In 2014, young people from around the world came together in Manila, Philippines for worship, fellowship, and voting on petitions to send to General Conference 2016. After surviving a typhoon, the aftermath, passionate and sometimes difficult conversations, and legislative work deep into the night, the young people crafted five petitions and one Statement of Unity. The five petitions and their outcomes were:

1. Aligning Investments with the Social Principles:

A resolution calling for the UMC to divest from Hewlett-Packard, Motorola and Caterpillar, was rejected in favor of another similar petition that was ultimately rejected by the plenary.

2. Beyond Resolutions to Environmental Action:

A non-disciplinary action item asking all levels of the church to take action on environmental concerns did not pass in committee.

3. Specific Mention to Prohibit the Exclusion of Membership Based on Sexual Orientation:

An amendment to Article 4 adding the words gender and sexual orientation, was rejected in favor of a similar petition that ultimately left out the phrase “sexual orientation” and was passed by the plenary.

4. Leave Room for Young People:

An amendment to ¶502 to ask that wherever possible 1 of every 3 delegates in a conference’s delegation be a young person, did not pass in committee.

5. Consideration of the Schedules of Young People:

An amendment to ¶610 adding that all meetings at all levels of the church should take into account the school schedules of young people, passed on the consent calendar.

Finally, young delegates to General Conference read their Statement of Unity during the plenary while the topic of LGBTQI people was being discussed. The statement was moving and prophetic. You can watch it here: