individuals, congregations, Sunday school classes, United Methodist Women’s circles or other church groups are considered just the same as an action from an annual conference.
Discipline Paragraph 507 lists guidelines for submitting petitions to General Conference.
Instructions on how to organize and format a petition are available at www.umcswtx.org/gcpetitions.