Covering the Conference:
Getting What You Need

AGENDA

 With few exceptions, it will be impossible to tell you exactly when a particular issue will come to the plenary floor for action.  The daily agenda will be posted in the newsroom as soon as it is known each morning.

GETTING TO DELEGATES, BISHOPS, ETC.

If you need names of individuals to interview on specific legislative and other issues of the General Conference, contact the news and assignments desk.

Once you know whom you want, ask the news and assignments desk to help you reach that person.  Pages can pass written notes to people during the plenary sessions.

NEWS CONFERENCES

A large number of special-interest groups will likely call press conferences throughout the gathering. Announcements of unofficial as well as official press conferences will be posted in the newsroom.   Official press conferences will be called by the news and assignment desk and will be held in the press conference area in the rear of the newsroom.  Questions regarding news conferences should be addressed to the news and assignment desk.

LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEES

All 10 legislative committees of the General Conference will meet in the Convention Center. Media representatives may attend, but space in some meetings will be limited.  Names of people serving on each legislative committee can be found in the Advance Edition of the Daily Christian Advocate.

The committees review, sort and refine legislative proposals.  No action is final until taken by the General Conference in plenary session.  Progress reports from each committee will be posted in the newsroom each evening and will appear in the next day's issue of the Daily Christian Advocate.

The 10 committees and the number of petitions and proposals they will be considering are:

• Church and Society -- General Board of Church and Society, social justice resolutions. (111)

• Conferences -- Annual, district, general, jurisdictional, missionary and provisional. (81)

• Discipleship -- General Board of Discipleship, National Youth Ministry Organization, lay ministry, lay speaking, youth ministry, young adult ministry and curriculum resources. (83)

• Faith and Order -- Social Principles -- including the preface -- Doctrinal Standards, Connectional Process Team, abortion, homosexuality. (221)

• Financial Administration – General Council on Finance and Administration, General Board of Pension and Health Benefits, clergy support, special days, United Methodist Publishing House, trustees. (286)

• General Administration/Judicial Administration -- General Council on Ministries, Judicial Council, constitutional amendments, inclusiveness, the Advance, chargeable offenses, investigations, trials and appeals, special Sundays. (230)

• Global Ministries -- General Board of Global Ministries, United Methodist Women, United Methodist Committee on Relief, mission programs. (65)

• Higher Education and Ministry -- Ordained ministries, district superintendents, appointments, higher education, seminaries, chaplains. (264}

• Independent Commissions -- Commission on Archives and History, Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, Commission on Religion and Race, Commission on the Status and Role of Women, Commission on United Methodist Men, United Methodist Communications, World Methodist Council, councils and consultations of churches, the American Bible Society, ethnic local church concerns and ecumenical relations. (56)

• Local Church -- Local church organization, membership, charge conference and property. (94)

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