Judi Kenaston, Northeastern Jurisdiction, talks with Michelle Hettman, Southeastern Jurisdiction, during the meeting of the Connectional Table held at United Methodist Discipleship Ministries in Nashville, Tenn., April 2. Photo by Kathleen Barry, UMNS.

Chicago, IL – The Connectional Table is publishing its legislative petition to create a U.S. Regional Conference, as well as a one-page frequently asked questions sheet and a narrative booklet. 

The CT, who collaborated closely with Wespath on this legislation, shares the legislation and educational materials in advance of the 2020 General Conference as a reflection of the value it places in transparency and open communication. The CT also hopes that it will be helpful to delegations and other groups as they prepare for GC2020. 

The legislation to create a U.S. Regional Conference (USRC) aims to ease the burden of U.S. legislation on General Conference and give U.S. churches parity with those in central conferences. This will also shorten the duration of General Conference and save the church millions of dollars. 

“We are pleased that this proposal is going forward as an important contribution to the connectional dialogue; allowing more time for General Conference to focus on matters that impact our global church," says Barbara Boigegrain, General Secretary of Wespath. "The General Church has spent too much time on administrative, tax, legal and benefit matters that only impact the United States. This proposal creates parity with processes of the Central Conferences. For instance, U.S. clergy benefit plans are an example of something that should be handled regionally, as they are in all other regions of the church, rather than consume the resources of a global body like the General Conference.”

Read more about this legislation here. 

Click the links below to view and download the materials as PDF files. 
•    Creation of a U.S. Regional Conference Legislation
•    U.S. Regional Conference FAQ
•    U.S. Regional Conference Narrative

About the Connectional Table: The Connectional Table works to steward the mission, vision and ministries of The United Methodist Church. For more information, please visit connectionaltable.umc.org.