Conference sending diverse delegation to GC 2020

The Oregon-Idaho Conference has voted to send a diverse group of clergy and lay delegates to General Conference 2020 in Minneapolis.

Head of the delegation will be Rev. Wendy Woodworth, who is an openly lesbian clergywoman serving Salem’s Morningside UMC a part of Open Door Ministries of Salem-Keizer.

Back for another turn as lay delegate will be Jan Nelson, an openly lesbian member of Salem Morningside UMC and lay leader for the Conference.

Additionally, the Conference selected  Mark Bateman of Salem First UMC and Kylie Nelson of Wesley UMC in Eugene as Western Jurisdiction lay delegates.

Revs. Anna Cho of Portland Epworth UMC, Donna Pritchard of Portland First UMC and Jeremy Smith, an Oregon-Idaho elder currently serving in the PNW conference at Seattle First UMC, will serve as Jurisdictional clergy delegates. Cho will also serve as a first reserve clergy delegate for General Conference.

In addition to that, Lydia Henry of Gresham First UMC and Carter Lybeck of Trinity United Methodist Church Idaho Falls were approved as reserve lay delegates for jurisdictional conference. Revs. Daryl Blanksma of Trinity UMC Eugene and Julia Nielsen of Portsmouth Union in Portland will serve as clergy reserve delegates for jurisdictional conference.

Galan identifies publicly as pansexual/queer, Blanksma as gay and Lybeck identifies as transgender. Cho is Korean; and Kylie Nelson is Asian-American.

Though some are considered jurisdictional delegates, all of the individuals mentioned above will serve as reserve delegates to General Conference, working together to monitor legislative committees and work in coalition with other Western Jurisdiction delegations.

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*Esteban Galan of Boise has resigned his position as Western Jurisdiction delegate.