For Immediate Release
Friday, August 16, 2019
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Council of Bishops, in response to a request from the Commission on General Conference, has voted to ask the Judicial Council to rule on the implications of the invalid votes discovered during the independent investigation of the 2019 Special Session of the General Conference held last February.
Below is a statement from the President of the Council of Bishops.
“The Council of Bishops was asked by the Commission on the General Conference to bring a request to the Judicial Council on the implications of the invalid votes discovered by the independent investigation of the Special Session of the General Conference last February.
The Council of Bishops had requested that the Commission on General Conference conduct this independent investigation out of our consistent concern that the delegates be empowered to do their best work. The best work of the delegates in the upcoming 2020 General Conference depends on the integrity of the voting process and the transparent oversight of our conferencing.
The Council of Bishops has approved a motion for a declaratory decision by the Judicial Council on the implications of the illegal votes on the disaffiliation petition. We were also given two additional tasks, exploration of additional voting irregularities and collaboration with the General Council on Finance and Administration on the membership statistics of our annual conferences. We are naming two small working groups to fulfill this request.
We do our work in relation to the Commission on the General Conference and the Judicial Council. As spiritual and temporal leaders of the whole church, the bishops are in prayer and conversation with leaders, members, constituents and delegates. We are a strong and vital global church, seeking a way forward in a complex season. God is with us and for us in the mission of Jesus Christ, to offer grace to all people, in the power and unity of the Holy Spirit."
The Peace of the Lord,
Ken Carter
Resident Bishop, Florida Conference
President, Council of Bishops
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Media Contact: Rev. Dr. Maidstone Mulenga
Director of Communications – Council of Bishops
The United Methodist Church
mmulenga@umc-cob.org
P: 202-748-5172
