For the past two days I have been a lay delegate from First United Methodist Church of Waynesville to the Western North Carolina UMC Annual Conference, held at nearby Lake Junaluska. I have been a lifelong Methodist, but this is my first time as a delegate to the Annual Conference.
First off, the Conference refers both to the group of churches in the geographic area, and the annual meeting of all the representatives of those churches and the clergy appointed to serve those churches. So the terminology can be confusing at times to those who aren't Methodists.
The Conference meeting is part business meeting, part worship, and part patting a lot of good people on the back for doing good work. The worship is outstanding, with Holy Communion at the first worship service; a memorial service to remember clergy and clergy spouses who have died in the past year; the service called "ordering to ministry," where new clergy are ordained; and the closing worship of "sending out" where pastors are appointed for the coming year. The celebration portions of the Conference inform the delegates of good things going on throughout the Conference (area) during the year.
The business, on the other hand, is like watching C-Span. We vote on the rules for the business sessions, which basically are modified from Roberts' Rules of Order. We vote on the agenda. Then we vote on what's called the "consent agenda," 3 or 4 pages of pro forma business matters. For example, we vote on the slates of nominees for camps, colleges, retirement homes, and other entities affiliated with the Conference. We vote on other similar matters as well. But those are all bundled into this consent agenda, just to save time.
Then we vote on the Conference budget for the coming year. For the coming year, the Conference budget is over $15.4 million to support the ministries and missions of the Conference. The Conference budget committee does a great job, so that is pretty much pro forma as well.
Then we deal with resolutions brought forward by the Bishop's Cabinet - the clergy appointed as one of the Conference's eight District Superintendents. This year, the Cabinet Resolutions were all for dissolution of churches. These are very small congregations who can no longer function. We approved the dissolution of six congregations across the Conference. We also had petitions from 18 churches requesting disaffiliation, meaning they didn't want to be part of the United Methodist Church. I'll get to that in a minute.
Finally is the big business, the petitions. Any person in the Conference can submit a petition. This year, we had four to deal with, three related to the controversy in our denomination over ordination of LGBTQ+ persons. A group of clergy and laity representing the "traditionalists" submitted a petition that would streamline the process of a church disaffiliating, and directing the Conference Board of Trustees to deal with the real and personal property associated with those churches to be dealt with in a certain way. During the disaffiliation process, the church must vote with at least 2/3 of the membership in agreement to leave the United Methodist Church, and then must negotiate with the Conference Board of Trustees on the disposition of the property that de jure belongs to the Annual Conference.
And that's where the air sort of went out of the sails at this afternoon's Annual Conference business session. Everyone was geared up for a robust, even contentious, discussion over the petition. But Bishop Ken Carter, the Resident Bishop and presiding officer of the Conference, ruled the petition "out of order." His ruling was that the denomination's Constitution and Book of Discipline clearly outline the process and the responsibilities of the parties in dissolution, and that the Annual Conference did not have the authority to modify the provisions in those documents or to limit the authority of the Board of Trustees. The 18 petitions for disaffiliation from individual churches were approved, as they followed the process outlined in the Constitution and Book of Discipline.
What struck me most, however, was that all this took place in an atmosphere of profound respect, reverence, and even sadness. There were no emotional outbursts, no contentious speeches, no demonstrations of any kind. In particular, Bishop Carter set that tone with sober, conciliatory language and clear explanations of the Constitutional and Discipline requirements.
Some may say we at the WNC Annual Conference kicked some can down the road. But in reality, we don't get a chance at the can. That is the purview of the General Conference, now scheduled for 2024.
https://www.wnccumc.org/
