BOOK OF · 21 recommendation of its findings to the 2019 South Georgia Annual Conference. 22 23 Signatures: 24 Rev. Josh Bizzell 25 Rev. Steve Bullington 26 Rev. Teresa Edwards 27

BOOK OF RECOMMENDATIONS

AND REPORTS

The South Georgia Conference of The United Methodist Church

2018 Annual Conference Session

June 3-5, 2018 Jekyll Island, Georgia

This book belongs to:

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The2018BookofRecommendationsandReportsTableofContents

Section 1 – Preparing for Annual Conference .............................................................................................. 1. Agenda ................................................................................................................................................. 2. Bishop Bryan’s Welcome Letter ......................................................................................................... 3. Conference Secretary’s Letter ............................................................................................................. 4. Information for Conference Members and Visitors ............................................................................ 5. 2018 SGA Annual Conference Special Offering ................................................................................ 6. Mission Outreach Emphasis/ Informational Webinar ........................................................................ 7. Health Flex and Wellness Information ................................................................................................ 8. How to Make a Motion and Parliamentary Procedures .......................................................................

Section 2 – Recommendations ......................................................................................................................... Recommendations are in AGENDA order

1. Conference Board of Trustees ............................................................................................................. 2. Conference Personnel Committee3. Commission on Equitable Compensation ...........................................................................................

a. Statement of Purpose, Policies, and Procedures .......................................................................... b. Minimum Salary ........................................................................................................................... c. Equitable Compensation Churches .............................................................................................. d. Equitable Compensation Supplementing Beyond Minimum Salaries ......................................... e. Proposed Arrearage Policy ...........................................................................................................

4. Standing Rules Changes ...................................................................................................................... a. Lay Membership .......................................................................................................................... b. Office of Communications ........................................................................................................... c. Conference Personnel Committee Change ................................................................................... d. Ministerial Records Change ......................................................................................................... e. Change to Archives and History Committee ................................................................................ f. Change to the Conference Delegation Elections Policy ...............................................................

5. Conference Board of Pension and Health Benefits ............................................................................. a. Pre-1982 Pensions and Benefits ................................................................................................... b. Clergy Retirement Security Program ........................................................................................... c. Personal Investment Plan ............................................................................................................. d. The Comprehensive Protection Plan (CPP) ................................................................................. e. Health Insurance Program ............................................................................................................ f. Wellness Initiative ........................................................................................................................ g. Funding Plan for Retiree Health Care Benefits ............................................................................ h. Accumulating Debt for Clergy Benefits ....................................................................................... i. 2019 Comprehensive Benefit Funding Plan ................................................................................. j. Rental/Housing Allowances for Retired or Disabled Clergy .......................................................

6. Council on Finance and Administration .............................................................................................. a. Comparison Report ...................................................................................................................... b. Report of Receipts and Disbursements ........................................................................................ c. Budget Factors and Special Offerings .......................................................................................... d. Pensions and Health Benefits Cost ............................................................................................... e. Recommendations Regarding Cabinet ......................................................................................... f. Budget for 2019 ............................................................................................................................

Section 3 – Resolutions .................................................................................................................................... 1. A Resolution to appoint a Christian Spirituality Task Force .............................................................. 2. A Resolution from Fort Valley United Methodist Church .................................................................

Section 4 - Consent Calendar .......................................................................................................................... Reports are in ALPHABETICAL order

1. Africa University ................................................................................................................................. 2. Archives and History/Arthur J. Moore Museum ................................................................................. 3. Board of Laity ......................................................................................................................................

a. United Methodist Men .......................................................................................................... b. United Methodist Women .....................................................................................................

4. Board of Ordained Ministry ................................................................................................................

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5. Conference Center ............................................................................................................................... 6. Congregational Development .............................................................................................................. 7. Discipleship Ministries ........................................................................................................................

a. Overview of Connectional Ministries .......................................................................................... b. Outreach .......................................................................................................................................

i. “Three Star Church” Challenge ............................................................................................ ii. Carruth Mission Awards .......................................................................................................

iii. Advance Specials .................................................................................................................. iv. Advance Special Guidelines ................................................................................................. v. Covenant Relationship Program ...........................................................................................

c. Witness ........................................................................................................................................ i. General Evangelists Approval ..............................................................................................

ii. Fully Connectional Churches ................................................................................................ iii. Witness Awards .................................................................................................................... iv. Evangelistically Fruitful Congregations ...............................................................................

8. Epworth By The Sea ............................................................................................................................ 9. Georgia Pastors’ School ...................................................................................................................... 10. Georgia United Methodist Foundation, Inc. ........................................................................................

i. Planned Giving Strategies ..................................................................................................... ii. Investment Services ..............................................................................................................

iii. Certificate Program ............................................................................................................... iv. Loan Program ........................................................................................................................ v. Scholarships ..........................................................................................................................

11. Higher Education and Collegiate Ministry .......................................................................................... a. Georgia Commission on Higher Education and Collegiate Ministry .......................................... b. General Board of Higher Education and Collegiate Ministry ...................................................... c. Schools of Theology .....................................................................................................................

i. Boston University School of Theology ................................................................................. ii. Candler School of Theology .................................................................................................

iii. Duke Divinity School ............................................................................................................ iv. Gammon Theological Seminaryv. United Theological Seminary ...............................................................................................

vi. Wesley Theological Seminary .............................................................................................. 12. Hinton Rural Life Center ..................................................................................................................... 13. Lake Junaluska Assembly, Inc. ........................................................................................................... 14. Magnolia Manor .................................................................................................................................. 15. Methodist Home for Children and Youth ............................................................................................

a. The Foundation of the Methodist Home ............................................................................... 16. Open Door Community House, Inc. .................................................................................................... 17. Pastoral Counseling Services .............................................................................................................. 18. Professional Administrators of the United Methodist Connectional Structure ................................... 19. St. Joseph’s/Candler ............................................................................................................................ 20. United Methodist Connectional Federal Credit Union ........................................................................ 21. Vashti Center, Inc. ............................................................................................................................... 22. Wesley Glen Ministries ....................................................................................................................... 23. Wesley Community Centers of Savannah, Inc. ...................................................................................

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RESOLUTIONS

The South Georgia Conference of The United Methodist Church

2018 Annual Conference Session

June 3-5, 2018 Jekyll Island, Georgia

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RESOLUTION1–ChristianSpiritualityTaskForce12

WHEREAS, we are called to love God with all aspects of our being – heart, mind, soul, body, and strength; and 34

WHEREAS, the regular and intentional practice, both personally and corporately, of the spiritual disciplines of the 5Church is a vital aspect of keeping us alive together in Christ; and 6

7WHEREAS, evangelism and an increase in local church worship attendance are ultimately effective only if we 8subsequently attend to the spiritual growth of those who enter into the life of the local church and worship therein; 9and 10

11WHEREAS, the rich tradition of Christian spirituality, with its roots reaching back through Church history all the 12way to the practices of the Apostolic Church, has too often been overlooked in the Protestant tradition; 13

14Therefore, be it resolved, that a Christian Spirituality Task Force be appointed to consider how we might educate 15and train both clergy and laity in the practice of personal and corporate spiritual disciplines and how we might 16design and implement ministry opportunities in the South Georgia Conference in order to deepen our understanding 17and practice of personal and corporate spiritual disciplines; and 18

19Be it further resolved, that this task force be appointed by the Bishop of the South Georgia Conference to bring a 20recommendation of its findings to the 2019 South Georgia Annual Conference. 21

22Signatures: 23Rev. Josh Bizzell 24Rev. Steve Bullington 25Rev. Teresa Edwards 26Mrs. June Knight, Lay Delegate, Byromville/Drayton Charge 27Rev. Meg Procopio 28

29RESOLUTION2–FortValleyResolution30

31WHEREAS, the official Book of Discipline of our United Methodist Church teaches that “sexual relations are 32affirmed only within the covenant of monogamous, heterosexual marriage” (¶161G), requires our clergy to pledge to 33abstain from any sexual relations outside of marriage between one man and one woman (¶304.2-3), and forbids our 34congregations from hosting “ceremonies that celebrate homosexual unions” (¶341.6); and 35

36WHEREAS, these official United Methodist standards have already been extensively debated throughout our 37denomination and at every General Conference for many years, and every General Conference has consistently 38rejected attempts to make these standards more permissive; and 39

40WHEREAS, these standards are consistent with our understanding of the teachings of the Old and New Testaments, 412,000 years of consistent historical Christian teaching, and the global, ecumenical consensus of most Christian 42churches around the world today; and 43

44WHEREAS, we can hold firmly to these biblical standards while at the same time remaining compassionate and 45loving toward our friends, relatives, and fellow church members who may self-identify as being part of the LGBTQ 46community; and 47

48WHEREAS, there has recently been significant tension within our denomination related to some United Methodists 49personally disagreeing with the standards above, and United Methodist clergy in some regions publicly breaking 50these rules; and 51

52WHEREAS, those set apart for ordained ministry within our church should be men and women of integrity who can 53be trusted to keep their word; and 54

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WHEREAS, when United Methodist ministers choose to openly betray their vows to live according to our church’s 1standards, it harms the church, compromises our witness, and erodes trust between United Methodists; and 2 3WHEREAS, the specially called 2019 General Conference will address some of these tensions, and may consider a 4number of relevant proposals, including strengthening accountability to these standards in our Discipline or 5alternatively removing these standards; and 6 7WHEREAS, when other large denominations have changed their similar standards related to marriage and 8ordination, this has led to negative consequences such as large membership losses and, in some cases, the ugly 9spectacle of former fellow church members fighting each other in secular courts in costly, drawn-out battles related 10to ownership of church property; and 11 12WHEREAS, it can be valuable for the delegates of our global, connectional church to also hear the concerns of our 13annual conference; 14 15THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the South Georgia Annual Conference hereby expresses our hope that the 162019 General Conference will affirm the present standards of our Discipline, with accountability to restore integrity 17to our covenant, as the “way forward” that would be the most faithful to Scripture and our Wesleyan tradition, the 18most effective for our mission, and the most helpful for maintaining unity among the greatest number of current 19United Methodists as possible; and 20 21BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we direct the Secretary of our Annual Conference, within the next 60 days, to 22transmit a copy of the full text of this resolution along with the vote to the head of the General Conference 23delegation for every other annual conference, along with a request for this resolution to be shared with the other 24members of their respective delegations. 25 26Signatures: 27Sara L. Anderson 28Rev. Doug Mays 29Rev. James Hamlin 30Orvin Bergman 31Carole Bergman 32

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Pathways is for churches looking for exciting new ideas, networking opportunities and practical, quality training for their pastors, parishioners, staff, and leaders. This training event will offer workshops specifically designed to help congregations become healthier and better equipped to fulfill the mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ.

This year’s Pathways event will focus on equipping the local church to be alive in mission and ministry in our communities and the world. In The United Methodist Church we are truly in ministry and mission from “everywhere to everywhere.”

From Everywhere to Everywhere:Where is your congregation alive in mission and

ministry in your community and the world?

For more information and to register:www.sgaumc.org/pathways

Sponsored by the Office of Connectional Ministries

PATHWAYS Saturday, August 25 

Trinity UMC, Warner Robins, GA