Countdown Continues

Manageable Pieces

by Wendy Moffatt
Lay Reserve Delegate

I was taught when faced with a daunting task to break it down into manageable pieces. Those words have come back to me as I scan over 1,500 pages of petitions and rules in preparation for my participation at General Conference.

The first manageable piece has been building community with the voting delegation. We just completed our last of 6 meetings since June of last year this past Saturday and I want to thank our delegation leaders Josh Davies and Janet Forbes who have been instrumental in building the team. The Rocky Mountain Conference has a group of wise, experienced lay and clergy to teach those of us with less experience and I am honored to be a part of it.

I will be in Ft Worth for only 5 days. My assignment will be attending meetings of a specific legislative committee. This is the second manageable piece. Church and Society #2 is the committee I have studied more closely in order to better understand the proposed legislation and be able to report back to the voting delegates. This committee's issues are about people - the nurturing community and the social community. I've learned a little more about those who propose legislation hoping to undermine the United Methodist Church as a mainline denomination in the US, specifically attacking our heritage of social justice. The 2004 General Conference ended up quite divisive due to many of these petitions. As a church body it is my hope that we are older and wiser and know that remaining united is most important.
I'm looking forward to a first hand experience at General Conference.

Thank you for your prayers.