Letter from Bishop Farr on the Postponement of General Conference

Last night, we learned that the Commission on the General Conference announced that the 2020 General Conference cannot be held in 2022 due to COVID-related and governmental policies/constraints. The General Conference will be postponed until 2024. We also heard in a statement that the Council of Bishops will immediately begin to explore various pathways for sustaining the worldwide mission and witness of the United Methodist Church, given the announcement. We will learn more about the implications of the postponement in the coming weeks.

Let me remind us: Our future is not contingent upon whether General Conference meets. Listen for the Holy Spirit and stay focused on the mission field you have been called to serve.

Let me be clear: I am staying with the United Methodist Church. I have no intention of leaving the Church that has taught me and shaped my faith. I will not leave to participate in the Global Methodist Church or any other Wesleyan denomination or leave to become an independent Christian. I am a United Methodist.

I think we have the best approach to the Gospel. We are rooted in scripture, centered in Christ and united in the essentials. We are a denomination that allows for unity in Christ and diversity in the kingdom.

As we figure our future way together, I am planning a series of regional conversations around the state at the end of April. I would like for every clergyperson under appointment to attend at least one of these conversations. I will have clergy-only afternoon sessions and optional lay sessions in the evening as well as Sunday and Saturday options. Part-time pastors can choose the session that best suits their schedule. These conversations will not be recorded and will not be livestreamed. Learn more at www.moumethodist.org/continuing-umc.

Additionally, I wanted to share a longer-term vision for the Missouri Conference. In the video below, I share my vision of the Missouri Conference’s future. I also wanted to publicly share where I am on the questions of human sexuality – marriage and ordination – that have been at the center of this conversation.