June 3, 2021
Grace and peace to you! The Virginia Annual Conference is quickly approaching! In this strange season we have not been able to gather together in-person for district training and will not have the opportunity to sit next to one another as we participate in holy conferencing. Often in those moments, we sometimes find ourselves whispering questions to the person next to us. We ask things like, “Who are those assistant secretaries?” and appreciate the reply, “Delano and Bev have done this many times before, they are good!”
Below you will find a compilation of notes that might help in the absence of those whispered affirmations of your neighbors! Should you have follow-up questions, we encourage you to reach out to your district offices and Conference staff. You can certainly reach out to our team as well at anewthingva@gmail.com. It is our hope this offering will dovetail well with the training that will be offered in the coming days to prepare us to use the electronic system.
Key items we find in the letter that accompanied your Book of Reports:
For the most up-to-date info about Annual Conference and for information about the session, please visit https://vaumc.org/ac2021/.
Annual Conference will utilize an online platform - all members will participate securely via an internet-connected device (cell phone, desktop, laptop, tablet).
Watch your email for a link to join the "Bar of the Conference" if you are a voting member.
Test your Tech sessions will be held Monday June 14, Tuesday June 15, and Wednesday June 16 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. This is for all clergy and lay members of the Annual Conference to test technology in preparation for the Annual Conference events. Members will sign on to test connectivity.
Voting Practice session: Tuesday June 16, 6 - 7 p.m. This is for all clergy and lay members of the Annual Conference to test voting with the credentials that will be emailed to each member.
Non-voting individuals are able to livestream the Annual Conference Session here: https://vimeo.com/event/1028997/bd7d5394e8
A few notes from the Book of Reports:
Pages 9 - 13 cover many details needed for voting members of the Virtual Annual Conference.
Organizing Motions - Rev. Dr. Hyo Lee
We give thanks for the gifts of Rev. Joshua King, Acting Secretary of the Annual Conference who will lead us through the elections.
Elections offered by Acting Conference Secretary, Josh King (refer to page 17 in the Book of Reports)
Assistant Secretaries - Expected nominees: Rev. Delano Douglas and Bev Meyers have served in this role multiple times.
Chancellor - Steve Brown has served in this role for approximately four years.
Statistician & Treasurer - David Domissee has served in this role for more than five years.
Assistant Statisticians - Carol Draper has served in this role multiple times.
Editor of the Journal - Madeline White
Conference Lay Leader - Martha Stokes
Director of Connectional Ministries - refer to page 29. Expected nominee: Rev. Dr. Steven Summers. We give thanks for Rev. Dr. Summers and his service.
Approval of the Consent Agenda
A Consent Agenda is used to affirm routine items that require a vote, but are not of specific note. Items are able to be removed from the consent agenda by gathering signatures.
It is expected that the report from the Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministry will be removed from the consent calendar in order to highlight that Randolph College severed their relationship with the Virginia Conference in 2019 following the special session of General Conference. We mourn the loss of this incredible partnership with Randolph College and seek to become the church Randolph College requires as a partner.
Rules Committee report offered by Mr. Scott Diamond. Take some good time to review the proposed rule changes on pages 40-43. Some are pretty straight forward and others require a bit more digging. The rationale can be very helpful in understanding why a change is occurring. For example, Rule 1.A. calls for us to remove a phase added only last year. The rationale is key here as it explains we likely should not have added it in this location last year as it actually belongs in a different section.
Revision to Common Table Charter - pages 43-50
Much confusion exists about the Bishop’s Vision. It was announced during Annual Conference 2017. No action was taken during Annual Conference 2018 or 2019 regarding the Bishop’s Vision. In 2020, the Conference adopted the Davidson amendment against the recommendation of the Rules Committee to include the vision in the Standing Rules of the Conference. Above, you find the Rules Committee is calling for it to be removed as it does not belong in this location. The Bishop’s Vision statement has not been adopted by the Annual Conference to date.
Item 3 (at the bottom of page 43) calls for a new section to be added which inserts a Vision. As a vision is a fluid and temporal statement which is appropriately refined with changes in conference leadership and rapidly changing mission fields over the short term, it might prompt one to wonder if it belongs in the Common Table Charter.
It is expected an amendment may be made striking the Bishop’s Vision from the foundational documents. This is in keeping with the decision made in 2020 confirming a vision statement does not belong in our foundational documents.
Site Selection offered by Mr. Neal Wise (page 51).
COSROW Monitor offered by Rev. Mary Dadisman: For more information about Commission on the Status and Role of Women, please see pages 82-83.
Minutes Report offered by Alan Layman.
Report of Cabinet and Minute Questions: Minute questions are managed by Clergy Session (June 10, 2021) and we anticipate this will pass without difficulty. Rev. Jeff Mickle, Alexandria District Superintendent, will also offer a report of the Cabinet (pages 52-54).
Recognition of New Faith Communities offered by Mr. Dwayne Stinson.
Conference Lay Leader Remarks offered by Mrs. Martha Stokes. We give thanks for the consistent and bold leadership offered by Mrs. Stokes during an especially difficult year.
Pensions/VUMPI offered by Mr. Ken Peterson. Special note - you will have the opportunity to ask questions about Pensions and VUMPI during the online training sessions. Be sure to ask these questions at that time.
Equitable Compensation Report offered by Rev. Joe Carson, III. on page 55.
Common Table for Church Vitality offered by Rev. Dr. Steven Summers (page 56).
Election of Boards and Agencies offered by Rev. Dr. Steven Summers, pages 26-32 defines the boards and agencies and pages 88-92 lists the nominees. Be sure to check these out to see those you will be electing. It is likely this will go through on one vote.
2020 Leaders’ Consecration offered by Bishop Sharma D. Lewis.
Report of the Statistician offered by Mr. David Dommisse. See page 93.
Pensions/VUMPI offered by Ms. Stacey Anthony. See pages 94-102.
Report of the Treasurer offered by Mr. David Dommisse. See pages 103-109.
One specific item of note is the adoption of the budget will mean adoption of the District Alignment Team report and iDat proposal. Amongst the implications this adoption:
There is no change to the total apportionment payments of local churches. This will impact how those apportionments are distributed, with a significant increase to apportionments going to the Annual Conference, who will then distribute funds to districts. This is a change in the current model that allows conference and district apportionments to be given to churches separately.
This entire report is centered around alignment with the Bishop’s vision for the Annual Conference. One might wonder how this will impact our next episcopal leader who will have a new or different vision for leading the Virginia Annual Conference.
The report gives the Bishop appointive power over more District-level positions. The Bishop will be able to appoint District Superintendents AND District Developer positions, including laity. One report from the iDat team suggested that these appointments would be made by the Bishop alone. This draws attention as Districts, who are typically more familiar with the needs of their region, no longer have voice in the process.
In completing a review of the legal expenses of the Conference over the last ten years as found in the Annual Conference Journals, it is observed this line is vastly over budget and inconsistent.
District Alignment Team/iDAT Report (pages 110-111) offered by the iDAT Team. See above - Report of the Treasurer.
Report of the Council on Finance and Administration offered by Mr. William H. Talley, IV. See pages 112-121.
Motions offered by Bishop Sharma Lewis. It is unclear what motions will be offered during this time. It may be worth considering if other motions would be worth raising. If you intend to do so, let us know at anewthingva@gmail.com.
Something that is common in many Annual Conferences but has been rare in the Virginia Annual Conference is a motion to request a Declaratory Decision from the UMC Judicial Council. Petitions for declaratory decisions arise from doubts about the legality of actions or the need for an interpretation of some portion of The Book of Discipline so that members may know how to proceed in keeping with church law. These requests can come in the clergy session or in the full session of the Annual Conference and are automatically referred to the Judicial Council. While such requests do not require a vote, some Annual Conferences have sought one. Where votes have been sought, the threshold is 20% to forward to the Judicial Council.
Thanks for being a part of this movement of the Holy Spirit in Virginia and beyond.