November 2023 – Memorial 52 Update
During the 150th session of the North American General Board, Global Partners Executive Director Dennis Jackson provided an update on Memorial 52 – CONSTITUTION: AMENDMENT REGARDING GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT and the Amendment from the North American General Board to remove paragraph 6725:3(c) from The Essentials sent to the International Conference of The Wesleyan Church.
The Caribbean General Conference voted on both matters with the following result:
- Memorial 52: 10 Yes; 42 No
- Amendment to remove paragraph 6725:3(c) from The Essentials: 20 Yes; 43 No
At this time, neither item has crossed the 2/3 aggregate vote bar required to become effective. The North American General Conference will vote on the Memorial to remove paragraph 6725:3(c) from The Essentials at its 15th General Conference in 2026.
December 2022 – Memorial 52 Update
During the 147th meeting of the General Board, the Chair explained that passage of Memorial 52: Constitution: Amendment Regarding Gifts of the Spirit at General Conference put the North American General Conference (NAGC) of The Wesleyan Church in conflict with The Essentials (Charter of the International Conference of The Wesleyan Church (ICWC), “The Discipline” Appendix A 6520 and 6730). The Chair recommended that the General Board, on behalf of the NAGC and in accordance with Memorial 52’s intent, present an amendment to the ICWC to have paragraph 6725:3c removed from The Essentials to allow for contextualization by each General Conference. The General Board approved the amendment which will be communicated to ICWC by General Superintendent Schmidt and Global Partners Executive Director Dr. Dennis Jackson.
A recap of the 147th session of the General Board is available here: General Board convened for final 2022 session – The Wesleyan Church
August 2022 – Memorial 52 Update
In May 2022, the North American General Conference of The Wesleyan Church passed Memorial 52 – CONSTITUTION: AMENDMENT REGARDING GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT, a change to The Constitution of the North American General Conference (The Discipline, paragraph 265:10).
Gifts of the Spirit are included in The Essentials of The Wesleyan Church – a series of doctrines and practices that all members of The Wesleyan Church (North American, Caribbean and Philippine General Conferences) must agree and adhere to (The Discipline, paragraph 6725:3c).
In order to defend and honor our essential documents, the following requirements must be met before being adopted as the law of the Church:
- Change to The Constitution of the North American General Conference requires ratification by a two-thirds majority vote of the North American General Conference delegates and a two-thirds aggregate vote of the delegates to the North American district conferences. This requirement has been with an aggregate vote of 3,294 Yea, 824 Nea (80% in favor).
- However, because this change impacts The Essentials, Memorial 52 is not approved until the two other General Conferences of the International Church have taken action regarding the Gifts of the Spirit. The Caribbean General Conference is scheduled for 2023, and the Philippine General Conference is scheduled for spring 2026.
- To reiterate, action by both General Conferences must occur to fulfill the requirements set forth in The Discipline. Until the final conference votes in 2026, no action related to Gifts of the Spirit, as specified in Memorial 52, is in effect in the North American General Conference.
Rev. 22.06.08 – Memorial updated with amendments from the 14th General Conference
