Our Wednesday morning worship carried the theme of us all being surrounded by a rich cloud of witnesses. The Oklahoma Indian Missionary General Administration Choir, the sermon by Bishop David Wilson, and the music of the choir from the Philippines all caused us to remember those who have gone before us and who now witness our actions. Hearing Bishop Wilson speak of our “Creator God” allowed us to move beyond gender-limiting language. As the names of the Bishops, spouses of Bishops, and delegates who now watch over us from the other side were read, we were reminded of the great faith heritage that brought us to this day.
As we moved into the plenary session, we greeted many of our friends from other Methodist denominations. By their presence today, we were reminded of another circle of witnesses born out of our Wesleyan roots, and we give thanks.
The morning saw historic action as the delegates voted to approve the Consent Calendar, and by that action, removed the hurtful language toward our LGBTQ+ siblings from the Book of Discipline. That action demonstrated that sometimes the “cloud of witnesses” is as close as the other side of the voting bar of the conference, and even within the bar.
Now, this report turns to how we extend our witness by examining the voices that get heard in our gathering during these two weeks. Today we saw a balance of voices who spoke from the platform during the plenary session. At the time of this submission, 17 males and 15 females spoke.
However, that story continues to be different from the balance of speakers from the floor of General Conference. We have seen the speakers from the floor dominated by male speakers. 61.7% of the speakers were male, 33.3% of the speakers were female, and 5.0% of the speakers were nonbinary.
We must continue to be more cognizant of how our individual decisions to speak may be preventing another’s voice from being heard. We heard a word of invitation from the afternoon’s presiding Bishop, Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey, who encouraged the body to create space for those who have not spoken yet. Self-awareness for those who tend to speak often was encouraged. Thank you, Bishop!
A word to those who are presiding: It has been called to our attention the need for those who preside to address all delegates in a uniform manner. On Wednesday, we heard a presider call on speakers, identifying them as “Delegate (last name).” This approach treated every delegate with equal dignity and respect.
As we go into a new day, nearing the end of our time together, let us work hard to guard each person’s dignity.