Annual Conferences

Rustin Parsons, co-lay leader for the congregation of Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church in Marietta, Ga., announces that the church is beginning the process of disaffiliating from denomination during an April 26 press conference. Amid a continued fight over who should be the church’s pastor, the North Georgia Conference announced late July 12 that it was assuming management of the congregation’s assets. Screenshot of livestream by UM News, courtesy of Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church.

Conference assumes management of megachurch

Amid continued strife over a new pastoral appointment, North Georgia Conference leaders voted to transfer Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church assets to conference trustees’ oversight.

Annual Conferences

2021 United Methodist annual conference reports

UM News posts the official summaries filed by annual conferences from around the connection. Find the latest reports on our archive page.

Church History

Historic St. George’s United Methodist Church has been called one of the sites all United Methodists should see because it has been a Methodist house of worship continually since 1769. Video image by Jess Warnock, courtesy of United Methodist Communications.

Ask The UMC: Where was the first Methodist annual conference in America?

The first annual conference in America was held in 1773 at a church that is still in existence today.

General Church

Themes for United Methodist annual conferences in 2021 include (clockwise, from top) “A Continuing Journey of Faith (conferences in the Manila Episcopal Area), “It’s Time to Get Up” (Sierra Leone), “Story” (Louisiana), “Building Bridges” (Western Virginia), and “Connected in Christ” (Iowa). Graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

Annual conferences plan online, hybrid events

Some annual conferences will do a portion of their 2021 meetings in person as the coronavirus threat subsides. Resolutions on issues including sexuality and race will be considered.

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