Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church
Bishop Neil Irons, Executive Secretary
100 Maryland Ave. NE
Washington, D.C. 20002
(202) 547-6270
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 4, 2010
Council of Bishops Announces Constitutional Amendments Voting Results
Columbus, Ohio: The United Methodist Council of Bishops announced today that only 6 of 32 amendments to the church's constitution passed by the 2008 General Conference have been ratified by the annual conferences. The ratified amendments will become effective immediately.
The process for amending the Constitution of The United Methodist Church requires a two-thirds majority vote of General Conference delegates. Annual conferences must then ratify the amendments by a two-thirds affirmative vote. The results of the voting are reported to the Council on Bishops, where they are verified and counted. The results are then reviewed and certified by the Council of Bishops.
The vote counts for each of the amendments were as follows:
Amendment I, which clarifies all people are eligible to attend worship services and receive the sacraments: 23,614 yes; 25,764 no
Amendment II, which requires all United Methodist organizations to adopt ethics and conflict of interest policies for members and employees: passed 32,413 yes; 16,596 no
Amendment III, which allows the General Conference to create similar structures for the worldwide church: 21,126 yes; 28,218 no
Amendment IV, which allows the General Conference to create similar structures for the worldwide church: 19,219 yes; 30,178 no
Amendment V, which allows the General Conference to create similar structures for the worldwide church: 20,768 yes; 28,486 no
Amendment VI, allows newly established conferences be represented on a non-proportional basis for two quadrennia: 25,969 yes; 22,990 no
Amendment VII, which allows the General Conference to create similar structures for the worldwide church: 20,840 yes; 28,588 no
Amendment VIII, adds "gender" to the list of categories ensuring the rights of membership regardless of race or status: passed 41,434 yes; 7,712 no
Amendment IX, which ensures every jurisdictional conference have at least 100 delegates: passed 39,333 yes; 9,122 no
Amendment X, which allows the General Conference to create similar structures for the worldwide church: 19,386 yes; 29,920 no
Amendment XI, which allows the General Conference to create similar structures for the worldwide church: 20,711 yes; 28,539 no
Amendment XII, which allows the General Conference to create similar structures for the worldwide church: 20,825 yes; 28,568 no
Amendment XIII, which allows the General Conference to create similar structures for the worldwide church: 19,566 yes; 29,819 no
Amendment XIV, which allows the General Conference to create similar structures for the worldwide church: 20,851 yes; 28,505 no
Amendment XV, which allows definition of the lay and clergy membership of the annual conference by the General Conference without going through the constitutional amendment process; 31,233 yes; 17,218 no
Amendment XVI, which allows the General Conference to create similar structures for the worldwide church: 20,823 yes; 28,586 no
Amendment XVII, which allows laity on the committee on investigation to vote on matters of ordination, character and conference relations of clergy: passed 33,810 yes; 14,712 no
Amendment XVIII, which allows the General Conference to create similar structures for the worldwide church: 20,856 yes; 28,546 no
Amendment XIX, which allows all clergy members of annual conference to vote to elect clergy delegates to general, jurisdictional or central conferences: passed 38,604 yes 10,432 no
Amendment XX, which allows the General Conference to create similar structures for the worldwide church: 20,639 yes; 28,653 no
Amendment XXI, which allows the General Conference to create similar structures for the worldwide church: 20,921 yes; 28,425 no
Amendment XXII, which recognizes Bermuda congregations as part of the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference: passed 43,049 yes; 5,539 no
Amendment XXIII, which allows the General Conference to create similar structures for the worldwide church: 19,184 yes; 30,185 no
Amendment XXIV, which allows the General Conference to create similar structures for the worldwide church: 20,575 yes; 28,853 no
Amendment XXV, which allows the General Conference to create similar structures for the worldwide church: 20,581 yes; 28,688 no
Amendment XXVI, which allows the General Conference to create similar structures for the worldwide church: 19,277 yes; 30,061 no
Amendment XXVII, which allows the General Conference to create similar structures for the worldwide church: 20,711 yes; 28,657 no
Amendment XXVIII, which allows the General Conference to create similar structures for the worldwide church: 20,588 yes; 28,656 no
Amendment XXIX, which allows the General Conference to create similar structures for the worldwide church: 20,652 yes; 28,703 no
Amendment XXX, which allows the General Conference to create similar structures for the worldwide church: 20,584 yes; 28,703 no
Amendment XXXI, which allows the General Conference to create similar structures for the worldwide church: 20,658 yes; 28,685 no
Amendment XXXII, which allows the General Conference to create similar structures for the worldwide church: 20,698 yes; 28,591 no
Anyone with a question about the amendments may contact InfoServ, the denomination's official information service, at infoserv@umcom.org. Visit www.umc.org to see the amendments in full.
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Contact:
Diane Degnan ddegnan@umcom.org
(615) 742-5406 office (615) 483-1765 cell
