Please note the following changes in the proposed rules:

• Dates have been changed to make the rules current.
• Revisions were made with the rules for General Conference/Jurisdictional Conference delegation meetings, especially as relates to the nomination of an NC delegation nominee for the episcopacy and episcopal elections. These revisions are necessary because of the possibility of another disruption in jurisdictional meetings scheduled because of some event, such as the COVID pandemic. Attempts were made to ensure that the rules are applicable in a variety of possible future contexts.
• Language concerning “The Assistant to the Bishop” was removed as that position is being ended by prior plan.
• There is a proposal that resolutions be presented but neither debated nor voted upon. Our heritage as Christians and as United Methodists has always been to promote social holiness and changes of heart. Those changes begin where there is an opportunity for dialogue. Such actions most typically occur within congregations, where people can engage in biblical and reflective discussions. It is difficult to have those dialogues in an annual conference, especially in this season of deep division and heightened desire for unity. Therefore, in the interests of unity and allowing for a more focused discussion and celebration of the things that unite us, the Resolutions and Rules Committees are proposing a suspension of our typical action on resolutions. They will still be presented and can be used in a variety of settings as representative of the concerns various believers want their sisters and brothers to address as matters of faith and action. Not debated or voted on, they remain witnesses for our discernment. Discernment, both individual and congregational, may well lead to action such as writing legislators where our Christian witness will be heard, perhaps more loudly, than by a single motion of the annual conference. The proposed rule change is for a season and continues to allow for a full expression of concerns, as well as, NC Conference members’ response.
• A proposed rule change will allow individuals to freely make their own printed versions of The Journal.