UMC Article 4 Amendment

This year, Annual and Central conferences of the UMC will be voting on an amendment to Article 4, Paragraph 4 of the constitution. Through the Commission on Status and Role of Women we offer the following information about the amendment, and, in particular, its effect on people with disabilities.

Note that the vote will be yes / no. No amendments to the proposal are allowed.

The proposed amendment regarding membership reads as follows:
In the United Methodist Church, no conference or other organizational unit of the Church shall be structured so as to exclude any member or constituent body of the Church because of race, color, national origin, ability or economic condition, nor shall any member be denied access to an equal place in the life, worship, and governance of the Church because of race, color, gender, national origin, ability, age, marital status, or economic condition.

What do these changes mean?

• ABILITY: adds ability to the list of categories constitutionally protected from exclusion in the Church; the Church cannot discriminate based on a person’s physical or mental circumstances. Adding this word to “The Constitution” means that a person may not be denied membership privileges based on their abilities or limitations (abilities are God-given gifts vs. skills which are learned behaviors).
• GENDER: adds gender to the list of categories constitutionally protected from exclusion in the Church; the Church cannot discriminate against a person because they are male or female. Throughout The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church, gender is used when addressing fair treatment of both men and women; this language is consistent with The Discipline.
• AGE: adds age to the list of categories constitutionally protected from exclusion in the Church; the Church cannot discriminate based on a person’s age, particularly the very young and the very old. Reminds us that the Church is a multi-generational community; all ages are important.
• MARITAL STATUS: defines status as “marital status”, adding it to the list of categories constitutionally protected from exclusion in the Church; the Church cannot discriminate against a people because they are single or married. These words prevent unfair treatment of a person based on their marital status.
• *Note: this amendment is not about transgender, homosexuality or polygamy.

If you have any questions, please contact the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women, United Methodist Women, the General Commission on Discipleship, or the DisAbility Ministries Committee of The United Methodist Church

A captioned video is available with succinct explanations and illustrations.