United Methodists in Kansas and Nebraska have been given the gift of shaping a new United Methodist conference that is even more fruitful and effective in our mission for Christ. The mission of The United Methodist Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. We are clear that the most significant arena for disciple-making is the local church, and we have accepted the adaptive challenge of increasing the number of vital congregations in our new conference.
Vital congregations reach new people for Christ through radical hospitality. They grow disciples through intentional faith development, passionate worship and extravagant generosity. They link disciples through connectional joy, and deploy them to transform the world through risk-taking mission and justice.
While we are building on the excellence we already have, we expect to leave behind what is no longer helpful to create what will maximize our witness for Christ in the future. This document has been discussed, amended and shaped over the past several months and will be finally voted on during the Uniting Conference, August 22-24, in Salina, Kansas. Our gathering this month is called the “Uniting Conference” because we will be making the decisions about how the new conference will function.
At the Uniting Conference we will approve a Plan of Organization. The proposed plan, which comes from the Transition Team, has been shared widely and edited and improved several times. The team has consulted with the three conference leadership teams (Common Table, Leadership Team and Focus Team) and several committees and has had many additional conversations with clergy and laity of the Kansas East, Kansas West and Nebraska Conferences. This collaboration informs this plan and represents the Team’s best wisdom about how to work together for Christ’s mission in Nebraska and Kansas.
This Uniting Conference Session will be simultaneous sessions of the Kansas East, Kansas West and Nebraska United Methodist conferences.
We are coming home again! Coming home because the first Kansas/Nebraska conference session was held in October 1856. By the grace of God, we will assemble August 22-24, 2013, for the Uniting Conference of Nebraska, Kansas East and Kansas West. This first Great Plains Area gathering will be held at the Bicentennial Center in Salina, Kansas.
With the theme of “Coming Home Again,” we recognize our roots run deep to give us a firm foundation from which our future will grow. Our roots as Kansas and Nebraska United Methodists provide the grounding for our vision of great churches, great leaders and great disciples.
Our shared history is blessed by the strengths of each conference. As we unite, we can see the guidance of the Holy Spirit breathing life into this newly constituted body of Christ. Together once again, we will be able to accomplish more than any one conference can do on its own. God’s great plan for the Great Plains is to move forward unafraid—planting new seeds of faith. You could say that we are “coming home again.”
Voting privileges belong to all those authorized to vote by The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church-2012 and the standing rules adopted for the spring 2013 sessions of the conferences. Great Plains United Methodist Conference Plan of Organization Page 2 of 155 Final Draft – August 23, 2013 We will be discussing the document in one room, with everyone present and listening to each other. However, votes will be taken conference by conference.
Each conference must approve the entire document before we adjourn. As in any annual conference session, amendments from the floor will be in order. However, any amendment must be passed by a majority vote of each of the three United Methodist conferences. By listening to each other, praying for God’s guidance and careful thought, we will be able to come to agreement on all of these matters.
During the Uniting Conference we will be considering the document in the following sections (page numbers refer to the original document) :
Section 1
Mission, Calling and Vision....................................................................... 6
Missional Priorities.....................................................................................6
Section 2
Locations................................................................................................... 7 Districts...................................................................................................... 8 Structure.................................................................................................... 8
Lay Equalization Plan for Annual Conference Membership..................... 17
United Methodist Men.............................................................................. 19
United Methodist Women ........................................................................ 19
Great Plains Resource Center.................................................................. 19
Relationship to Camps.............................................................................. 19
Relationship to New Church Development................................................ 20
Relationship to Campus Ministries............................................................ 20
Archives/Historical Centers........................................................................ 20
Section 3
Protection from Abuse Policies in the Great Plains Annual Conference
of the United Methodist Church................................................................. 20
Parsonage Standards ............................................................................... 21
Moving Guidelines..................................................................................... 27
Chancellors ............................................................................................... 30
Local Church Insurance Policies................................................................ 30
Section 4
Staffing....................................................................................................... 31
Extended Cabinet ........................................................................................37
Personnel Policies........................................................................................37
Operating Rules & Procedures.................................................................... 48
Personnel Benefits........................................................................................57
District Superintendent (DS) and Director Salary......................................... 62
District Administrative Assistants...................................................................63
Council on Finance & Administration ............................................................63
Budget ..........................................................................................................71
Conference Advances...................................................................................73
District Mission Shares..................................................................................73
Section 5
Pensions and Health Benefits........................................................................74
Pension Funding Plan ...................................................................................74
United Methodist Personal Investment Plan (UMPIP)....................................77
Pre-82 Pension Benefits ................................................................................78
2014 Comprehensive Benefit Funding Plan Template....................................78
Comprehensive Protection Plan (CPP) ..........................................................82
Health Insurance ...........................................................................................84
Arrearages Pertaining to Pension and Health Benefits...................................89
Pension and Health Benefits – Miscellaneous ...............................................89
Resolutions Relating to Rental/Housing Allowances for Retired,
Disabled, or Former Clergypersons of the Great Plains Conference ............ 89
Financial Assistance........................................................................................91
Equitable Compensation Policies....................................................................92
Section 6 Board of Ordained Ministry..............................................................94
Clergy & Conference Email Addresses ...........................................................95
Certified Lay Ministry (CLM)............................................................................96
Section 7
Agreement of Consolidation ........................................................................... 97
Articles of Incorporation and By-laws...............................................................99
Section 8
Relationships to Foundations.......................................................... ...............140
Relationships with Colleges, Universities,
and Health and Welfare Institutions................................................................ 140
Relationships with Other Organizations.......................................................... 140
Section 9
Report of the Interim Nominating Committee................................................... 141
Great Plains Annual Conference.......................................................................154
Thanks ............................................................................................................. 154
Service to Christ................................................................................................ 154
Resources