Annual Conference 2026

In June, our clergy and lay delegates from Myers Park UMC spent four days at Western North Carolina Annual Conference in Lake Junaluska. Some of us might ask, “What is Annual Conference?”

In The United Methodist Church, “annual conference” refers to two related, but distinct entities:

An organizational body: A geographic unit of the church. Each annual conference is led by a bishop.

A yearly meeting: A gathering of United Methodist clergy and equal number of lay members from within the conference to make decisions that impact the churches and ministries in that region. It is also a time of worship, fellowship, and learning.

As churches across our conference continue to navigate changing opportunities and challenges, members gathered to celebrate God’s work among us and chart a path forward together. Bishop Ken Carter shared these key highlights from this year’s conference that reflect our shared commitments, accomplishments, and hopes for the future:

1.  We established an equity fund for the repair of historically Black Churches.

2.  We affirmed a covenant relationship with the Ukraine-Moldova Annual Conference.

3.  We reinstated the ordination of Lauren Scruggs who was required to surrender her credentials 32 years ago through our sin of exclusion.

4.  We recognized a Deaconess and three Certified Lay Ministers, both of which acknowledge the calling of laity in the life of the church. We also licensed 16 local pastors, commissioned 12 clergy as provisional members, recognized the orders of four clergy, approved the transfer of one additional clergy, and ordained one Deacon and seven Elders.

5.  We approved an apportioned budget of $10,893,315 for 2027, which is .01% less than the 2026 apportioned budget and elected Rev. Meredith Poe Martin as our Conference Treasurer.

6.  We celebrated the retirement of 32 clergy, which represented a total of 845 years of service, and gave thanks for the lives of 28 clergy and 30 clergy spouses who entered the church triumphant this past year.

7.  We learned from each other about rebuilding the church within our particular context and in those discussion groups experienced the connection at its best.

This year MPUMC was represented by lay delegates Marisa Ciesluk, Havaleh Havelka, and Sandy Hieronymus, who has attended Annual Conference for more than 30 years. Sandy shares this:

“Worship services are always meaningful. Bishop LaTrelle Easterling, who serves the Baltimore-Washington Conference preached, ‘You are not a volunteer. You are a disciple of Jesus Christ. Ezekiel did not have hope in bones. He had hope in God. There is a future for the UMC because the Spirit of God moves. God calls. God sends. Beloved, you have been sent!’

It’s a joy to serve God in the UMC at Myers Park!”

Myers Park UMC is part of the wider connectional United Methodist Church, and together we can grow, serve, and bear witness in ways that we simply cannot on our own. We give thanks for one another and move forward with faith, hope, and love as the family of God.