BEFORE THE JUDICIAL COUNCIL

OF

THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

IN THE MATTER OF THE REQUEST FOR ) A DECLARATORY DECISION ON THE ) MEANING, APPLICATION AND EFFECT OF ,I14 ) IN RELATION TO ,rso7 OF ) THE 2016 BOOK OF DISCIPLINE )

The Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church ("the Council")

respectfully requests the Judicial Council to issue a declaratory decision on the

meaning, application and effect of,I14 in relation to ,I507.

Jurisdiction

The Judicial Council has jurisdiction pursuant to ,r 2610.1 of the 2016 Book

of Discipline.

Standing

The Council has standing to request a declaratory decision pursuant to

,I2610.2b of the 2016 Book of Discipline. The Council voted to request this

declaratory decision on February 28, 2018.

Factual Background

On April 24, 2017, Bishop Bruce R. Ough, the president of the Council,

issued a call for a special session of the General Conference for February 23-26,

2019. The call for the special session stated, "The purpose of this special session

of the General Conference shall be limited to receiving and acting upon a report

1

Council of Bishops Executive Session, Dallas, TX

February 28, 2018

Minutes (select portions)

ATTENDEES:

Alsted, Arichea, Ball, Bard, Beard, Bickerton, Blake, Bledsoe, Boni, Brown, Bryan, Carcaño, Carter, Chamness, Cho, Christopher, Coyner, Crutchfield, Davis, Domingos, Dyck, Easterling, Fairley, Farr, Francisco, Galvan, Goodpaster, Graves, Gwinn, Hagiya, Haller, Harvey, Haupert-Johnson, Hayes, Hearn, Holston, Hopkins, Hoshibata, Huie, Hutchingson, Ives, Johnson, Jones, Jordan, Juan, Jung, Kammerer, Keaton, Khegay, Kiesey, King, Leeland, W. Lewis, S. Lewis, Lowry, Lunge, Malone, Martinez, Matthews, McAlilly, McKee, Middleton, Moore-Koikoi, Mueller, Mutti, Muyombo, Nhanala, Nhiwatiwa, Norris, Ntambo, Nunn, Oliveto, Olsen, Ortiz-Vidal, Ott, Ough, Palmer, Park, Quipungo, Quire, Rader, Rückert, Saenz, Sano, Schnase, Schol, Sherer-Simpson, Soriano, Stanovsky, Streiff, Swanson, Swenson, Talbert, Taylor, Toquero, Torio, Trimble, Tshibang, Unda, Wallace-Padgett, Wandabula, Ward, Watson, Weaver, Webb, Wenner, Whitfield, Wilke, Yambasu, Yemba, Yohanna ACTION ITEM

18E -221 The Council of Bishops approved the authorization of officers to submit a request for a declaratory decision on behalf of the Council of Bishops to clarify whether petitions will be accepted prior to the Special Session of General Conference 2019.

ADDENDUM April 3, 2018 BY CONSENT TO ACTION WITHOUT FORMAL MEETING, the full Council of Bishops approved by email ballot, the submission to the Judicial Council of the request for a declaratory decision regarding ¶14 in relation to ¶507 of the 2016 Book of Discipline.

100 Maryland Avenue NE, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20002

202-547-6270

April 9, 2018 Mr. Lui Tran Secretary of the Judicial Council The United Methodist Church 5556 N Sheridan Road, #610 Chicago IL 60640 Dear Mr. Tran: As an addendum to the Council of Bishops’ Petition for Declaratory Decision on ¶14 of the Book of Discipline, in relation to ¶507, we respectfully request that the Judicial Council convene a special meeting to address the above referenced petition. The action to request a special meeting was affirmed by the full Council by electronic ballot. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey Secretary Council of Bishops

 

100  Maryland  Avenue  NE,  Suite  300  Washington,  DC  20002  

202-­‐547-­‐6270  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 10, 2018

Bishops seek declaratory decision from Judicial Council on Special Session

WASHINGTON – The Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church is asking the Judicial Council for a declaratory decision on what petitions can be submitted to the denomination’s Special Session of General Conference called for February 2019.

In an electronic vote that affirmed the request made at their February 2018 meeting in Dallas, the bishops voted to seek a ruling from the highest court in the denomination on the meaning, application and effect of Paragraph 14 in relation to Paragraph 507 of the 2016 Book of Discipline.

Paragraph 14 deals with how a special session of General Conference is called and conducted while Paragraph 507 deals with how and when petitions to General Conference are to be submitted.

“The intent is to resolve the question of whether additional petitions, beyond the report of the Commission on a Way Forward and the Council of Bishops, can be submitted to the Special 2019 General Conference prior to the convening of the Special General Conference,” said Bishop Bruce R. Ough, president of the Council of Bishops.

To help facilitate a timely decision from the Judicial Council, the bishops also voted to ask the Judicial Council to convene a special meeting to address the request for a declaratory decision and any others that might arise from the upcoming April/May Council of Bishops meeting.

The Book of Discipline states that petitions to General Conference should be received by the petitions secretary or secretary of the General Conference no later than 230 days before the opening of General Conference.

The Special Session of the General Conference of The United Methodist Church has been set for February 23-26 in St. Louis, Missouri, in USA.

## Media Contact: Rev. Dr. Maidstone Mulenga

Director of Communications – Council of Bishops

The United Methodist Church

mmulenga@umc-cob.org

202-748-5172

 

5556 NORTH SHERIDAN ROAD . #610 . CHICAGO . ILLINOIS 60640 . USA TEL. +1(714) 403-7274

SECRETARYJUDICIALCOUNCIL@GMAIL.COM . WWW.UMC.ORG/JUDICIALCOUNCIL

 

JUDICIAL COUNCIL OF THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH CONSEIL JUDICIAIRE DE L’EGLISE METHODISTE UNIE

RECHTSHOF DER EVANGELISCH-METHODISTISCHEN KIRCHE CONSELHO JUDICIAL DA IGREJA METODISTA UNIDA

CONSEJO DE LA JUDICATURA DE LA IGLESIA METODISTA UNIDA

April 16, 2018 Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey Secretary of the Council of Bishops The United Methodist Church 100 Maryland Ave. NE, Suite 300 Washington, D.C. 20002 Dear Bishop Harvey: Grace and peace to you in this season of Resurrection! Your letter of April 9, 2018 requesting a special meeting of the Judicial Council was received and reviewed pursuant to Art. IV.C of the Rules of Practice and Procedures (RPP). I am writing to inform you that your request has been granted. The special session of the Judicial Council is set for May 22 – 25, 2018, at the Hilton Hotel, 1710 Orrington Ave, Evanston, Illinois 60201. Please be advised that the following deadlines will apply:

•   May 6, 2018: Submission of petitions for inclusion in the 0518 (Special Session) Docket •   May 11, 2018: Submission of opening briefs (RPP Art. V.F-V.L) •   May 11, 2018: Requests for oral hearing (RPP Art. VI) •   May 15, 2018: Submission of reply briefs (RPP Art. V.F-V.L)

In order to give interested parties and the public sufficient time for preparation, a provisional docket (including petition text) will be posted online within the next few days and updated as other petitions are received. The final 0518 Docket will be posted online after the petition deadline. Please let me know if you have any questions. Sincerely,

Lui Tran Secretary