Following is a forwarded newsletter
released late yesterday -- it is a daily wrap up of yesterday's
session (4/29)
If you cannot get on-line to read these
reports, and you would like the have one forwarded to you,
please respond to
nicvoice@nicvoice.org and copy the title of the report(s)
you would like forwarded to you:
- Bishop urges General Conference delegates to
fear the Lord
- Delegates urged to consider future, not past,
as they develop budget
- General Conference prayer room offers praise
in a variety of styles
- Delegates honor Eunice Mathews' life, legacy
- Two dozen nominated for United Methodist
Judicial Council
- Judicial Council issues two decisions
- Potato drop gives delegates hands-on way to
fight hunger
- Seventeen nominated for four positions on the
University Senate
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, April 29, 2004 7:15 PM
Subject: [UMNS-ALL-NEWS] UMNS# GC04021-Daily Wrap-up: Budget
items, nominations and a lot of spuds
Daily Wrap-up: Budget items, nominations and
a lot of spuds
Apr. 29, 2004 News media contact:
General Conference Newsroom * (415) 3256080* {GC04021}
By Linda Bloom*
PITTSBURGH (UMNS) - When it comes to church
finances, the buck stops - and starts - with each individual giver.
That's why Sandra Kelly Lackore, the United
Methodist Church's chief financial officer, reminded delegates to the
denomination's top legislative gathering that their budget decisions are
"not just about dollars" but about gifts to God.
In her April 29 report, Lackore told
delegates to use the $585 million proposed quadrennial budget by the
church's General Council on Finance and Administration as a starting point
for their decision-making. She advised them to look to the future and
preserve what is worthwhile, eliminate what isn't and be "innovative" in the
process.
The final budget, she said, must reflect what
the delegates believe are the missional and financial priorities of the
church. "Do not think of it as a budget of dollars, think of it as a sacred
trust."
Action items during the April 29 morning
session included 24 nominations for four openings on Judicial Council and 17
nominations for four posts on the University Senate.
The nine-member Judicial Council is
considered the supreme court of the United Methodist Church. Two clergy and
two lay members are elected for eight-year terms. Voting is scheduled for
May 3, after brief biographical sketches of the 24 nominees are printed in
the Daily Christian Advocate.
The University Senate is a body of
professionals in higher education that determines which academic
institutions meet the criteria to be affiliated with the United Methodist
Church. Four senate members will be elected by General Conference on May 3;
the remaining 21 members are selected by other groups.
One church member, Eunice Jones Mathews, was
singled out during a 90th birthday tribute. The wife of Bishop James K.
Mathews, she is the daughter of E. Stanley Jones and Mabel Lossing Jones,
Methodism's premier missionary couple of the 20th century, and a longtime
activist for mission herself.
The day also included a hands-on
demonstration of putting mission into action as bishops and delegates
transferred 50-pound bags of potatoes from a tractor-trailer in the
convention center loading zone to a Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank
truck. The "potato drop" was sponsored by the Society of St. Andrew, an
ecumenical nonprofit organization, and United Methodist Men.
The salvaged potatoes were shipped from a
company in Maine and are expected to help feed 120,000 Pittsburgh-area
residents served by the food bank. General Conference participants were
asked to fast for one meal and donate money to help cover the shipping cost.
*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service
news writer.
********************
United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org
