From June 12-14, 2025, our lay delegates - Vic Reinhold, Ginger Smith, and Diane Bryant - attended Annual Conference. As is tradition, they share their reports with our congregation. Please read their individual reports below.
The 2025 NGUMC AC was my third Annual Conference.
In preparation for the Conference, members were provided weekly tips such as “5 Things to Know About Annual Conference 2025”. In this flyer, delegates were encouraged to study the 240 page AC Handbook and Agenda and study several key items for action: 1) the One Georgia Task Force report on unification between the North Georgia and South Georgia Conferences; 2) the four proposed UM Constitutional amendments passed by the 2024 General Conference; and 3) the Conference’s finances and recommended 2026 budget.
The business portion of the Conference was interspersed among worship services so as to keep us mindful to the real purpose of the Conference. The Conference officially began with Bishop Robin Dease leading worship with the theme of “Come, follow me” from Matthew 4:19-20.
Last year, Bishop Dease was named Bishop for the South Georgia Conference although the SGC remained a separate group. The One Georgia Task Force was formed to explore unification of the two groups into one Conference. A positive vote was given by the 2025 NGUMC AC for the task force to continue exploration of a possible unification in the future. Although there is no binding decision on unification, the Council on Finance and Administration recommended that CFA be authorized to take all steps to effect the financial changes necessary to support the potential One Georgia unification. The financial changes refer to alignment of benefits and compensation between the NG and SG Conferences. Conference members had mixed feelings whether unification was truly being explored and already a done deal. These alignment changes were further complicated by the new COMPASS retirement plan taking effect January 1, 2026.
The four Constitutional amendments passed by the 2024 General Conference had moderate discussion on the floor. For me, the most important amendment was the Worldwide Regionalization – a change so that the different geographic regions of the UMC have equal standing in decision-making. Each amendment was voted separately. The vote tally will be done by General Conference. To pass, each amendment must receive 2/3 positive votes in aggregate from all worldwide Annual Conferences members.
I always enjoy attending the Laity Lunch. This year’s focus was the 100th anniversary of Camp Glisson – known now as Glisson Camp and Retreat Center. Lunch began with prayer by two youth members – the Youth had a very strong showing at Conference. You could easily identify them by their Glisson t-shirts and non-gray hair. The President of Glisson was the keynote speaker giving the message to be bold in your actions. To commemorate the 100th anniversary, each attendee received a green paper cross embedded with wildflower seeds to represent the many seeds Glisson has implanted in those attending Glisson the past 100 years.
AC Conference covers so many areas to share with you but I need to limit my report. One more to share. Friday night, I attended the optional Thriving Leadership Initiative (TLI) information session. I wanted to understand if this program could work with/support the GlennLOVES initiative Church Council has undertaken. This program is from Bishop Dease – a quest for a church that represents the Kingdom.
Long term I think TLI can help GlennLOVES by developing and deploying effective UM lay and clergy leadership teams to grow our membership. It’s a serious program with a serious commitment. There will be eight in-person sessions at the NG Conference Center at Sugarloaf over two years. You must commit to attend all 8 sessions. Forty candidates are being considered for the initial group divided in cohort teams of 6-8 members each. Again, it’s a serious program. If interested, go to the NGUMC website and review the application questions. Deadline for applications is July 15, 2025. The session leaders said the information from Friday night will be posted to the website for review. Check it out.
In closing:
1) It was an honor to meet Byron and DuWanna Thomas at AC. I look forward to July 13 when they will worship with Glenn.
2) Celebrating the recognition of Mark Westmoreland’s lifetime of service to UMC
3) Celebrating Jay Horton, Seul-bin Lee and Sara Maughan UM clergy designations
4) Witnessing the presence and enthusiasm of the UM Youth at AC
5) Enjoying the fellowship of fellow Glenn delegates and all delegates
6) Appreciating the organization and execution of Annual Conference
7) Of course, the leadership of Bishop Robin Dease.
Thank you for the honor of being a Glenn Lay Delegate.
Vic
INTRODUCTION
· At Annual Conference, we were in session in the Grand Hall of the Classic Center for about 20 hours over three days.
· At one point, after some unexpectedly extended floor discussion, we were running 84 minutes behind our time agenda.
· Some major horse-trading of agenda time went on, and we did adjourn as planned at mid-day on Saturday.
Together we
· worshiped – 4 separate worship services
· shared meals – 3 breakfasts (all at 7:00 a.m.), 3 lunches, 3 dinners
· voted – by voice, with show of hands, and with electronic devices,
· sang many of the favorite United Methodist hymns,
· deliberated for more hours than I can count, and
· prayed – a lot.
We
· adopted a budget,
· celebrated retirements – including Mark Westmoreland’s,
· remembered the saints who have gone before us, and
· commissioned and ordained clergy, three of whom have Glenn connections:
o Jay Horton was commissioned as a provisional deacon and will continue to serve at Georgia Interfaith Power and Light.
o Seul-bin Lee was also commissioned as a provisional deacon. She will serve in Nashville where she is a Ph.D. student at Vanderbilt.
o Sara Maughan was ordained as an elder in full connection.
· We heard from Methodist affiliated college and university presidents, and
· We received a special offering of more than $25,000 celebrating 100 years of Camp Glisson.
We also
· Crossed paths with and visited with Byron and DuWanna Thomas.
· Were amazed by the energy and dedication of more than 70 youth delegates.
· Thanked God for the calm and knowledgeable leadership of Bishop Robin Dease.
I will call more detailed attention to three things from annual conference in which we all have an interest and about which we should know.
ONE GEORGIA
2024
· By way of background, in July 2024, the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference adopted a Georgia Episcopal Area and assigned Bishop Robin Dease as resident bishop, serving both the North and South Georgia Annual Conferences, effective September 1, 2024. Since the day of her assignment, Bishop Dease called on Georgia United Methodists to consider "the power of we". And since then, the South Georgia Annual Conference and North Georgia Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church are working closely together to explore and pursue unification as one Annual Conference. Individuals from each conference visited the other conference’s annual session this month.
I am going to hit just the highlights of a longer and more detailed timetable so that we will know what’s happening and how any of Glenn’s plans may connect to or be influenced by the One Georgia Plan. The timetable extends to 2027 but it seems to that the exploration and planning are leading to unification and that we should expect this to happen.
2025
· This month (June 1-3 and June 12-14) -- South Georgia Annual Conference and the North Georgia Annual Conference each heard, asked questions about, and affirmed and blessed the report of the Unification Task Force
· July –Joint retreat for the South Georgia and North Georgia Cabinets
2026
· January through March – Begin to align conference structures
· In June (June 1 – 2 and June 17-18) – South Georgia Annual Conference and North Georgia Annual Conference receive and act on Final Report of Unification Taskforce
· Summer 2026 – Upon affirmation of both annual conferences, the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference may call a virtual special session to approve the unification. Note that if approved by vote of the SEJ Conference, the bishop would likely soon call a joint special session of both annual conferences to celebrate and prepare for unification.
2027
· January 1, 2027* – If unification is approved by vote of the SEJ Conference, officially become the Georgia Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church
June 9 - 11, 2027* – First session of the Georgia Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church
CONSTITUIONAL AMENDMENTS
· At this year’s North Georgia Annual Conference Session in June, members of annual conference voted on four constitutional amendments that were passed by our United Methodist General Conference in 2024.
o In order to become church law, constitutional amendments must be passed by at least two-thirds of the members of General Conference.
o Then the amendments are brought before United Methodist Annual Conferences around the world to be ratified. Amendments must be supported by two-thirds of the total voting members of all annual conferences combined.
o Results of the votes are not announced so that the results from early-meeting conferences will not influence or suppress voting in later-meeting conferences.
The Amendments:
· Inclusiveness of the Church: This amendment would add “gender” and “ability” to the list of characteristics that do not bar people from membership in a United Methodist church.
· Racial Justice: The amendment aims to strengthen the denomination’s longtime stance for racial justice.
· Local Pastor Voting Eligibility: This amendment clarifies and standardizes the educational requirements of local pastors who are eligible to vote on clergy delegates to General Conference.
· Worldwide Regionalization: This amendment, which aims to give The United Methodist Church’s different geographic regions equal standing in decision-making, would restructure the denomination.
o Under the legislation, the U.S. and each central conference—church regions in Africa, Europe, and the Philippines—would become regional conferences with the same authority to adapt the Book of Discipline, the denomination’s policy book, for more missional effectiveness and more appropriate application in the regional context.
o At present, only central conferences have the authority under the denomination’s constitution to adapt the Discipline as missional needs and legal contexts require. This plan was developed collaboratively by United Methodists around the world.
The amendments were handled as four separate votes. The number voting “yes” and the number voting “no” will be recorded and submitted to the secretary of the General Conference.
The results are expected in the late fall of this year.
PARTICIPATION IN CONFERENCE INITIATIVES
In recent years, there have been more and more opportunities for churches or individuals to participate in programs offered by the North Georgia Conference. As an example, Glenn is hosting its first Glisson Grow Day Camp this summer, but there are many other opportunities.
· Some programs are service-oriented, like disaster response teams that deploy as directed to help their neighbors when disasters trike. There’s even an all-day workshop about how to use a chainsaw – with lots of actual practice time!
· Some programs focus on individual and church development. The Thriving Leadership Institute, intended for both lay and clergy, will work to develop and deploy lay and clergy leaders who can strengthen existing ministries and/or be deployed to start new ministries.
We expect new pastoral leadership and the GlennLOVES initiatives to bring some new and different vitality to Glenn. I hope we will look for and participate in conference programs and initiatives as additional ways
· to enrich and refresh Glenn’s learning,
· to extend Glenn’s reach in the church and in the community, and
· to deepen our engagement with the United Methodist Connection.
Ginger
As we have moved away from the tumultuous years of disaffiliation struggles with our neighbors and friends, I am proud and excited of who the United Methodist church is becoming today. I am honored to be a lay delegate to the annual conference and to be one of Glenn’s delegates.
The conference had a very different feeling this year when you walked in, you felt surrounded by excitement, kindness and collaboration. We call ourselves a connectional church and there are connections and hugs wherever you turn: current and past clergy members, community partners, fellow conference members and friends from the pews going back over the years.
The conference is full of days filled with worship, song, remembrances, celebrations, honors, future plans, and the business of the church. Both Ginger and Vic have noted in their remarks many of the memorable pieces of the two days. I do want to give Vic a shout out as he represented Glenn well in absorbing and understanding the many pages of the financial documents given to us to review. There were several times he raised questions from the Conference floor into areas of concern asking for clarification that mirrored the concerns of his fellow delegates.
I will try not to repeat what has already been said but I wanted to highlight a couple of things that I believe will have a significant impact in the coming years.
First, a point of celebration and excitement was the number of youth and young folks taking an active part in the conference, raising questions and pursuing new initiatives for the growth of the denomination.
Second, the Bishop has been given the responsibility of providing oversight to both the North Georgia and the South Georgia Conferences. The One Georgia Task Force was formed to explore unification of the two Conferences into one Conference. There was considerable discussion and feelings expressed about all the many challenges and issues that will need to be explored for this to become a part of our reality in the coming years.
Third, four Constitutional Amendments were passed by the 2024 General Conference that were up for a vote by our Annual Conference. The vote on the World Regionalization Amendment, which was seen by many as the solution to the heart of the discontent, was passed. The Amendment requires passage by 2/3 of all worldwide Annual Conferences before it goes back to the General Conference.
I am hesitant to only list these few as there were so many other important aspects of our time together.
In our world today change is all around us and the Annual Conference is no different. It is all about transition. New Pastors moving to congregations. (An exuberant welcome to our own new Pastor Dr. Byron Thomas). Seasoned Pastors moving into retirement. (An appreciatively sad farewell to our retiring Mark Westmoreland). New church plants and new directions in the ministry. New opportunities to bring folks to Christ and into our church families. New young people to mentor and encourage. New bridges to mend and new opportunities to reach out to those in need.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a part of the family of Glenn and our loving God.
Diane