News

5/20/2016

Pamela Duncan, pictured (in orange) during opening worship, is a member of "New Church Atlanta" (created by the merger of Druid Hills UMC and Epworth UMC). She is attending General Conference as an observer and volunteer with our Conference Communications Office. By Pamela Duncan I was raised Episcopalian in a bedroom community of Manhattan. Our congregation was affluent and lacked diversity. There were lots of smells and bells, Latin liturgy and controlled responses. The musical accompaniment...

5/19/2016

General Conference recognized retiring United Methodist bishops during plenary May 19, including North Georgia's episcopal leader Bishop Mike Watson.  Also retiring is former North Georgia Conference bishop, Bishop Lindsey Davis, and Bishop James King of the South Georgia Conference. Other Southeastern Jurisdiction retirees are Bishop Young Jin Cho and Bishop Larry Goodpaster. From the North Central Jurisdiction, Bishop Michael Coyner, Bishop John Hopkins, Bishop Jonathan Keaton, Bishop ...

5/18/2016

Rev. Lewis speaks during a lunch gathering hosted by the Jurisdictional Committee on Episcopacy. Photo by Luke Lucas/AWFUMC Rev. Sharma Lewis, Atlanta-Decatur-Oxford District superintendent, addressed a lunch gathering of Southeastern Jurisdiction delegates and guests. Each of the SEJ's 14 episcopal candidates spoke during the General Conference lunch break, seven speaking Tuesday and seven on Wednesday.   The jurisdictional episcopacy committee offered each candidate six minutes to share ...

5/15/2016

By Ansley Brackin Two notable Georgia Methodists were invited to speak and perform in Portland, Oregon, for the General Board of Church and Society’s annual General Conference dinner. Though Church and Society usually hosts a more formal, sit-down dinner, this year it was a laid back event with a high profile guest - Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls duo. She brought with her her dad, Dr. Don Saliers, a former professor at Candler School of Theology and current Emory Theologian in Residence. ...

5/13/2016

Clergy delegate Byron Thomas was part of the call to worship as General Conference opened Friday. We previously caught up with him to hear a little about his committee work and his hopes for General Conference.   What type of legislation is your committee considering? My committee will be addressing various issues related to the environment, war and peace, permissiveness in Annual Conference structure, reducing the size of the Church and Society board, privatization, and others. How have you ...

5/13/2016

Pamela Duncan, pictured receiving communion during opening worship, is a member of "New Church Atlanta" (created by the merger of Druid Hills UMC and Epworth UMC). She is attending General Conference as an observer and volunteer with our Conference Communications Office. By Pamela Duncan As lay delegate to the North Georgia Conference I have had the honor of attending several Annual Conference sessions. Thanks to Donn Ann Weber, conference secretary, the proceedings seem to run like a ...

5/12/2016

Mathew Pinson pictured in the Finance and Administration Committee Yesterday legislative committees convened to elect leadership and begin their work. Each committee elected three officers, a chair, vice-chair and secretary. In some cases, committees formed sub-committees and chairs were elected for those as well. Among those elected for legislative committee leadership was Mathew Pinson who was elected as the chair of Sub-Committee 1 of the Finance and Administration.  Rev. Chuck Savage is ...

5/11/2016

We caught up with Rev. Jane Brooks, clergy delegate, before legislative committees began their work Wednesday.  What type legislation is coming before your committee? My committee is Higher Education and Ministry/Superintendency. It was previously two separate committees that have been combined. I understand this committee has more petitions than any other committee. A number of the Higher Education & Ministry petitions before my committee are coming from the Study of Ministry Commission ...

5/11/2016

North Georgia clergy delegate Rev. Dr. Ed Tomlinson speaks from the floor of General Conference In ordering their work on Tuesday, May 10, the 2016 General Conference delegates adopted all but one rule recommended by the commission that plans The United Methodist Church’s legislative gathering. This rule, known as Rule 44, has been put forth by the commission as a Group Discernment Process that might provide a template for dealing with contentious issues in the life of the church. After ...

5/10/2016

The afternoon organization of General Conference session ran into the evening as delegates debated and discussed details of rules and procedures by which the work of the conference is to be conducted. A number of North Georgia delegation members After an unexpected dinner break, delegates returned to seek more clarification of the rules on which they were voting. Rules 1-43, after much discussion, were approved. Rule 44, a highly debated option including Holy Conferencing, was deferred until ...

5/10/2016

Conference Communication staff caught up with Keith Cox, a North Georgia Conference lay delegate, before opening of General Conference. Committee work will begin Wednesday, May 11. What is the major legislation coming before your committee? The most significant piece of legislation coming before the General Conference legislative committee on Global Ministries is related to the United Methodist Development Fund which would allow UMDF to have more flexibility in operations. What are your hopes ...

5/5/2016

United Methodists tour the Oregon Convention Center, the site of the 2016 General Conference. Photo by Mike DuBose.  When the General Conference of The United Methodist Church gathers next week in Portland, a number of North Georgia United Methodists will be volunteering their time to make the global event a success.  In addition to our delegation of 11 lay and 11 clergy members (see the Delegation here), others will serve as marshals, pages, IT support, recorders, musicians and in many more ...

5/2/2016

There are multiple ways you can follow along with The United Methodist Church General Conference in Portland, Oregon, May 10-20, 2016.  Live Stream: General Conference will be live streamed at http://umc.org/live  Daily NGUMC e-newsletter: The North Georgia Conference will send a daily email from Portland. Subscribe here  General Conference website: http://www.umc.org/topics/general-conference-2016  General Conference App: App Store or Google Play North Georgia Conference website: ...

3/1/2016

The North Georgia Conference Delegation to the 2016 General Conference announces two listening sessions: Listening Session #1 Saturday, April 16, 2016 Griffin First United Methodist Church Griffin, Georgia  10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.    Listening Session #2 Saturday, April 23, 2016 Dunwoody United Methodist Church Dunwoody, Georgia 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.   Clergy and laity of the North Georgia Conference of The United Methodist Church are invited to address the delegation on topics related to ...

2/25/2016

If you prayed for the United Methodist Church General Conference yesterday, you are in good company. More than 430 North Georgia United Methodist individuals and prayer groups committed to pray for 30 minutes increments from midnight to midnight on February 24. No one prayed alone. More than one person, and as many as 22, signed on for each 30-minute time commitment to pray.   People prayed from all 12 districts and as far away as Laguna Beach, California, Bronx, New York, and on a flight to ...

2/24/2016

Exploring General Conference, a free online course from United Methodist Communications, is designed to help participants learn more about the official decision-making body of The United Methodist Church and to explore many of the aspects of General Conference in anticipation of the 2016 session.   The course is comprised of five modules, which are designed to take about 30 minutes to complete. Throughout the course, students have the opportunity to engage in interactive activities to dig deeper...

2/24/2016

Bishop Watson shared the following message with the North Georgia Conference Cabinet and Board of Laity today and also shares with you who are praying for General Conference. Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, As we dedicate ourselves to this special North Georgia day of prayer for our beloved United Methodist Church and our upcoming General Conference, let us remember that Jesus promised "whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you will receive it, and it will be so for you." (Mark ...

2/8/2016

By Natalie Bannon* Created in 2006, Twitter gained worldwide popularity by 2012 with more than 100 million users worldwide posting 340 million tweets per day. Thousands of those tweets contained information about the 2012 United Methodist General Conference in Tampa, Florida.  Never before had United Methodists around the world been able to communicate so openly and in real time about the proceedings at this quadrennial meeting, opening dialogue between those in attendance and home observers. ...

12/8/2015

The next North Georgia Annual Conference Session will be a little earlier than usual. The 2016 meeting will take place June 7-9 at The Classic Center in Athens.  2016 will be a year of Holy Conferencing. General Conference, The United Methodist Church’s top legislative body, will meet at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, the largest convention center in the Pacific Northwest, on May 10-20, 2016. Learn more about General Conference and North Georgia's delegation at www.ngumc.org/GC2016....

11/20/2015

General Conference, in the palm of your hand - a redesigned 2016 General Conference app is now available. A helpful way to stay connected and learn more about all aspects of the conference, the app will feature news, photo and social media feeds, video and audio archives, live streaming of worship and plenary, the DCA and ADCA, and petition tracking. For delegates and others at the conference on May 10-20, there are also some features to make the experience easier: legislative committee ...