On the Road to General Conference-part 1

On the Road to
General Conference ? April 24 ? May 4

The United Methodist Church?s top legislative body, the General Conference, the only body that can speak for The United Methodist Church, will gather April 24-May 4 in Tampa, Florida with the theme ?Make Disciples of Christ to Transform the World.?  Nine hundred and eighty-eight delegates from around the world will set policy and direction for our church.

Sites for the international gatherings, held every four years, are rotated among the church?s five regional U.S. jurisdictions. The 2000 conference was held in Cleveland,
Ohio (North Central Jurisdiction), the 2004 conference was in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
(Northeastern Jurisdiction), and the 2008 conference was in Fort Worth, Texas
(South Central Jurisdiction). The 2012 conference is being held in Tampa, Florida (Southeastern Jurisdiction) but the 2016 General Conference will meet in Portland, Oregon (our own Western Jurisdiction)!

In addition to delegates, some 4,000 people will serve in a variety of volunteer roles such as greeters, registration officials, marshals, pages, translators, hosts and hostesses,
guides, drivers, musicians, technicians, reporters and emergency-response volunteers.  Volunteers are responsible for their own travel and expenses.  You might want to consider being a volunteer in 2016!  Applications will be taken on-line starting in 2015 with a deadline of August.

Just so you know, there is a special section for non-delegates at the conference.  So even if you are not going in an official capacity, you can watch the proceedings in person or you can go to the official General Conference 2012 website at http://gc2012.umc.org to see your church in action.