LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C. (June 13, 2017) -- Bishop Dindy Taylor set a time on Tuesday afternoon for Annual Conference members to present “new business” in response to a Monday action that amended the proposed agenda.

The 15-minute time slot is scheduled at 3:30 p.m. during the Tuesday session of the Holston Annual Conference.

Harrison Ambrose, member at Christ United Methodist Church in Knoxville, moved to amend the Annual Conference agenda as printed in the “Book of Reports” during Monday morning’s session. Ambrose’s motion stated:

There shall be included in this year’s annual conference agenda, and all subsequent annual conference agendas, a section titled "New Business" and that this agenda item must be scheduled at a time such that the members of all categories will be expected to be in maximum attendance and that the item called "New Business" will not be scheduled on the last day or at the end of any day’s agenda.

Ambrose’s amendment to the agenda was seconded, then adopted with a majority vote of the Annual Conference.

Later, Bishop Taylor made the following statement to explain her plan to implement the amendment to the agenda:

I have considered the action of the Annual Conference session this morning to amend our agenda to include a designated time to consider new business. Here is how I plan to handle that change to the agenda:

> During the afternoon business session on Tuesday, we will take up new business at 3:30 p.m.

> We will allot a period of 15 minutes for consideration of any new business presented.

> At the expiration of that time, if we have not completed consideration of any items presented as new business, we will recess further consideration of those remaining items and return to the order of the day.

> If that happens, I will determine an appropriate place in our agenda to complete the process of considering any remaining new business items.

I believe this process is necessary and appropriate to respect the fact that we have given specific time limits to those persons presenting reports on our agenda and to those guests who have been invited to make other presentations to this annual conference. It is my hope that this process will adequately balance the desire of the annual conference to have time in our schedule for general new business and honor the preparation by those who have been invited to make other presentations.