Full Communion with Episcopalians Gets Closer
On Tuesday morning, the General Conference session voted to approve full communion with the Episcopal Church, which has been in the works since 2002. Practically, this means pastors could serve in the churches of the other denomination. The Episcopal Church must adopt a similar measure when they next meet, potentially not until 2027, to seal the deal. Read more about Ecumenical Day and full communion →
Finances at the Forefront
By the rules for the General Conference session, measures with financial implications had to be dealt with by the end of the day on Tuesday in anticipation of hearing the proposed budget later this week. One of the biggest items related to setting the budget is the base percentage rate for apportionment calculations.
After nearly two hours of debate and two amendments, the body decided to set the rate to 2.6% for budget years 2025 and 2026. Currently the base rate is 3.29%. If the apportionment collection rate is 90% or higher in those years, then the base rate will increase to 2.9% for budget years 2027 and 2028. The General Conference felt this offered relief now for local churches while still faithfully investing in the ministries of the denomination. You can read more about this decision in this story.
Missouri delegation member Jon Copeland made a speech for 2.6% apportionment base rate, which you can view at this link.
Consent Calendars Pass
On Tuesday morning, the General Conference approved all three consent calendars from Monday's Daily Christian Advocate. The calendars included full communion with the Episcopal Church, revising the complaint process for bishops, adopting a revised resolution on Korean Peace, Justice and Reunification, and more of the revised Social Principles. You can read about all of the revised Social Principles passed so far in this story from the General Board of Church and Society.
Other Tuesday Headlines
Catch the full recap from Tuesday on umnews.org.
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