Beginning in January, prior to Annual Conference, the Resolutions Committee solicits resolutions from churches, church members, conference agencies, and even Sunday School classes. In these resolutions, the authors bring attention to issues. The committee receives, edits, and then presents the resolutions to the entire Annual Conference.
Five of this year’s submitted resolutions, beginning on page 87 of the Conference Workbook, were crafted by our youth at their Annual Conference Session gathering in July 2021.
These resolutions were written and debated by youth from around the Conference and reflected issues important to them. They invite us to add our voices to theirs.
- Resolution 1 encouraged the Annual Conference to advocate for Puerto Rico to become a state in the United States. Rachel Ward, a youth from Fuquay-Varina UMC had us strike the 18th, 19th, and 20th whereas sections because those were no longer relevant. After an interesting debate, the resolution passed by majority vote.
- Resolution 2 encouraged the Annual Conference to consider advocating for plus-sized women to be more represented in media. There was heated discussion about the connection between weight and health. Rev. Dave Allen, pastor and campus minister from the Corridor District, stated that it is possible to be healthy at various weights. He also said there is great harm caused when we link diets with spiritual discipline. An amendment was made to add language expanding the resolution to include male, female, and non-binary persons. After some discussion, the entire resolution was tabled.
- Resolution 3, a resolution addressing the need for Conference staffing specifically dedicated to youth ministry, shows the power of resolutions to effect change. Following its adoption at the youth ACS meeting in 2021, part of the resolution has been enacted by the Bishop. Beginning July 1, 2022, a part-time pastor will be appointed as youth coordinator for the Annual Conference. Rev. Jason Villegas will seek to build strong relationships between the conference, districts, and local churches to foster collaborative and effective connectional youth ministry. The entire Annual Conference pledged to support our youth and Villegas.
- Resolution 4 called for the creation of safe spaces for LGBTQ+ youth and adults within the conference. The Resolutions Committee voted to refer Resolution 4 back to the Youth and recommended that they collaborate with the Conference Board of Church and Society to clarify the language and make specific recommendations about the definition and implementation of “safe spaces.” A motion made to expand the language in the resolution to include all youth failed 231 to 341. Resolution 4 was then referred back to the Youth to be addressed in the legislative sessions of the upcoming NCCUMC Youth Week.
Due to the length of the afternoon plenary session, Bishop Fairley announced that Resolutions 5-7 would be discussed at Saturday morning’s business session.