An appeal to hold General Conference outside US

Key points:

• The decision to hold the 2028 General Conference in Minneapolis undermines the spirit of unity with members in the central conferences.
• Due to new U.S. restrictions on travel from many countries, the 2028 General Conference could see fewer African delegates.
• Africa has the facilities and is ready to host. Holding General Conference there or in Asia would test the efficacy of regionalization.

 

The Rev. Gabriel Banga Mususwa.
Photo courtesy of the author.

Congratulations to the people called United Methodist for their resilience and perseverance, and for standing tall during a time of trial and turbulence.

Your love for The United Methodist Church is on another level, and you all deserve a medal.

Thanks to the Council of Bishops and the Connectional Table for coming up with a new vision for our church. The vision is timely, matching this season and focusing the church on missional works.

Addressing the elephant in the room, the General Conference organizing committee recently decided that the 2028 General Conference will be held in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This decision is regrettable, especially to the African delegates. The decision undermines the spirit of togetherness and the philosophy of being one worldwide body. The African delegates go through a lot to obtain a United States visa, and it’s imperative for the committee to discern on this important matter.

Honestly speaking, 57 years since the unification of the Evangelical United Brethren Church and the Methodist Church on April 23, 1968, to form The United Methodist Church, all General Conferences have been held within the U.S. jurisdictional conferences.

Of course, at one time the central conferences, including Africa, had fewer members than they do today. But now, Africa is second to the jurisdictions in terms of statistics, and it might even surpass the churches in the United States due to the recent period of disaffiliations. The United Methodist Church in Africa keeps growing; all it needs is the proper administration that’s open and democratic to accommodate diverse views within the denomination.

Delegates from Africa can attest that prior to the 2019 General Conference gathering, many encountered visa challenges. The story repeated itself with the 2020/2024 General Conference, and I believe the visa hurdles and realities were enough to awaken people from their slumbers. African delegates faced numerous challenges in order to obtain visas. How long will our delegates continue to be subjected to visa hurdles?

We can expect the 2028 General Conference to have fewer African delegates if it is held in the United States. The New York Times recently published a draft list of countries to face a complete ban, with the Trump administration categorizing restricted countries into red (all travel banned), orange (visas sharply restricted) and yellow groups (60 days to address concerns). More than half the countries on the list are in Africa.

• Red list: Libya, Somalia and Sudan.
• Orange list: Eritrea, Sierra Leone and South Sudan.
• Yellow list: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, Chad, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Sao Tomie Principe and Zimbabwe.

The United Methodist Church in Africa is growing. The church in Africa is the future. It’s time to show love, compassion and fairness in our decisions. It’s time to live our newly launched vision — oh, yes, let’s love boldly! Give Africa a chance to host the 2028 General Conference. If not Africa, let the Philippines Central Conference host the gathering, or move it to Europe. There’s enough room to prepare. There’s enough time to organize.

If indeed we’re one people who preach love and justice, let’s decentralize the church system from being U.S.-centric. We can’t continue living in a one-size-fits-all era. No. Africa is ready to host. Facilities are ready, and we have the capacity to accommodate everyone.

To the Council of Bishops, the general secretary of the General Conference and the organizing committee team, and the Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters, please, I am on my knees asking on behalf of African United Methodists to rescind your decision and for once hold the General Conference outside the United States. Let love lead.

It’s time to do the new thing. It’s time to test the efficacy of regionalization. Then we shall indeed know we’re one. Can’t we gather in one of the countries in Africa or in the Philippines, somewhere else in Asia or Europe.

It is time for justice for the people called United Methodist in Africa. We’re all one in Christ, and let’s remember John Wesley’s sentiment: “The world is my parish.” Even Africa is included. Let me end with our mission statement: Making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Please! Asia and Africa are part of the world, too.

Mususwa is a clergy member in the Zambia Conference. He is also general secretary of the United Methodist Africa Forum and a regionalization strategic communicator.

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