During their Year-end Meeting on November 16, the Mid-America Union executive committee voted to place ordination without regard for gender on the agenda for their 2021 regularly scheduled constituency session.
An article from MAUC communication director Brenda Dickerson reads:
Following the president’s report, a motion was brought to the Executive Committee by Dakota Conference president Neil Biloff. He asked that an item be placed on MAUC’s regularly scheduled 2021 Constituency Session agenda stating the desire to provide ordination opportunities for all pastors in Mid-America, both male and female.
The motion followed a lengthy discussion of recent actions voted by the General Conference at its Annual Council last month and by the North America Division last week at its Year-end Meeting. Copies of the document voted by the GC Executive Committee and the NAD’s response were included with each MAUC Executive Committee member’s information packet.
The article goes on to say that while some of the committee members would have preferred a shorter time frame, waiting until the regularly scheduled constituency session would allow all six conferences within the MAUC to fully explore how their constituents feel about the issue, as well as to provide the General Conference an opportunity to respond to the NAD’s request for actions to be added to the 2020 GC Session agenda.
Committee members were asked if they would prefer a secret ballet, but none requested it so a voice vote was taken. The motion passed with strong support.