FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 29, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United Methodist Church is a worldwide connection of people, ministries, and congregations seeking to follow Jesus Christ in diverse communities and contexts. We worship in many languages, carry different histories, and respond to the needs of our neighbors in many ways. Through the Holy Spirit, we are joined together in a shared calling to love, serve, and lead as we participate in God’s transforming work in the world.
Last week, the Council of Bishops Leadership Gathering was held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. One of the most challenging aspects of the work was the lack of full participation by nominated participants and bishops from across the worldwide connection. Many nominated participants were limited from being present due to denied visas and restrictions relating to Ebola. While a plan for virtual participation was developed, there were still challenges relating to synchronous participation, internet access, and a diversity of voices.
Following the Commission on the General Conference’s selection of Harare, Zimbabwe, as a site beyond Minneapolis for the 2028 General Conference, we choose to perceive the challenges of this decision as an opportunity to expand the table of our common life for all United Methodists worldwide. We call on the Commission on General Conference to offer deliberate and prayerful consideration for how to offer these concurrent sites with as much equity as possible for all involved; and if equity is not possible, to prioritize those most often disenfranchised.
The decision to have concurrent sites offers another pathway for delegates to participate and makes the presence of The United Methodist Church visible across the world. The work of creating an equitable table begins even before delegates are elected and later as they gather. As annual conferences elect their delegates, we encourage processes that welcome the gifts of eligible people across the breadth of the church. Clergy and lay leaders of all genders, sexualities, and ages, disabled persons, and people from diverse racial, ethnic, tribal, linguistic, and cultural communities bring perspectives that can enrich our shared discernment.
We recognize that bringing delegates together in Minneapolis and Harare will require careful planning, coordination, resources, and ongoing attention. We are grateful for the Commission on the General Conference and all who are carrying this responsibility. We also recognize that travel, visas, language, accessibility, safety, technology, and financial resources can shape who is able to participate and how fully they can engage.
In a spirit of partnership and shared accountability, with a desire to challenge the church toward the full and equitable inclusion of all participants, we offer the following for continued consideration as planning moves forward:
- Equitable participation across time zones. We acknowledge that a time difference of 7 hours poses a significant logistical challenge. We recommend scheduling proceedings in ways that share the burden of inconvenient hours between the two sites and support meaningful participation at both.
- Shared leadership and diverse representation. We recommend that bishops have opportunities to preside from each site and that both sites include a diverse presence of bishops, general secretaries, delegates, and support staff. This includes intentionally facilitating participation at the United States site by persons from other regions who can obtain the necessary visas. These arrangements should advance equity, strengthen relational connections across regions, and ensure that General Conference is experienced as one gathered body rather than as geographically segregated gatherings.
- Digital and technological equity. We recognize the challenges of a virtual connection and encourage the framing of a schedule that holds space for this reality, while also ensuring that we are faithful to our limited time together. This includes ensuring secure, reliable internet for participants and a plan for how we will proceed if the connection becomes unreliable. We also hope for a practical, synchronous solution for committee work that offers adequate opportunity for meals and rest, alongside the presence of monitors to observe inequities should they manifest.
- An unequivocal strategy for safety. We emphasize the critical importance of a comprehensive safety plan, specifically for those who may be targeted by political unrest and uncertainty, those within oppressed and marginalized communities, including LGBTQIA+ persons and immigrants, as well as for those who stand beside them. We implore the Commission to consider a creative pathway forward for delegates and participants who are at risk for this particular type of marginalization.
- Resourcing for full participation and accessibility. We support the assurance of resourcing at all levels, including preparations on the ground at both sites for printing and information-sharing purposes, as well as translators, interpreters, and the use of closed captioning at both sites. We reflect that the more equitable access that is available, the better equipped participants will be.
- Collaborative efforts around the shared work. Lastly, we invite the Commission on the General Conference to reach out in collaboration to those who may have experience around these types of challenges, to help inform the planning of this event in an accessible and inclusive way. We recommend consulting with each of the General Agencies, as well as with the Racial and Ethnic Plans and caucuses which might have shared knowledge to offer.
It is not lost on us that these days continue to be unprecedented. We note concern around the requirements of visa issuance and bond application as an additional burden upon those who may feel called to participate as delegates. We lament that these financial impacts are exclusionary in practice and seek to cause division and separation by our political systems. And yet, it is our work to continue to respond to the call that God has placed before us as The United Methodist Church.
We affirm that loving boldly means caring for the safety of all and intentionally advancing equity and accessibility. We acknowledge that serving joyfully calls us to ensure that the resources and arrangements at both sites enable every delegate to contribute meaningfully and shape the work before us. We believe that leading courageously means bringing those most affected by barriers to participation into the conversation and sharing responsibility for creating processes and systems that ensure every delegate has full voice, vote, and access. The work is before us, but it will not be easy. And still, we believe that the presence of the Holy Spirit is apparent in this work of holy conferencing. May we use this as a continued opportunity to show the world who we are and who we are called to be.
JOINTLY ISSUED BY
Judi M. Kenaston
Chief Connectional Ministries Officer
Connectional Table
Ashley Boggan, Ph.D.
General Secretary
General Commission on Archives and History (GCAH)
Rev. Dr. Giovanni Arroyo
General Secretary
General Commission on Religion and Race (GCORR)
Rev. Stephanie York Arnold
General Secretary
General Commission on the Status and Role of Women (GCSRW)
Rev. Brian K. Milford
General Secretary
The United Methodist Publishing House (UMPH)
Rev. Dr. Rick Vance
General Secretary and CEO
United Methodist Men
Sally Vonner
General Secretary and CEO
United Women in Faith
Andrew Q. Hendren
General Secretary and CEO
Wespath
###
About GCORR
The General Commission on Religion and Race (GCORR) is one of the general agencies of The United Methodist Church. GCORR equips the Church and its leaders to engage the work of racial justice, intercultural competency and institutional equity so that the Church may more fully reflect the diversity of the body of Christ.
Media Contact
Jeehye Kim
Senior Director of Communications and Marketing
General Commission on Religion and Race (GCORR)
[email protected]
www.gcorr.org
Translation: Français | Português
This content was originally published by the General Commission on Religion and Race; republished with permission on ResourceUMC.org on October 29, 2026.