News

1/8/2023

In the name of Jesus Christ, the Head of the church, I gladly assume, with you and among you, this ministry of Word, Sacrament, and Order, of pastoral supervision, government, and service. Strengthened by the love of God and the remembrance of my consecration to the episcopacy, I am resolved to serve faithfully and well the congregations and people of the North Georgia Conference as bishop, pastor, and friend. SERMON  |  FULL SERVICE  |  BULLETIN  |  PHOTOS On Sunday, January 8, the North ...

12/12/2022

Bishop Robin Dease (Photo by Matt Brodie) By Sybil Davidson Bishop Robin Dease’s assignment to the North Georgia Annual Conference was a full-circle moment. It was right here in North Georgia that she first fell in love with The United Methodist Church.   Brooklyn, NY to Atlanta Though Bishop Dease had 12 brothers and sisters, in many ways she has always been set apart.   “I was the only one in my family to go to college,” she shared. “My parents were from South Carolina and moved to New York ...

5/12/2022

Updated June 4 The North Georgia Conference Council of Finance & Administration is pleased to announce that, having received Annual Conference approval, Allison Berg will be named the next North Georgia Conference Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer, effective July 1, 2022.  She will succeed Keith Cox who will retire June 30 after 21 years of outstanding service.  Allison currently serves as Associate VP for Finance at Emory University. She has had a very impressive career trajectory in ...

3/2/2020

NOTE: The next Town Hall will be Live Streamed on Sunday, March 8, at 2 pm from Peachtree Road UMC's website.    On Sunday afternoon a capacity crowd filled the modern worship space and an overflow room at Hillside UMC for the first of Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson's Town Hall meetings.    In a warm, personal conversation, Bishop Sue shared some of her faith journey, she discussed the Protocol of Reconciliation and Grace legislation that is before the 2020 General Conference, and she offered ...

1/15/2020

Each summer a number of North Georgia Conference clergy pack their belongings and make the move to their next appointment. To make coordination easier, an official "move day" is set by the Conference, historically a Thursday. The following Sunday has been the first worship service with their new congregation.  Beginning in the summer of 2020, there will be a new pattern for moves. The last Sunday in June will be the final Sunday of a moving pastor's current appointment. The following Tuesday is...

3/17/2019

In a creative new appointment, Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson has announced that Rev. Greg Porterfield will join the Conference Cabinet as District Superintendent/Presiding Elder of the Augusta District in June 2019. Porterfield will remain senior pastor of Wesley UMC in Evans where he has served since 2004. He will also act in the superintendent role as missional strategist. The Cabinet will appoint a full-time elder to work out of the District Office as a missions specialist to aid Porterfield in...

1/20/2019

Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson has announced the appointment of one new District Superintendent to the Conference Cabinet effective June 2019.  Rev. Dr. Jessica Terrell, currently pastor of Eatonton First UMC in the Augusta District, will be appointed to serve as superintendent of the Rome-Carrollton District. She succeeds Rev. Dr. David Naglee who will retire in June.  "Jessica is down-to-earth and relational. She has a keen strategic mind and has led churches well, sometimes under very difficult...

7/27/2018

Shorter Charge Conference checklist? ✓ Check!  The Conference Cabinet has been working this spring and summer on an effort to reduce the amount of paperwork churches and church leaders are required to complete each year.  "Our intention is to streamline reporting, and for all the districts to get on the same page about what information we're collecting and what is essential," said Rev. Dr. Mike Long, Atlanta-Emory District Superintendent.  This means churches will see fewer required reports ...

1/21/2018

Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson has announced the appointment of one new District Superintendent to the Conference Cabinet effective June 2018.  Rev. Dr. Alice Rogers, currently lead pastor of Glenn Memorial UMC in Atlanta, will be appointed to serve as superintendent of the Gainesville District. She succeeds Rev. Richard Chewning who will retire at the end of 2018.  "Dr. Rogers has deep family roots in North Georgia, and grew up going to Salem Campground each year. She is a creative leader, ...

1/2/2018

The North Georgia Conference is pleased to announce the promotion of D. Michelle Levan to the position of Assistant Director of Ministerial Services and Spiritual Formation. Levan has been serving on the North Georgia Conference staff since 2015 when she joined the Office of Ministerial Services as Senior Program Coordinator.  A graduate of Greensboro College and Southern Methodist University’s Perkins School of Theology, Levan previously served on staff at Emory University’s Candler School ...

11/20/2017

Beginning December 6, the staff United Methodist Center will gather for Weekly Worship on Wednesdays. The liturgy will include a hymn, prayer, communion, scripture reading, and a homily from a visiting North Georgia Conference clergy member. A clergy staff member will serve as celebrant each week.  The service will be held from 11:15 to 11:45 a.m. in the Davis Room. The services are open and all are welcome to attend.  Leading the services during Avent are the Revs. Susan Allen Grady, Carolyn ...

9/12/2017

The Book of Disciplines requires all active clergy to attend a mandatory conference-organized clergy ethics training each quadrennium. The North Georgia conference is hosting 8 sessions to allow clergy to meet this requirement. If a clergyperson does not complete the training by the last event, their appointment will not be continued for the 2018-2019 appointment year. “This will be a comprehensive and engaging training that will help clergy in their day-to-day ministry,” said Dr. Dana ...

8/10/2017

Each Clergy Move Day brings changes to the North Georgia Conference offices as pastors move to new appointments and staff shifts based on the year’s ministry needs. This summer has been a season of farewells, transitions, and welcomes at the United Methodist Center! FAREWELL Michele Lancaster served as Administrative Assistant to the Director of Connectional Ministries for five years. Known for her friendly presence at training events and a helpful voice on the phone, Lancaster has left one ...

1/22/2017

Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson has announced four new cabinet-level appointments effective in June.    Rev. Quincy Brown, currently executive pastor at Peachtree City UMC, will be appointed as district superintendent of the Atlanta-Decatur-Oxford District, succeeding Coy Hinton, who will re-retire after filling the vacancy created when Sharma Lewis was elected to the episcopacy. "Quincy will bring a listening ear and a keen gift of discernment to encourage the churches to have a new evangelistic ...

1/19/2017

Photo: Sean Taylor, layperson and chair of Conference Council on Finance and Administration, presents the 2017 Budget to the Annual Conference. At the close of 2016, North Georgia United Methodist churches had paid 94.7 percent of the apportionment budget, the highest percentage of apportionments paid in 15 years. Apportioned giving totaled $20,896,626.    Six of the 12 districts increased versus the previous year, including the Atlanta-Marietta District which paid five percentage points more ...

1/3/2017

Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson has announced three changes to the Appointive Cabinet effective June 2017.  Rev. Jane Brooks will be promoted to serve full time as Assistant to the Bishop. In this role she will ensure that all aspects of the Annual Conference are working together to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. She will ensure that all branches of the Annual Conference (Conference Staff, Board of Ministry, Cabinet) are working in concert and not duplicating ...

12/27/2016

North Georgia Conference Week of Prayer to be March 19-25, 2017 The denomination-wide 'Praying Our Way Forward' initiative will launch Phase 2 on New Year’s Day with 75 weeks of focused prayer for The United Methodist Church. The effort will begin January 1 in the North Carolina Conference, and wrap up in the West Angola Episcopal area in June 2018. Each annual conference will take one week to have intentional prayer for the mission of The United Methodist Church to make disciples of Jesus ...

11/17/2016

North Georgia Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson invites Conference laity and clergy to submit names of individuals they see as possessing gifts that would lend themselves to the office of District Superintendent. She has established a special email address to receive the suggestions. Read the letter from Bishop Sue below: Dear North Georgia Conference Clergy and Laity:   One of my priorities as your bishop is to name respected and gifted clergy leaders as district superintendents. To help me make the...

10/13/2016

Dozens of members serving on North Georgia Conference committees and boards gathered at Dunwoody UMC on Saturday for a quadrennial training event.  Members of our Conference Common Table, Nominations Committee, Board of Pension and Health Benefits, Finance and Administration, Trustees, Equitable Compensation, Board of Laity, Board of Connectional Ministries, and Congregational Development met for the first time this quadrennium at the event.  "Our work flows from our worship," said Rev. Herzen...

9/21/2016

On Wednesday, the extended cabinet of the North Georgia Conference and Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson participated in a day-long "on-boarding" session. The session was led by Claire Bowen, a lay person in the North Georgia Conference, who specializes in this process when a new person is named to lead a corporation or large organization like a United Methodist conference. She is a lifelong United Methodist and a member of Peachtree Road UMC in Atlanta. "The on-boarding process that the cabinet ...