03 May Proposals for the US National Conference

The Executive Leadership Team met this past Monday and Tuesday, April 29-30, at Huntington University (Huntington, Ind.). Among other things, they reviewed the proposals which will go before the US National Conference during the business session on July 18, 2019.

Proposals
There are just six proposals for revising the Discipline, along with five editorial changes. Bishop Todd Fetters will go over these during the regional meetings, which start this coming Monday (May 6) at Mt. Pleasant UB church in Chambersburg, Pa.

The most significant proposal regards beverage alcohol. In 1849, we began requiring all UB members to totally abstain from drinking alcohol. In 2005, we removed that restriction for laypersons, but kept it for United Brethren ministers. A proposal to remove the restriction for ministers, and only urge abstention rather than require it–same as with laypersons–went before the 2015 US National Conference, but was tabled. The same basic proposal will be considered this year.

Another proposal involves major revisions to the “Connections” chapter, which deals with the cluster system. This chapter was new in 2005, when the US National Conference eliminated the annual conference system and instituted the cluster system. The chapter needs to be updated to reflect how the cluster system functions today.

Two PDF documents can be downloaded on the UB website. One contains all of the Discipline revision proposals. The other summarizes UB history as it relates to our stands regarding alcohol.

Regional Meetings

The National Conference business meeting will be held Thursday, July 18. UB ministers and lay delegates are strongly encouraged to attend a regional meeting. The dates and locations are:

• Monday, May 6: Mt. Pleasant UB church (Chambersburg, Pa.)
• Wednesday, May 8: Praise Point UB church (Willshire, Ohio)
• Monday, May 13: Sunfield UB church (Sunfield, Mich.)
• Wednesday, May 15: Virtual meeting via Zoom software.

The meeting time for each event is 9:00 – 11:30 am.

At the regional meetings, Bishop Fetters will invite feedback about all of the proposals, and tweaks may be made. A final version of the proposals will be published in June.

Please register for a regional meeting, if you plan to attend.

Executive Leadership Team

This was the last meeting for this version of the Executive Leadership Team. For eight of the 12 members, their term ends this summer. Half of the eight elected members are chosen by the US National Conference every two years. The bishop also appoints four members every two years. The four members whose terms don’t end until 2021 are Dennis Sites, Tyler Bates, Matt McConnell, and Gary Dilley. The UB website shows the current ELT members and when their terms end.