Organizational Motion

1. This is the fourteenth session of the Upper New York Annual Conference held on June 1-3, 2023, at 1 Onondaga Community College SRC Arena, Syracuse, NY.

2. Holy Conferencing affirms our covenant with God and one another. At any time during the 4 proceedings, the bishop may call for a moment of discernment and prayer before a vote is taken.

3. The roll call of attendance shall be taken from credential cards presented at the time of registration. 9 Upon registration, members shall receive a name badge which shall state name and church or 10 position, with a lanyard that indicates voting rights.

4. Lay members are those specified by the 2016 Book of Discipline, ¶32, Article I, and ¶602.4. The 13 election of lay equalization members, as required in ¶32, Article I, and ¶602.4 (i.e., “the annual conference shall, by its own formula, provide for the election of additional lay members to equalize lay and clergy membership of the annual conference”) was determined according to the Rules for

Determining and Selecting Lay Members to the Annual Conference, approved by the Annual 17 Conference May 31, 2012. The list of potential nominees to serve as Equalization Lay Members is published and distributed with other pre-conference materials, shall be duly nominated, and elected as a first order of business of the Annual Conference.

Business Procedures

5. The session shall be governed by the rules of General Conference of The United Methodist Church and the Conference Rules of the Upper New York Annual Conference (2022). Roberts Rules of Order,

11th edition, shall govern all procedural questions where the rules of General Conference cannot be applied.

6. Clergy entitled to vote are those specified by the 2016 Book of Discipline, ¶602, subject to the limitations contained in the same paragraph.

7. The voting area of the Conference (“bar of the Conference”) shall be within the exercise track on the floor area of the arena. Guests and non-members may be seated in the designated visitor seating area. Persons standing or seated outside the bar of the Conference shall have no voice or vote on legislative matters.

8. Securing the Floor: Clergy and Lay members wishing to speak to the Conference shall raise their colored placard at their seat and wait to be recognized by the bishop. When recognized, they shall move to the nearest microphone, state their name, race, gender, clergy or laity status, church (laity) or appointment (clergy), and district, before addressing the body.

9. To ensure the accuracy of the minutes and faithfulness to the intention of the mover, motions and amendments from the floor must be submitted in writing to the Secretary of the Conference on a triplicate form provided for this purpose. A copy of the written motion or amendment will be provided by the author to the secretary upon moving the amendment. No motion or amendment will be voted on unless it is provided in writing. Forms will be available at each table. The 1 documented motion or amendment will be taken to the Conference Secretary by a Conference staff or volunteer. The author will retain one of the copies.

10. No person shall speak more than once upon the same question and shall be limited to not more than three minutes, except the maker of the resolution or the chairperson of the agency submitting the resolution, who shall have up to five minutes to open and three minutes to close debate.

11. Voting shall be by voice vote and/or show of hands, or by standing count (provided that in such a count those who cannot stand may vote by raising hands), or by ballot, or by electronic device, at the discretion of the bishop as Presiding Officer, unless otherwise ordered by the Conference. It shall be in order for any member to call for a vote by count on any question before the Conference, and, if the call is sustained by one-third (1/3) of the members present and voting, a vote shall be taken as called for.

12. The published agenda available on the Conference website shall be the official agenda for the Annual

Conference. Questions about the agenda may be directed to the assistant to the bishop.

13. All reports without recommendations shall be placed on the consent calendar. The Bishop’s Address to the Conference, the Report of the Conference Lay Leader, and the Superintendents’ report are automatically exempt from this rule. Further, upon proper motion from the floor, any report may be lifted from the consent calendar and placed on the agenda by a one-third (1/3) vote of the

Conference body.

14. The Director of Communications shall be responsible for reporting to the general periodicals of The

United Methodist Church and secular news media. All references for printing by the Conference official publication shall be subject to editing and condensing by the editor.

15. No material may be distributed within the bar of the Annual Conference sessions without prior review of the Agenda Committee of the UNY Sessions team: Rev. Mike Weeden (Dean of Cabinet),

Jessica White (Conference Lay Leader), and Rev. Bill Gottschalk-Fielding (Assistant to the Bishop).

16. The Journal Editor shall have sole authority to edit, condense, organize, and print the Upper New

York Conference Journal/Yearbook. All material from this session must be submitted in writing no later than July 15, 2023.

17. The Daily Proceedings from this 14th Session of Annual Conference will appear in the Upper New York

Conference Journal/Yearbook, that will be published following the October 14, 2023, Special Session of Annual Conference.