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General Conference

Church History
The Methodist Church’s 1956 General Conference meets from April 25 to May 7 in the municipal auditorium in Minneapolis. On May 4, the first Friday of the legislative assembly, the delegates voted to make women eligible for full clergy rights. “Now it is up to us to prove in clear and deep witness to the whole church our consecration and our loyal devotion to the work of the Kingdom of God,” said Margaret Henrichsen, a General Conference visitor, after the vote. In 1967, she became the first U.S. woman appointed district superintendent. Photo courtesy of Archives and History.

Why the 1956 women-clergy vote matters
Seventy years ago, the Methodist Church supported full conference membership for women clergy — a decision that would have a resounding impact when The United Methodist Church formed in 1968 and even today.
General Conference
Emily Allen, a veteran lay delegate from the California-Nevada Conference, delivers a report during the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C. on May 3, 2024. Allen has been elected to serve as the interim General Conference secretary beginning July 1. She will lead the planning of The United Methodist Church’s international legislative assembly, scheduled May 8-16, 2028, in Minneapolis. Photo by Larry McCormack, UM News.

Bishops elect interim General Conference head
Emily Allen will lead the planning of The United Methodist Church’s international legislative assembly, next scheduled in 2028.
General Conference
The skyline of Minneapolis, which is scheduled to host the 2028 General Conference. The Commission on the General Conference, meeting online April 17-18, voted to shorten General Conference to May 8-16, 2028. The group is also taking steps to protect delegates amid heightened immigration enforcement. Photo by Lane Pelovsky, courtesy of Meet Minneapolis.

Planners shorten GC2028, discuss Minneapolis
Organizers are pressing forward with holding the 2028 United Methodist General Conference over eight days in Minneapolis. The group is also taking steps to protect delegates amid heightened immigration enforcement.
General Church
Bishop Gift K. Machinga (right) prepares to cut the ribbon at Mikundi Dairy Farm in Mikundi, Malawi, during his first visit to the country. Machinga says the church-run farm is a beacon of the income-generating projects he envisions for his episcopal area, which includes Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Botswana. He is joined by the Rev. Daniel Mhone (center), superintendent of the Malawi Provisional Conference, Kephus Mtambo (left), the farm’s project coordinator, and community members. Photo by Francis Nkhoma, UM News.

Bishop’s visit signals new hope in Malawi
After years of legal turmoil in the country, Bishop Gift K. Machinga meets with church leaders to hear about challenges, create a roadmap for future.

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