For those playing along at home

One of my frustrations being on the east coast/midwest is that I miss lots of the livestream.  (That’s not counting the hours I spend telling myself that I’m going to work instead of watching the livestream… and then I end up checking the twitter feed every five minutes, which also isn’t that helpful for my productivity–or my blood pressure).  While I’m doing local church work, the general church goes on without me. It’s a lesson in humility and patience and trust – and in “keeping the main thing the main thing.”

The good news is that within twenty-four hours, each plenary, worship, and keynote address is posted on the UMC’s Multimedia page. So, if you’re playing along at home, I’ll link to a few videos to get you started. (And then I promise I’ll mostly stay off this blog while Mom, Dad, and Connor do the first-hand reporting! Remember that lesson in humble listening that I’m working on?)

If you are on this blog because you are obsessed with the UMC, I highly recommend watching Bishop Gregory Palmer’s episcopal address.

If you are on this blog because you are obsessed with Judi Kenaston, then you can see her eleven minutes of fame here:

(The embedded video should start at 1:31:07 of the May 10 Afternoon Session)
(I had a local church evening meeting during her afternoon Portland speech, so I had to look this up two days later… and while I was at it, I thought I could share with you!) 

Mom also spoke on Rule 44. You can see her closing statement and the final vote here:

(This embedded video should start at 2:35:25 of the May 12 Morning Session. Speeches for/against and various motions/amendments are found throughout the previous few days’ archival footage) 

I realize that it’s a bit narrow-sighted to only link to my own mother, but I hope that this gives you a good feel for General Conference plenaries and an easy entry into exploring more of what may interest you at General Conference.

As you livestream and/or watch the archived footage, you may also appreciate this Guide to General Conference.

Now go out and do some local work!