Registration materials for the Detroit Annual Conference available HERE
“Wherever the water flows … life will flourish … life abounds!" will be the theme for the 43rd session of the Detroit Annual Conference, the conference Program Committee announced recently.
The 2010 annual conference session will take place Thursday-Sunday, May 20-23, on the campus of Adrian College in Adrian, Mich.
The conference Program Committee also announced that the Rev. Dr. Lovett H. Weems, Jr. will be the featured speaker during the conference. Weems is the Distinguished Professor of Church Leadership and Director of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC.
He is also the author of Take the Next Step: Leading Lasting Change in the Church; Leadership in the Wesleyan Spirit; Church Leadership: Vision, Team, Culture, and Integrity; and John Wesley’s Message Today. In addition, Weems is the editor of the online newsletter, Leading Ideas, available free at www.churchleadership.com.
Weems will be the "teacher-in-residence," a
new twist being added during this year’s annual conference. Weems will be speaking to the clergy and laity sessions on Thursday, May 20, and addressing plenary sessions on Friday and Saturday, May 21-22. In addition, Weems will be available for informal sessions and consultations.
The conference theme comes from a translation of Ezekiel 48:8-10, and ties in with "Creating New Places for New People and Renewing Existing Congregations," one of the denomination's four focus areas. The conference focused on leadership development in 2009 and plans to highlight poverty and global health in 2011 and 2012.
"The Program Committee decided at the beginning of the quadrennium to follow the four areas of focus for our annual conference gatherings. We are hopeful that this year’s gathering will augment the Bishop's Day theme of 'New Places for New Faces' as well as provide a quality teaching option, continuing the practice we began a few years ago," said the Rev. Marsha Woolley, chairperson of the committee. "Lovett Weems will be a great resource for us during the annual conference as we seek to strengthen congregations and create additional points of entry for new folks to connect with Christ and the United Methodist Church."
In a change from previous conference sessions, the opening worship service will take place at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 20. The clergy and laity sessions will be held prior to the service, with both beginning at 10:00 a.m. This schedule change was made to reduce expenses for those attending by allowing the majority of the conference membership to arrive the day the conference opens. The 2010 session is projected to adjourn at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 23, with the Service of Ordination and Commissioning immediately following.
Michigan Area Bishop Jonathan D. Keaton, in his sixth year as the presiding officer of the Detroit Annual Conference, has also selected the guest preachers during the 2010 session.
Former Michigan Area Bishop Linda Lee, who currently serves the Wisconsin Area, will preach during the Service of Ordination and Commissioning on Sunday, May 23, while the Rev. Terry Euper will preach during the morning worship service on Friday, May 21. Euper is retiring in 2010 after spending the past seven years as the Clergy Assistant to the Bishop. Bishop Keaton will preach during the opening worship service on Thursday, May 20, and the Memorial Service on Saturday, May 22.
2010 marks the 43rd year that the Detroit Annual Conference will gather at Adrian College, one of Michigan's two United Methodist-related colleges. Registration for the session will open in mid-February. For more information and the full schedule for the 2010 annual conference, please visit www.detroitconference.org/annualconference.
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