Thousands of United Methodists are gathering in Charlotte, North Carolina, for their big denominational meeting, known as General Conference.

It’s a much-anticipated gathering. Typically it is held every four years, but church leaders delayed the 2020 gathering until now due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year, the 11-day gathering runs from April 23 to May 3. Among those assembling are hundreds of voting delegates — the United Methodists from across the globe who were elected to represent their regional church body — though as many as one-quarter of international delegates are not confirmed as able to attend. The delegates, half clergy and half lay Methodists, are the decision makers at General Conference.

WHAT HAPPENS AT GENERAL CONFERENCE?

General Conference — the only entity that can speak for the entire denomination — is a business meeting where delegates set policy, pass budgets and address other church-wide matters. It’s the only body that can amend the United Methodist Book of Discipline, which includes church law. It also includes Social Principles, which are non-binding declarations on social and ethical issues. There’s worship and fellowship, too.

IS THERE SOMETHING UNIQUE ABOUT THIS YEAR’S MEETING?

Yes. This will be the first General Conference since more than 7,600 mostly conservative congregations left the United Methodist Church between 2019 and 2023 because the denomination essentially stopped enforcing its bans on same-sex marriage and having “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” serving as clergy and bishops.

WILL THE GENERAL CONFERENCE LIFT THOSE LGBTQ-RELATED BANS THIS YEAR?

It’s possible. The delegates in Charlotte are expected to vote on whether to eliminate them. Similar efforts have failed in years past, but with the election of more progressive delegates and the departure of many conservatives, supporters of removing the bans are optimistic.

WHAT OTHER KEY ISSUES ARE UP FOR CONSIDERATION?

— Disaffiliations: The rules that allowed U.S. congregations to leave between 2019 and 2023. It allowed them to leave with their properties, held in trust for the denomination, under friendlier-than-normal legal terms. Some want similar conditions for international churches and for U.S. churches that missed the 2023 deadline.

—Regionalization: A proposal to restructure the denomination into regional conferences around the world, rather than having distinct names for U.S. and other jurisdictions. It would define the role of regions more precisely and put American congregations into their own regional body. Under this proposal, all regions would be able to adapt church policies to their local contexts, including those on marriage and ordination.

—Budgets: Because of all the disaffiliations, the conference will vote on a much-reduced budget proposal for the coming years.

WHERE ARE THE DELEGATES COMING FROM?

Though thousands of Methodists with be attending the conference, there are only 862 official voting delegates, from the following regions of the church:

• 55.9% from the U.S.

• 32% from Africa

• 6% from the Philippines

• 4.6% from Europe

• 1.5% from concordant (affiliated) churches

WILL THEY ALL BE THERE?

No. As of last week, only about three-quarters of international delegates were confirmed as able to attend, the Commission on the General Conference reported Thursday. The other quarter includes 27 delegates unable to get visas or passports, others who couldn’t attend for various reasons, and 62 delegates still unconfirmed. African groups have strongly criticized denominational officials, faulting them for delays in providing necessary paperwork and information and raising questions about whether African conferences will accept voting results from the conference.

HOW ARE CONGREGATIONS PREPARING?

That varies widely, but those long active in the movement to repeal LGBTQ bans are focused strongly on the conference. First United Methodist Church in Pittsburgh, for example, held a commissioning service on April 14 for three members attending the conference in varying capacities. “It will be deeply meaningful for me personally to vote for those changes,” said member Tracy Merrick, who will be a delegate.

WHAT ARE UNITED METHODISTS, ANYWAY?

They’re part of a larger worldwide family of Methodists and other groups in the tradition of 18th century British Protestant revivalist John Wesley, who emphasized evangelism, holy living and social service. They hold many beliefs in common with other Christians, with some distinct doctrines. United Methodists traditionally ranged from liberal to conservative. They were until recently the third largest and most widespread U.S. denomination. Methodist missionaries planted churches worldwide, which grew dramatically, especially in Africa. Some became independent, but churches on four continents remain part of the United Methodist Church.

HOW MANY UNITED METHODISTS ARE THERE?

5.4 million in the United States as of 2022, but that will decline significantly due to 2023 disaffiliations.

4.6 million in Africa, Asia and Europe. That’s lower than earlier estimates but reflects more recent denominational reports.

SOURCES: General Council on Finance and Administration and other United Methodist entities.

Former archbishop George Carey backs assisted dying campaign after 'conversion'

Life is sacred but we also have a "sacred duty" to show mercy to those who are suffering at the end of their lives, former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey has said.

A decade ago, Lord Carey firmly opposed assisted dying and believed "killing in any form was wrong".

But he is now backing calls for law change to allow some people who are terminally ill to request medical assistance to die with dignity.

The retired Anglican Bishop, 88, told the Daily Express he had "almost a conversion experience" after hearing harrowing stories of people who had suffered in their final days and weeks.

He said: "One day I said to myself, 'What's the evidence that [assisted dying] is doing any wrong?'

"I started to look at the Bible and Christian theology and thought 'there is nothing here that actually is relevant because it's a modern question'.

"That started me thinking very closely and wondering if I was on the right track."Lord Carey gave the hypothetical example of a woman in her 70s who is suffering from excruciating pain due to terminal cancer.

He said: "Life is sacred to that person too but what science should be doing is relieving their suffering. That is a sacred duty, to actually help people at the end of their lives.

"Life is a gift but science, which has created the problem by helping us all to live longer, should be there to help us find ways of closing down suffering, helping people to die peacefully."

The Daily Express Give Us Our Last Rights crusade calls for assisted dying to be legalised for terminally ill adults who are mentally sound and expected to die within six months.

Over the last two years, dozens of campaigners with experience of horrific deaths - or fears that they will one day experience one - have shared their stories with the Express.

The personal cases that influenced Lord Carey include that of Tony Nicklinson, a man with locked-in syndrome following a stroke.

He lost a High Court case to allow doctors to end his life and died aged 58 after refusing food and water.

Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee 2022 - Platinum Pageant© Getty

Lord Carey's position is at odds with the Church of England, which remains opposed to assisted dying.

In a submission to the Commons Health and Social Care Committee's recent inquiry, the Church argued that law change could lead to a "slippery slope" where access is inevitably widened.It also warned that it would be "foolish" to think that elderly people would not be pressured into ending their lives prematurely.

However, the inquiry discredited the slippery slope idea. It found countries which introduced assisted dying and based their eligibility criteria on terminal illness had not widened it to include cases where people suffering but not incurably ill.

Lord Carey accused the Church and current Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby of "using the fear motive".

He added: "They disagree very profoundly with me, certainly the Archbishop does. But I can cope with that because I do think that they are on the wrong side of history.

"If you go to Oregon, which has been pioneering this in the US, all their fears will be shown to be quite baseless. It hasn't led to a slippery slope, it has not led to abuse.

"It has not led to the decline of palliative care. If anything, it has gone the other way."

Lord Carey, who was the 103rd Archbishop of Canterbury between 1991 to 2002, described himself as a "deeply conservative Christian leader" who takes a traditional view on most matters.

But he said: "On this I am quite liberal and believe it's the right thing because it's terrible for us to expect that really sick people pleading for mercy at the end of their lives are not given that by people who can help them."

The law in the UK has "failed really sick people", Lord Carey added. He recalled an example of a woman he knew whose close friend begged for help to end her life.

Sitting together on a garage floor, the woman tried to comfort her friend as she took an overdose of a drug she had found online.

The woman later faced a traumatic police investigation, before then Director of Public Prosecutions Sir Keir Starmer said there was no case.

Lord Carey said: "People used to say to Jesus, 'have mercy upon us'. The Church, which is supposed to be the arm of Christ in the world today, is not listening to that cry for mercy.

"We are taking a very hard, autocratic, doctrinal stand. I hope the Church will wake up to realise it needs to look at this again with compassion, look at the experience of people.

"In a country like ours, we have law-makers who can make the law sufficiently strong to make it difficult for people to break the law.

"What we must do is create strong laws that make it very difficult, if not impossible, for wicked people to get away with harming vulnerable loved ones."

Assisted dying campaigners protesting© Dignity in Dying

Assisted dying will be in the political spotlight on Monday when MPs meet for a debate in Westminster Hall.

The event was triggered by a Daily Express petition, backed by Dame Esther Rantzen and Dignity in Dying, which gathered more than 200,000 signatures.

Lord Carey, a CofE priest for six decades, spoke passionately against assisted dying during a 2005 debate.

But he is now firmly on the side of those fighting for legalisation, and praised Dame Esther for "raising her head above the parapet".

He added: "We're always cautious, we Brits, we think about it really carefully. There is a thoroughness about our process, which is good, but a point has to come when we make a decision.

"We have to create a strong law to defend the weak but we must also protect those who are pleading for a change in the law in order to give peace and compassion to those who are in terrible indignity and pain at the end of their lives."

A Church of England spokesperson said there were "real questions over the practicalities of protecting the vulnerable in a system of legalised assisted suicide".

They said there was "reason to fear" that vulnerable people would be placed under "new pressure, stress, anxiety and danger" if the law changed.

The spokesperson added: "The Church of England believes that the very best care and support ought to be extended to all who are suffering and it has a record of strongly supporting palliative care, and in particular the hospice movement.

"This is an agonising choice for those facing it but we believe that neither they nor very many other vulnerable people would be best served by a change in the current law on assisted suicide.

"During its debate in 2022, the General Synod acknowledged the breadth and strength of feeling on this matter and heard many heartfelt testimonies.

"Synod members voted to oppose a change in the law and also called for adequate funding and resourcing of palliative care services to ensure the highest possible standard of care for all."

A religious principle that causes great suffering demands re-examination.

To cling doggedly to the principle of the sanctity of life - as some do in the assisted dying debate - is to ignore how dying has changed.

Medical advances over recent decades that have cured many diseases and mean we now live for much longer are, of course, to be applauded.

But these developments also mean we often die for longer, sometimes in great suffering despite the best efforts of palliative care.

If we want to ensure people can die well, as they have lived, we must reckon with this new reality, and religious principles must help rather than hinder.

The movement for assisted dying is undeniably reaching a turning point, with legislative proposals progressing in parliaments across the British Isles, and both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition pledging to commit time for a full debate and vote on the subject in the next parliament.

Monday's Westminster Hall debate rightly keeps the issue high on the political agenda.

I used to be against assisted dying for all the usual reasons. But as a Rabbi who regularly visits congregants in their final days, I have come to realise that there are indeed fates worse than death when people are denied both choice and dignity as they die.

Are we really prepared to say this is the best we can do for our dying citizens and their families?

I would argue not, and the vast majority of Britons, including those with faith (two-thirds according to a recent poll) would agree.

Those who feel strongly that the principle of assisted dying is against their own personal beliefs should have their views respected.

But that must not stand in the way of others having the choices they so desperately want and need.

- Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain is chair of the Religious Alliance for Dignity in Dying 

Taliban step up security ahead of supreme leader’s Kandahar mosque visit on Eid

The Taliban are stepping up security after it emerged that Isis could attack its reclusive supreme leader during his expected visit to a Kandahar mosque for Eid prayers, local media reports said.

Hibatullah Akhundzada is an Islamic scholar who almost never appears in public. He rarely leaves the Taliban heartland in southern Afghanistan’s Kandahar province.He and his circle have been instrumental in imposing restrictions on women and girls that have sparked an international outcry and isolated the Taliban on the global stage.

Photos and videos from Kandahar on Sunday showed Taliban fighters transporting and laying a brick barrier around a mosque ahead of Eid al-Fitr holiday, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

Reports had emerged on Friday that Isis, which is opposed to the Taliban, was mulling an attack on the Afghan regime’s leaders.

The local Taliban administration decided to pick the prayer venue for Mr Akhundzada just a night before the occasion, Afghanistan International reported, adding that they feared Isis fighters could mingle with the local worshippers to gain entry into the mosque.

They have since finalised two mosques in Kandahar and are now scaling up security measures around both, the report added.

The Independent has not verified the authenticity of the visuals from Kandahar.

On Saturday, Mr Akhundzada released a written Eid message urging Taliban officials to set aside their differences to serve Afghanistan.

Taliban officials should “live a brotherly life among themselves, avoid disagreements and selfishness”, he added in a message distributed in seven languages including Uzbek and Turkmen.

Mr Akhundzada also mentioned diplomatic relations, Afghanistan’s economy, the Taliban’s justice system, charity, and the virtues of meritocracy in his message.

He said security did not come from “being tough and killing more; rather, security is aligned with Shariah and justice”.

He, however, did not speak about the ban on education for girls and women in Afghanistan.

Human rights groups have accused the Taliban’s hardline regime of gender apartheid in their second rule, which started after the US and Nato forces pulled out of the country in August 2021.

The group has since erased the presence of girls and women from the public by banning them from work, schools, education, public parks, gyms and national parks.

Mr Akhundzada said his regime does not marry off women and widows by force – a claim countered by women activists witnessing the crimes on the ground in Afghanistan.