“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” —Ephesians 4:3
Dear Friends of the Iowa Annual Conference,
The 2024 General Conference has approved regionalization, quietly and overwhelmingly, by a final vote of 78.13% in the affirmative. It did so in a way that will help maintain the unity of our global church while increasing our ability to make local decisions about ministry.
First, some background about the process. The regionalization legislation was first considered in committee—by the Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters. This is a committee that deals with the world-wide nature of our church. There was near unanimous support in committee.
Legislation is placed on the Consent Calendar only when there is overwhelming support in committee. The whole body still must approve the Consent Calendar and the legislation it includes. The General Conference did so, for most of the proposal, again overwhelmingly.
However, the General Conference still had to consider a part of the proposal that had to be voted on separately because of constitutional amendments. This part of the proposal required a two-thirds vote to pass. After fulsome but peaceful debate, the General Conference passed this part of the proposal, by 586 for and 164 against, well beyond the two-third’s threshold.
This regionalization legislation came from a compromise between the Connectional Table and the Christmas Covenant, a grassroots and worldwide body. The Standing Committee was also involved in reaching a compromise.
The broad support for this legislation is important for the unity and health of our church. Many groups were involved in shaping the legislation. Our delegates did a good work in building significant consensus for more contextual ministry through regionalization.
This action of the General Conference recognizes that one size does not fit all. We must be able to do ministry contextually; things are different in Iowa than they are in Berlin or Kinshasa. And as our Book of Discipline notes of our hope for a globally contextual church,
“Integrally holding connectional unity and local freedom, we seek to proclaim and embody the gospel in ways responsible to our specific cultural and social context while maintaining 'a vital web of interactive relationships.’” 1
With regionalization, we can continue as a connectional church, but as a church that can adapt to its local context.
So, what does this mean for Iowa? First, annual conferences must approve the constitutional amendments included in the legislation. We will bring this to a vote in Iowa as soon as possible. This will depend on factors related to getting this done in a way that helps everyone make informed decisions.
We also must remember what I have said many times before. No matter what the decisions of our General Conference, all will have a seat at the table of God’s mercy within The United Methodist Church. In Iowa, we will continue to live out our mission to inspire, equip, and connect communities of faith to cultivate world-changing disciples of Jesus Christ. We will continue to work toward our vision to make God’s hope real through faithful leaders, fruitful communities, and fire-filled people.
Please continue to keep our General Conference delegates, our Annual Conference, and our whole church in prayer. And make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the only source of that peace.
Blessings and Peace,
Bishop Kennetha Bigham-Tsai