2004 General Conference
How General Conference Works
The United Methodist Church's General Conference convenes every four years as the top policy-making body of The United Methodist Church.
The meeting sites are rotated among the church's five geographic U.S. jurisdictions; the 2004 conference was held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from April 27 to May 7.
Understanding how General Conference works can be a challenge, even for people who have attended it in the past. A clear primer on its working is found at the UMC Web site as GC 101.
The UMC's Online Legislative Tracking System provides three primary ways to track petitions throughout the legislative process: by petition, by calendar item, and by plenary action.
Open letter to all delegates
The delegates and first alternates from the Pacific Northwest Conference to General Conference have issued an open letter to all delegates to the General Conference: "We want to be known to you as brothers and sisters in Christ," the letter offers. Pacific Northwest delegates affirm, "The verdict of the recent trial court does not have the power to break the covenant of our great church unless we, the leaders and members of the church give it that power."
Daily Reports from Mark Williams
The Rev. Mark Williams wrote detailed daily reports on his perceptions of the General Conference. These Web pages are kept as a day-by-day remembrance by an active participant.