Support UM News on World Press Freedom Day: Give to help sustain and expand the storytelling capacity of UM News. Your donation today will transform information into inspiration and ensure we can continue sharing stories of God’s work in the world through The UMC. Help us reach our $10,000 goal and keep this vital ministry fair, faithful, trusted and free for all!

Top court rules on Congo inquiry

A central conference college of bishops or executive committee cannot change the time and place of any regular sessions of a central conference once it has met for the first time.

The United Methodist Judicial Council issued that ruling May 19 in response to a two-part request, approved by General Conference 2016, for a declaratory decision related to the Congo Central Conference.

In Judicial Council Decision 1319, the council said, “the first meeting of a new central conference shall be at such place and on such dates as determined by the bishops in charge.” But once that body has gathered, setting the time and place of future sessions of the central conference is up its members or its executive committee “when permitted by Discipline.”

If the 2016 session of the Congo Central Conference was scheduled by the conference itself "then the date and time cannot be changed by the College of Bishops nor the central conference executive committee,” the decision said, citing Paragraph 542.1 of the 2012 Book of Discipline and Paragraph 409 of the 1990 Congo Central Conference Book of Discipline.

The Rev. J. Kabamba Kiboko, a council member originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, did not participate in the decision.

Bloom is a United Methodist News Service multimedia reporter based in New York. Follow her at https://twitter.com/umcscribe or contact her at (615)742-5470 or [email protected].


Like what you're reading? Support the ministry of UM News! Your support ensures the latest denominational news, dynamic stories and informative articles will continue to connect our global community. Make a tax-deductible donation at ResourceUMC.org/GiveUMCom.

Sign up for our newsletter!

Subscribe Now
General Conference
The Rev. Gabriel Banga Mususwa. Photo courtesy of the author.

An appeal to hold General Conference outside US

The United Methodist Church’s top assembly has never met in the central conferences; the decision to hold the 2028 gathering in Minneapolis should be rescinded.
General Conference
The Minneapolis Convention Center stands in downtown Minneapolis, Minn. United Methodist organizers plan to make good on the original location of the COVID-delayed 2020 General Conference, choosing Minneapolis as the host city for the next legislative assembly scheduled for May 8-18, 2028. Photo by Dan Anderson, courtesy of Meet Minneapolis. (www.minneapolis.org)

Minneapolis chosen for 2028 General Conference

United Methodist organizers plan to make good on the original location of the COVID-delayed 2020 lawmaking assembly. They also hope to make up the budget deficit from earlier sessions.
Human Sexuality
The Rev. Izzy Alvaran (right) and others pray together on May 1 after the 2024 United Methodist General Conference, meeting in Charlotte, N.C., voted to remove the denomination's ban on the ordination of "self-avowed practicing” gay clergy — a prohibition that dated to 1984. Alvaran is on the staff of the Reconciling Ministries Network, which has unveiled a new strategic plan after success at last year’s General Conference. File photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News.

LGBTQ advocates aim to build on 2024 gains

Reconciling Ministries Network, after success at last year’s General Conference, hopes to help the emerging United Methodist Church live into a more inclusive future.

United Methodist Communications is an agency of The United Methodist Church

©2025 United Methodist Communications. All Rights Reserved