The theme for this year’s conference was “Faith for our Future, Loving Boldly.”
In his opening sermon, Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton said if that theme has any chance to be “more than just a catchy title or a strategic use of one part of the denomination’s vision,” we must recognize that Jesus “did not command us to have a life of faith defined by legalism, judgement, distrust, and wrath. Neither did he expect that we would get it all right. He just offered us one great commandment – ‘Love one another as I have loved.’”
“We will not save this church through a piece of legislation,” Bickerton said.
“We will not resurrect this church by a series of rules and laws. We will find our way when we take care of one another according to the mandate to love.”
This year's guest speaker was Ashley Boggan, top executive of the Commission on Archives and History. Speaking about what she called "Wesleyan Vile-tality,” Boggan also referenced the conference theme: “We as Methodists have loved boldly from our very beginning.”
Preaching in the fields, which John Wesley called being “more vile,” demonstrated a belief that the movement of the Holy Spirit cannot be confined, Boggan said. The question is not whether we admire Wesley here, she said, but whether we, in 2026, are willing to follow his example and go into the places we’ve been told not to go and to care for the people who we’ve been told are not our responsibility. Methodism grew, she said, “because ordinary people, lay people, risked their reputations for the sake of the gospel.”
The Empathy Project
The Rev. Juhee Lee, pastor of Haven United Methodist Church in East Providence, R.I., and a member of New England Conference Commission on Religion and Race, initiated The Empathy Project, which took place during the session. Attendees had the opportunity to listen to about a dozen recorded stories from people of different races, ethnic backgrounds, gender identities and abilities. They also had the chance to share their stories by recording them as a voice memo on their phones.
Another aspect of the project was the creation of a mosaic cross that led the procession during this year’s Ordination Service. Members were invited to add pieces of broken pottery to the cross’s design during the session. “We are all broken in some way, Lee, said. “The glass pieces represent our brokenness, but as they are placed together to form the cross, they come to represent our unity in Christ.”
Key Actions
For the first year, conference members met in resolution work groups. Similar to the legislative committees at General Conference, these four groups allowed for a fuller discussion of proposed legislation by topic and enabled measures to be perfected before coming to the full body on consent calendars. Among the actions taken were:
RS-26-202 CREATE PARENTAL LEAVE POLICY FOR NEUMC
The policy states “Parental leave ‘shall be encouraged and permitted for up to 13 weeks’” and “Beyond the church, the Annual Conference will advocate for paid parental leave in all aspects of society.”
RESOLUTION TO ADVOCATE FOR OUR IMMIGRANT NEIGHBORS
New England Annual Conference calls on its members to welcome the stranger, oppose unjust or punitive immigration laws, and provide concrete support to displaced individuals.
RS-26-203 AMENDED LAND RESTITUTION FOR UMC PROPERTIES IN NEW ENGLAND
The 2026 session of the New England Annual Conference shall require that land restitution — returning or restoring land to Indigenous communities, tribes and nations — be formally pursued and given priority in every instance of the sale, abandonment, donation or other disposition of land owned by The United Methodist Church, the New England Annual Conference, or any affiliated or subsidiary entity within New England.
Also adopted was the 2027 budget totaling $6.8 million, a 3.7 percent increase over 2026.
Key initiatives
Civil Rights Pilgrimage
Members heard a report on the Civil Rights Pilgrimage that took place in April 2026. A delegation of 43 pilgrims from the New England and New York annual conferences journeyed with Bickerton through Atlanta, Montgomery and Selma that was a sacred encounter with the past, a spiritual reckoning with the present and a call to transformative action for the future.
The pilgrimage was organized in coordination with “A Long Talk About the Uncomfortable Truth.” Kamal Carter and Kyle R. Williams of “A Long Talk” were special guests at the 2025 Annual Conference session, and the trip is part of the conference’s ongoing efforts to face and eradicate racism.
Another pilgrimage is being planned for 2028.
Digital Ministries Initiative
Those attending this year’s session heard about a project underway by the Digital Ministry Team of the New England Conference. The website building and hosting effort is designed to support churches and ministries that need a website but feel overwhelmed by high costs, difficult management platforms or the challenges of building a site from scratch. The package, for which churches will pay only $200 per year, includes the items listed below while still giving churches control over their content. The project will be rolled out to churches this summer.
• Website (built on a standard single- or multi-page template)
• Hosting and domain registration
• Platform and security
• Technical support
Class of 2026
At the Celebration of Ministry on June 5, which included the service of commissioning, Bickerton said:
“This act of commissioning and licensing is not merely a recognition of readiness, but a blessing upon lives given over to ministries of love, justice, compassion and grace. It is a powerful witness to the Church’s mission in the world — a mission rooted in Christ’s own ministry of healing, teaching and reconciliation. With joy and gratitude, we now take part in what the Holy Spirit is doing among us — calling, equipping and sending disciples to lead and serve.”
The conference welcomed its newest clergy; this year’s class of 11 included one transfer, four commissionees and six ordinands.
Bickerton’s sermon for the Ordination Service, which took place on June 6, was titled “Risky Business” and based on Luke 10:25-37, “The Parable of the Good Samaritan.”
Speaking directly to the ordinands, Bickerton said:
“Have you not noticed? It’s crazy out there. The world is being turned upside down with new norms and standards that are based on unbelievable concepts like retribution, getting even, taking advantage of the vulnerable, and, as the old phrase goes, ‘Getting all you can, canning all you get, and then sitting on your can.’”
“Are you sure you want to do this ordination thing? Really? You actually want to stand in direct opposition to those who are preaching a message filled with anger, fear and skepticism by preaching a word of grace, hope justice, joy and love, concepts deemed today to be out of touch, irrelevant, and naïve. Ordination? Are you crazy? This is risky business.”
Risky, perhaps, but not impossible, the bishop said.
“Maybe Mister Rogers had it right. Maybe it’s just a simple as filling your heart to the brim with love of God, a full love, a bold love, a love striving for completeness and taking the risk, the bold risk, to ask anyone, anywhere you go, ‘Won’t you be my neighbor?’ It’s just that simple. … If you do that, I think you’ll be just fine on this ministerial journey, and I think you’ll be just fine in the way you live out your Christian discipleship.”
2026 Ordinands
Deacons
Kristy Erin Besada
Tallessyn Zawn Grenfell-Lee
Elders
Eungil Cho
Benjamin Daggett
Junsang Lee
Evan Reid McElreath
Being commissioned as Provisional Elders
Cindie Chae
Eunji Lee
Shinjae Lee
Thiago Vieira
Transferring as a Provisional Elder
Aiden Seo
2026 Retirees (17)
David Arruda
Elizabeth Bachelder Smith
Ted Brandt
Greg Carpenter
Evelyn "Evie" Doyon
Ernest Farrar
Susan Frost
Peter Hey
Seok Hwan Hong
Anne Marie Hunter
Judy Jones
John Mueller
Steve Murray
Imani-Sheila Newsome-Camara
Alecia Reeves-Freeman
Linda Reynolds
Anne Robertson
Closed churches
The Federated Church of Ashland, Ashland, Mass.
United Parish of Carver, Carver, Mass.
Antioch Korean United Methodist Church, Leominster, Mass.
Marshfield Federated Church, Marshfield, Vt.
Moosup United Methodist Church, Moosup, Conn.
Lee Memorial United Methodist Church, Norwich, Conn.
Oneco United Methodist Church, Oneco, Conn.
Rachel S Harlow United Methodist Church, Windsor, Vt.
New Beginnings United Methodist Church, Townsend, Mass.
Statistics
Membership stands at 54,875, down 4% from the previous year.
Worship attendance stands at 14,282, up 0.3% from the previous year.
Church school attendance stands at 1,664, down 6% from the previous year.
Professions or reaffirmations of faith for 2025 is 535, up 12% from 2024.
Adults and young adults in small groups for 2025 is 7,905, up 4% from 2024.
Worshippers engaged in mission for 2025 is 10,360, up 1% from 2024.