General Conference 2004

Rocky Mountain Conference News and Resources

Day 5

Friday, April 30, 2004

From: Brad Laurvick, General Conference Delegate

So here I am, sitting in my hotel room at 1:08am writing an e-mail to tell you about my day. Honestly, at this point this morning feels like it was three days ago. But what a three days today has been! :-) General Conference is definitely in full swing, but that doesn't mean that everything is moving quickly; just ask the people in the Church and Society Committee (where a lot of the homosexuality petitions are). I want to walk you through both my day, and my overall experience here, but both are so overwhelming (and I have been awake for 18 hours on 4.5 hours sleep) that I don't know where to start...

The day started out with a worship service and appreciation service to honor those African Americans who chose to remain in the denomination during Methodist segregation. This service was one of the best I have seen done. Like all of the worship here, it reminded me that God truly is present and there is something worth all of this work (and more and more frequently, frustration). Thursday, the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry hosted a dinner, that included a performance by a mass choir made up of students from all of our Methodist affiliated schools, I was moved beyond description by their performance. I also enjoy the network that connects all of the Young People here. These high points of worship, praise, and fellowship help me as we begin to see low points more often.

Legislation is continuing its process, some quickly, some not... no matter what next week is going to be overwhelming, as issues will come from committees to the full body... (please note my use of "..." it signifies a long dramatic pause in which fear, anxiety, and worry all well up, and only faith and prayer can bring peace). We will see where the issues come out, God only knows...

Not all of the legislation process requires a dot dot dot. My committee, though we had moments where it felt we were peering over the edge of the abyss, we moved through our legislation in what surely is an example of Holy Conferencing. Through use of prayer, honest expression, listening in love, and plenty of patience, good work has been done in the name of God. My biggest joy is the passing of legislation in committee (note: it still has to face the General Council on Finance and Administration and the full body) to create a Division of Ministry to Young People. This division will create a place for youth, young adults, and adult workers with youth, a place to be heard and be a part of a truly functioning global network. More on that another time.

Please know that we need prayer! Please know we are doing our best to see that God's work is done here! Please know I need a lot of chocolate to get through the day! And know that I am still honored to be here, and am grateful for your trust, love, and support.

Bradley Laurvick
General Conference Delegate
Chair- Conference Council on Young Adult Ministry
bradley.laurvick@colorado.edu

General Conference links:

*Please note: people have been experiencing access problems with the GC site and related pages, due to the high volume of traffic they are receiving. Don't be afraid to try again later!* You can also try some of the General Church agency web sites below, or the unofficial ones listed on the main RMCUMC GC2004 page.

Please keep the Rocky Mountain Conference Delegates in prayer: Janet Forbes, Youngsook Kang, Olon Lindemood, Chuck Schuster, Aaron Gray, Judy Hill, Brad Laurvick, Dan O'Neill, Liwliwa Robledo, and Peggy Sewell.