Annual Conference

I thought I would make a brief post about Annual Conference. For all those who don’t know, Annual Conference is the annual meeting of all United Methodists in a particular geographic area (e.g. New England) to spend time worship, conferencing, meeting, gossiping (and slandering from time to time), and making decisions together. So, in true I-can’t-write-a-complete-paragraph blogger form, are the highlights.

I confess that I did not approach the Annual Conference in a Spirit filled way. I overanalyzed the worship services, mocked the people I perceived as tedious or arrogant, and let my wish to participate in the peanut gallery interfere with a sense of where the Holy Spirit might be leading us.

Oh well, there’s always next year to improve. Now, on to the highlights!

Highlights I Regret I Missed

-John Blackadar, current conference secretary, future District Superintendent, singing "Spitball Me Lord Over the Homeplate of Life" after the Board of Ordained Ministry Meeting.

- The candy fueled late night D.S. and future D.S. party on Wednesday night. (It’s nice to know that my future supervisors can have a good time!)

Highlights I Wished I Missed

- The 40 MINUTE debate on a two and a half line resolutaion on whether we give our names and addresses so a reputable insurance company can send us information about the possibility of getting long term healthcare. (Incidentally, after a heated debate, the motion passed about 1100 to 3.)

- The absentminded, confused, and dyxlexic PowerPoint operator of the first two days of Conference, who forgot that clicking to the next slide is not an optional activity, that most hymns have more than one verse, and no, amazingly enough, we don’t know the other five verses of the hymn from memory.

- The long youth ministry session where everyone (mostly the old people) felt compelled to TALK about how much they loved youth, presumably to compensate for their lack of action when they return to their local churches.

- The spiritual cliff I dropped off every time they followed up Bishop Weaver’s inspired sermons with yet another aggresively unsingable mediocre song

Highlights I’m Glad I Missed

- Ordained clergy publicly questioning our Bishops’ intergirty on this issue of homosexuality during his first session with the clergy on Wednesday. Welcome to New England Bishop!

Highlights I’m Glad I Didn’t Miss

- Talking with Drew Professor Chris Boessel about community

- Bishop Weaver’s spirit filled inspired sermons. He is officially my new hero.

- The utterly spontaneous times of fellowship with members of the Green Street delegation and others