The Importance of Monitoring UMC General Conference Meetings

For over 50 years the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women (GCSRW) has advocated for and challenged The United Methodist Church to a continuing commitment to the full and equal participation of lay and clergy women and men in the total life and mission of the Church. We are thankful for the opportunity to serve the General Conference as official monitors.
 
Monitoring allows us to highlight The United Methodist Church at its best. Throughout the duration of this postponed 2020 General Conference, now held in 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina, we will monitor our worship, plenary, and legislative committees for equity, in an effort to support legislative committees and plenary leaders as they hold inclusive sessions, where every voice is respected and given the opportunity to be heard. Therefore, each of us is encouraged to facilitate open and constructive communication in order to raise awareness about the ways that voice, power, and visibility are given and taken away, intentionally or unintentionally. 

The United Methodist Church has made many advances in closing the gender gap, but there is still more to accomplish. GCSRW is strengthening annual conference COSROWs across the connection by developing leaders, empowering laity, and providing sexual ethics training which educates and resources the worldwide Church.
 
While it is women who fill the pews of our churches, clergywomen are not always welcomed in their pulpits. At the inception of GCSRW in 1972, there were no clergywomen delegates, and in 2019 there were only 36% clergywomen delegates. When we are intentional about including women at every level, we make a positive impact in the church and the world.

Women continue to make history in every arena, and the church is no different! ESPN (Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) has covered professional and college sports for 45 years, but now women are taking the lead. In September of 2023, the US Open Tennis Championship match between Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka recorded the most viewed women’s final match of all time. On Sunday, April 7, 2024, the South Carolina Gamecocks and Iowa Hawkeyes College Basketball Championship broke yet another record. It was reported that the championship game was viewed by approximately 24 million people, the most ever recorded by ESPN for any basketball game on their network.  Friends, when women join the game, the game changes.  

It is important to include women, lay and clergy, if we want to shift the culture of the Church. GCSRW embraces our mission of making disciples for the transformation of the world. The quality of our legislative process depends on all of us. Each delegate can empower the others and hold one another accountable. This is a time of Holy Conferencing, so let’s be mindful of how we treat each other in legislative committees, plenary sessions, or convention center halls. We are a praying people, full of hope, so let's stay open and flexible, trusting that God will see us through.