General Conference News - #3

May 5, 2016

General Conference doesn't start until next Tuesday, May 10. But things are rolling today as bishops arrive for a Council of Bishops and preparations begin at the Oregon Convention Center.

Don't forget, if you coming to view General Conference, you should download the Hearing Hotspot application (see below) to get translation.

Greg Nelson, Director of Communications

Welcome to Portland!

As the bishops arrive for the Council of Bishops meeting they are greeted at the Airport by Local Host Team Volunteers. Rev. Brian Shimer helps Bishop Peggy Johnson with luggage.

Worship and Sessions to be streamed Live

You can watch the action of the 2016 General Conference via live streaming video at www.umc.org/live. All worship sessions and business on the plenary floor will be streamed. There will also be archives of sessions on that site. The first event will be Opening Worship at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 10.

What will General Conference mean for my United Methodist church?

While there have been many messages about volunteering to help host the General Conference next week in Portland, sometimes it's hard to know what the conference is really about. This United Methodist News Service story offers an overview of the key aspects of the conference and links to more information.

Shining a spotlight on Sand Creek

PORTLAND, Ore. (UMNS) — Delegates to the 2016 General Conference will get a 30-minute plenary session tutorial on the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre, an attack on Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians led by a Methodist pastor-turned-cavalry officer. They’ll also get a 173-page report offering more details on Methodist involvement in the massacre. Read more in this United Methodist News Service story.

How to be connected

There are several sources for news about General Conference:

Each day of conference there will be an email of Oregon-Idaho news
Members of the Oregon-Idaho delegation have been writing blog posts about General Conference
GC2016.umc.org is the starting place for General Conference information on the United Methodist Church website.
You can download the official GC 2016 app to your smartphone.
Follow the Oregon-Idaho Facebook and Twitter (@umoi) for feeds, pictures, videos, breaking news and activities at General Conference.

Two Apps for being connected

New technology emerges each time General Conference meets. With a four year meeting cycle, there is opportunity for technology to advance between sessions. Twitter, Facebook, cell phones, texting, smartphones and other devices have all had an impact on General Conference. At this year's conference two applications for smartphones or tablets will be key players.

Mobile app has the info

The GC2016 app features news stories, videos, delegate resources, sponsor and exhibitor information, and the daily schedule. With versions for Android and iOS, it will work on many devices. You can download it for free.

Translation app will be key for visitors

General Conference is a multi-lingual event. At past conferences, as the meeting was conducted in English, non-English speakers would hear simultaneous translation via headphones. But when a non-English speaker came to the microphone, the translation would be consecutive.

For the 2016 conference, all translation will be simultaneous. This means English speaking delegates and other official participants will have headsets for hearing translation.

However there will only be a limited number of headsets available for audience and guests. Conference planners are hoping that many of these guests will "bring their own" device for hearing translation.

Hearing Hotspot is a free software application that will allow people to turn most smartphones or tablets into a translation receiver. The app, along with you own headset or ear buds, will use a WiFi signal to give access to the feeds from professional translators. Devices must be capable of supporting 5-GHz WiFi signals (newer devices will - older devices may not).

You can download via Apple iTunes and Google Play. Learn more in this story on the UMC.org website.

Archive:

Did you miss Update #1? Read it here.

Did you miss Update #2? Read it here.