Holston votes on Methodist Constitutional Amendments

Today at 12:50am

This is the vote of Holston Conference on the Methodist Constitutional Amendments which were presented from the 2008 General Conference. These amendments would require a 2/3 worldwide supermajority in order to change the current constitution of the United Methodist Church.

I have worded these amendments as I understand them, instead of printing them as they are worded in the books. I am sure that you can find the actual wording of these amendments online elsewhere if you are interested.

Amendment #1 – Should the pastor of the local church lose authority to determine readiness of membership of individuals wishing to join, and make the change that “all persons” who are baptized and answer affirmatively to the membership vows be allowed to join?

Holston Votes for: 361
Holston Votes Against: 629
Holston Percentage voting “yes”: 36%
Worldwide percentage needed to pass: 66.7%

Amendment #2 –This change will require all organizations within in the United Methodist Church to develop ethics and conflict of interest policies. (still gathering updated results)

Holston Votes For: 63
Holston Votes Against: 930
Holston Percentage voting “yes”: 6%
Worldwide Percentage Needed to pass: 66.7%

Amendment #6 – This change will allow the General Conference the right to restrict equal representation to a newly formed region of the church, allowing it to be underrepresented during its first 8 years of existence?

Holston Votes For: 854
Holston Votes Against: 137
Holston Percentage voting “yes”: 86%
Worldwide Percentage Needed to pass: 66.7%

Amendment #8 – This change would prohibit the pastor of a local church from denying membership to an individual on the basis of gender.

Holston Votes For: 895
Holston Votes Against: 97
Holston Percentage voting “yes”: 90
Worldwide Percentage Needed to pass: 66.7%

Amendment #9 – This change would allow each jurisdictional conference to have at least 100 delegates, and the process by which these delegates are selected would become uniform, in a manner decided upon by the General Conference.

Holston Votes For: 892
Holston Votes Against: 94
Holston Percentage voting “yes”: 90%
Worldwide Percentage Needed to pass: 66.7%

Amendment #15 – Should the total lay delegates of an annual conference number fewer than the total number of clergy delegates, this change would provide for more lay delegates to be elected so as to equalize the power between laity and clergy within that particular conference.

Holston Votes For: 861
Holston Votes Against: 127
Holston Percentage voting “yes”: 87%
Worldwide Percentage Needed to pass: 67%

Amendment #17 – This change will allow the “committee on investigation” to vote on matters of clergy ordination and character. This allows laity to vote on a clergy issue in some form.

Holston Votes For: 877
Holston Votes Against: 105
Holston Percentage voting “yes”: 89%
Worldwide Percentage Needed to pass: 67%

Amendment #19 – This change will allow local pastors who have completed course of study or an MDiv degree and have completed at least two consecutive years of service to vote on delegates to represent their conference to the General Conference.

Holston Votes For: 748
Holston Votes Against: 229
Holston Percentage voting “yes”: 77%
Worldwide Percentage Needed to pass: 67%

Amendment #22 – This change would add “Bermuda” to the Northeastern Jurisdiction.

Holston Votes For: 896
Holston Votes Against: 88
Holston Percentage voting “yes”: 91%
Worldwide Percentage Needed to pass: 67%

Amendments #3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, and 32 – These amendments all refer to the worldwide nature of the church, and would create new “regional conferences” which would have authority to produce their own judicial councils, and possible lead to difference Books of Discipline in different regions. This would allow national issues to be handled within one’s own country, without significant input from other regions. All of these amendments must pass by a 2/3 majority in order for the polity to be changed.

Holston Total Votes:
## – YES — NO — Percentage FOR
03 – 083 – 907 – 8%
04 – 085 – 906 – 8%
05 – 086 – 904 – 8%
07 – 090 – 890 – 8%
10- 096 – 894 – 8%
11- 090 – 898 – 8%
12- 085 – 907 – 8%
13- 085 – 907 – 8%
14- 081 – 909 – 8%
16- 087 – 903 – 8%
18- 098 – 894 – 8%
20- 093 – 889 – 8%
21- 095 – 888 – 8%
23- 081 – 909 – 8%
24- 087 – 903 – 8%
25- 083 – 908 – 8%
26- 081 – 912 – 8%
27- 085 – 909 – 8%
28- 102 – 884 – 8%
29- 088 – 905 – 8%
30- 081 – 912 – 8%
31- 082 – 907 – 8%
32- 081 – 912 – 8%