Church and Society Executive Committee gathers in Chicago

For immediate release
November 20, 2017

Washington, D.C. - Under the leadership of board president Bishop Sally Dyck, the thirteen members of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of The General Board of Church and Society met in Chicago on November 14th, 2017.

Per actions of the board in March 2017, the Executive Committee was empowered to act in lieu of an in-person meeting of the full board. Throughout the month of October, each administrative committee and work area of the board met virtually using web conferencing technology. The two exceptions were in-person meetings in Washington, D.C. of the Finance and Trustees administrative committees.

The Executive Committee took action on four items. The board:

• Approved a budget for 2018 of $6,874,022;
• Approved a new standard for program evaluation and review;
• Approved $67,200 in Ethnic Local Church and Human Relations Day grants;
• Approved a motion for the Executive Committee to work with Church and Society staff to develop a process for 2020 General Conference legislation.

The Rev. Dr. Susan Henry-Crowe, general secretary of the General Board of Church and Society, presented a report on work of the agency since the last meeting in March. The board was also updated on progress for the Social Principles revision process. The board will be presented with a draft of revised Social Principles during their meeting in March. Following the meeting, the draft will be made available for public comment.

The next meeting of the full board will be March 15-19, 2018 in Berlin, Germany. In addition to conducting the business of the agency, this meeting will serve as an opportunity to explore themes of conflict, peacebuilding and reconciliation. Apart from the history of peacebuilding in Germany, the board will be able to witness to the migration crisis across Europe – which is inextricably linked to issues of war, violence and conflict.

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The General Board of Church and Society is one of four international general program boards of The United Methodist Church. The board is called to seek the implementation of the Social Principles and other policy statements of the General Conference on Christian social concerns.