More than 1,000 people attended the 14th session of the Upper New York Annual Conference in Syracuse, New York, and hundreds more watched the livestream June 1-3. This is the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that it’s been safe to gather in person for holy conferencing, fellowship, prayer and more.
This is also the first Annual Conference that Bishop Héctor A. Burgos Núñez presided over since being elected bishop and assigned to serve Upper New York at the Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference in November 2022.
In his episcopal address, Bishop Héctor said, “Upper New York, by the grace of God and led by the Holy Spirit, we are moving forward, together. We are not waiting for the disorientation to end. We are not waiting for the challenges to go away. In faith, we are taking the next faithful steps in the journey, trusting that we have all we need for today and that God will provide what’s needed for tomorrow.”
Bishop Héctor also revealed the new conference logo. He said, “We are prioritizing people and relationships over everything else.” The new branding focuses on shifting from institutions to people and building relationships with God and our neighbors.
Click here to read the full article. Click here to watch a recording of the address from the livestream and click here to watch the new logo reveal video.
Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi presided over laity session for the election of two lay delegates to General and Jurisdictional Conference. On the fourth electronic ballot, Kenneth Guilfoyle and Emma Scavo were elected. Click here to read more about laity session.
The Leadership Report was presented by Conference Lay Leader, Jessica White, and the Rev. Mike Weeden, Northern Flow District Superintendent and Dean of the Cabinet. Both of their reports zeroed in on the importance of collaboration and the importance of “claity,” collaborative ministries between clergy and laity that work to discover, develop and deploy Christ-following Transformational Leaders. Read more here.
The Conference Board of Trustees presented resolutions for church closures, church disaffiliations and an update on the lawsuits brought against the Conference under the Child Victims Act. Twelve churches were closed and 35 churches were approved for disaffiliation. To view a list of all 35 church disaffiliation resolutions, click here. Beth Jordan and Pamela Klotzbach were elected by paper ballot to serve on the Conference Board of Trustees.
Equitable Compensation presented a recommendation to increase the minimum base compensation by 3.5%. After much debate, the recommendation was approved, with an editorial change that the increase begins on Jan. 1, 2024. The Clergy Housing Policy and the Accountable Reimbursement Plan did not change. Click here to read more.
The Board of Pension & Health Benefits addressed the rising cost of health care and the implications related to disaffiliation. Two recommendations were presented. One allows retired and disabled clergy to claim their church pension, severance or disability income as a housing exclusion. The second is for a 5% percent increase to the Pre-82 Past Service Annuity Rate, which would move it from $658 to $691. Both recommendations passed. Read more by clicking here.
The 2024 ministry budget was presented and supported by the Conference Council on Finance and Administration. A recommendation to “Request to Allocate the Cost of the Child Victims Act Legal Fees and Settlement Costs” was presented and after much debate, a substitute motion for a committee to further discern the allocations passed.
A special presentation was made by the Upper New York Black Leadership Caucus, which formed after the racially motivated shooting at the Tops Supermarket in Buffalo in May 2022. The Buffalo 10 Scholarship was created and high school senior Xavier Mann was named as the inaugural recipient. Xavier will receive $1,000 a year for all four years of college so long as he stays enrolled. The Buffalo 10 Scholarship is one of several Advance Specials approved by the Conference body. Read more about Advance Specials here.
More than 40 clergy and clergy spouses who have died since May 2022 were honored and celebrated during the Memorial Service. The Rev. Nola Anderson, Finger Lakes and Crossroads District Superintendent, delivered a powerful message on the fact that death is not the end of the story; the end of the story is the victory we have through Jesus Christ. Read more about it here and click here to watch the livestream recording.
The Rev. Trey Wince from Ministry Architects led a learning session focusing on building discipleship and the importance of making clear what it means to be a part of your church. He offered the following as crucial steps to grow disciples and being an effective church: define discipleship, break down the definition into its key components, list your activities, connect the dots by matching each priority with each activity, check for alignment, craft a clear and simple message that tells your story. “Tell the story over and over again,” he said. “I think you’ll find it’s the most fun you’ve had in ministry in a long time.”
The Rev. Dr. Giovanni Arroyo, general secretary of the General Commission on Religion and Race (GCORR), led another learning session titled “Intercultural Disciple Leaders.” During this time, he asked Conference attendees to reflect on their own culture and identities to help understand preconceptions we bring to ministry to be better disciples. “An intercultural leader is able to recognize that one’s culture is not the only cultural reality,” he said, “that we have one understanding while another person may have a different cultural reality and perspective, and that those different cultural perspectives and realities does not create the polarization mindset they are inferior or superior to me.”
The Conference celebrated the Black College Fund with a message from Jalen Lawson, Black College Fund ambassador for the General Board of Higher Education. Jalen spoke about her experience at the HBCU Bennett College in North Carolina. She thanked The United Methodist Church, United Women in Faith and the United Methodists of Upper New York for their support.
The Service of Commissioning and Ordination celebrated 19 clergy members: three were ordained for the work of the Deacon (Deborah M. Coatsworth, Patrick James Dupont, and Theresa L. Eggleston); seven were ordained for the work of the Elder (Andy McClaren Anderson, Casey Edward Bradley, Brett William Johnson, Jennifer K. Piatt, Olga Elsie Gonzalez Santiago, Alison Elaine Schmied, and Jee Hae Song); five were commissioned for the work of Elder (Deokryeol Bak, Daniel Joseph Bradley, Ann-Marie Brown, Cori Joan Louden, and Michael George Whitcomb-Tavey); and four were elders newly recognized in The United Methodist Church (Raquel Alston, Lal Fak Mawia, Jefferson Calvin Niles, and Tanya Renate Spencer).
Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi joined Bishop Héctor in the commissioning, ordaining and recognizing. She delivered the message “The Power of One” based on the Scripture John 17:17-24. “The Scripture points to the fact that diversity in the body makes the body stronger. Our spiritual body needs some diversity in order for it to be healthy,” she said. “Beloved, the world is looking at us to see how we treat one another. They’re looking at us to see what our actions say about who God is.”
Retiring clergy were recognized and new appointments were named at the Service of Passage. A symbolic mantle was passed via representatives from the bishop to retired clergy to newly ordained clergy to commissioned clergy to local pastors to certified lay ministers. The Class of 2023 includes 30 clergy who have a combined total of 776 years of ministry. Read more about it here.
UNYAC2023.1 – Supporting the Removal of Discriminatory Policies – supported with amendment
UNYAC2023.2 – In Support of Creating a U.S. Regional Conference – with editorial amendment passed
UNYAC2023.3 – Supporting the Removal of Discriminatory Language – with editorial amendment passed
UNYAC2023.4 – Encouraging Leadership with Integrity – with editorial amendment was not supported
Recommendation – “Naming Scholarships for Africa University” – supported
Time expired before the conference could vote on subsequent petitions.
Annual Conference was adjourned until the virtual special session on Oct. 14, 2023, and then from May 30-June 1, 2024, for the next regular session.
Bulleted notes from each day can be found here.
Shelby Winchell, director of communications, Upper New York Conference of The United Methodist Church