Eligibility of Delegates

Eligibility of Ministers

I am a senior pastor, but don't hold a national conference license. Am I eligible to be a delegate from my church?

No. You must hold a national conference license or a specialized ministries license to be eligible. A senior pastor who holds a lay minister's license or a local conference license is not eligible to be a voting delegate.

So it's possible that a church could have a senior pastor, but be eligible only for lay delegates?

That is correct.

Are ordained retired ministers eligible to be voting delegates?

Maybe. The requirement is stated this way in the Discipline: "Conference ministers who are actively pastoring a United Brethren church or serving in an appointed or elected position in the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, USA, are eligible to serve as voting members of the National Conference. Retired ministers will be advisory members of the US National Conference." Some ministers have been granted retirement status, but continue serving as a pastor or in a staff role. Such persons, still employed as ministers, would be eligible as voting delegates. Otherwise, they only have advisory status.

What about a retired minister who serves on a volunteer basis? Is eligibility based on employment status?

Yes, employment status is the key. A minister who is not employed as a minister is not considered as "actively pastoring," as the Discipline requires.

If a minister is no longer pastoring a UB church, and yet occasionally performs a wedding or funeral or does pulpit supply--does that constitute being an "active" minister, as described in the Constitution?

No, that is not how we are interpreting it. If you are receiving a paycheck for serving as a minister, and you hold the appropriate ministerial license, only then are you eligible to be a voting delegate.

I am not pastoring a UB church, but I'm a member of a denominational leadership team. Does that qualify as an "appointed or elected" position?

No.

A minister on our staff is ordained by another denomination, and does not hold a United Brethren ministerial license. Since this person is actively serving as a minister in our church, and is a member of our church, is he eligible to be a voting delegate?

No. Ministerial delegates must hold a national conference license with the United Brethren church.

Would that person be eligible to serve as a lay delegate? In the same way, could a local conference minister serves as a lay delegate?

Yes in both cases. If the person doesn't qualify as a ministerial delegate (because he/she doesn't hold the necessary license), and doesn't qualify as a retired minister (which would provide advisory status), then the person can, for purposes of national conference representation, be eligible to serve as a lay delegate.

Lay Delegates

If a delegate can't attend because of a death in the family, job situation, or for some other reason, can another person from our church takes his/her place?

Yes. Just make sure you notify the Bishop's office about the change.

The requirement is that a layperson be a member of a local UB church for five years to be eligible as a lay delegate. What about a person who has belonged to my church for only a year, but transferred from another UB church where he/she had been a member for many years?

That person is eligible. You only need to be a member of a church somewhere in the US National Conference for the five years immediately prior to election. If a person grew up as a UB, was a member of a church in another denomination, and transferred back into United Brethren membership less than five years ago, that person is not eligible.