GC2020 petition submission process open through Sept. 18

From the Commission on the General Conference

Petitions for consideration by the 2020 General Conference may be submitted to the petitions secretary through Sept. 18, 2019.

According to church law, “Any organization, clergy member, or lay member of The United Methodist Church may petition the General Conference…”.

Detailed instructions for submitting a petition are at umc.org/gcpetition. Petitions must be typed and may be submitted through the General Conference website, by postal mail or fax, or via email to petitionsecretary@umcgc.org. This e-mail address should be used for petition submission only. All other correspondence should be directed to aherrera@umcgc.org.

Due to the passage of legislative material by the 2019 Special Session of the General Conference, an addendum to The 2016 Book of Discipline may be found at umofficialresources.com/updates. These paragraphs replace what is printed in The 2016 Book of Discipline. Petitions related to these paragraphs must reference the material in the addendum. The errata (corrections) for The 2016 Book of Discipline are included at the end of the addendum document and should also be considered in petition texts.

The mailing address for petitions (hard copy accompanied by digital version on USB drive) is:

Abby Parker Herrera, Petitions Secretary
United Methodist General Conference
7409 Barcelona Drive
Austin, TX  78752

Eligible petitions are given numbers and assigned to one of 14 legislative committees or the Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters. The committees will debate the proposals and determine whether to approve, amend, combine or reject them for recommendation to the full body of General Conference.

When submitting a petition, you must indicate whether a petition has “general church budget implications,” meaning a petition that causes the need for funding (i.e., creation of a new program, staff position, support requirements, etc.) through the general church apportionments. Such petitions require review by the General Council on Finance and Administration to verify if the funding is already included under the recommended quadrennial budget. 

Submitters must also indicate whether a petition has “global implications,” meaning 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, or speaks to societal concerns regardless of the particular form of secular government.

Questions about the petition submission process may be submitted to the petitions secretary at aherrera@umcgc.org.