Register Now for Your Next90 Vote!

By September 4, 2020

On Sunday, September 13 at 1pm, each and every member of our church — from our oldest members to our 2020 Confirmands — are invited to vote on our upcoming decision to move forward into the construction of Phase I of our Next90 Building Expansion Project.

Because of the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic that rages on, we have obtained permission to hold this vote virtually by our District Superintendent Rev. Louis Carr. By being able to vote now and move forward into construction while the building is still closed or in limited use, we’ll be able to take advantage of this downtime to move forward without the inconvenience of construction we would have had if we had been running at full capacity in our fall and winter programming.

What this means is that we will vote via Zoom webinar, using protocols recently established by our Annual Conference in meetings of this type. Unlike the Zoom meetings you may have become accustomed to in recent months, the Zoom webinar operates a little differently and requires a little more on both sides of the screen to be sure this vote is done according to The United Methodist Book of Discipline.

Here’s What to Know (How it Will Work)

  • You must be a church member to vote (there’s still time to join!).
  • You must be registered and on the Zoom webinar to vote. (This is analogous to the requirement that you must be present to vote.)
  • Each voter must use a separate device with a separate Zoom account set up, registered to separate email addresses.
  • You must register in advance to vote (so we can confirm your eligibility). Please register as soon as possible so we can verify your eligibility to vote!
  • Once you’re registered and confirmed, we’ll send your login credentials so that you can vote.

Here’s What to Do (Before Sunday!)

Go to fumcfw.org/vote and register to vote by following the prompts.

Make sure you have your own (free) Zoom account registered to your own email. (Please note that spouses and teens who have joined the church must each have their own Zoom account, registered to their unique email address, in order to cast a vote.)

Make sure the Zoom app is on the device you plan to use to vote (If you haven’t used this device before for Zoom, be sure to go to zoom.us and download the app).

Look for your confirmation email with your unique login credentials. This unique login will be how your vote is certified and counted. If you have not received this email by September 10, please contact Hans Grim (hgrim@myfumc.org or Melinda Smoot (msmoot@myfumc.org).

Join this historic Zoom meeting on the day of the vote using your unique login on your own unique device (computer, tablet, or smartphone), logged in to your own unique Zoom account. (Did we say “unique” enough? Sorry for the silly repetition, but this is crucial for making sure each individual vote counts!)

Use the poll function to cast your vote when it pops up on the screen. Click on Yes or No to vote, then click “Submit.” The result will be available immediately after the vote is closed by the meeting leaders.

Here’s What Else

(How to ask questions and speak if you’d like to during this meeting)

In this historic First Church meeting, please know that you will have both voice and vote. Feel free to ask questions during the meeting using the Q&A button. (Because this is a webinar meeting, the “raise hand” function will be disabled; you must use the Q&A button to ask questions.) Your questions will be fielded by a moderator and relayed to the leaders.

Speak up! If you’d like to speak during the meeting, you can make this request in the Q&A field and you will be recognized and invited to speak in the order these requests are received.  (Please note that once you are recognized to speak, there will be a 15 second lag time as you’re added as a panelist; please wait to begin speaking until prompted by the leader.)

This is a big moment in FUMCFW history, and we look forward to your presence as a voting church member to provide your input and vote on our Next 90 years of mission and ministry in Downtown Fort Worth!