The 58th Central Appalachian Missionary Annual Conference took place May 8-9 at the Joy Center Outreach and Central Appalachian Missionary Conference Center. It was the second Annual Conference session for Bishop David Graves. He is the resident bishop of the Kentucky-Tennessee area. The theme for this year was “I Am Called, Gifted to Lead.”
Friday night was the annual mission night in which people came together to work on the mission project of making 80 bucket gardens, to be given out in ministry to people across the conference. Some worked in the new conference greenhouse and community garden, from which food will go to families in the local and other conference communities. This work was followed by a cookout and fellowship time.
Saturday opened with a devotion led by the Rev. Daniel Henson. Following the devotions, the clergy and laity sessions convened. After a short break following the clergy and laity sessions, everyone gathered in the renovated multi-function space that was the original sanctuary of the Joy Center, for a mission roundtable discussion about spiritual gifts. Prior to Annual Conference, voting members were given a link to fill out a spiritual gift inventory to share during this time, and guests were given hard copies to fill out. Discussions around the table were directed by Whitley Henson, director of communications and youth and Young Adult Ministries.
Following lunch, Bishop Graves led the recognition of churches and laity with conference awards. At 1:20 p.m., Bishop Graves opened the business session. The conference secretary, the Rev. Robert Amundsen, started with greetings, introductions of guests and announcements. The bishop’s wife, Nancy Graves, was recognized first and received a small gift on behalf of the conference. Whitley Henson then recognized the clergy spouses of the conference.
Following that, the Rev. Ronald Amundsen read the roll call, setting of the bar and voting instructions for the 2025 Annual Conference. After preliminary motions, the conference heard the request to amend and update the standing rules of the Annual Conference. The rest of the session was filled with reports from the various committees, including Henderson Settlement, United Women of Faith, United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, United Methodist Committee on Relief, disaster response and the United Methodist Publishing House. By a vote of the remaining members, the conference approved the closure of Hope United Methodist Church. The Henderson Settlement will receive the Hope property to use as a chapel and housing for work teams. The Rev. Daniel Henson, chair of Conference Finance and Administration and director of the Conference Finance Team presented the budget of $323,000, an increase of $23,000. Amundsen, conference statistician, shared that there was a loss of three members compared to last year’s 216. He said the conference had 11 baptisms for second year in a row. Amundsen also shared that local church in-person and online attendance increased over the last year. The production of the virtual 2026 journal will be done in-house. It was announced that the 58th Session of Annual Conference will be at Booneville United Methodist Church next year on May 7-8.
After a break to prepare the sanctuary, the closing service of remembrance and Holy Communion began. Graves preached from 2 Timothy 1:6-7, with the messaged titled, “Stir Up the Gift.” He reminded all “to fan into flames the spiritual gift God has given you or as one translations adds, “stir up God’s gift that is inside you.” He shared the illustration of “his favorite dessert of all time, yellow cake with chocolate frosting." He said his grandmother got him hooked and his wife, Nancy, “perfected it.” He reminded us that “it’s all in the ingredients. NO NUTS. But honestly, we have put some bad ingredients into our soul, heart and mind.”
Following the bishop’s message, faithfully departed saints from our congregations were recognized, as well as volunteers to the mission agencies. Next Holy Communion was received and an offering taken for conference disaster preparation. Bishop Graves then read the appointments for this year at the end of the service. The ministry of the Rev. David Bardin was celebrated. He retired after 8 years of service. Also celebrated was the Rev. Daniel Henson, conference co-superintendent and pastor of Manchester and Jack’s Creek United Methodist churches, who is moving to an appointment in the Kentucky Conference. Also celebrated was the appointment of the conference’s first clergy of color with the appointment of the Rev. Edwin Kogo, who is coming to the conference from Kenya via Duke Divinity School. The appointments found two churches still open for appointment, although the search continues. Following the reading of the appointments, Bishop Graves dismissed with a blessing.