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Susquehanna LINK - April 2016


2016 Susquehanna Annual Conference Call to Annual Conference


June 9-11, 2016, at Messiah College, Grantham, PA CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1


Each Annual Conference is unique and special. This year we will have a Service of Repentance led by the Commission on Native American Ministries. We will also hear from the delegates for the General Conference.


Please pray that we might discern God’s


voice amid of all of the other voices in the world so that we continue to be ever more


Annual Conference news and highlights will be posted on


faithful in our witness. Welcome to


What is an Annual Conference? umc.org/who-we-are and


the 2016 Susquehanna


Annual Conference! Please come with an expectant heart to be touched afresh by the Spirit of God. Your prayers for our annual gathering to be in holy conferencing and witness would be deeply appreciated. I am looking forward to greeting you at Messiah College. With You In Christ’s Ministry, — Bishop Jeremiah J. Park


“The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church” Annual Conferences


When you hear the term “annual conference,” it could be referring to any one of


three things. The annual conference as a regional body, an organizational unit, and a yearly meeting.


Many of these yearly meetings happen in the U.S. in May and June. You can read reports from the 2014 Annual Conference Session on our Annual Conference Reports page. Regional body


The annual (sometimes referred to as ‘regional’) conference is described by the church’s Constitution and (other parts of the ) “Book of Discipline” as the ‘basic unit’ of the church. In the United States, an annual conference may cover an entire state, only part of the


www.facebook.com/susumc Annual Conference speakers The 2016 Susquehanna


Bishop Jeremiah J. Park will preach for the Opening Celebration on Thursday, June 9.


Rev. Lori Steffensen, State College District Superintendent, will preach during the Thursday evening Memorial Service.


Friday morning, June 11, will feature a Service of Repentance led by the Commission on Native American Ministries.


World-renowned SandStory artist Mr. Joe Castillo will share with us during the Celebration of Ministry service on Friday


evening. Joe is an artist, speaker, and storyteller with a passion for promoting the visual arts as a way of touching the heart. He will also lead the Saturday morning Bible Study.


Saturday afternoon, Bishop Ernest Lyght, (retired) will preach during the Ordination Service. The Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference elected Lyght to the


episcopacy in 1996 and assigned him to the New York Area. In 2004 he was assigned to the West Virginia Area.


LIVE STREAMING


The 2016 Susquehanna Annual Conference will once again be broadcast LIVE via susumc.org. Verify the streaming schedule at tinyurl.com/susumcAC2016


2017 Annual


Conference will feature the following special events and keynote speakers.


state, or even parts of two or more states. There are also three missionary conferences in the United States, which rely upon the denomination as a whole for funding. The United States has 57 annual conferences, which are supervised by 46 bishops.


There are 76 annual conferences in Africa, Europe, and the Philippines, which are supervised by 20 bishops.


Organizational body


In the U.S., the annual conference has a central office and professional staff that coordinate and conduct ministry and the business of the conference. It likely has a director of connectional ministries, treasurer, directors of program areas (such as camping), communications director, and other staff as deemed appropriate for the annual conference and as required by the “Book of Discipline.” Clergy and lay persons may also serve on conference boards, commissions, and committees. “The purpose of the annual conference is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for


the transformation of the world by equipping its local churches for ministry and by providing a connection for ministry beyond the local church: all glory to God” ¶ 601


Annual Conference sessions


Each year an equal number of clergy members and lay members attend their conference’s Annual Conference Session for worship, fellowship, and to conduct the business of the conference, which may last 3-5 days. During these sessions members of the Conference hear reports of past and ongoing work; adopt future goals, programs, and budgets; ordain clergy members as deacons and elders; and elect delegates to Jurisdictional and General Conferences (every four years). The bishop presides over these meetings.


Annual Conference Membership The clergy membership of an Annual Conference shall consist of deacons and elders


in full connection, provisional members, associate members, affiliate members, and local pastors under full-time and part-time appointment to a pastoral charge. ¶ 602.1 The lay membership of the Annual Conference shall consist of a professing member


elected by each charge, diaconal ministers, deaconesses, home missioners, the conference presidents of: United Methodist Women, United Methodist Men, Youth and Young Adult Ministries, the conference lay leader and district lay leaders, one youth (age 12-18) and one young adult (age 18-30) from each district, and the chair of the conference college student organization. If lay membership should number less than the clergy members of the Annual Conference, the Annual Conference shall provide for election of lay-equalization members. Lay members must be members of, and active in, the United Methodist Church at the time of election (with some tenure requirements) ¶ 602.4 The above mentioned have voice and vote at the Annual Conference Session. Other representatives (¶ 602.9) are given privilege of the floor (voice) without vote. It is the duty of every member of the Annual Conference to attend its sessions and furnish such reports in such forms as the “Book of Discipline” may require. (¶ 602.8)


Implement the new Ministry Plan and Initiatives as adopted by the 2012 Annual Conference Session Adjust the structure as necessary to achieve desired results


Begin regional deployment of resources to empower local churches to respond to the plan’s focus


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