The following resolutions passed in the first part of the Monday, June 9 session of the 2014
Annual Conference Session.
ACTION ITEM 102
ACTION ITEM # 102
Immigration Reform
(To replace obsolete Resolution 9331 (Enforcement and Reform of Immigration Laws) and obsolete
Resolution 9614 (Refugee Crisis Response).
WHEREAS: Throughout Scripture the people of God are called to love sojourners in our midst, treating
them "as the citizen among you" and loving them as we do ourselves (Leviticus 19:33-34), and
WHEREAS: The UMC "affirms the worth, dignity, and rights of every person regardless of their
nationality or legal status,"4 and
WHEREAS: Families in Iowa are being torn apart as parents are deported leaving children with
struggling single parents or in foster care, and
WHEREAS: Iowa research5 shows that immigrants offer valuable contributions to the Iowa economy
through their labor, entrepreneurship, buying power, and
WHEREAS: A growing consensus finds it imperative to make our U.S. immigration system more
responsive to the economic demands, social realities and security concerns of all;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: That the Iowa Annual Conference urges its members to pray for all
whose lives are affected by unjust immigration laws, including enforcers; to practice holy conferencing in
local communities;
FURTHER, BE IT RESOLVED: That the Iowa Annual Conference calls upon the President and
Congress to reform immigration laws to meet the humanitarian, economic and demographic realities of
Iowans; to recognize the right of peoples to migrate to preserve their life; to allow America to realistically
police its borders and include a process for immigrants who are present in Iowa to earn citizenship upon
satisfaction of specific criteria, but not before those who make legal application; and
FURTHER, BE IT RESOLVED: That the Iowa Annual Conference calls upon the President to stop
deportations of anyone except convicted felons until these changes are made.
Submitted by: Des Moines: Las Americas/Trinity United Methodist Church
4 Welcoming the Migrant to the United States adopted by the 2008 General Conference of the UMC,
5 Beth Pearson and Michael F. Sheehan, "Undocumented Immigrants in Iowa" Iowa Policy Project, Mt
Vernon Iowa, October 2007 pp.30-31 - cited in "Assessing the Economic Impact of Immigration at the
State and Local Level, Immigration Policy Project, April 13, 2010.
Passed as amended 648-207.
Section II: Conference Ministries – Episcopal Office
Episcopal Office Staff, Communications and Human Resources
The items in this section cover areas of the conference’s work related to the ministries of the Bishop,
Cabinet, District Staff, Connectional Ministries Staff and the Office of Pastoral Care and Counseling.
ACTION ITEM # 201
Full text of the resolution is available HERE on page 25.
Section III: Conference Ministries – Administration
The items in this section relate to specific areas of the conference’s infrastructure: financial and
property administration (including staff responsible for this area), clergy ethics training, nominations for
conference agencies, planning and funding of the Annual Conference Session, historical record-keeping,
the calling and credentialing of clergy, and the administration of health insurance and pension benefits
for clergy and laity in the conference.
Council on Finance and Administration
ACTION ITEM #301
Found HERE on page 40.
Resolution was passed, less the following passage:
7. Apportionment Formula:
b. As soon as practicable after the Annual Conference Session, the Conference Treasurer shall
notify each local congregation’s pastor and treasurer of the amount that is their portion of our United
Methodist Church’s Shared Ministries, using the following method:
ii. Adjusted if local congregations have not reported Table 3 or reported less income on Table 3
Part 67 than they spent for Pastoral Ministries, Operating Expense and Program Expense. The adjustment
shall be made by using the expenses reported.
Board of Pension and Health Benefits
ACTION ITEM # 307
Full text can be found HERE, page 63.
New motion put forth from the floor
The resident Bishop appoint a 10-15 member Poverty to Opportunity Task Force representing
United Methodist churches, boards and agencies by August 1, 2014. The task force will:
1. Examine programs which engage people in hands-on mission activities and create
opportunity for those experiencing economic poverty.
2. Explore statewide strategic partnerships.
3. Determine funding needs.
4. Recommend to the 2015 Annual Conference a statewide program through which
communities of faith will have a transformative impact on urban and rural poverty.
Submitted by Clint G. Twedt-Ball, passed 822-77.
