faith in action

Church and Society 2024 Fall Board Meeting Highlights

New Board of Directors of The General Board of Church and Society (GBCS) met together for the first time in Washington, D.C., at the historic United Methodist Building September 26-28, 2024.


fall 2024 board meeting
photo by Toyomi Yoshida, GBCS Communications

Last week, the GBCS Board of Directors gathered in Washington, DC for the first meeting after General Conference, Charlotte approved the reduction of the board from 64 to 33 members. Board vice-president, Rev. Tilmann Sticher, Germany South, presided over a full 3-day agenda of GBCS business sessions, worship services, work committees and celebrations.

Board members unanimously adopted nominations for board members and officers, as well as committee assignments for the next quadrennium. The board also approved the installation of the new General Secretary Bishop Julius C. Trimble. In addition, the recommended GBCS budget for 2025 was reviewed and approved.

“This initial meeting reflects a social witness legacy built on the tireless efforts of countless faith leaders, who worked for the rights and dignity of God’s creation and God’s people,” said Bishop Julius C. Trimble, General Secretary, General Board of Church and Society. “The core principles, convictions and commitments that Methodists held in the past, continue to guide us today.”

The board meeting also served as an orientation to the bylaws and work of GBCS, updates for the Social Principles process and next steps, GBCS programs and United Nations ministry orientation, a development/donations review and a briefing on the GBCS communications effort. Twenty-five of the 33 board members are serving a new term for 2024-2028. View the current GBCS board members and officers here.

The United Methodist Building: A Historic United Methodist Landmark

AB plaque photo

The night before the official board meeting, guests, staff and board members celebrated a lively reception at the United Methodist Building (UMB) featuring music, book signings and a preview of the UMB 3D virtual online tour. During the evening, Dr. Ashley Boggan, General Secretary, United Methodist General Commission on Archives and History, and GBCS General Secretary, Bishop Julius C. Trimble delivered a surprise presentation unveiling a new plaque identifying the United Methodist Building as a historic landmark of the United Methodist Church.

The United Methodist Building’s 100th Anniversary Live Stream Event

umb photo 3

On Thursday, September 26, Church and Society board members joined staff, guests and the Washington, DC Capitol Hill community to celebrate 100 years of social witness, at the United Methodist Building. Emory Professor Dr. Jericho Brown, 2020 Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and the 2024 MacArthur Foundation ‘Genius Grant’ recipient, alongside General Secretary Bishop Julius Trimble, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II, special speakers, musicians, and young voices committed to social justice, offered their amazing talents and stories. View the recorded live stream here.

2024 GBCS General Secretary Installation Service

BJT installation service

Friday, September 27, a special installation worship service was held for GBCS General Secretary-Elect Bishop Julius C. Trimble in the Simpson Memorial Chapel at the United Methodist Building. The service was officiated by board vice-president Rev. Tilmann Stricher and the sermon was delivered by board member Bishop LaTrelle Easterling. In attendance were GBCS board members, staff, guests and Bishop Trimble’s wife First Lady Racelder Grandberry-Trimble and their son Cameron Trimble.

GBCS Board Meeting Closed with a National Day of Remembrance Worship Service for U.S. Indian Boarding Schools

On Saturday, September 28, the GBCS board and staff held a special worship service observing the National Day of Remembrance for the tragic neglect and abuse associated with U.S. Indian Boarding Schools.

While authorized and primarily funded by the U.S. government spanning across hundreds of years, some of these schools were also sponsored or operated by religious organizations, including several with Methodist affiliations. Some Methodists and their institutions shared and promoted the sentiment that Indigenous people must be “Christianized” and then “civilized” to be regarded as human beings. It was a systemic attempt to separate indigenous children from their families and cultures.

The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition represents an effort to educate the public in the U.S. about these schools and their lingering harmful legacy. The coalition has called for September 30, to be observed as a National Day of Remembrance for U.S. Indian Boarding Schools.

Wearing an orange ribbon is a symbol of the loss of childhood innocence and disconnection from family in Indigenous cultures. The ribbon is also used to represent the suffering of Indigenous children who attended residential schools and the tenacity of their survivors.

The National Day of Remembrance is observed by Native American United Methodist leaders, including the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference, Native American Comprehensive Plan, Native American International Caucus and numerous annual conference committees on Native American Ministries. The GBCS board and staff joined our Native American sisters and brothers in this special occasion, an opportunity for individual grief and collective reaffirmation of the 2012 “Act of Repentance Toward Healing Relationships with Indigenous People”.

The next GBCS Board Meeting is planned for March 2025.