• By Jerry Devine, Detroit Conference Director of Connectional Ministries •
“Lord, when was it that we saw you?” (Matthew 25:37 NRSV)
Within just a few days we will welcome one another at our 2011 Detroit Annual Conference session.
Our theme this year, “When Did We See You, Lord?” is grounded in Jesus’ teachings in the Gospel of Matthew. It is an expression of one of our four denominational foci — ministry with the poor.To incarnate our theme we intentionally requested practical items for the Adrian area outreach. We offer our gratitude to Adrian First United Methodist Church and Rev. Gary Dawes for coordinating this effort.
Jesus made it very clear in his way of living and teaching that his followers were to be aware of and responsive to the needs of others, and that in doing so we are connecting to Christ himself. See our DAC website, www.detroitconference.org for a list of the items being accepted to help the local food pantry and other denominational initiatives.
The hope of the DAC Program Committee is that when over a thousand United Methodist disciples gather together, life for others will be made better because of our presence. Additional opportunities to be in ministry at annual conference will be to bring Haiti medical supplies, Bishop’s “seat covers” (new undergarments that will be distributed across our conference), and to be prepared for a special Covenant Offering for Haiti and Liberia.
Once again, this year we will live-stream all of the worship services and plenary sessions so that local churches can not only be informed but be a part of the gathering. We have expanded the Ministry Fair table space so there will be an even more creative environment. This year we have arranged for the Fair to be on Friday evening at the same time and location as the Methodist Children’s Home Strawberry Shortcake Social. It will be a festive opportunity to see one another and to see how Christ is working through various ministries.
We have business to care for as well. There are 10 resolutions related to our annual conference and 16 petitions related to the 2012 General Conference.
One of the ten resolutions is the proposed creation of a modified New Church Development Committee.
It is an intentional strengthening of this work of creating new places for new people. How we organize our shared life and structure says a great deal about where our priorities are. Likewise, how we spend our shared funds says the same. This year you will see a reduced and more focused 2012 budget request.
The Conference Leadership Team portion prioritizes church growth, leadership development and congregational vitality in a diverse demographic.
For those who love details you can peruse the Standing Rules and Structure. While much remains the same each year, this year we will see a streamlined structure for the Board of Global Ministries. The board brought this forward in order to free people up to be directly involved in areas of passion and calling. The desire is to connect people directly to ministry, not simply place them on an agency.
Finally, we will make decisions about leadership. We will see this in the immense work done by the Conference Nominations Committee as they sought to bring appropriate gifts and more diverse voices to many of our conference agencies.
At a time when multiple studies are taking place on the future of our denomination and our methods of recruiting, credentialing and deploying clergy, we will discern and elect four ordained clergy and four laity as our delegates to the 2012 General Conference.
We will elect an additional equal number for the 2012 Jurisdictional Conference. We will celebrate the leadership of those clergy who retire from active service this year, along with celebrating with those who are now to be licensed, commissioned or ordained. Developing principled Christian leaders is yet another of the four foci of the denomination.
We are United Methodists as we gather. May we see Christ in one another.
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