As General Conference enters its second week, its postponed nature isn't the only thing setting it apart: Those in attendance are remarking that the mood is more upbeat and amicable than at past General Conferences. Check out how Missouri delegates are experiencing General Conference going into week two →

It's week two. What happens now?

Legislative committee work concluded on Saturday evening, which means all measures filed for this General Conference session are in one of these places:

• Non-Calendared Items: These are petitions that don't move on for consideration because another petition dealing with the same subject was acted upon, or the petition was not supported by the legislative committee. Items in this group don't move onto the plenary floor unless 20 signatures are gathered to request an item be removed from this section and added to the regular order of business.
   
• On a Consent Calendar: Items on a consent calendar have passed their legislative committee with less than 10 votes against and don't have financial implications. They come before the General Conference body as a package and aren't up for discussion, just a vote. There is a process for items to be removed from the consent calendar and instead be brought up in the regular order of business.
   
• Regular Calendar Items: The voting body will take up each item, have discussion, propose amendments and, ultimately, vote on the measure.

Additionally, there's a focus on items with financial implications at the start of this week with an eye towards the budget discussion and vote later this week.

How can I follow the action?

The General Conference will spend this week in plenary, which is live streamed. We recommend checking the day's Daily Christian Advocate and listening to the morning's report on agenda (usually around 8 a.m. CST) for the most updated schedule.

Many items related to inclusiveness, the new Compass retirement plan and a few more of the regionalization petitions are yet to be heard and will be taken up at some point this week during the section of the agenda designated as "calendar items and conference business."

But what happened on Monday?

On Monday morning, the General Conference approved all three consent calendars from Saturday's Daily Christian Advocate. The calendars included a variety of items around ordained ministry, taking Course of Study classes online, more of the revised Social Principles, and most notably, closing the clergy retirement security program (CRSP) ahead of consideration of the new Compass retirement plan.

In the afternoon plenary session, the body passed amended versions of two petitions dealing with episcopal areas, conferences and the number of bishops in Africa. You can read more about it in this United Methodist News story.

Lastly, General Conference heard reports from Africa University, the General Board of Higher Education Ministry, United Women in Faith, United Methodist Men, Wespath and the Abundant Health Initiative. You can view recordings of those reports on the UMC YouTube channel.

Catch the full recap from Monday on umnews.org.

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