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Monday, June 6th, 2022 marks the commencement of the first hybrid General Conference (GC) Session in St. Louis, Missouri. The day began with opening remarks from Adventist World Church President Ted Wilson, Secretary Erton Kohler, and Treasurer Paul Douglas.
During the morning’s opening worship, Director of Ministerial Association Jerry Page led with prayer and introduced evangelist Mark Finley, Chaplain of the United States Senate Barry Black, and Senior Pastor of Pioneer Memorial Church in Berrien Springs, Michigan, Dwight Nelson, each shared messages under the worship theme of “Seeking the Holy Spirit Together in Prayer, Music and the Word”. There were also several moments for partnered and group prayer during morning worship.
Wilson provided a comprehensive summary of significant events of the World Church since the last GC Session in his President’s Report. He urged delegates to participate prayerfully through voice and vote as their responsibility is a sacred one. Those in attendance, both in person and online, also witnessed and celebrated the baptism of Philippine Army Colonel, Eric Guevarra, and his wife, Leah.
The world church also welcomed 10 new unions into the Sisterhood of Unions in Zimbabwe, Belize, Ghana, Netherlands, Malaysia, and Ethiopia.
Morning Business Session:
The morning business meeting was chaired by Vice-President of the General Conference, Arthur Stele. Secretary of the GC Erton Köhler led opening procedures, making note that the executive committee was in harmony with the GC Constitution (item 102). He also led the reading of the Mission Statement (item 104) and Undersecretary of the GC Hensley Moorooven provided a brief orientation for session delegates highlighting the ethical expectations, responsibilities, and session protocols.
The following motions were voted as approved during the morning session:
The subject of vaccination was brought up by delegate Jonathan Zirkle who requested to have the Church revisit its statement on vaccines as part of the GC Session agenda. No second was given. Stele encouraged leaving this point out of the agenda due to limited time. Motion was seconded and approved by common consent.
Grace Mackintosh from the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada provided a second via Zoom for Zirkle’s request to appeal the discussion of the church’s stance on the Covid-19 vaccine. Elder Wilson urged delegates to stand united in refusing to put this issue on the agenda as it is not a constitution and bylaws issue, not a church manual issue, or a fundamental belief item. Wilson also reminded delegates that the Church’s stance is that individuals have the right to choose for themselves.
Afternoon Business Session:
General Vice-President of the GC Ella Simmons chaired the afternoon’s business session, where the following agenda items were addressed:
Evening Business Session:
The meeting chair this evening was General Vice-President of the GC Abner de Los Santos. The following motions agenda items were addressed in Monday’s evening session:
The evening session ended with the arrival of the nominating committee report naming Elder Ted Wilson as nominee for President of the General Conference, followed by the vote, which went in his favor.
The first day of the GC Session concluded with evening worship from Timothy Standish entitled, “I Believe!”
The recorded livestream of today’s opening remarks, worship, and business meeting can be viewed on Youtube here. You can also access more information regarding GC Session, including the session agenda here. For information on the GC Session 2022 app, go to: https://adventist.news/news/2022-gc-sessions-first-official-app-goes-live.
ANN and Adventist.news are the official news channels of the Seventh-day Adventist church.
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