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By an average tally of 94% to 6%, delegates to the 2009 session of the North Georgia Annual Conference voted disapproval of five amendments aimed at restructuring the United Methodist Church into “regional” conferences that would have greater national autonomy.

The 2009 Session of the North Georgia
Annual Conference, meeting in Athens, Ga.

Final approval or disapproval of the amendments, all of which received a two-thirds majority endorsement at the 2008 General Conference, will be based on the aggregate vote of delegates throughout the 135 annual conferences of the UMC (62 in the U.S., 73 outside the U.S.). More than half of U.S. conferences have already voted.

The North Georgia vote is particularly significant because the North Georgia Annual Conference is the largest annual conference in the United States. The lopsided outcome in North Georgia will have a large impact on the final aggregate total.

Although the aggregate vote will not be officially announced until the Council of Bishops meeting in November, vote totals already released by various annual conferences suggest that the restructuring amendments are not likely to win the two-thirds margin needed for ultimate approval. Indeed, it now seems doubtful that the amendments will even win a majority of the votes cast by annual conference delegates.

Here are the raw vote totals from the North Georgia Conference for the five restructuring amendments:

At a gathering of conservative North Georgia leaders earlier this year, Dr. Ed Tomlinson, district superintendent of the conference’s Atlanta-Roswell District and vice chair of the North Georgia’s 2008 General Conference delegation, argued that implementation of the restructuring amendments would “decimate connectionalism as we know it today.”

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The Rev. Diane Parrish urges a 'No' vote on Amendment I

Delegates to the North Georgia session also voted disapproval of Amendment I — by 64% to 36% (958 to 544).

Amendment I would alter Article IV of the United Methodist Constitution, an article dealing with eligibility for membership in the local church.

During the debate on the amendment, several clergy members of the conference voiced concerns that passage of Amendment I would make it more difficult for pastors to give spiritual oversight regarding the readiness of individuals to take the vows of membership.

Use the audio player below to listen to that debate (13 min).

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North Georgia delegates gave strong support — 86% to 14% — to Amendment XVII, which would convey voting privileges to lay members serving on a committee of investigation.

By an 88% to 12% tally, delegates approved Amendment XIX, which would empower qualified “local pastors” to vote on delegates to General and Jurisdictional Conferences.

Full amendment results from the North Georgia Conference are here. To listen to Bishop Mike Watson announce the results of the voting, use the audio player below (8 min.)