Delegates, let’s Pre-Conference
Delegates, you are once again invited to the virtual Pre-Conference Meeting to preview Annual Conference 2021 and learn more about what we will be voting on in this important season of ministry. Once again, the meeting will be held online and presented in three separate sessions.
Sunday, April 25th at 6:30 p.m. for Central North, Southeast and North Districts (Spanish translation and Closed Captioning).
Monday, April 26th at 6:30 p.m. for Central South, East and West Districts.
Tuesday, April 27th at 3:00 p.m. for Northwest, South and Southwest Districts.
If delegates are unable to attend the Zoom meeting for their district, they may attend one of the other Pre-Conference meetings.
Please click the Zoom link below, this link is good for all of the Pre-Conference meetings:
https://zoom.us/j/92953691889?pwd=MnFaTXRycTRsRzF0SnZRaHVCRk5tUT09
For delegates to dig down deep into the issues and ask questions, it is more critical than ever that they attend one of the informative and virtual Pre-Conference sessions this year, Rev. Kip Gilts, Assistant to the Bishop, explained. “We will be logging onto the TAC App together to show delegates where to find all of the information, including the resolutions we will be voting on this year,” he said. “We’ll walk through voting on Zoom and so much more.”
The Pre-Conference meeting will prepare delegates to virtually attend sessions during Annual Conference – and will also give them opportunities to delve into all of the upcoming issues. After Pre-Conference, they have about a month to ruminate, research, and get ready to vote.
Gilts explained that this will be the second time that Pre-Conference will take place on Zoom. There will be three sessions this year and a Zoom link will be sent to all delegates via email.
“Pre-Conference really helps you know what to look forward to in Annual Conference,” Gilts said. “The benefit of this meeting is that it gives you a primer for what’s important and about to come up.”
Annual Conference 2021
The Annual Conference, which has also become a virtual event, will be held Sunday May 30 through Wednesday, June 2, 2021. There will be ceremonies to celebrate the retirement of pastors and the ordination of new ones, as well as a variety of worship services.
There are also a number of issues that will be on the docket, including updates on the Discipling Process that was started after last year’s approval of the Strategic Mapping Team Proposal. These updates involve the budget, nominations, rules and structure, property management and the alignment of ministries.
There will be resolutions to consider related to the upcoming decisions to General Conference, which has been rescheduled for August 29-September 6, 2022.
The Pre-Conference meeting will allow for presentations, conversations and deliberation over these issues and more.
Most of the Pre-Conference session will be video-based, and Gilts will emcee the filmed segments and then lead live discussions. “The 2020 Annual Conference was a ‘We’ve never done it this way before,’ 2021 is more like a “Didn’t we do something like this last time,’” Gilts said. “We are hopeful that these learnings will result in an efficient, thoughtful and meaningful Annual Conference for all of the delegates.”
In addition, the Pre-Conference will be a time to learn about the Guidebook that features the Annual Conference journal. Delegates will learn exactly how to use the software. “You’ll have all kinds of information available on the Guidebook,” Gilts said. “The Pre-Conference meeting will allow you to download the Guidebook, get oriented and walk through how it works.”
Attending the Pre-Conference meeting, watching the videos and reading the journal on the Guidebook are the best ways to prepare for the Annual Conference, Gilts explained. “And pray daily for God’s guidance in these unprecedented times,” he added.
The theme of Annual Conference 2021 will be: “Faith, Hope, Love” which Gilts said was determined a while back but could not be more relevant. In the midst of the pandemic, ice storms and searching for ways to address racial inequities, Jesus has been at work as churches respond in creative and innovative ways.
“For the church, the message has not changed, just the medium for communication has,” Gilts said. “The work of the Annual Conference has not changed, but the way we will conduct it in 2021 has. It’s very inspiring to see how God has led churches to adapt to challenges before us, and God will lead us to conduct the business of the Annual Conference in the same way.”