Addition by Subtraction: Detroit Conference begins process of making itself the 'right size' for 21st century ministry

By RJ Walters, Editor

One era is coming to a close and another is preparing for liftoff in the Detroit Annual Conference.

Michigan Area Bishop Jonathan D. Keaton officially announced on Jan. 12 that the conference will be reduced from seven districts to six on July 1 in an attempt to save money and re-fashion itself for ministry in the 21st century.

Keaton relied heavily on the recommendations of a 16-member Redistricting Task Force he put together after legislation was passed at annual conference on May 22 to reduce the number of districts.

“After consulting with the cabinet according to paragraph 415.4 of the 2008 (United Methodist) Book of Discipline, I have determined the boundaries of the new districts,” he said. “Most of the churches in Detroit East and West Districts will become a part of a Detroit Metropolitan District. Other districts will undergo minor changes, with one exception, namely Ann Arbor."

The new districts are based on slight modifications to the “conservative model” presented to Keaton by the Redistricting Task Force in December.

The other model presented was further reaching in changes to current district boundaries.

Three districts — Ann Arbor, Flint, and Saginaw Bay — will see increases in their number of churches, while the Marquette and Port Huron Districts will see a slight reduction in the number of churches.

The Conference Leadership Team will go through the process or renaming the districts in the next few months.

The biggest geographic shift will be seven churches leaving the Detroit West District for the Ann Arbor District.

Detroit Conference Director of Connectional Ministries Jerry Devine sees the fusion of the two

Detroit districts into one as a wonderful opportunity for new growth and partnership.

“I really believe at this time it’s beneficial to bring together Detroit as an entity…because re-thinking and re-birthing Detroit is going to take everybody,” he said. “The church is a part of resurrection — that’s our theology — so as we look at the future of Detroit and its surrounding communities and people, the church needs to come together as one body to really collaborate on a new level.”

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LIVE FROM DAC 2010: The day seven became six

By RJ Walters, Editor

For the first time in nearly four decades the Detroit Conference will be made up of less than seven districts.

The number of districts will be reduced from seven to six no later than July 1, 2011 thanks to legislation passed May 22 at the Detroit Annual Conference.

Laity and clergy members voted down amendments asking that the number of districts be reduced from seven to “six or five” or “five”.

The reduction of one district superintendent and all associated expenses will save the district approximately $210,000 in the first year, according to Council on Finance and Administration (CFA) chairperson Carol Johns.

Johns said the CFA analyzed a significant amount of data and had lengthy discussions to determine it was in the best interest of the DAC.

Conference church membership has fallen from 186,851 in 1970 to 94,679 in 2009, but the number of districts has remained unchanged and the number of clergy has actually risen.

“We believe the time has come to right-size our conference,” Johns said when presenting the resolution. “Our present setup was created to fit the needs of the conference in 1970.”

Bishop Jonathan Keaton will have the final say on how the districts are re-drawn to accommodate the change.

Rev. Jack Harnish of Birmingham FUMC prompted the discussion about the possibility of amending the resolution to state that the conference be to “six or five” districts, in hopes of providing more room for creativity in the future.

“Twenty-five years ago there was a plan to go from seven to six and while that exact plan probably wouldn’t work today, I believe we should give leadership and the Bishop some freedom and flexibility as they consider the reorganization of the districts,” he said. “We have all kinds of technology, from video to various ways of communicating that makes it much different than 1970.”

Several other people spoke in favor of the amendment, but Rev. Charles Boayue of Second Grace UMC thought the current superintendents should be afforded more time to work with their congregations that “have many needs right now.”

“How much more work can we expect them to do on top of what they already do and do we then have to redefine their jobs,” he said. “I do like the spirit of the amendment, in being more effective with our resources and money, but not the actual amendment.”

John Hart of the FUMC of Troy was on the other side of the spectrum, offering up the idea that the language simply be changed to read “five districts.”

“I want a number that’s proactive,” he said. “Let’s have the opportunity to implement some new ideas and this conference.”

When asked, Johns admitted the CFA had not researched or discussed the implications of reducing the number of districts to five.

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Keep an eye on these votes: Resolutions to pay close attention to at the 2010 Annual Conference

For the legislative language of all 18 resolutions click here.

By RJ Walters, Editor

There are 18 resolutions on the table for May’s Detroit Conference Annual Conference, but three of them figure to consume a large portion of the limelight.

The overwhelming theme of the trio is implementing change that will better equip the entire conference for the future.

The one that is likely to generate the most discussion is the proposal that the Detroit Annual Conference be reduced from seven districts to six, with a whole new map of districts to be drawn.

The proposal, written by the Conference Council on Finance and Administration states the change would be effective no later than July 1, 2011 and Bishop Keaton would determine the boundaries of the new districts per the 2008 Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church.

"Changing demographics and financial constraints have motivated the CFA to introduce legislation to move to six districts," said Conference Council on Finance and Administration chairperson Carol Johns, in December. "We feel that this will provide a significant cost savings. What we are not doing is proposing the elimination of any district. We are calling for the redistricting of the entire annual conference."

Conference Treasurer Anna Morford said the conference estimates a savings of nearly $210,000 with the reduction of one district superintendent and his/her entire office.

Salary freezes already saved nearly $811,000 in 2009 and the 2010 budget is one that shows significant reductions from the year before.

The total approved budget for 2010 is $9,736,500 and includes pensions, general church apportionments, and funding for all connectional ministry and administrative agencies and conference programs.

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