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The postponed 2020 General Conference takes place from April 23-May 3, 2024, in Charlotte, NC. The theme for the international gathering, which draws delegates and other church leaders from four continents, will be, “(Be still)…and know that I am God” from Psalm 46 (parenthesis mine).
Like every General Conference, this, too, will address the challenges and opportunities that the movement started by John and Charles Wesley faces in our current context to keep our church (denomination) relevant. The biggest challenge has been to keep the unity of UMC in the light of very different understandings of the sacredness of Scripture and the Book of Discipline, and how they affect the lives and lifestyles of people who follow them. These differences have been theological / doctrinal (they are related but not the same), but also practical in terms of polity and governance.
Primary in these divisive issues has been the language used in the Book of Discipline and the Social Principles that come out of it dealing with homosexuality and gender, and how they affect LGBTQ+ people. (I have intentionally not used “the LGBTQ+ Community” because it gives a label, seeing them as a different people and creates sides, however much that’s already been done!)
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