Did the gathering have a theme or slogan, and if so, what was it?
“Believe ... and see the Glory of God.” The theme is based on John 11:1-45 (the death and resurrection of Lazarus) with companion verses of Luke 1:47 (my spirit rejoices in God my savior) and Philippians 4:13 (I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me).
Officiating bishop: Bishop Héctor A. Burgos Núñez
Guest speakers and memorable points or quotes by speakers:
Thursday, May 22:
The Rev. April Casperson (laity session), click here to read article
Friday, May 23:
Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. (Ordination Service), click here to read article
The Revs. Kris Sledge and Rachel Gilmore (learning session), click here to read article
Main actions enacted by the conference:
- Equitable Compensation:Accountable Reimbursement Plan for full-time clergy to be increased by $750.
- Clergy with multiple church charges continue to receive an additional $500 for each additional church.
- No pastor’s salary can be decreased as a result of these policies as long as they retain their current appointment.
- All churches are strongly encouraged to offer a salary increase of no less than 4% to their pastors in 2026.
- An amendment was proposed and supported indicating base compensation for 2026 be raised to $1,000 at each level.
- Pension and Health Benefits:
- Allow clergy to claim pension, severance or disability income as a housing exclusion.
- Increase the Pre-82 Past Service Annuity Rate by 2% for 2026, increasing it to $726.
- “UNY Camp and Retreat Ministries Sunday” was supported and created to increase awareness of the ministry and a collection of an offering in Upper New York local churches to be used to offer scholarships for participation in Camp and Retreat Ministries programming. The conference voted to make the second Sunday in February Upper New York Camp and Retreat Ministries Sunday.
- “Strategic Visioning and Planning Process for the Upper New York Conference of The United Methodist Church” was passed seeking approval for the shared plan “to discern and articulate a clear, forward-looking roadmap for the Upper New York Conference.” Be further resolved that the resident bishop, in consultation with the CLT, will designate a task force to guide the Strategic Visioning and Planning Process, facilitate regular updates to the conference, and ensure the process is inclusive, transparent, and participatory. This task force will be amenable to the CLT. The resolution passed.
Did the conference take any action related to the recent General Conference?
Eligible members voted on constitutional amendments, including ballots 1-4.
Did your conference approve redistricting?
No.
Is your conference planning to merge with another conference or conferences?
No.
Number of churches that closed:
- 15 churches closed and are listed as follows:
- Albion First United Methodist Church
- Arkport United Methodist Church
- Benton United Methodist Church
- Caton United Methodist Church
- Conewango United Methodist Church
- Fairfield United Methodist Church
- Flemingville United Methodist Church
- Royalton United Methodist Church
- Delevan United Methodist Church
- Westover United Methodist Church
- Buffalo: Cleveland Hill United Methodist Church
- Albany: Trinity United Methodist Church
- Dryden United Methodist Church
- North Volney United Methodist Church
- Schuyler Lake United Methodist Church
Number of churches started:
There are no new chartered churches since our last annual conference session.
Did your conference adopt a reaffiliation policy and, if so, did any churches return?
The Upper New York Conference does not have a reaffiliation policy yet.
Any special annual conference set?
No. The next regular session is planned for May 28-30, 2026.
What budget did the conference pass and how did it change from last year?
The conference approved the 2026 budget as proposed. The budget represents an overall reduction of $300,000 from the 2025 approved budget and a $1,800,000 reduction compared to the 2023 budget. This reduction was done to account for closed and disaffiliated churches and the revenue lost from those churches. The Council on Finance and Administration has accounted for fund income use in ministry areas along with general fund interest to also help cover some of the costs related to the 2026 budget.
Other resolutions adopted by the conference:
- UNYAC2025.2: passed, designating Harkness United Methodist Church as a historic site.
- UNYA2025.4: “Identifying and Opposing Apartheid in the Holy Land” passed. The petition was referred to the Conference Commission on Religion and Race.
- UNYAC2025.3: “Sound level at AC” passed requiring sound technicians to limit decibel levels to 80 dBA with maximum levels peaking at 85 dBA.
- UNYAC2025.5: “Embracing the Fullness of Lay Ministry” was supported and determines that the Rules Committee include retired deaconesses and retired home missioners as prioritized lay equalization members (which would appear under Appendix II, section V, on p. 184 of the Conference Rules as published in the 2023 Journal).
- UNYAC2025.6: “Encouraging United Methodist Institutions with Endowment to Utilize Wespath Institutional Investing” was supported as amended where the Upper New York cabinet promote Wespath Institutional Investing and United Methodist Frontier Foundation to the local churches with endowment or investment assets that they supervise and the Council on Finance and Administration and Board of Trustees study the question of hiring Wespath Institutional Investments to manage any investment or reserve assets held by the Annual Conference and report back to the 2026 session of the Upper New York Annual Conference their findings and any recommendations for any actions requiring Annual Conference approval.
- UNYAC2025.7: “Inviting All to Experience the Love of Christ” was supported as amended that Bishop Burgos Núñez bring together a team to offer resources for congregations seeking to be more inclusive of LGBTQ+ persons and encourages the team to prioritize resources created and curated by the Reconciling Ministries Network, and that the team include LGBTQ+ United Methodists and members/pastors of reconciling churches in the conference while valuing a membership diverse in age, race, ethnicity, gender, ability and neurodivergence, and lay and clergy status.
- UNYAC2025.8: “Endorse NYS Poor People’s Campaign and Labor-Religion Coalition of NYS Statement” was supported. This petition calls on the annual conference to add its name to call on Gov. Hochul to include an anti-poverty agenda in her Executive Budget proposal.
Number of people ordained, commissioned or received into associate membership, and average age:
- Provisional member Jianzhong Jane Bronson was commissioned for the work of deacon.
- Provisional members Jennifer Dawn Stamm, Quincie Jacquelyn Yamin and Mathew Joseph Yamin were commissioned for the work of an elder.
- Deokryeol Bak, Ann-Marie Brown, Sherry Lynn Mahar and Se Gye Shin were ordained for the work of an elder.
The average age is 45 years old ranging from 30-61 years of age.
Number of clergy retired:
- The number of clergy and deacons retired in the Class of 2025 is 457.
Membership stands at 101,022, down 13,558 from the previous year.
Worship attendance stands at 19,073, down 4,179.
Church school attendance stands at 3,104, down 1,056.
Professions or reaffirmations of faith for 2024 is 618, down 324 from 2023.
Adults and young adults in small groups for 2024 is 9,616, down 1,968 from 2023.
Worshippers engaged in mission for 2024 is 125,000, down 1,178 from 2023.
Click the following links to read daily notes:
— Shelby Winchell, director of communications, Upper New York Conference