• By RJ Walters, Editor •
The Detroit Conference will continue to be called the Detroit Conference for the foreseeable future.
Roughly two-thirds of voters at the 2011 Detroit Annual Conference voted down a resolution that would have changed the conference’s name to the Great Lakes Annual Conference.
It was the second time in 20-plus years that a resolution to change the name was not concurred with.
Both times Rev. Margaret “Peggy” Paige championed the effort.
Prior to conference she said the time seemed ripe to pass the resolution because the conference offices have moved out of Detroit and two districts passed name changes earlier this year.
Andrew Wayne of the Conference Leadership Team said before Friday’s vote that he understood the intent of the resolution, but he was fearful of what the outside reaction might be to dropping the name ‘Detroit’ from the conference’s title.
“This has the real potential to make it into the secular media and it will go something like this: ‘As people abandon Detroit, so does the United Methodist Church,’” he said.
The Rev. Charles Boyaue of Second Grace United Methodist Church in Detroit agreed the resolution was well intentioned, but passing it at this time would do more harm than good.
“We could name the conference the ‘Pluto Conference’ and it’s not going to help us make disciples of Jesus Christ,” he said.
Paige said Detroit is a vital city for the conference, but so are many others.
“I’ve been in the conference for 35 years and when I go to national meetings people see the ‘Detroit Conference,’ and say, ‘Oh, you live in Detroit?’" she said prior to conference. “No, I’ve never lived in Detroit, we’re much bigger than that as a conference so I think as we try to attract new pastors, including younger ones, it’s helpful to say no, it’s not just Detroit.”
Conference Treasurer Anna Morford estimated the cost of a name change prior to the vote.
“I do not have any sort of lists of how much it would costs…but one suggestion I’ve heard is it might be in the range of $15,000, but I have not tested it.”
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