Memorandum Number 1123

Request for a Declaratory Decision from the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference on the Meaning, Effect, and Application of ¶354 and ¶355 in Determining If the Bishop, Cabinet, Conference Relations Committee, or Board of Ordained Ministry Can Put Requirements on an Individual Who Is Granted Voluntary Leave of Absence

Digest

We decline jurisdiction because of the failure of the annual conference to comply with ¶ 2610 of the Discipline and with the Judicial Council's Rules of Practice and Procedure.

Statement of Facts

During the clergy session of the 2009 session of the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference, a request was made for a declaratory decision. However, the minutes provided were incomplete and did not contain sufficient information upon which the Council may ascertain whether the requisite vote was taken and received the required number of affirmative votes so as to confer jurisdiction for our consideration of the matter. Thus, for failure to comply with ¶ 2610 of the 2008 Discipline and the Judicial Council's Rules of Practice and Procedure, we decline jurisdiction.