Journal 2018 JournalJournal 20182018 2018 Conference Journal Team Cindy Haverkamp Wes Stanton Patrick Scriven David Valera Annual Conference Theme for 2018 The theme for annual conference for the 2017-2020 quadrennium is ‘Do This and You Will Live!’ In 2018 we considered Luke 10:25-28 where the young lawyer asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. “We’ll ask ourselves and God, Do what? Or, what does love look like?,” shared Bishop Elaine JW Stanovsky, in her invitation to conference members. The colored quadrants in our logo symbolize the four demands to love God with all of our heart, being, strength, and mind. “God is the center of the circle, and the radii indicate the different ways human beings live,” explains Stanovsky. As we move closer to God, we also move closer to others. As we intentionally move closer to our neighbors, we also move closer to God. Original logo designed by Jesse Love. JOURNAL of The Pacific Northwest Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church VOLUME II The One Hundred Forty-Fifth Annual Session in Washington and Northern Idaho held at the Washington State Fairgrounds Puyallup, Washington June 24-26, 2018 Bishop Elaine JW Stanovsky, Presiding Bishop Shirley DeLarme, Secretary The Official Record by Order of the Conference Printed by Printworks, Inc., Seattle, Washington 2018 Journal photographs by D.J. del Rosario PRICE $25.00 2018 PNWAC DAILY PROCEEDINGS H-3 H. DAILY PROCEEDINGS 145th Session of the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church Abbreviations: UMC - United Methodist Church; PNWAC - Pacific Northwest Annual Conference; PROCEEDINGS PCH - Pre-Conference Handbook; BAC - Business of the Annual Conference; GNW – Greater Northwest (our Episcopal Area). Names of ordained clergy are printed in italics. Friday, June 22, 2018, 8:30 a.m. Worship and Episcopal Address Welcome. Connie McCloud, a Puyallup Tribal elder and Culture Director, welcomed the Conference to the land of the Puyallup Tribe with a song of blessing. Bishop Stanovsky thanked her for the honor of welcoming us. Spoken Word. Katy Shedlock offered a spoken word performance, “Do What?” based in the Conference’s theme. Each service of worship for the session is rooted in the text of Luke 10:25-37, the parable of the Good Samaritan. Episcopal Address. Bishop Elaine JW Stanovsky asked, “What does Love look like?” She spoke of the state of the church in this transitional time, in which we need the re- minder “that the Christian faith really is an alternative world view, and the church really must provide space for people to lay down their weapons and their armor and learn again and anew how to love one another.” As a part of her address, she invited Donna Pritchard, a member of the Commission on the Way Forward, to report on the work of the Commission. She outlined the three proposals which the Commission is forwarding to GC2019, which she labeled the Con- nectional Conferences Model, the Traditionalist Model (which was not developed by the Commission), and the model being recommended by the Council of Bishops, the One Church Model. Bishop Stanovsky asked, “What if God were using our differences to stretch us to under- stand the fullness of God’s vision and plan for humankind?” She offered the image of walking the labyrinth as a metaphor of the course ahead. The way is long and winding, but United Methodists in the PNW will find a way for LGBTQ people to be fully part of God’s realm. “Is it possible to move forward as one Annual Conference with hearts at peace, so no one is forced to break relationship or compromise conscience?” The coming year will be a crossover year for us: rather than waiting for General Conference 2019 to act, we will live a year of missional engagement. “The United Methodist Church may be stuck right now, but God is not stuck!” We will turn our attention to following God out into the neighborhood. Wesley said that love incites us to “do good in every possible kind, and in every possible degree, to all.” Why would we wait for General Conference? Offering. Nancy Tam Davis introduced the offering, which will support student scholar- ships to Africa University. Break 3 H-4 DAILY PROCEEDINGS 2018 PNWAC Plenary Session Call to Order. Bishop Stanovsky called the Conference to order at 10:25 a.m. and offered prayer. Motion. Rules Committee chairperson Shane Moore offered prayer for Secretary Shirley DeLarme, her husband Lane, and especially their son Ethan, who is hospitalized for a heart transplant. He moved that Wesley Stanton be accepted as Conference Secretary for this 2018 session of Annual Conference. Approved. Procedural Motion. Secretary Wesley Stanton moved: that the printed program be de- clared the official program of the conference, hat the orders of the day be those printed in the daily announcements and schedule, that the process used at registration be designated as the official roll call for this 145th annual session of the conference, that the bar of the PROCEEDINGS conference be established as the platform and the designated seating area with rectangular tables at the Showplex Center of the Washington State Fairgrounds in Puyallup, Wash- ington, and the daily minutes as kept by the secretary when certified and approved by the president and secretary be printed in the journal and be the official record of the 145th annual session of the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church. Adopted. Request. Sharon Moe requested that the sermons given during this session be made avail- able to the body. They will be made available online. Rules Committee. Shane Moore presented the initial report of the Rules Committee, for the Conference’s information. Some of the material in the report will be acted on at the end of the session. He noted that the Office of Connectional Ministry has determined that only one Focus Session, for Administrative Support, will be needed at this session of Annual Conference. Other actions will be considered directly by the plenary session. There is only one action to be taken at this time, enabling the election of two clergy and two lay delegates for the 2020 General Conference, so that they can be present to assist the current delegation at the 2019 special called session of General Conference, and be more prepared for the work of the 2020 session. Adopted. Welcome to the District. Tacoma District Superintendent Cara Scriven welcomed the Conference to the district, and to Puyallup. Accessibility. Harriet Wilkin, of the Disability, Accessibility and Accommodations Ministry Team, listed several ways the Conference aims to be accessible to all, including closed captioning on the projection screens, hearing devices, and even scooters if needed. Safe Sanctuaries. On behalf of the Safe Sanctuaries Team, Bishop Stanovsky introduced the safety advocates who are here to assist anyone who feels unsafe at Conference, so that concerns can be addressed speedily. General Conference 2020 Nominations. Lay persons who have offered themselves as nominees for the delegation include Nancy Tam Davis, Kristina Gonzalez, Brant Hen- shaw, and Noriko Lao. Nominations from the floor were invited, and Megan Ernst Kilpat- rick, A. Skylar Bihl, and Nicki Dyer were nominated. Clergy persons who have offered themselves as nominees are Nico Romeijn-Stout, Elizabeth Ingram Schindler, and Gregg Sealey. Nominees from the floor wereD.J. del Rosario and Austin Adkinson. 4 2018 PNWAC DAILY PROCEEDINGS H-5 Council on Finance & Administration Report. Treasurer Brant Henshaw reported that we have paid 100% of our General apportionments and have successfully moved invest- ments into fossil-free businesses. Peter Perry introduced the proposed 2019 Conference budget. For several years, the budget has been well below the ceiling rule, and it is decreasing once again. PROCEEDINGS Nominations Committee Report. Rich Lang introduced the report of the Nominations Committee and encouraged people to check it and to contact members of the Committee with suggested changes, corrections or possible nominations. Announcements. Secretary Wes Stanton made several announcements. Prayer. Ronda Cordill introduced Joseph Kamau, UMVIM coordinator from Nairobi, Kenya, who offered a closing prayer. Break. The legislative session ended, and a teaching session began. Anatomy of Peace. Joseph Jung introduced Brian Brown, of the West Ohio Confer- ence. Over this and the next two teaching sessions, Brian Brown spoke of the model of living together in peace that is put forth in training by the Arbinger Institute, especially as outlined in their narrative manual, The Anatomy of Peace, and translated some of its concepts into terms of the Christian community. To bring about sustainable change in any group, including the Church, there’s a need to move from one mindset to another. From an inward-centered “heart at war” (gospel term: “in the flesh”) to an outward-oriented “heart at peace” (gospel term: “in the Spirit.”). Claremont School of theology. Bishop Stanovsky introduced Dr. Jeffrey Kuan, presi- dent of Claremont School of Theology. He spoke briefly about Claremont’s largest-ever, most-diverse-ever student body, and celebrated opportunities for cooperation with Willa- mette University, and looked toward the possibility of CST’s move northward. Small Groups. Pam Osborne explained how to find assigned small groups, where desig- nated facilitators would lead conversation based in The Anatomy of Peace. Lunch Friday, June 22, 2018, 1:15 p.m. Laity Session The Laity Session was called to order in the main hall of the Showplex Center, with Lay Leader Nancy Tam Davis presiding. The floor was opened for nominations for Associate Conference Lay Leader. Angelina Goldwell offered herself for the work, and was elected. Lay candidates for the 2020 General Conference delegation each addressed the session: Kristina Gonzalez, Brant Henshaw, Noriko Lao, Nicki Dyer, Skylar Bihl.