General Conference IS a Global Event

Did you know that over a third of the delegates to GC2012 are from outside the United States? The Commission on the General Conference takes their participation very seriously, and so they have brought in all the non-U.S. delegates early for a special time of orientation. Here is a slideshow of pictures from that event after the jump.



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Worship
Retired Bishop Peggy A. Johnson. Photo courtesy of the author.

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The Rev. Christopher P. Momany. Photo by Kristen Schell.

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Church History
The Methodist Church’s 1956 General Conference meets from April 25 to May 7 in the municipal auditorium in Minneapolis. On May 4, the first Friday of the legislative assembly, the delegates voted to make women eligible for full clergy rights. “Now it is up to us to prove in clear and deep witness to the whole church our consecration and our loyal devotion to the work of the Kingdom of God,” said Margaret Henrichsen, a General Conference visitor, after the vote. In 1967, she became the first U.S. woman appointed district superintendent. Photo courtesy of Archives and History.

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Seventy years ago, the Methodist Church supported full conference membership for women clergy — a decision that would have a resounding impact when The United Methodist Church formed in 1968 and even today.

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