The 2020 United Methodist General Conference will be held
April 23 – May 3, 2024,
at Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina
The St. Luke’s United Methodist Church community is preparing for the 2024 General Conference. In doing so, we have put together this page that includes some extremely helpful information to equip our members and all United Methodists. We are dedicated in striving to create a more inclusive UMC through the 3 R’s: Regionalization, Revision of Social Principles, and the Removal of exclusive language.
General Conference typically gathers every four years. However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a delay in the 2020 General Conference. The 2024 General Conference will be held from April 23 to May 3 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Click the buttons below for some helpful information from the Florida Conference:
If you have specific questions for St. Luke’s Leadership about General Conference, send your questions via email here: stlukesleadership@st.lukes.org
Who St. Luke’s Is
Our Vision: That the believers of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church will reach as many people as possible in Central Florida introducing them to eternal life in Jesus Christ. Together, we commit to worship, connect, care, and grow as Disciples, to serve in revealing the Kingdom of God.
Our Core Values: At our center is the love of Jesus Christ.
We value Christ-Centered:
Acceptance: We recognize that Christ’s love has no boundaries.
Hospitality: We welcome all to share Christ’s love through help, hope, and healing
Community: We claim a sacred place where Christ’s love unites all to support and care for others while nurturing a personal relationship with God.
Discipleship: We believe we are called to be living representatives of Jesus Christ and bring others to know God’s mercy, justice, grace, and love.
Service: We respond to Christ’s love and God’s call, by sharing our time, talents, tithes, spiritual gifts, and resources.
Click here to read St. Luke’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement
Click here to read St. Luke’s Vision for Racial Equity
St. Luke’s Church Council Statement on General Conference – Supporting the 3 R’s
Weekly General Conference Update from Rev. Dr. Jennifer Stiles Williams
General Conference began this week with worship, and reports from young adults Senesie T. A. Rogers of Sierra Leone and Florida PhD student Alejandra Salemi! What a powerful witness of unity, power, and hope they shared. You can watch video recaps and watch the live stream of General Conference throughout the session by clicking here. St. Luke’s also put together a webpage with many helpful resources (click here to view the page) – there you will find our Church Council and Leadership Team statement in support and prayer for the focus of those 3 R’s of Regionalization, Revised social principles, and Removal of harmful language.
As of this morning, the plan for Regionalization has passed! Being as this is a change to the constitution, it will be sent back to the Annual Conferences to be voted on this summer and return to the General Conference for ratification. This is great news for how we work together as a worldwide church in the future.
Our Sanctuary Choir sang an amazing piece this week entitled “By Our Love,” and we wanted to share it with you as our prayer for the United Methodist Church in this time (click here to watch/listen). May you be filled with hope and pride of who and what God has called us to be to reach our community with the transformative love of the risen Lord, and what we can accomplish through God’s power for future generations, not just in Central Florida, but beyond.
Update Published on April 11, 2024:
One of the ways we are unified and connected in the Body of Christ is through our global denomination of the United Methodist Church. For the first time since the special called General Conference of 2019, we will be gathering as a General Conference in Charlotte, NC from April 23 through May 3. After COVID cancelled our regular meeting of General Conference in 2020, much has happened in our denomination. A new Traditionalist denomination was begun, and 30% of churches or clergy left to live into a separate gathering who serve a more literal view of Scripture. This is the first gathering of 862 delegates, half clergy and half laity, given the task of working toward a new understanding of the United Methodist Church (click here for a helpful infographic).
We want you to be informed as much as possible before the sessions begin. We want to provide ways to engage in prayer for all the delegates, including those from Florida, which includes our own Alice Williams, and even offer ways of watching worship and the plenary session (which take place during week 2 of the Conference). We have great interviews with Florida Conference Lay leaders Alice Williams and Derrick Scott chatting about what General Conference is, what happened in 2019, and what we HOPE will happen in 2024 (click here to see videos of those conversations or listen to the “Your Week with St. Luke’s” podcast episodes wherever you get your podcasts). These special episodes drop every Thursday.
Florida Bishop Tom Berlin also hosted a webinar with our top clergy and lay delegates sharing more information that you can watch by clicking here. This webinar explains our structure, how General Conference works, and the three R’s that many have been working for to create a more inclusive UMC: Regionalization, Revision of Social Principles, and the Removal of exclusive language and the Traditionalist plan. Bishop Berlin will also be sending daily updates, and the Florida Conference has information that we will link to our website for you to have better understanding. Stay tuned for more updates.
Special Episodes of “Your Week with St. Luke’s” Podcast about General Conference
Available wherever you get your podcasts, just search Your Week with St. Luke’s.
St. Luke’s Church Council Responses to the 2019 General Conference
