Instructions for Petitions. General Conference 2016 of The United Methodist Church

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2 Instructions for Petitions General Conference 2016 of The United Methodist Church

3 77 West Washington Street, Suite 1009 Chicago, IL

4 Agenda: Overview of Legislative Process Vocabulary Rules & Calendar Technical Instructions Successful Petitions Sample Petition Discussion: Your Petitions Resources

5 Vocabulary Complete Glossary At: Daily Christian Advocate Advanced Daily Christian Advocate Standing Rules / Parliamentary Procedure Legislative Committees Petitions, Resolutions, Discipline, Financial Implications, Global Implications Most legislation becomes effective Jan. 1, 2013, unless the legislation specifically includes another date.

6 Important Dates April 1, 2015 First Day to Submit legislation May/June: final elections of delegates July 15, 2015 Deadline for submissions by mail or printed materials October 15, 2015 Final Deadline for All Legislative Submissions January or February 2016: Publication of Advance Daily Christian Advocate May 10-20, 2016 General Conference

7 The Legislative Process (a.k.a. the Cliff Notes version of How General Conference works) 77 West Washington Street, Suite 1009 Chicago, IL

8 2016 Delegates Western, 30 Africa Central, 42 Southeastern, 188 Congo, 138 West Africa, 80 South Central, 108 Northeastern, 86 North Central, 92 Concordat, 10 Central & Southern Europe, 14 Germany, 6 Northern Europe and Eurasia, 20 Philippines, 50

9 Legislation is Prepared to be discussed at General Conference Petitions are sent by agencies, conferences, churches, and individuals. The petitions secretary assigns petition numbers. The numbers indicate the legislative committee assignment, the chronological order, the Discipline or Book of Resolutions reference and the source. Petitions are translated Printed in the Advance Edition of the Daily Christian Advocate (ADCA).

10 Legislative Committees at General Conference The Committee on Reference (GCGC) reviews assignments by the petitions secretary. They may combine petitions and make new assignments to legislative committees as deemed necessary. Legislative committees review petitions and make recommendations to plenary session. Reports are sent to Daily Christian Advocate (DCA). Copy is returned to committee officers for approval and to the GC secretary for a calendar number prior to being printed in the DCA.

11 Final Action by General Conference Plenary session acts upon calendar item. Consent Calendar Committee Report Discussion on the floor The vote is reported in the DCA. An approved action is printed in the Book of Discipline or the Book of Resolutions. The DCA becomes the official journal of the General Conference.

12 Rules Who May Submit Petitions? Any organization, clergy member, or lay member of The United Methodist Church may petition the General Conference. ( 507, The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church 2012) The Commission on General Conference is suggesting that, in the future, individuals should be allowed to submit their petitions only through local church charge conferences or other denominational organizations. A similar request was defeated by the 2008 gathering. The United Methodist Church is the only denomination allowing individuals to petition their legislative assembly.

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14 Restricted Paragraphs Types 1: Constitutional Paragraphs ( 1 61) If a proposed change in the Constitution is approved by two-thirds of the General Conference delegates, that action must be ratified by a twothirds affirmative vote of the aggregate number of annual conference members voting at their yearly gatherings.

15 Restricted Paragraphs Type 2: Doctrine and Faith ( ) A proposal to alter one of the Articles of Religion or the Confession of Faith requires both a two-thirds supermajority of General Conference delegates and a three-fourths majority of annual conference members. No changes may take place until approval is announced by the Council of Bishops.

16 To Pass Legislation: Type of Petition Discipline Paragraph Number of Votes Needed AC Action Standard Legislation None Articles of Religion & Confession of Faith ¾ of all votes Constitution /3 of all votes

17 Financial Implications Referred to General Commission on Finance & Administration and the Connectional Table GCFA and CT Make recommendations to GC (amount & source) Financial Administration Legislation committee makes recommendations to plenary (can amend budget) Any legislation with financial implications does not take effect until the budget with its proposal is approved

18 Global Implications What does it mean to say a petition has or does not have Global Implications? A petition that causes a change to the Book of Discipline or the Book of Resolutions or otherwise takes some action or position for the denomination has Global Implications if it: Is a constitutional amendment. Has a direct effect on the global work of general agencies. Places requirements or expectations on all annual conferences, districts, or churches regardless of whether they are located in jurisdictions or central conferences. Speaks to universal societal concerns, regardless of the particular form of secular government or cultural differences.

19 Global Implications Any petition/legislation that: Is a constitutional amendment. Has a direct effect on the global work of general agencies. Places requirements or expectations on all annual conferences, districts, or churches regardless of whether they are located in jurisdictions or central conferences. Speaks to universal societal concerns, regardless of the particular form of secular government or cultural differences.

20 Paragraph 507 of the 2012 Book of Discipline (UMC) details the instructions and limitations on petitions sent to the 2016 General conference

21 Each petition must address only one issue if the Discipline is not affected; if the Discipline is affected, each petition must address only one paragraph of the Discipline, except that, if two or more paragraphs in the Discipline are so closely related that a change in one affects the others, the petition may call for the amendment of those paragraphs also to make them consistent with one another. ( 507.2, The Book of Discipline)

22 Format Top of Page Total Number of Pages: Suggested Title: Discipline Paragraph: or Resolution Number: General Church Budget Implications: Global Implications: X pages Discipline Resolution # Yes or No Yes or No

23 Format Bottom of Page Date e.g. April 1, 2015 Signature of Petitioner Identification of Petitioner Phone Fax Number (if applicable) Address (if applicable) Relationship to UMC e.g. member of First UMC, City, State, Secretary of AC,

24 Petition Text DO: 1. State action desired Amend No. Add new sub-paragraph after Delete and substitute the following... Add new paragraph etc. 2. Use single underlines for proposed additions and strike through for proposed deletions.

25 DO NOT: Use Track Changes at any point in the preparation of a petition. Use subscript or superscript, as is commonly used for footnotes and endnotes. Use footnotes or endnotes (use intext citations) 1 1 Basically, do not use your word processor s more sophisticated functions

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27 Financial Information All petitions submitted to the General Conference, except those submitted by individual members of The United Methodist Church and local church groups, which call for the establishment of new programs or the expansion of existing programs will be invalid unless accompanied by supporting data that address the issue of anticipated financial requirements of the program , The Book of Discipline) Attach financial documents as an appendix between the petition and rationale

28 Rationale: Only the first 50 words of your rationale will be printed in the Daily Christian Advocate or published in the online System. 50 words from the Bible: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Matthew 28:19-20

29 Actual Submission Petitions must be Typed and Double Spaced Only 1 petition per Subject: Name Content e.g. Smith Para. 644 Online The online form will allow you to upload documents or input into the form categories. Attachments, not body of Rationale & supporting materials should be separate attachments Petitions@umpublishing.org Final Deadline: October 13, 2015

30 77 West Washington Street, Suite 1009 Chicago, IL

31 Discussion: Successful Petitions Language Co-Signatories Rationales Support 77 West Washington Street, Suite 1009 Chicago, IL

32 Language Choices The best words and sentences are: Prepared for translation Focus on the most broadly agreed upon terms and use of language Clear, Specific & Personal We recommend having at least 5 people read and critique your petition

33 Anyone CAN submit a petition, and petitions submitted by individuals are passed at every General Conference However, Petitions are also submitted by Annual Conferences, General Agencies, Boards and local congregations Many individuals take these group submissions as more worthy of consideration because they have presumably already been reviewed and edited at least once

34 Successful Rationale: Biblical Clear and Specific Translatable Values and Principles Sexual assault is insidious. It is inexcusable for our Church to avoid condemning it. The FBI estimates a woman is raped in the US every two minutes. Rape is used as a political and social engineering tool by governments and religions. It is time to condemn this vicious crime unequivocally. Sources: Blue Paragraph 161 Petition # c Green paragraph 160.G Petition #20142-CA- 160.G Pink paragraph 162.S Petitions#20449-CB- 162.S We support policies that increase access to quality food, particularly for those with the fewest resources. We decry policies that make food inaccessible to the communities where it is grown and the farm workers involved in its growth. The present article does not always express principles. Mass media has undergone a revolution in our time. The positive impact on the global social network cannot be doubted. Simultaneously, the propagation of scenes that degrade humankind and glorify violence are becoming common practice, which contradicts the teachings of the Bible

35 LEGISLATIVE STRATEGIES Options include: Well Planned Content for Speeches and Debates Demonstrations or Protests Conversations, Relationships and Legislative Savvy

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38 Discussion

39 Your Petition Ideas?

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