Thank you for giving a "hoot" about young clergy! Because excellent clergy leadership is essential to making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world and is essential to developing principled Christian leaders for the church the world and creating new places for new people by starting new churches and renewing existing ones; Because the current path to ordination is longer and harder than it has to be, and is discouraging to "spotted owls" (young candidates and young clergy who are quickly becoming an "endangered species" in the UMC) and people from some ethnic minority groups; thank you for agreeing to respond to this survey in which you--a lay or clergy member of the United Methodist church--will be asked to "sign your name" to support petitions already before the 2008 General Conference which will streamline candidacy, including those designed to simplify candidacy, reduce pre-candidacy discernment from 2 years to 1 year, eliminate commissioning, separate ordination and full conference membership, create an option to change the probationary period from 3 years to 2 years, and change "probationary" language to "residency" language. If we aren't willing to streamline candidacy, "whooo" will reach a new generation? Thank you for your support!