Special Day Observances

General Council on Ministries and General Council on Finance and Administration Recommendations to the 2004 General Conference regarding Special Day Observances.

1.	To retain the six churchwide Special Sundays with offerings (i.e. Human Relations Day, One Great Hour of Sharing, World Communion Sunday, United Methodist Student Day, Peace with Justice Sunday, and Native American Ministries Sunday).
2.	To observe Heritage Sunday as a churchwide Special Sunday without offering, but to change the observance date to Aldersgate Day (May 24) or the Sunday preceding that date. The day provides an opportunity for reflection on heritage, celebration of where the Church has been, how it understands itself as it shapes us today, and the meaning of Christian conferencing. Heritage Sunday calls the Church to remember the past by committing itself to the continuing call of God. Changing the observance of Heritage Sunday from April 23 to May 24 would address the concerns of the variability of Easter Sunday. The General Commission on Archives and History, the GCOM and the GCFA acknowledged that more United Methodists are familiar with Aldersgate Day than with the union of the Evangelical Brethren Church and the Methodist Church and would be more likely to celebrate their heritage on Aldersgate Day rather than on April 23rd.
3.	To continue Laity Sunday as a churchwide Special Sunday without offering.
4.	To delete Organ and Tissue Donor Sunday as a churchwide Special Sunday without offering. When the General Conference designated this special Sunday, no agency was specifically assigned the supervision or promotion of the observance. Thus, it has rarely been observed in local churches. The GCOM and GCFA felt it would be better to have a more broadly focused observance than on this singular issue, but was not prepared to make a recommendation to the 2004 General Conference.
5.	To retain the four Sundays for annual conference observation (i.e. Christian Education Sunday, Golden Cross Sunday, Rural Life Sunday, and Disability Awareness Sunday).