Lay eligibility for General, Jurisdictional Conferences corrected mailing

A recent mailing sent to members of South Indiana Conference regarding election of delegates to General and Jurisdictional Conferences erroneously stated that laity must be Lay Members of the Annual Conference in order to be elected. But ¶36 of the 2004 Book of Discipline (p. 32) states: "[Lay] delegates shall have been professing members of The United Methodist Church for at least two years next preceding their election, and shall have been active participants in The United Methodist Church for at least four years next preceding their election, and are members thereof within the annual conference electing them at the time of holding the General and jurisdictional conferences." Being a Lay Member of Annual Conference is NOT a requirement for election. Annual Conference Lay Members are members elected from their local church, with an additional number elected from each district, to attend business sessions of the conference. Conference Lay Members elect General and Jurisdictional Conference lay delegates, but the pool of eligible laity is much larger, consisting of all United Methodists who meet the requirements spelled out in ¶36 of The Book of Discipline. South Indiana Conference Secretary Curtis Hurley says he knows of no instance in the history of the conference that a General or Jurisdictional Conference delegate was also not a Lay Member of the annual conference, but that conceivably it could happen. "Who knows?" Hurley said. "Because we had to draw attention to this fact, maybe this is the year a non-conference member will be elected."

Last updated on 25 Apr 2008

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