Celebrating Ratification of Constitional Amendments from 2020/2024 General Conference

In November, the Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church announced the completion of the canvassing of votes from the annual conferences on the four constitutional amendments approved by the 2020/2024 General Conference. We are thrilled to share that all four amendments were overwhelmingly approved!

We invite you to celebrate this historic vote and to thank our Annual Conference delegates for representing our congregation in June. Each took time out of their busy schedules to attend, either in person or online, and to participate in the important business decisions of our conference and the wider United Methodist Church. Here is some of the feedback they provided about this meaningful service:

• Sharmon Davis: "I enjoy attending, in-person or online, because I learn about the operation of our conference. All attendees matter and are celebrated. Having the opportunity to vote on matters that will affect Cal-Pac and this year affect the entire UMC will be a lasting memory for me."
• Nick Hubsmith: "I'm supportive of the amendments we passed and am glad to have been part of the conference experience. Now, I'm focused on making our church as successful as it can be."
• Belen Poltorak: "Our entire group seemed to be in agreement on almost every bit of legislation for the positive. We voted everything in!"
• Laurie St. Gean: "Having the opportunity to vote on four important amendments was incredible. Being a part of positive change is always good. I love the diversity of our Annual Conference and the youth were fantastic." 
• Dione Taylor: "This year was especially significant because the voting was so consequential to the future of the UMC. I'm full of smiles for the opportunity to join Rev. Hannah and all other delegates."
• Jason Tucker: "The big takeaway for me is the Conference is trying to make the apportionment process more transparent, understandable, and affordable for churches. They've listened to churches."
• Barbara Weicksel: "I’m proud of our votes and our continued commitment to welcoming everyone and standing firm against injustice and inequality. Thank you for asking me to be a part of it."

The four ratified constitutional amendments are as follows and have gone into effect:
1. Regionalization | A set of amendments to create new regional conferences that will each have equal power to adapt portions of the Book of Discipline within their respective regions.
2. Inclusiveness of the Church | An amendment to add the words “gender” and “ability” to Paragraph 4, Article 4 of The UMC Constitution, expanding the categories that cannot be used to exclude membership in The United Methodist Church.
3. Racial Justice | An amendment to strengthen Article V of The UMC Constitution by explicitly recognizing the Church’s role in combating racism, racial inequity, colonialism, white privilege, and white supremacy.
4. Educational Requirements for Clergy | An amendment to Section VI, Article IV of The UMC Constitution, which establishes the educational requirements for clergy members of annual or provisional conferences who are eligible to vote for clergy delegates to the General Conference.

Learn more about these amendments by visiting Recource UMC's dedicated Constitutional Amendments from 2020/24 General Conference webpage.