We have several March deadlines coming up; and two of the most important relate to the 2019 Session of Annual Conference, June 13-15. Legislative resolutions to be debated and voted on at Annual Conference are due by March 15. And March 1 is the deadline to nominate clergy and lay members for the Annual Conference to consider electing as its delegates to the UMC’s 2020 General Conference.

All resolutions and nominations must be submitted to the Rev. Lloyd Speer, Conference Secretary (conferencesecretary@epaumc.org).

The March 15 deadline for resolutions will allow for them to be prepared, published and distributed prior to the four district conferences, which are all scheduled to meet on Sunday, May 5. Speer cautions that resolutions should be submitted well before that date to give time for any needed corrections and resubmissions before the deadline.

As usual, resolutions must be emailed as attached Word documents and may be submitted by any members to annual conference, as well as by congregations or their members, conference-related organizations and institutions. See the Resolution Submission Requirements and Format on our Annual Conference 2019 webpage for more information, including a sample resolution format.

Nominate delegates to the 2020 General Conference

The next General Conference will meet May 5-15, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Our eight delegates, plus alternates, must be elected at our next annual conference in June. The procedures governing their election are laid out in the 2018 Conference Rules of Order.

Nominating petitions will be sent to clergy members (in full connection) and lay members to Annual Conference. Those petitions will allow for no more than 10 nominees. Persons will be considered officially nominated when their names have been identified on at least 10 nominating petitions.

Clergy will nominate and elect clergy members; and laity will nominate and elect only lay members. All nominees must fulfill the Disciplinary and Constitutional requirements outlined in paragraphs 35 and 36 of our UMC Constitution. Nominating petitions must be returned to the Conference Secretary by no later than March 1.

The conference Board of Lay Ministry may make additional laity nominations by March 10. All nominees will receive an acceptance form and must return their completed form—including biographical information and a brief statement—by March 31, for their names to appear on the ballot. We will publish the list of nominees, with their biographical material and statements, on the conference website.

The Conference Secretary will prepare clergy and lay ballots with spaces for write-in nominees. In addition, nominations will be accepted from the floor. But to be voted on, nominees must receive at least 10 nominations, complete an acceptance form and provide 500 copies of a biographical profile and statement for immediate distribution onsite.

Completed delegate nominating petitions must be sent as an email attachment to the Rev. Lloyd Speer, Conference Secretary (conferencesecretary@epaumc.org), by March 1. Learn more.  

Questions about submission of delegate nominations and legislative resolutions can be directed to the Conference Secretary at 215-943-2343 or at conferencesecretary@epaumc.org.