June 18, 2016
Tom Getchell-Lacey is 2016 Ziegler honoree
The William C. Ziegler Award for Excellence in Preaching for 2016 is awarded to the Rev. Tom Getchell-Lacey, pastor of the First UMC in Gilford, NH.?Rev. Getchell-Lacey told the Annual Conference ‘it’s time’ to not just accept but embrace our LGBTQIA brothers and sisters.
New England endorses Chang and Easterling as episcopal candidates
The Rev. We Hyun Chang, pastor at Belmont/Watertown UMC, and the Rev. Dr. LaTrelle Miller Easterling, Metro Boston Hope District Superintendent, were endorsed by the Annual Conference as episcopal candidates.
New England surpasses $1M goal for Imagine No Malaria
Bonnie Marden, field coordinator for the New England Imagine No Malaria campaign, announced on Saturday that the campaign had exceeded the goal of raising $1 million. In contributions and pledges, the Conference raised $1,009,392. Contributions brought to Annual Conference totaled $28,490.44. Including the Nothing But Nets campaign of 2007-10, New England raised $1,214,392 to fight malaria. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this amazing effort!
State of the Conference
Cabinet Dean the Rev. Dr. David Abbott called on members to recall New England’s history and the rugged, intrepid farmers who settled here in the 17th century when thinking about the task of "Planting Seeds of Trust."
Statistician’s report
Joy Mueller, New England Conference statistician, gave her report to the 2016 Annual Conference on June 18. One of the highlights: In 2015, 27 percent of New England churches, up from 25 percent in 2014, were growing congregations.
Offerings received
The following offerings were received during Annual Conference:
Summary of actions on legislation
The Annual Conference adopted the Consent Calendar without changes. Items on the Consent Calendar can be found in the Pre-Conference Materials.
The 2017 budget was adopted. A motion made from the floor called for the Asian Commission to get its own line item in the budget and funding of $3,000. (Find detailed information on the budget)
The resolutions pertaining to changes in the rules and policies and procedures (16-208 to 16-213) were withdrawn in the interest of time. (The proposed rules/procedures changes can also be found in the Pre-Conference Materials). The Conference approved a motion to continue under the 2014 rules.
The following were acted on:
16-120 Minimum Cash Salary. Adopted
16-214 New England Justice for Our Neighbors Covenant Agreement, By-Laws and Articles of Incorporation. Adopted
16-216 Committee on Leadership/Nominations Resolution (nominations slate). Adopted
16-217 A Resolution to Support the Council of Bishops’ Proposal: A Way Forward. Brought by the NEAC Chapter of the Methodist Federation for Social Action.
This was adopted with two friendly amendments: Add “of diverse ethnicities” to item 2 regarding the inclusion of “out LGBTQI” persons on the proposed commission. And a change to item 5 to read: Report to the Annual Conferences regularly (replacing “at least one each quarter”) on the progress of the work of the Commission.
16-218 – Ending Harm to LGBTQI Communities. Brought by Sean Delmore, equalization member. Adopted.
16-219 – New England Annual Conference Membership in the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. Brought by Rev. Rebecca Girrell, pastor at Lebanon UMC in New Hampshire and chair of the Conference Board of Church and Society. Members approve maintaining membership.
The Conference adopted the resolution on Friday morning after considering it Thursday evening by acting as a Committee of the Whole. See the story
There was a call for Bishop Devadhar to issue a Reply to a Ruling of Law with regard to 16-220. The bishop has 30 days from the end of the Annual Conference session (until July 18, 2016) to offer his reply.
The bishop’s reply automatically goes to the Judicial Council for review. That review process can take 3-4 months. The Judicial Council will offer an opinion whether to uphold, in total or in part, or reject the bishop’s interpretation.
