CHICAGO: The Connectional Table is launching a series of weekly videos in October to help inform United Methodist church leaders and General Conference delegates leading up to the 2016 General Conference next May. The videos are part of an online forum called #CTTalks.
“#CTTalks is intended to provide a way of engaging information about General Conference, rather than simply reading it,” said the Rev. Dr. Amy Valdez Barker, executive secretary of The Connectional Table. “Our goal is to invite people to engage in the conversation before we get to Portland.”
The #CTTalks forum is designed to be used by delegations and annual conferences as they study and discuss issues that will be addressed at General Conference 2016. These weekly posts will include interviews with United Methodist bishops, Connectional Table members, and other leaders from across the denomination.
Each video will also be accompanied by a one-page conversation sheet with FAQs on the topic, as well as questions for delegates to use to continue the dialogue. The videos and the conversation sheets will be available on the Connectional Table website.
Delegates are invited to ask questions of the interviewees in advance via Twitter using the hashtag #CTTalks. Individual delegates and entire delegations can use the resource to help prepare for General Conference.
“We want to start building a culture of Christian conferencing among delegations and church leaders as we prepare for the important work General Conference does in discerning ‘what to teach’ across our connection,” said Valdez Barker.
The following is the proposed schedule for #CTTalks topics:
October 2015: General Conference Culture for 2016
November 2015: Christian Conferencing
December 2015: Vital Congregations – Paragraph 120
January 2016: Worldwide Nature – Our Theology
February 2016: Worldwide Nature – Our Organization/Structure
April 2016: Stronger Together: VC-Four Strategic Directions for 2017-2020
May 6: Welcome to Portland
General Conference will be held May 10-20, 2016, in Portland, Oregon.
About the Connectional Table
The Connectional Table oversees the coordination of mission, ministries and resources across the denomination. Created at the 2004 General Conference, The Connectional Table was formed to serve as both the visioning body of the church and the steward of resources to carry out the vision of the denomination worldwide.
