Dear Perry UMC Family,
The South Georgia Annual Conference of the UMC met Sun, June 2 through Tue, June 4 in Tifton. Your delegates this year were Buddy Roper, Nanette O'Neill, Tommy Perkins, and me. Jane Kimbrel also attended as an at-large delegate. Please see the attached bulletin insert for an overview of the highlights of the conference.
Like last year, this year's conference felt different. The gathering is much smaller due to the large number of churches who have departed the UMC. There is still a sense of uncertainty for the conference as a whole, because many more churches are making preparations to vote to depart the UMC this summer.
The business sessions were very peaceful, with nothing controversial being proposed or any big changes made. The messages and reports we heard were all attempting to be hopeful and looking forward to what the South Ga Conference will become after the summer departure votes. One question I know many have is, were any changes made to the departure process? Dr. Jimmy Asbell, Chair of the Conference Board of Trustees, reported that the Trustees voted unanimously in December to stay the course and continue with the departure process as planned. Any UM church in South Georgia that desires to vote to depart the UMC will have that opportunity in July.
We were blessed to hear several teaching moments from Anne Bosarge and others in Connectional Ministries on ways to revitalize the church and help all of us get back to the business of making disciples of Jesus. We were given some INCREDIBLE tools that anyone can use to start engaging others in authentic relationships right now. I hope you’ll check some of those out at https://www.sgaumc.org/one-matters.
The General Conference delegation updated the Annual Conference about what transpired in Charlotte. They spoke to budget and apportionment changes, lowering of the number of bishops, and celebrated some of the great work being done by the UMC around the world. They acknowledged changes had been made, that not everyone agreed with all the decisions made at GC, and that they tried to represent the whole of the South Georgia Conference well. Regarding the topic of the changes made in UM beliefs and practices regarding human sexuality, the delegation report focused on the fact that, though changes had been made, churches are not required to conduct same-sex weddings, and clergy are not required to host them. Also, clergy who desire to officiate same-sex weddings cannot be punished for doing so, and churches who desire to host same-sex weddings cannot be prohibited from doing so. The tone of their reports seemed to indicate acceptance of the new reality in the UMC and moving forward to a more inclusive, diverse South Georgia Annual Conference.
All delegates who were officially registered in Tifton will serve as delegates to the Special Called Annual Conference gathering on Sat, August 17 at Mulberry St. UMC in Macon, where churches that have voted to depart will be ratified by the conference.
We were honored to represent you in Tifton. If anyone has questions, please reach out to any of our delegates. For more articles, summaries, and videos from conference, please check out https://www.sgaumc.org/annualconference.
Grace and Peace,
Tom
|