2025 Annual Conference lay report
Lay Delegates’ Report from the 2025 North Alabama Conference annual meeting, May 29-31, Asbury UMC, Birmingham
What was the North Alabama Annual Conference meeting like? It was two and a half days of worship, business, celebrating, learning, and eating! This is a brief report that barely scratches the surface of all that happened at the meeting. If you want more information, you can contact one of your lay delegates and we will be happy to share.
Business first:
We voted on four amendments to the United Methodist Constitution. These amendments had all been adopted by the General Conference last year, passing with large majorities, and they are now in the process of being ratified by votes at annual conferences throughout the world. To be ratified there must be a two-thirds aggregate affirmative vote across annual conferences. For this reason, the results cannot be determined until all annual conferences have voted. The Council of Bishops will certify and announce the results in November. The four amendments are identified as follows:
1. Regionalization affects how the UMC is structured globally.
2. Protecting membership for all ensures full participation for all members.
3. Racial justice amendment strengthens the United Methodist stance on racial justice.
4. Educational requirements for clergy eligible to vote for clergy delegates.
We heard reports and challenges from many conference groups including New and Renewing Churches, Commission on the Status and Role of Women, Disaster Response Ministry, Adult Discipleship Team, Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministry, Board of Ordained Ministry, Poverty Action Team, Urban Ministry, Camp Sumatanga, Methodist Foundation of North Alabama, United Women in Faith, and Multicultural Ministries.
Other business included reading the Apology from The United Methodist Church to Victims/Survivors of Sexual Misconduct that was adopted by the 2020/2024 General Conference and was to be read by every Annual Conference, adoption of a Conference budget of $5+ million, approval of the closure of 19 churches, and a greeting and report from Huntingdon College in Montgomery and Africa University.
An additional vote led to adoption of a resolution which will revise the North Alabama Conference Parental Leave Policy, granting clergy up to 13 weeks of paid parental leave following the birth or adoption of a child. The Conference will assist local churches with additional funding for pastoral coverage expenses up to $10,000 per leave.
Beyond the business meetings, what else occurred at the Annual Conference?
Lots of worship opportunities: First, the Conference opened with worship including song and liturgy. In a later worship Service of Licensing, Commissioning and Ordination, the Conference licensed four new local pastors, commissioned ten provisional clergy, and ordained one full connection deacon and two full connection elders. We were so proud to have two members of our church family, Quinten Lochmann and Leslie Norris Williams, among the provisional deacons. We congratulate them and celebrate this significant accomplishment. (If all of these terms are unfamiliar or confusing to you, just ask Quinten to explain them!) The annual Celebration of Life Service remembered those clergy and clergy spouses who had died in the last year. Finally, the Sending Forth Service that closed the Conference included the fixing of appointments for the year and the sacrament of Holy Communion. At all of these services we were blessed with inspiring sermons, liturgy, and music (many thanks to our choir members who participated in the combined choir for the Service of Licensing, Commissioning and Ordination). Additionally, many of the reports presented during the business meetings were actually stirring mini sermons themselves.
Lots of learning: Nine different Learn and Lead Workshops were offered on a wide range of topics, including solidarity with immigrants, small group ministry, discipleship-driven giving, and intergenerational ministry. We tried to cover all of them and may have a few new ideas to share. We also attended a session for laity on The Ministry of Hospitality, and we heard two messages from guest speaker, Rev. Dr. Herbert R. Marbury from Vanderbilt Divinity School, focusing on the theme of the conference, “Together in Joyful Obedience,” in which he encouraged us to move forward together.
Lots of eating and connecting: In between all the worship, learning, and business, there were good meals and time for perusing the various exhibits and connecting with each other.
One of the most notable and uplifting aspects of the 2025 North Alabama Conference meeting was the very high energy level, enthusiasm, and optimism of the participants -- conference staff, clergy, and lay members. Although the conference and the local churches have been through a difficult time accompanied by a lot of pain, it felt as if people were excited to be together and eager to be moving forward.
It was an interesting, informative, inspiring time! Please feel free to ask questions of us or our clergy members who were there.
- Lay Delegates: Joy Shultz, Julie Adams, Debra McCallum