Registration deadline: Sep. 16^th  

This discussion-based class is focused on a decision taking place in the spring of 1908. The General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church is convening its 25th session in Baltimore, Maryland, on May 6. Modeled after the United States Congress, the General Conference is responsible for ecclesiastical policymaking. Its decisions become part of the official church doctrines and discipline for the denomination’s thousands of connected congregations. This year, delegates to the Conference will be urged to act on a proposed “Social Creed” for the church, which, if adopted in its entirety, will declare that the Methodist Episcopal Church as a matter of Christian principle stands firmly for a group of social reforms—among them, abolition of child labor, adoption of a six-day work week, and a living wage for workers in all industries—which will greatly unburden the lives of this nation’s working classes.

This discussion class will use a discussion guide produced by NIFI. National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI), is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that serves to promote public deliberation about difficult public issues. Its activities include publishing the issue guides and other materials used by local forum groups, encouraging collaboration among forum sponsors, and sharing information about current activities in the network.

Facilitator Hugh Grefe has served in a variety of executive, civic, and board roles in the greater Toledo community. Grefe earned a Master of Arts in History at the University of Toledo and in 2002 was awarded a Fannie Mae Foundation Fellowship to participate in the Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.