Business Sessions 12 and Legislative Summary

Business Sessions 12 and Legislative Summary

Rev. Dr. James A. Keeton, Jr.

Business Session 12 of the 52^nd Quadrennial Session of the General Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church was called to order by Bishop Paul Kawimbe of the Fourteenth Episcopal District on Tuesday, August 27, 2024, at 9:05 am. The General Conference approved a motion by Bishop-Elect Jeffery Cooper to receive all the minutes placed in the AME Meetings App since the beginning of the conference and to place the remaining minutes in the app. 

Bishop Kawimbe recognized the Revisions Committee. The first bill it presented concerns adding representatives from the chaplains on the Episcopal Committee of the General Conference. The General Conference agreed to return to this legislation after the proposed amendment could be placed on the screens. The second bill presented by the Revisions Committee concerns providing clear and specific duties of the General Board commissions and ensuring effective oversight and accountability so that the General Board is thoroughly informed of the Departments of the church. The General Conference voted overwhelmingly to approve this legislation. 

The third bill presented by the committee concerns adults working with young people to be required to have national criminal background checks and participate in child abuse prevention and ministry protection training no less than every two years. The Christian Education Department will provide the training. Although Reverend Dr. Garland Pierce states that this legislation is already in the discipline, the General Conference overwhelmingly approved an amendment to make sure that adults working with children not only participate but also complete child abuse prevention and ministry protection. 

An additional amendment to the bill concerns letting adults with prior criminal records that were nonsexual in nature work with young people once they have been rehabilitated. Finally, a different amendment was offered to allow accredited agencies outside the Christian Education Department to provide child abuse training where the local church is located. This amendment also asked the General Conference to require national and state background checks. The chair determined that the bill would be brought back to the conference once all the amendments could be included. 

The fourth bill presented to this business session concerns the Allen Christian Evangelical League. The rationale of the bill, in part, is that it attempts to evangelize others by bringing them into a relationship with Jesus Christ and sharing the primary aims of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The General Conference voted overwhelmingly to pass this legislation. The final legislation presented to this session concerns having flexibility in trustee board nominations in the local church. The rationale is that some pastors have difficulty nominating twice the number of people they need for trustee elections. This bill would permit nominations from the floor if the pastor cannot provide twice the number of people required for the trustee election. If no nominations are added, the election can proceed as outlined, electing the number of trustees needed for the election. The motion passed to the third reading of the legislation.

The order business returned to a report from Dr. Marcus Henderson on strategies to make retirement participants whole. Dr. Henderson commits to making the participants whole by restoring the $109 million. Reverend Brian Blackwell states that the total number will be adjusted to reflect the distributions made. The attorneys working for the church have delayed their fees until the litigation with Symetra and Newport is complete, which is anticipated to be completed between 24 and 36 months. The amount owed to retire from 2021 to now is approximately $11 million. Starting November 30, 2024, all the retired participants will receive proportional funds. Those who are currently retiring will receive proportional funds as they retire. A Zoom webinar will be held on Friday, August 30, 2024, with planned participants to share more information.

Bishop James Davis assumed the chair for the remainder of the business session. Questions and answers continued concerning restoration for annuity plan participants. The General Conference voted by common consent to approve the report concerning the path forward with recovering the funds for the legacy plan. The business session concluded, and the Judicial Council members and the General Officers were installed.

The final business session was focused on legislation and resolutions. The following Bills have been approved by the General Conference:

Superannuated Elders Transfer (legislative packet page 604)

Abandoned Property (legislative packet page 23)

Bishop (legislative packet page 84)

Accessions (legislative packet page 27)

Annual Reports from AME, Inc. (legislative packet page 74)

Standing Commission of the General Conference Board 1.Duties (legislative packet page 590)

Retirement Services Revisions (legislative packet page 436)

ACEL 01 – Allen Christian Evangelical League of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (legislative packet page 36)

Trustee Board Nomination Flexibility (legislative packet page 662)

We will provide a summary overview of bills and resolutions adopted in the September edition of The Christian Recorder.