Help is at hand for those following General Conference

Several resources are available to help people understand and keep up with the work of the United Methodist Church’s 2004 General Conference.

The Web site of the General Conference, www.gc2004.org, features news stories leading up to the assembly and will include daily multimedia news coverage and video streaming of key events once the conference gets under way.

The site, administered by United Methodist Communications, also includes “About General Conference 2004,” offering an overview of everything from logistical details about the assembly to information on key legislation.

People interested in tracking legislation as it goes through the assembly will be able to do so with the new Online Legislative Tracking available on the General Conference site.

A free electronic newsletter subscription is also available through the site. Subscribers will receive news, feature stories and scheduled online offerings daily by e-mail.

United Methodist News Service will provide Web, video and audio news coverage daily at the site. Its reports will include stories in Spanish and Korean, as well as news of interest to Native American and African-American audiences.

An interactive online course, “Exploring General Conference: What, When, How” tells how General Conference operates and how it speaks for the denomination. The self-paced course provides a multimedia, “virtual” classroom experience that intermingles printed content, audio and video clips, quizzes, animated learning aids, and a threaded discussion board. The course is offered through April 28. Cost is $12. Go to www.training.umcom.org for details.

The denomination’s top lawmaking body will meet April 27-May 7 in Pittsburgh.

News media can contact Tim Tanton at (615)742-5470 or [email protected].


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