The answer to "And Are We Yet Alive?", Charles Wesley's traditional hymn for annual conference, proved to be a resounding "Yes!" at 2017 sessions.
From the historic ordination of a clergywoman in the Poland Annual Conference to making health kits for United Methodist Committee on Relief in Kentucky, United Methodists gathered in their annual sessions fortified to take on the future.
Photo Courtesy of Bishop Patrick Streiff
Monika Zuber
Ordained a deacon at the 2017 session, Rev. Monika Zuber is the first woman ordained by the Poland Annual Conference in 45 years.
Poland ordained provisional deacon Monika Zuber, the first woman to be made clergy in 45 years. The conference has been struggling with its ties to the worldwide denomination because of national laws that require churches to be recognized by the government. Conference members resolved conflicts between the Book of Discipline and what they call "Internal Law" during the 2017 session, and Rev. Zuber's ordination was widely hailed as a sign of restoring the connection with the global denomination.
Annual Conference sessions are attended by clergy and laity. U.S. and European conferences and African conferences above the equator typically meet in the late winter or spring of the year, depending on regional climate. Sub-equatorial African conferences and the tropical Philippines typically meet when their weather is coolest.
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Photo by Kathleen Barry, United Methodist Communications
Ky. Health Kits
Kentucky Annual Conference members brought supplies to create dozens of health kits for the United Methodist Committee on Relief. Putting together kits are (l to 4) Ann Whitfield, Gail Owens, Janice Noe and Heather Spencer. The conference met June 12-14 at the Sloan Convention Center in Bowling Green, KY.
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Iowa Conference Photo by Arthur McClanahan
Iowa High-Fives
Bishop Laurie Haller "high-fives" members of The Diakonos for this year’s Iowan Annual Conference Session. “These young people are not your church children,” Diakonos Coordinator Steve Braudt told the conference session. “They are children of God and your brothers and sisters in Christ.” Rev. Braudt, associate pastor for Asbury United Methodist Church in Bettendorf, listed some of the numerous service tasks the Diakonos performed during the Annual Conference Session, such as putting chair pads on the countless chairs in the event hall to assist in keeping chair movement from disturbing the proceedings. The Diakonos also helped serve communion, assisted in collecting the offerings, greeted Conference Session attendees throughout the event and distributed reports to attendees.
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Western Pennsylvania Photo
Western Pa. 2017
Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi greets her communion team during the ordination service at the 2017 Western Pennsylvania Conference session. Bishop Moore Koikoi was also the guest preacher for the New England Annual Conference session. Presiding at her first session June 8-11, 2017, the told the 1,250 clergy and laity gathered at Grove City College to put aside their anxiety, fear and disagreements and declared the campus “A Love Zone.” The annual conference theme was "WPA Chic: Dressed in Love," taken from Colossians 3:12-17.
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Photo by Patrick Scriven, PNW Conference.
Greater Northwest Area
Bishop Elaine Stanovsky (left) and representatives of the Greater Northwest Area, Jan Nelson, Jo Anne Hayden, Rev. Donna Pritchard, Rev. Mary Huycke, and Rev. Carlo Rapanut enjoy a moment together during the Installation Service on June 14, 2017 in Portland, Ore.
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Photo by Julu Swen
Liberia Conference 2017
The Liberian Annual Conference met in February in the gymnasium of Ganta Methodist School. At left is James Worquea, conference president of United Methodist Men. At far right is Rudolph Merab, conference lay leader.
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Members of Faith Forward Dallas received a standing ovation when they were presented with the Bishop William Oden B. Ecumenical Award by the North Texas Annual Conference. Hundreds stood to honor the interfaith group that organized a memorial for law enforcement officers killed by a shooter in July 2016. It was “overwhelming to see the reception of the crowd,” Imam Omar Suleiman, a co-chair of the group told The Dallas Morning News. “Because I think people are sick of the division. People are sick of feeling like we’ve gone back 56 years as a country. People are tired of it.”
Photo by Esteban Bustillos/Dallas Morning News, via North Texas Conference
United Methodist Communications provides full annual conference reports.