2022 Annual Conference Information
Virginia Methodists for a New Thing strives to serve the Annual Conference by providing helpful information, guidance, and expected motions so the members of the Conference can do their work well. This year, in addition to the expected business of the Conference, New Thing feels it is important to share information about current events in the life of the connection.
If you have motions/legislation that you are planning to bring to Annual Conference, you may share it for pre-reading or discussion by emailing anewthingva@gmail.com and we will add it to this public document.
District Initiative
Following the last Virginia Annual Conference, Bishop Lewis requested that each of the bi-district pairings begin work to “integrate the two districts into one.” You can read the letter calling for this here. This work will come before the Conference this year for ratification, bringing the VAUMC in line with the work done in other Conferences in the jurisdiction. One other major benefit of this initiative is that it will help financially due to the reduction in District Superintendent salaries.
Local Church Disaffiliation
While it is unclear how many local congregations are pursuing disaffiliation from The United Methodist Church, it is clear based on the Special Called AC that some are expected. According to a letter sent by Bishop Lewis on April 18, 2022, P. 2553 should be used for this disaffiliation. There is some movement to petition the Conference to use a different Disciplinary method for disaffiliation but this may not be a factor in this Annual Conference. You’ll remember that P. 2553 was approved during the 2019 called General Conference as a result of a motion from a member of the Confessing Movement.
Endorsing the Christmas Covenant
On April 7, 2022, the Virginia Delegates to General Conference issued a press release endorsing the Christmas Covenant and commending the Annual Conference to do the same. The VA delegation to General Conference will begin sharing information about the Christmas Covenant during the 2022 Annual Conference, anticipating a vote of endorsement to come before the AC in 2023.
Declaratory Decisions
During the 2021 VAUMC, a request for a declaratory decision came before both the clergy session and the body of the AC. Helpfully, the Judicial Council has ruled in a similar case from another Conference and, in so doing, outlined the proper process for requesting a declaratory decision. Should a similar request come before the 2022 VAUMC, a vote of the Conference is required with a majority threshold needed to move forward.
Committee on Investigation
The Virginia Annual Conference remains the only Conference with active complaints against clergy with relation to officiating same-sex weddings. Initially, complaints seek to be resolved via a Just Resolution process. In circumstances when a resolution is not reached, they are either dismissed or move forward to trial. Each AC has a Conference Committee on Investigation which is tasked to “consider judicial complaints against clergy members…The committee shall consist of four clergy members in full connections, three professing members, three alternate clergy members in full connection, and six alternate lay members…the committee shall be nominated by the presiding bishop in consultation with the Board of Ordained Ministry (for clergy members) and the conference board of laity (for professing members) and elected quadrennially by the annual conference. If additional members or alternates are needed, the annual conference may elect members to serve for the remainder of the quadrennium.” The composition of this committee is found in para. 2703.2.
Being familiar with this process is important because we will be voting on new members mid-quadrennium at this year’s Annual Conference. As Bishop Lewis moved forward with clergy complaints despite the 2019 Virginia Annual Conference vote to follow abeyance, members of the Virginia Conference Committee on Investigation (COI), recused themselves or stepped down from the COI. It seems that they could not, in good conscience, proceed with trials. We do not know if their concerns were theological, practical (the financial cost), relational (harm being done even as disaffiliation opportunities are about to begin), or other/all. But Virginia Methodists for a New Thing commends their action and appreciates the service of the full Committee. The work of this committee is never “easy.”
So how do we replace these members of the Committee on Investigation?
The bishop nominates in consultation with:
Board of Ordained Ministry (chair, Rev. Tammy Estep), and
Conference Board of Laity (chair, Mrs. Martha Stokes)
The slate of nominated individuals can be found in the Book of Reports Addendum here.
Elections are to be made by the Annual Conference