As the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) prepares for the 2023 meeting of the General Assembly next summer, the Office of General Minister and President is now receiving submissions for business resolutions.
The procedure for General Assembly business is outlined in the Special Rules of Procedures for the General Assembly and in the Design for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
Business items may be filed by any congregation, region, organization with a recognized relationship, institution or general ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) or by the governing structure of any such body (GA Special Rules 1.2). No more than one Sense-of-the-Assembly Resolution may be presented by any one group (GA Special Rules 2.5.2).
The deadline for submission of resolutions to the Office of General Minister and President is January 30, 2023. Upon recommendation of the General Minister and President, the Administrative Committee shall determine whether each item qualifies for consideration by the General Board.
Resolutions will be reviewed by the General Board during its meeting April 15-18, 2023. The General Board will decide on a recommendation regarding each resolution and will refer them to the General Assembly for consideration.
The Office of General Minister and President will circulate all resolutions for consideration (except emergency resolutions) to congregations, regions and general ministries no later than May 30, 2023.
Submitters should review the types of resolutions outlined in the Special Rules of the General Assembly (section 2).
Resolutions/business items contain two sections:
- Whereas – this section delineates the facts of the issue. Each fact receives its own “whereas” statement. Cites and statistical references should be footnoted.
- Therefore, be it resolved – this section names the action(s) to be considered by the local congregations/regional ministries/general ministries in answer to the issue described in the” Whereas” section. If an action requires funding, the source of the funding needs to be named. If an action requires an individual or group to act on behalf of the voting delegates of the Assembly, that person or group should benamed.
A third section – Background Information – may be included at the end of the resolution to provide additional information and history.
Resolutions may not impose judgment on others, nor are they to bring into question the Christian commitment of those who do not agree with the position of the submitters.
When submitting a resolution to the Office of General Minister and President, please email your submission to [email protected]. A complete submission must include:
- the name, email address and cell phone number of the person who will act as the point of contact for the submitters throughout the process
- the ministry(ies) putting forth the resolution
- the resolution as a Microsoft Word document