Annual Conferences Teaser
United Methodist annual conferences won't be meeting in person for 2020 as they did in this scene from 2019.
A United Methodist Insight Column
Setting up for online sessions of annual conference are far more complex than live-streaming worship, prayer or Sunday school classes. Just ask the Indiana and Iowa conferences.
Indiana had hoped to set up 10 regional sites where proceedings of its 2020 Annual Conference Session on Aug. 15 would be conducted. However, the state is now experiencing an uptick in COVID-19 cases, and annual conference members have been reluctant to register for some of the regional sites, according to an email from Cindy Reynolds, annual conference sessions committee chair. So Indiana is cancelling six regional sites, retaining those set for LaPorte First, Indianapolis Christ, Wesley Chapel Floyds Knobs, and College Avenue, plus its main site at Indiana Wesleyan University.
Indiana also has broken up its sessions into separate gatherings. Clergy met on July 18, laity will meet virtually on July 25 and conference members will meet virtually on Aug. 15 and Oct. 10 for two business sessions, including voting on the 2021 budget.
Likewise, Iowa Annual Conference has broken up its 2020 session into multiple virtual events. The conference ordained and commissioned deacons on July 11, held its legislative session July 18, will ordain elders on July 25, and will hold its Laity Session as a Webinar on Sunday, August 2 at 2 p.m. The laity session will feature “a message of hope” from Bishop Laurie Haller and a panel of mental health professionals who will “address how we can better cope with multiple challenges currently facing individuals, families, and congregations,” according to the conference website.
Most annual conference sessions have been postponed to the fall. What’s happening with your annual conference 2020 session? Send news to United Methodist Insight, including dates and special arrangements.
What’s the UMC’s history with racism?
Here’s an educational opportunity from Anti-Racism Daily that can be adapted easily to apply to United Methodist history. From its newsletter:
“Choose one U.S. President and research their lives, using the following guidelines:
- “How did this president support the livelihood of non-white people in America?
- “Which laws / policies did they establish (or rescind) that affected the rights of non-white people?
- “How did they demonstrate racism on an interpersonal level?
- “What actions did they take that created or upheld systems of advantage based on skin color?”
Here’s how to adapt this exercise to a United Methodist context:
Choose one figure from United Methodist history. If you don’t know anyone beyond John or Charles Wesley, look up some famous folks on the website of the General Commission on Archives and History. Then ask these questions of your research:
- How did this person support non-white people in The United Methodist Church and its predecessors?
- What policies did they establish or rescind that affected the participation of non-white people in the church?
- How did they demonstrate racism on an interpersonal level?
- What actions did they take that created or upheld church systems of advantage based on skin color?
Share your findings with your Sunday school class or other small group in your congregation. Also post your findings on United Methodist Insight’s Facebook page.
A big tip o’ the hat to Anti-Racism Daily for such a creative way to learn from our racist past.
Once more into COVID numbers
Our July 22 Crisis Watch pointed out a more accurate way to evaluate statistics for COVID-19. Even with that caution, today’s overall numbers are staggering, according to this NPR headline: U.S. Hits 4 Million Cases Of Coronavirus — Adding A Million New Cases In Just 15 Days. There’s no way around it: unless we continue to take drastic action to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, thousands more people will be infected and thousands more will die. Our litany continues to be: wash your hands, wear a mask in public, sanitize, practice physical distancing, and pray daily.
There were no relevant Media Mentions for July 23, 2020.
Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, which she founded in 2011.