Wayman AME Church - GENERAL CONFERENCE 101

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GENERAL CONFERENCE 101
Posted on Mon, Jun 23 2008

Everything you ever wanted to know about the General Conference in simple terms

By Dr. Timothy E. Tyler and Carla A. Owens

Yes, everyone is talking about the General Conference and all of the activities associated with it. But, do we really know what it is? What will happen? Who attends? This article will highlight basic information about the General Conference. In the next two weeks, we will publish a more detailed list of all activities and information that you will need to prepare for the biggest convening of the AME Church.

What is the General Conference?

The General Conference is the supreme body of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. It is composed of the Bishops, as ex-officio presidents, according to the rank of election, and an equal number of ministerial and lay delegates, elected by each of the Annual Conferences and the lay Electoral Colleges of the Annual Conferences. Other ex-officio members are: the General Officers, College Presidents, Deans of Theological Seminaries; Chaplains in the Regular Armed Forces of the U.S.A. The General Conference meets quadrennialy (every four years), but may have extra sessions in certain emergencies.

Who are the delegates?

The delegates are persons elected from every Annual Conference in all districts. This includes lay members and clergy. Delegates elected at the Missouri Annual Conference in October 2007 from Wayman include Pastor Tyler and Mr. Eddie Broomfield. Jamal Davis is a youth alternate delegate.

What are the daily activities?

There is a lot going on during the General Conference. Activities include:

Devotional period;
Denomination business (legislation and budget to be voted on);
Campaigning all week of candidates for bishop and other general officers;
Election of general officers and bishops (July 10)
Christian Recorder (the main communication organ-newsletter-of the church) daily synopsis and sometimes other publications;
Exhibition Hall (booth displays, main stage activities)
District breakfasts, lunches and other meetings

How are the bishops, general officers, judicial committee and the general board elected? What is the Episcopal Committee?

Bishops are elected by delegates. They must receive ½ of the voting delegation plus one. There may have to be many ballots before a bishop is elected. This year, three bishops will retire (Bishops Webster, Chapelle and Cousin) and three will be elected. Rev. Kelvin Calloway, Pastor of Second A.M.E. Church of Los Angeles, is the candidate from the Fifth District that is running for bishop. For more information about all candidates running for office, visit http://www.amec5th.org/2008generalconfinfo.htm. The election of bishops (the highlight of the Conference) is Thursday, July 11. The consecration of the newly elected bishops is Friday, July 12.

There are also persons running for General Officer positions. There are nine positions that are available. These include: Historiographer. Executive Director of the Department of Research and Scholarship; Treasurer/CFO-AME Finance Department; General Secretary/CIO; Secretary-Treasurer Sunday School Union; Secretary-Treasurer Department of Missions (Global Witness and Ministry); Executive Director, Department of Annuity Investments; Secretary-Treasurer, Department of Christian Education; Executive Director, Department of Church Growth and Development; Editor, AME Christian Recorder.

Members of the Judicial Council are also elected at the General Conference. They hear cases of litigation brought before the Church. General Board members are also elected. They are the administrative board of the church that operates in the interim of the General Conference.

The Episcopal Committee members are elected at a special district meeting of the elected delegates (such as the mid-year) called by the Bishop. It includes two lay persons (one youth) and two ministers from each district. The Chair of the Episcopal Committee is elected at the General Conference. The Episcopal Committee determines how many bishops are elected, how many bishops are retired, if those running for Bishop pass the character screening of being a bishop, and they assign bishops to the Episcopal districts. Whenever the Episcopal committee walks into the room, all business of the Conference must cease. They meet during the Conference and enter the Conference when they have business to be reported. This business can include determining a bishop’s age, health, charges against him or her, or other matters as they deem appropriate.

How is legislation processed?

All legislation goes through the Revisions Committee (which is composed of delegates elected at their previous district meetings—the Fifth District’s was this past Mid-Year Conference in March). They take legislation and look for duplications and/or issues. All of this legislation has to come out of their committee. This committee meets prior to and are very active during the General Conference.

In order to get legislation approved, it has to be read three times and voted on by the General Conference delegates before it becomes law.

What happens after the Conference?

The General Board meets to elect the Chair of the General Board (which is a bishop). The Compilation Committee meets to put together the 2008 Discipline, which is usually published six months to a year after the General Conference. Those running for bishop in 2012 may announce their candidacy.

What is the Wayman Nation’s role in all of this?

Wayman is one of the host churches (and a leadership church in the Missouri Conference) for the General Conference. We will have a booth display in the exhibition hall that will highlight the many activities of the church. Our Minister of Music Kenton Saunders is the Director of Music for the Conference. Choir members, ushers, stewardess and deaconesses will all participate in the many services that will take place. Rev. Tyler is the Chair of the Exhibit Hall.

We are also hosting some of the “Calloway for Bishop” campaign functions, including a gospel concert on July 6. Many volunteers from Wayman will also be on hand to help delegates and perform other duties as assigned.

For more detailed information about the General Conference, see the attached section of the 2004 AME Discipline. For more details on the activities of the Conference, click here.

Here is a listing of locations of previous General Conferences:

First	July 1820	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Second	May 1824	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Third	May 1828	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Fourth	May 1832	Baltimore, Maryland
Fifth	May 1836	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Sixth	May 1840	Baltimore, Maryland
Seventh	May 1844	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Eighth	May 1848	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Ninth	May 1852	New York, New York
Tenth	May 1856	Cincinnati, Ohio
Eleventh	May 1860	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Twelfth	May 1864	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Thirteenth	May 1868	Washington, D.C.
Fourteenth	May 1872	Nashville, Tennessee
Fifteenth	May 1876	Atlanta, Georgia
Sixteenth	May 1880	St. Louis, Missouri
Seventeenth	May 1884	Baltimore, Maryland
Eighteenth	May 1888	Indianapolis, Indiana
Nineteenth	May 1892	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Twentieth	May 1896	Wilmington, North Carolina
Twenty-First	May 1900	Columbus, Ohio
Twenty-Second	May 1904	Chicago, Illinois
Twenty-Third	May 1908	Norfolk, Virginia
Twenty-Fourth	May 1912	Kansas City, Missouri
Twenty-Fifth	May 1916	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Twenty-Sixth	May 1920	St. Louis, Missouri
Twenty-Seventh	May 1924	Louisville, Kentucky
Twenty-Eighth	May 1928	Chicago, Illinois
Twenty-Nine	May 1932	Cleveland, Ohio
Thirtieth	May 1936	New York, New York
Thirty-First	May 1940	Detroit, Michigan
Thirty-Second	May 1944	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Thirty-Third	May 1948	Kansas City, Kansas
Thirty-Fourth	May 1952	Chicago, Illinois
Thirty-Fifth	May 1956	Miami, Florida
Thirty-Sixth	May 1960	Los Angeles, California
Thirty-Seventh	July 1964	Cincinnati, Ohio
Thirty-Eighth	July 1968	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Thirty-Ninth	July 1972	Dallas, Texas
Fortieth	July 1976	Atlanta, Georgia
Forty-First	July 1980	New Orleans, Louisiana
Forty-Second	July 1984	Kansas City, Missouri
Forty-Third

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