Susquehanna Annual Conference
May 31 - June 2, 2018. Hershey, PA
Tuning in to AC 2018
Dear Brothers and sisters of the Susquehanna Conference, I greet you in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, Prince of Peace, Healer of our brokenness, and Hope of the world.
On Thursday, May 31st, we will gather at Hershey Lodge for the 2018 Susquehanna Annual Conference. As we consider our theme this year, Better Together: One in Christ, we are drawn to a symbol of unity, the tuning fork.
Consider these words from A.W. Tozer in his piece The Pursuit of God:
“Has it ever occured to you that one hundred pianos tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard by which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipper met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become ‘unity’ conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.” — A.W. Tozer
Friends, when we gather in May, we will tune our hearts to the standard of Christ. It is by that standard that we will celebrate the oneness in Christ for we are Better Together.
“Let us fix our eyes upon Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith”
Hebrews 12:2
“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Romans 15:5-6
We will experience excellent times of worship, witnessing, learning opportunities, and fellowship.
I am looking forward to meeting you at Annual Conference.
In the name of Jesus Christ, unified and atoned by which we tune our lives.
Amen and amen.
— Bishop Jeremiah J. Park
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Pre-Conference Workshops on May 30
Here is your chance to grow, be equipped, and connect with one another as part of your Annual Conference experience this year. We are bringing in nationally recognized speakers and local experts to provide you with excellent learning opportunities to meet the needs of our leaders and congregations. Don’t miss this opportunity to take advantage of these workshops and learn from specialists. Space is limited, so be sure to register today.Workshops:
Track A: Communicating Vision with Jason MackeyTrack B: Ruts in the Discipleship Path with Jason Mackey
Track A&B: Fresh Expressions of Church- The Five W’s with Audrey Warren
Track A: Spark: Vital Mergers - You Don’t Have to Start From Scratch: Vital Mergers and Restart with Paul Nixon
Track B: Spark: Re-Starts - You Don’t Have to Start From Scratch: Vital Mergers and Restart with Paul Nixon
Track A&B: Small Church Checkup with Kay Kotan
Track A: Your Pastor’s Benefits: What Finance Needs to Know with Kelly Cox
Track B: Conference Loan Fund: What’s New with Lauren Hokamp
Track A: Opioids and Teenage Disciples with Kayt Hughes
Track B: Pathways to Spiritual Leadership with Kevin Witt
Track A: 5 Things Your Visitors are Thinking But Won’t Ask with Jason Moore
Track B: Worship That Sticks: Creating Worship that Lasts Beyond Sunday with Jason Moore
The workshops are being hosted at Trinity UMC, Hummelstown on Wednesday, May 30 from 1 till 5 pm.
The cost for attending will be $25 per person with an offering of .35 CEU’s.
Parking is limited. We will be offering shuttles to/from Hershey Lodge to Trinity for your convenience. Look for the shuttle signs.
Notice that some workshops will last the entire afternoon (both Tracks A and B) while other workshops are shorter in duration (only Track A or B) and will allow you to take two workshops.
We encourage you to attend these workshops but they are not required for Annual Conference.
More information at susumc.org/workshops
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Featured Speakers
Bishop Jeremiah J. ParkBishop Susquehanna Conference: Opening Celebration
Rev. Marian Hartman
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre District Superintendent: Memorial Service
Kay Kotan
Director of Equipping Vital Congregations: Laity Session and Friday Plenary
Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball
West Virginia Conference: Bible Study and Ordination Service
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Support the Youth Service Fund
The Young People’s Ministry is committed to making a difference in the lives of teens in our Conference and around the world. One way in which we do this is through Youth Service Fund (YSF) grants. You can help us make a difference by supporting YSF at Annual Conference. During Conference, please visit the YSF display booth at Annual Conference to place a bid on a basket, or stop by the charging station to give your mobile device a boost, or drop some money into a jar to pie your “favorite” Conference Leader in the face! Your donation will go to fund youth ministry projects locally, nationally, and internationally!
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Annual Conference Special Offerings
Memorial Service, Thursday, May 31, 2018:
Mission Central (Advance #7059) is the place of miracles, now including 37 HUBS, “connecting God’s resources with human need” through mission education, mission outreach, and disaster response. Annually, over $7-10 million worth of goods are distributed through Mission Central transforming over three million lives locally, nationally, and globally. Your generous offering contributions make the daily operations possible.
Celebration of Ministry, Friday, June 1, 2018:
The Cup of Water Fund (Advance #8160) is a fund which is available to lay persons in our conference who are facing difficult financial hardship. These donations provide emergency grants to families or individuals who are recommended by pastors to the Cabinet. In these difficult economic times your generosity provides needed help to our brothers and sisters.
Ordination Service, Saturday, June 2, 2018:
Bishop’s Partners in Mission (Advance #7090) calls us to Imagine No Malaria and Imagine No More Debt! 100% of the proceeds from this fund go to Imagine No Malaria (the UMC’s global campaign to fight malaria) and paying down the debt of Mission Central so they can focus on their core mission of connecting God’s resources with human need. Bishop Park is inviting individuals, congregations and church groups to join him and be Partners in Mission, committing to $100 or more a year. Whatever you can give helps the lives of those locally and around the world. God is still calling us to imagine great things, he is calling us to Imagine What We Can Do Together!
Please make checks payable to Susquehanna Conference and include your church number and the advance number (listed after the name above) on the memo line of the check.
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LIVE STREAMING
What is an Annual Conference?
umc.org/who-we-are and “The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church”
Annual Conferences
When you hear the term “annual conference,” it could be referring to any one of three things. The annual conference as a regional body, an organizational unit, and a yearly meeting.
Many of these yearly meetings happen in the U.S. in May and June. You can read reports from the 2014 Annual Conference Session on our Annual Conference Reports page.
Regional body
The annual (sometimes referred to as ‘regional’) conference is described by the church’s Constitution and (other parts of the ) “Book of Discipline” as the ‘basic unit’ of the church.
In the United States, an annual conference may cover an entire state, only part of the state, or even parts of two or more states. There are also three missionary conferences in the United States, which rely upon the denomination as a whole for funding.
The United States has 57 annual conferences, which are supervised by 46 bishops. There are 76 annual conferences in Africa, Europe, and the Philippines, which are supervised by 20 bishops.
Organizational body
In the U.S., the annual conference has a central office and professional staff that coordinate and conduct ministry and the business of the conference. It likely has a director of connectional ministries, treasurer, directors of program areas (such as camping), communications director, and other staff as deemed appropriate for the annual conference and as required by the “Book of Discipline.” Clergy and lay persons may also serve on conference boards, commissions, and committees.
“The purpose of the annual conference is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world by equipping its local churches for ministry and by providing a connection for ministry beyond the local church: all glory to God” ¶ 601
Annual Conference sessions
Each year an equal number of clergy members and lay members attend their conference’s Annual Conference Session for worship, fellowship, and to conduct the business of the conference, which may last 3-5 days. During these sessions members of the Conference hear reports of past and ongoing work; adopt future goals, programs, and budgets; ordain clergy members as deacons and elders; and elect delegates to Jurisdictional and General Conferences (every four years). The bishop presides over these meetings.
Annual Conference Membership
The clergy membership of an Annual Conference shall consist of deacons and elders in full connection, provisional members, associate members, affiliate members, and local pastors under full-time and part-time appointment to a pastoral charge. ¶ 602.1
The lay membership of the Annual Conference shall consist of a professing member elected by each charge, diaconal ministers, deaconesses, home missioners, the conference presidents of: United Methodist Women, United Methodist Men, Youth and Young Adult Ministries, the conference lay leader and district lay leaders, one youth (age 12-18) and one young adult (age 18-30) from each district, and the chair of the conference college student organization.
If lay membership should number less than the clergy members of the Annual Conference, the Annual Conference shall provide for election of lay-equalization members.
Lay members must be members of, and active in, the United Methodist Church at the time of election (with some tenure requirements) ¶ 602.4
The above mentioned have voice and vote at the Annual Conference Session. Other representatives (¶ 602.9) are given privilege of the floor (voice) without vote.
It is the duty of every member of the Annual Conference to attend its sessions and furnish such reports in such forms as the “Book of Discipline” may require. (¶ 602.8)
