Open Letter on General Conference preparations
Open Letter to The United Methodist Church Leadership
The Secretary of General Conference
The President of the Council of Bishops
Re: Concerns Over African Delegates Experiences as we get to Charlotte General Conference
Grace and Peace!
Greeting to you our leaders of The United Methodist Church. This is an open letter to the leaders of the United Methodist Church concerning the organisation of the upcoming General Conference to be held April 23-May 3, 2024 in Charlotte, NC.
The United Methodist Africa Forum (UMAF), a caucus of African United Methodists would like to share with you some of the concerns being expressed by delegates from Africa and other concerned United Methodists as to the organization of the General Conference and the impact this has in the life of the church and possible responses to the outcome of the said conference.
Firstly, coming from the Coronavirus pandemic, our world has changed in significant ways and the limited communication from the General Conference Secretariat has given room to speculation that are at times difficult to overcome as delegates seek for more information.
Secondly, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is still being felt in numerous ways and the reason to postpone the General Conference in part included delays being observed by delegates from outside the United States of America in obtaining a visa. This is a challenge beyond the ability of the administrative officers of the General Conference but a necessary consideration if we are to ensure maximum participation at the General Conference. We have noted with concerns the delays in the availability of invitation letters for visa purposes which made it difficult for delegates to secure visa interview spots. Given the high visa denial rates of US Visa at different embassies in Africa, having invitation letters early would have allowed time for alternate delegates to secure visas if the first elected delegates do not get the visa. With unavailability of visa invitation letters for alternate delegates, efforts for meaningful representation of delegations from Africa is being challenged as there is not sufficient time to secure visa interview spots. This jeopardizes any reasonable representation of Africa at the coming General Conference.
Thirdly, up until the first week of April 2024, three weeks before General Conference commences, some African delegates are yet to receive tickets and travel information as well as their lodging details for planning purposes. Those alternates who may have secured visas had not also received confirmation of their credentialing for the coming General Conference, let alone having an idea if they were going to travel and be able to be credentialed as delegates. We believe that advanced logistical arrangements help ensure the integrity of the process as delegates need to arrange their professional and personal commitments with full knowledge of their travel itineraries and other details such as lodging. The absence of such crucial information only raises uncertainties and leaves room to speculation.
The United Methodist Africa Forum (UMAF), African delegates and our leaders consider these unresolved issues as limitations to meaningful and effective participation of the African church at the upcoming General Conference as delegates may be unprepared for the huge demands of General Conference work which requires high mental preparedness and alertness if one is to make the necessary decisions our church is supposed to make at the coming General Conference.
Given the prevailing conditions, we would like to express that as Africans we consider this as an uncertain process with limited trust that risks compromising acceptance of the outcome of the General Conference. There will be far more African empty seats at the coming general conference, and we believe it will be unfair to expect the African church to endorse the outcomes of the General Conference where their quest for full participation has been thwarted by logistical delays that could be foreseen and mitigated. As the African church, we would like to remind the leadership of the church of our core understanding that there shall never be anything for us without us. There are fundamental and existential issues for the United Methodist Church in Africa which are going to be decided by the coming General Conference and the attempt to exclude and exert psychologically fatigue on the African delegates is totally unacceptable and we will not be bound by the outcome decided in such conditions.
We recognize the enormous efforts being done by all parties to ensure success of the upcoming General Conference and that certain things may not be corrected given the limited time; however, we request the leadership of the church to explore all possible means to reduce the number of African empty seats at the coming general Conference.
In recognition of these challenges, we are calling you to immediately start planning for the next General Conference to be outside the United States of America and be in a country where Most African delegates can attend. We are suggesting that Africa should be the venue of the next General Conference where we may have to redo the work that was supposed to be done in Charlotte.
We were, We are, and We will always be United Methodists!
May God bless you.
Peace,
Rev. Lloyd Nyarota Rev. Gabrial Banga Mususwa
General Coordinator General Secretary
On behalf of the
United Methodist Africa Forum
