With elections over, Friday’s agenda at the North Central Jurisdictional Conference offered time for conversations and relationships.

CHRISTA MELAND
Minnesota Conference Communications

PEORIA, Illinois, July 15, 2016 — Delegates spent Friday, their last full day of the North Central Jurisdictional Conference, praying and listening. They also approved a resolution related to human sexuality as well as a budget and a new budget process for the next four years.

Deep listening and prayer

The day’s business session began with 90 minutes of prayer and deep listening in response to recent violence and racial tensions in our country. Delegates on Wednesday had approved a special North Central Jurisdiction College of Bishops calendar request to set this time aside.

“The business of the church is to be an instrument of God’s grace,” Bishop Julius Trimble, who leads the Iowa Conference, reminded delegates. (He made the calendar request on behalf of the College of Bishops.) “We believe there is a need to make time for conversation and listening, for prayer and commitments.”

Bishop Sally Dyck, resident bishop of the Northern Illinois Conference, asked all — attendees, delegates, bishops, and visitors -— to gather in groups of three with others they do not know. She then led them in prayer and asked them to respond to a series of questions in their small groups:

1. What words of hurt or healing or hope have stayed with you as you’ve listened to others talk about race, racism, and other racialized incidents?
2. How has your thinking about race changed over time?
3. What question about race relations or race perspectives have you been reluctant or afraid to ask outside of your own racial, ethnic, or cultural group?

Attendees then shared some of their discussions and commitments with the larger group. Commitments included holding vigils to honor the lives that have been lost, talking about white privilege within churches, engaging in small group studies focused on unity across races, and expanding our own social circles to include racial and ethnic diversity.

Resolution on human sexuality

The body approved an amended resolution that calls for a spirit of unity while the Council of Bishops discerns human sexuality issues in the denomination. It calls for the North Central College of Bishops and Council of Bishops to cultivate a spirit within their cabinets and clergy sessions that treats all clergy respectfully and fairly whether their views are traditional, progressive, or indifferent on matters of human sexuality.

The action also calls on the bishops to explore options to help the church live in grace with one another including ways to avoid further complaints, trials and harm while upholding the Discipline.

The resolution was introduced by Phil Moots of the West Ohio Conference and written in collaboration by delegates, both clergy and laity, across the Jurisdiction after conversations started at General Conference. Click here to see the resolution.

Approval of budget

After little discussion, delegates approved a four-year budget totaling $1,124,300. With the new budget comes a new process for administering a portion of its funds.

No funds were assigned to 13 non-disciplinary-required program ministries that had previously received a share of the total budget. Between 2017 and 2020, the jurisdiction’s Mission Council will implement a “zero-based restart” of these and other ministries. Start-up funds for “exciting and innovative emerging ministries that have a jurisdiction-wide impact” will be distributed on the basis of grant applications considered by the Mission Council. A total of $500,000 was set aside in the quadrennial budget for these grants. Each funded project will have an application, a beginning, an end, and an evaluation.

The Director of Connectional Ministries in each conference will work in an advisory role to help determine how the $500,000 will be administered. The idea is to integrate jurisdictional funding into the overall financial support of a proposed project.

In explaining the new budget process before it was approved, Treasurer Rick Van Giesen said this allows the jurisdiction to begin innovative ministries right away rather than waiting until the next Jurisdictional Conference to request and receive funding approval. “What if starting funding for a great idea could be delivered in weeks, not years?” he asked.

The approved budget also includes $200,000 to support the Dakotas-Minnesota Area in hosting the 2020 General Conference, set to take place May 5-15 of that year in Minneapolis.

Looking ahead

While this was taking place on the floor of the plenary session, the 22 members of the Committee on the Episcopacy went about their work. Chaired by Dr. Maggie Jackson, the committee interviewed bishops and deliberated on area assignments to be announced on Saturday.

The 2016 Jurisdictional Conference concludes July 16th with a Consecration Worship Service that begins at 10 a.m. It is at this service when bishops will learn where they will be assigned for the next four years.

Last Updated on December 22, 2022