New Mexicans at General Conference

New Mexico was represented at General Conference by more than just delegation members.
I want to lift up volunteers, and visitors, from the New Mexico Conference.

Susan Brumbaugh and Randall Partin, husband-and-wife super-duo, were VERY involved at General Conference. Susan was the Coordinator of the Calendar for General Conference, overseeing the process and publication of petitions and resolutions as they emerged from Legislative Committees and headed for the Floor of the conference for action in the full plenary sessions. We heard from Susan each morning, as she guided us through consent calendars and calendar items. Randall could be found in the calendaring office, or undertaking one mission or another throughout the conference center, helping to get the petition and resolution information where it needed to be.

Steve Davis served as a marshal, and was a steady presence on the plenary floor or in legislative committees, helping the work of the conference to run smoothly. Multiple times every day I ran into Steve as he represented New Mexico through his volunteer service.

Raquel Mull was part of the team of monitors from the General Commisssion on the Status and Role of Women and/or the General Commission on Religion and Race, and was present throughout our sessions.

Amy Grace Krueger, though now living beyond the bounds of the conference, was one of the capable volunteers working in the prayer center.

Bethany Carpenter arrived to volunteer at a powerful interactive display set up by the General Commission on Religion and Race.

Doug Mills was present on behalf of the General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns

We also had several people from the New Mexico conference who came as visitors:
Sanford Coon
Roy Elmore
Kevin Bushart
Bethany Carpenter

If I have overlooked anyone, I apologize... but I think it's important to TRY to share the many other people from the New Mexico Conference who have been involved, as volunteers or visitors, at General Conference.
If you run into them at Annual Conference, or at some other event, ask them about it.
If they were a volunteer... thank them!

Peace,
Jon Moore

Another special visitor... and still more business

Today we had another special visitor at General Conference:
William Gates, Sr., father of the Bill Gates of Microsoft, came to us as co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He came to talk about the partnership we have for the purpose of eradicating malaria from this world. The foundation is giving 5 million dollars to the United Methodist Church, as seed money to raise additional funds and to begin additional infrastructure for eliminating this disease.
It was great.
A basketball is being bid upon throughout General Conference, the proceeds of which will go to the Nothing But Nets campaign. The current bid is up to about $20,000 (an annual conference has placed the bid). Mr. Gates announced the Foundation would match the winning bid.
Exciting!

It was a nice break in the middle of today, a day filled with the big plenary session and lots of calendar items to debate and put through. These last few days of General Conference are filled with a couple hundred calendar items brought from committees to the the floor, of removed from the consent calendar.
At the moment, I think we have slightly over 100 left... and we can't leave tomorrow until they're done!
This afternoon's plenary has been filled with constitutional changes... which basically amount to changing the names of non-US conferences from "Central" Conferences to "Regional" Conferences. This might seem like a minor thing... except "central" evokes days of colonialism and rascism, and many central conference delegates feel the name change would be a sign that we now regard them as equal participants in a global church.
Additionally, if the legislation passes, there could be the capacity to make the USA a regional conference. The implications will not be fully known until a taskforce reports back at the 2012 General Conference... but they want some sort of go ahead from this conference so they do not end up "laboring in vain."

Ah, well, at some point you have to actually insert all the work of prior days INTO the Discipline... and that's what we're up to!
Keep it in your prayers, as important (for the most part) decisions are made.
-Jon Moore